" A good walk spoiled"

Today I had a round of golf with my sister B, and a friend, R, who we used to play with regularly until about 2 years ago when we both stopped as we were too busy.  However B had said she wanted to start again and so I agreed to go along.

When I was about 18 (a very long time ago!) my father, who was an excellent golfer, said he would pay for me to have 6 lessons.  I had the lessons and Father took me out for 9 holes.  He was a founder member of this particular golf club and would not start on the 1st hole as it was in front of the club house and he didn't want to be shown up by me so we proceeded to the 2nd tee.  I addressed the ball (that is a golfing technical term!) and went to hit it and missed it; after about three times of trying to hit it my Father suddenly bellowed "For God's sake woman hit the b****y thing!"  I was so frightened that my usually placid father should shout at me that I whacked it and did a perfect shot down the fairway.  We played the remainder of the 9 holes, which must have been torture to my Father and I never touched a golf club again until the mid 1980s.

My late husband played a lot and after our sons left home for college etc, I decided to have another go so we would have an interest to take part in together.  We joined a club near us in South Wales, I had lessons and loved it and we were playing every week, usually at weekends as I was working, though occasionally in the summer evenings and taking part in club competitions. 

Then we moved house to Northamptonshire and the golf lapsed to just the odd round.  My husband died and so it wasn't until I retired that I joined my sister and a group of her friends playing once a week at Wyboston Lakes.  As it's name suggests there is a great deal of water, but is a very flat course.

So off we went, sister B, R our friend and I, in a howling gale, rain in the offing and B and I not having played for two years - how would we manage?

Sister on left and friend on right approaching 1st green

At this time of the year I would have expected to see lots of wildfowl, but nothing on the first hole.  I didn't do too badly at this hole - long game OK, but putting awful!!

The next hole, the 2nd -

 

runs beside the River Great Ouse and though none of us hit into the river today it has been known in the past!!  In the summer motor cruisers and narrow boats watch the golfers tee off - not today! 

However we had to contend with these -

Swans with a goose in the middle

- and they did not move when we walked past.  Not too bad on this hole and so to the 3rd hole that has a pond in front of the tee and a large lake at the back of the green.  I overshot the green and lost ball No 1 in the lake at the back.

On to hole 4 where again there is a lake in front of the tee - managed to get across and headed for the green -

Hole 4 with big skies behind the green in the distance

In this photo it looks sunny BUT behind me (taking the photo) the sky was getting blacker!

Egyptian Geese

We carried on to hole 6 with everything going reasonably well for me, B had hacked her ball into the rough at 5 and R had lost her ball in the lake.  BUT then the rot set in for me.

At 6 we had a side wind (a gale actually) and I watched my good shot start really straight down the middle and then go in a complete arc well into another big lake with a splash.  A second shot off the tee and I went into trees but did see this family of ducks -

No, these are not leaves but lots of little ducklings!!

 and from the other side of the trees.

and my next shot over a bunker and a pond to the green landed in the middle of the pond!!  Two balls lost on one hole, total so far three!!!!

Hole 6 is again over the edge of the main lake and I completely mishit the ball, it went in the wrong direction and where did it land - in the lake!!!  Fourth ball lost - b****r.  Getting expensive.

The other two played the hole while I took a photo of these -

Canada geese and newly hatched babies

 - and then the rain came down.  We decided to walk back to the club house as swiftly as possible and that was hard work battling into the wind with the rain stinging our faces, BUT I had thoroughly enjoyed my morning.  I remembered how much I enjoyed golf especially when the sun is shining, I could wear shorts and a polo shirt and though I had lost four balls which was a record for me, I had played reasonably well after a two year lay-off.

PS - I would not normally take photos whilst playing golf, but the course was empty with no-one around and my companions did not mind.