Reacquainted With An Old Friend

More than a year and a half has gone by since I made contact. A year and a half too long! But this morning I made amends.

At 5am I teed it up and played golf for the first time since October of '06. As many of you know, knee surgery destroyed my golf season last year and after losing a game of chicken with a car, playing golf was further postponed.

After practicing for the past few weeks it was time to take off the training wheels and go out alone. Granted it was just nine holes, but it was a glorious nine holes. The City still asleep, I drove through the Loop onto Lakeshore Drive and headed north to play the nine hole track that is Sydney Marovitz. A nice layout, it suffers from destruction at the hands of the thousands of city golfers drawn to it as the only golfing refuge for those living downtown or to the north of the City.

The sun was just beginning to stir, but had yet to introduce itself to the world. In fact, the pro shop wasn't open either. So, I quietly slipped over to the 1st tee, smacked a 3wood down the middle (jitters be damn!) and begun my round. My game off the tee was in mid-season form hitting all the fairways. My iron play was inconsistent, but was expected. The greens were like putting on shag. Overall, I was pleased. Not bad, not great. But definitely some good moments. I shot a 40 and the rust definitely accounted for a few strokes.

But the best part was just being on the course. It reminded me of being a kid when I worked at golf courses and would be the first out to get a round in before working the bag drop. The grass was still wet with morning dew and walking would kick up the moisture onto the back of your legs. Just wet and cold enough to provide a little, friendly sting.

The course runs along Lake Michigan and as the sun broke the horizon you could feel its warmth. A jogging path runs along the course as well and it was full of joggers. Who jogs, willingly at 5am? Then again, they were probably wondering who plays golf at that time as well!

There were even times I forgot I was playing golf in the middle of the City. As I looped around to the finishing holes that run along the inner drive that tranquility was shattered by the beginnings of rush hour traffic. Only an hour and twenty minutes was needed to play and I was back home by 7am. What a great way to start the day!