Playing A Michigan Nine #michigannine

I got out Sunday evening to play a Michigan Nine.

What’s a Michigan Nine? It’s a term I’ve just coined. A Michigan Nine #michigannine is that moment when you’ve finished grilling dinner on the back deck, everyone has eaten their fill, you’ve cleaned up the kitchen and you realize — at 6:45 — that you’ve still got plenty of time to play nine holes before dark. Midsummer in Up North, Michigan, I’ve actually finished rounds at 10pm.

Michigan Nines are possible because of Michigan’s position in terms of both latitude and its relation to the time zone. We get a lot of late evening light here. Here’s a comparison of sunset times for May The Fourth:

7:59 Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
8:01 Orlando, Florida
8:34 Ann Arbor, Michigan
8:47 Indian River, Michigan (Up North Michigan)
7:38 Los Angeles, California

I actually started my nine at 7:15 and got done just as the light was disappearing.

It was a great round. The air was cool; the course nearly empty. With no one in front of me, I played efficiently, and entirely without interruption.

The best part is that on the 18th (I played the back nine), I holed out from a fairway bunker for an eagle.

Magical.