|
Series:
Diary of A Golf College Student
Article 9: Second Tournament
by
Jonathan Gibbins
Back
to previous entry
Our 2nd tournament takes us north, out of
Florida and into Georgia. The drive is another long one (15 hours)
and the state of Georgia is very unexciting at first glance. Countryside
dominates and everyone who lives here seems to own a petrol station
or lives next to one. “Y’all” is the most common word used and I
kind of expect to see Forrest Gump at any time.
However, hidden
away among the forests and greenery are some golfing gems and we
arrive at one of them. The newly Ben Crenshaw designed Cuscowillow
Golf Club is beautiful as it cuts it’s way through an expanse of
woodland and because of it’s location, the humidity is very high.
Having never experienced this heat before, it is somewhat
of an adjustment to accept being wet for most of the round. Finally
I can appreciate why everyone in the US Open looks like they have
had a fight with a fire engine. It is also annoying to find that
going in the shade makes it worse because the heat is closer there.
Basically, the only escape is the air-conditioned clubhouse.
Our
practice round is eerie. The lack of wind, in fact the lack of anything
creates a horrible constant hum in the air. I am not comfortable
with a hot sun and no sound and I expected to be swooped on by a
vulture at any moment.
On
the first day the humidity rose to 85%, but I stopped worrying for
myself after I met my playing partner Jim. He was your typical American
stereotype; large, hamburger-filled and definitely not made for
this weather. It was 8am and he was already struggling.
I
was told that the first rule in these conditions was not to wear
black because the heat absorption would cause dehydration from the
word go. I remember Colin Montgomerie turned up for The US Open
playoff in 1994 wearing black and everyone knew what his fate would
probably be before he teed off. They were right.
Under these conditions, my golf game just becomes a
series of routines. Walk, assess, dry hands, hit, drink, walk, assess
and so on. The heat takes the sting out of the challenge.
My
round went fine which was helped by the huge fortune of holing a
6-iron for eagle near the end. Jim made it all the way round (I
lost $5 to my friend- I bet he wouldn’t) and lost about a stone
in weight for the effort.
To
top off a worthwhile trip, the next day (36 holes) was a bit cooler
and the team finished 2nd overall- our best finish in
a while. I was saddened to hear later that Jim retired hurt in the
last round, apparently due to exhaustion.
Come back to the
site next week and read the next installation of life on a golf
scholarship!
|
