Summer Golf Adventures...

Posted Jul 03 2012, 01:14 PM by Cathy Erickson
Wow…it’s been a busy few weeks in my world and one thing I’ve really missed is doing my weekly golf writing therapy.   There’s a lot on my mind so I’d better get to it!
 
First of all...congratulations to Webb Simpson on his US Open win!!  Honestly, I didn't see that one coming.  He had been under the radar for most of the year but he played steady, solid golf with the fewest mistakes.  Great guy, great champion.
 
Rumor has it that Sam Johnson went on vacation and didn’t take his golf clubs.  This girl, on the other hand, has clocked quite a few miles on the Callaway travel bag, most recently on a trip to Nashville, TN, just 2 weeks ago.  Back in 2010, I wrote about my first time to Nashville and the courses I played there.  I was excited to be back, but not super excited to arrive to average temperatures of 95+ degrees – this Minnesota girl is not used to that kind of heat!

​I arrived a few days before meeting up with a great group of friends so I could get in some golf.  My first round was a late afternoon 18 at Nashboro Golf Club just south of the Nashville Airport.   For only $25 on www.golfnow.com, I didn’t have really high expectations, but I was pleasantly surprised by this golf course.  Nashboro is a privately owned public course that was recently purchased after the City threatened to make the golf course a park instead.  The new owner has spent the last year doing improvements and according to some of the guys that work there, things are looking up!  The course was nestled inside of all kinds of townhomes and residential developments.  It had a character to it and I’m guessing it’s been around for awhile because it wasn’t particularly long.  The greens were pretty good, although they did spray them green…the best part was, I even made a few putts!  On the last hole I met up with a member who had been playing there for over 20 years and he seemed happy to still have a course to call home.  I was pretty happy with my 40-40=80 with 2 lost balls.  If I had had more time, I would have gone back to play it again - great value for $25!

The next morning I went back to The Hermitage, a course I played back in 2010.  This course is northeast of Nashville and has 2 18-hole tracks.  One is an older, tighter layout, and the newer one is longer and more links like.  I opted for the older General’s Retreat because it was cheaper ($49.50 vs. $63), and then I could replay the other course for only $20.  They put me out as a single, but it didn’t take long for me to run into other groups.  I guess some people just don’t like to pair up.  It was a lovely course in great condition, but man, it was HOT!  I loved that they had fans around the greens and I took every opportunity to take a minute to cool down.  I played okay, but did lose one Pro-V, dang it!  I also skipped out on the 2nd round because it was just too darn hot. 
Overall, love this course and would play every time I'm in Nashville.

Friday morning was an absolute golf highlight for me…my fabulous friend, Debbie, arranged for us to play the Golf Club of Nashville, which is located between Nashville and Franklin, to the west.  As we drove in through the gate I knew I was in for something special.  We were meeting a friend of Debbie's who was a member, and as we were walking on the range to meet him the very first thing I noticed was that all the practice balls were Pro-V’s.  Yep, I was totally out of my league!  We had carts, but we also had a caddie for the group.  This was a whole new experience for me!

Jeff gave us advice on the tee shots, and then he would run (literally) out somewhere down the fairway to watch our shots and let us know how we did.  I loved getting the “safe!” signal (like an umpire does).   He’d zap our yardage and let us know how the green laid out.  And then he would read every putt…man, I could get used to this!!  He was a great guy and I really enjoyed it – and I know I made a few putts thanks to Jeff, too.  I had a pretty good round going and then the wheels fell off a bit – after a triple and double, I still finished with an 81, so I can’t complain.  The course itself was beautiful.  It reminded me a little of the Quarry in Minnesota.  The greens were fabulous and the fairways were like carpet…I was almost afraid to take a divot!  I have no idea what it cost to play there, but for me, the day was priceless.  Great golf and great company – what more could I ask for!  THANK YOU DEBBIE!

After heading back to MN from Nashville I stayed overnight in the Twin Cities to get some family time and also to meet up with an awesome fantasy golf pal to get a round of golf in.  We ended up playing at the Dwan Golf Course which is owned by the City of Bloomington.  It was a great little golf course (Par 68) and it was busy ($42 for 18/cart)!  We got paired up with 2 nice gals for the front 9 but they decided to call it a day at the turn.  The greens were great and everything was green.  The only thing that was a downer was that there were Japanese Beetles all over the place.  Apparently they are found in the Twin Cities area.  They eat leaves and the larvae nests in the grass.  I did my best to eradicate as many as I could see, but they were creepy!  Overall, though I really liked that course and getting to play with my friend Drew was fantastic.

Getting home, I was faced with the reality of the rare flooding situation that happened while I was out of town.  Lots of damage to roads, bridges and homes…and some golf courses, too.  Our course fared well…although you can see the evidence of where the water had been - some places over 10 feet higher than the creek!  A few cart paths need some filling in, but other than that, things are okay.  I am constantly amazed at the power of water.
This Friday is the golf scramble I organize and I can’t wait for a great day on the course.  I’m praying the predicted thunder storms will go south of us and that we’ll have a fun day with great friends.  It’s one of my favorite days of the whole year!!  Right now the forecast is looking slightly better, so if you could, say a quick prayer for sunshine in Minnesota on Friday!

I did see that Tiger won again on Sunday.  Are we seeing glimpses of old?  When I got an email from www.golf.com with the subject line “Is Tiger Woods Player of the Year?” I couldn’t help but roll my eyes…

Really???  It’s JULY!!  I’m not sure I can take it if we’re going to have to be exposed to this for the rest of the year.  Matt Kuchar better get out there and win a couple more tournaments to he can lock up POY instead.

July 1 is prime time golf season for us now – I’m looking forward to a great summer of playing with great friends and enjoying some fun events.  I hope you get to do the same, too!
Happy 4th of July Everyone!!
 
Filed under: Minnesota, Sam Johnson, Matt Kuchar, Cathy Erickson, Nashville, Webb Simpson, floods, Hermitage, The Golf Club of Nashville, Dwan Golf Club, Nashboro