March Golf In Michigan

Rare is the March that finds Michigan golfers on the course as early as the seventh, but yesterday as temperatures inched toward 70 most of the local tracks were open. Golfers were out in force, even with winds were gusting as much as 30 mph. On my favorite local course, Green Oaks, there were enough players to necessitate waiting on every tee.

I played well enough—five over on nine—but with the caveat that the tees were forward, the wind played into my hands, and the ground was soft. That’s usually a recipe for a good card.

Even better than getting to play a round was meeting an old acquaintance. Phil caught up to me on the third, and we finished the nine together. I’ve played with Phil on quite a few previous occasions, and have found that for some reason he brings out the best in my game. It’s probably the constant encouragement that he offers: “good shot;” “don’t worry, you’ll get it up and down from there;” and so on. A lot of perfunctory “nice shots” are handed out on the course, but Phil says these things with no hint of insincerity.

That’s the kind of partner well all need.