A Round of Golf, Some Quality Pool Time and a Bit of Self Reflection

How a serendipitous round of golf and an afternoon watching Buddy splash at the local pool caused some personal discovery

I was in Iowa this past summer for work. I had plenty of spare time before my flight so I decided to fit in a round of golf .I had recently read an article on the 100 best golf courses to play and one of the courses on the list, The Harvester, was nearby.

Unfortunately, I did not pack my clubs for this trip. I feel it's almost too costly to fly with your golf clubs anymore, but for some reason I did have my shoes. The course was mostly vacant with only a few people playing at two o'clock in the afternoon so, armed with a set of rental clubs, I went off to play.

Admittedly, this was a treat. There are moments my job allows me to do things that I love and this was one of those moments. I mean who wouldn't want to play a course that was not only beautiful, but also had bales of hay sitting next to the holes that reminded me of Midwestern sunsets and seemed to glow in the soft, low light. The holes had names like "Big Hog" , “The Sickle”, “Holy Cow” and my personal favorite “Serendipity” and it was a lovely course-- a great facility.

I started off slow with my rented Cobra clubs. I didn't care for the putter much and had some issues with driving. I was playing from the blue tees (I'm not up to playing this course from the longest tee) but after I was warmed up things improved. If it weren't for an errant tee shot on #9 that left me in the mud next to the water (7 strokes -- drat!) things would have been even better.

With a total of 41 strokes on the front, I made my way to the back nine. Teeing off on #10 I felt as though I had found my groove! I've learned from my children, when The King finds a new groove (or, in my case, an old one) good things happen!

As I rolled through the "Big Hog" I needed birdie on this last hole to break 80. I didn't get it but still, not bad in my book for rental clubs and a guy who only plays twice a month at best. All in all, a great day.

I moseyed (Iowa term) up to the clubhouse to get me some grub. I decided to eat outside overlooking the same 18th hole where a few moments earlier elation had filled me.

While sitting on the deck enjoying a fine glass of wine I was given time to reflect. I had run a footrace a few days earlier. Only a 5k, but for the first of the season it was more than enough distance wise. The course was a simple back and forth through a neighborhood in Libertyville, IL. My time was a respectable 24:32. One mile was even below 8 min. I couldn't have been more pleased with how I did. Being 41, one has to take these moments as they come.

I'm doing my best in this missive to not sound arrogant. I didn't feel arrogant during any of these moments. I have been blessed in many parts of my life and I am and should be a very grateful person.

I sat on the overlook enjoying my meal and was quite overwhelmed with my life. Here I was at 41, married to a beautiful woman who I loved, children that I couldn't be more pleased with. I had just ran the week before a sub 8 min mile and wonder of all wonders I had just shot (almost) 80 on a great golf course. Life on this day had dealt me all Aces. Filled with gratification I finished my meal, jumped in my car and drove to my hotel. I was certain that life couldn't get any better.

I arrived home and got back to the daily grind. I have written and commented before many times about my son, Buddy. He loves to swim. Every Monday I attempt (when I am not traveling) to take him to the pool near our house to take a swimming class. The class is for people with disabilities. You get to meet, talk with and see all sorts of people living with different disabilities.

I once had a woman I was talking with tell me that Buddy had the "Cadillac" of disabilities. Her child suffered from a congenital disorder known as Aperts Syndrome. I was not aware there was a "Cadillac" of disabilities, but I agree I have been fortunate.

On this Monday just days after my exultation on the golf course, I was still hanging on to the glow of the week before. I have to admit I was filled with much pride as I watched my son swim. He splashes around in the pool while being pulled around in a fashion by another person who moves his arms and legs in the proper way to allow him to swim. His swimming, like many things in his life, has vastly improved. Currently he likes to dunk his head and he can do a pretty good doggy paddle. Like any boy his age, mostly he just likes to play.

On this day, In the shadow of my glow, I noticed a father bringing his son into the pool. His son had Cerebral Palsy. For those that are not familiar with this disability, it gets progressively worse as you get older. The really difficult thing is the mind stays intact inside a body that no longer works.

This father lifted his 11-year-old son from his wheelchair and placed him in the pool. My guess is the boy at one point could crawl. Today he could wheel himself around a little in his wheelchair. Tomorrow he will have a motorized wheelchair controlled by the touch of a gentle hand that barely moves.

I sat on my bench watching my son.

This father pulled his son from one end of the pool to the other on his . There are toys all around to play with and his son made a subtle motion with his hand towards one of the toys, a stuffed floating clown. The father carried him over and picked up the clown. The boy made another subtle motion upward. The father put the clown on his head. He had very little hair and was now wearing a clown hat.

He started carrying his son once again on his back through the water sometimes fast and other times slow. The clown finally fell off... and the boy smiled. It was a gentle smile, not large, not toothy. The dad then picked up the clown again and dropped it on top of his head. He pulled his son through the water and the clown fell off again. The boy's face broke into an even larger smile. The father just stopped in the water, collected the clown and started putting it on his head and would move in such a way that it would again fall off.

The boy would smile and the father would stand there holding his son up on his back, putting the clown on his head and watching him smile. This went on for some time. The clown on the father’s head, looking down at his son, his arm and legs twisted and bent, an eternal bend. His arthritic body even at 11 had very little motion left. A few fingers supplying movements on where to put the clown and the son smiling every time it fell from his dad's head.

After awhile the father grew tired from carrying his son around the pool and grabbed a large Styrofoam mat on which to place him. He moved his son around on the mat carrying him as though he were in a boat. The clown still on his head, he now starts motor boating his boy around the pool. The clown would fall and the son would smile and the dad would place it once again on his head.

This same scene played out over and over for the 45min swim period allotted to each swimmer.

My son’s swimming has steadily improved each week; he now dunks his head and can swim underwater. He loves the underwater parts. He may never do a crawl or a breaststroke or maybe his muscles might "get it" someday and he will. Time will tell.

I watched this father and his son and I realized this may be as good as it gets for them. His boy may always be able to smile and as long as the father can carry his son, he will be able to take him to the pool. They will always be able to share “swimming” together.

I sat on the bench looking at my son play and realized, as I looked at this father's day and saw the enormity of his life and what already he and his son had accomplished together... in this father's devotion he showed me... I'm not that good.

Montauk & The Harvester

I have driven by this home many times and never stopped to look in. Montauk was owned by Iowa's 12th Governor. Back in the day when we named our mansions. Today the modest home would not be called much of a mansion, but I'm certain back in 1874, this was something special. It is currently a working farm. In fact the day I was there, they were picking some vegetables. Some of the last of the season. It also has a few short trails. There are also 4 statues of Union Generals on the property. I assume these were added later and the Governor didn't have those amongst the crops. Despite all of the reading that I have done I can't seem to find out why the Union Generals also have statues here. I was really drawn to these statues mostly because of a good friend. He happens to be from Mississippi and as I was dating my wife I used to make quite a few driving trips into the south. There are many constant reminders of the Civil War throughout the south. There are Battlefields, the flag which causes much controversy and monuments to those days gone past. There are also the memories of the people and still even years later much bitterness. I'm still a yankee to many of the places of business that I go to, I can't escape that.

Through many discussions with Bubba, I found the correct way to say richt-yonder and over-yonder and the difference between the two. (Who knew!) I will admit to making a very odd sounding Reich-yonder like I was from France on one of these dialect coaching classes. when I came across these statues. I had to take photos. I wasn't even aware that Iowa sent any soldiers to the Civil War, I was informed differently here.

I worked on details in this series of photos. I have never been accused of being great and covering them, but in this case, I think I did OK. As each of my readers know I like grand vistas, but most of the time, life truly is captured in the small details. I hope you see that in what I collected.

The last series of pictures is from The Harvester. Some will note that I did these blogs out of order when I talked about this course in an earlier blog. I know each of my faithful readers you hate when I blog out of order, but indeed in this case it was necessary.

The Harvester was a wonderful place to play and highly recommended it. Just North and slightly west of Des Moines, in Rhodes it has hole names like Big Hog, Serendipity and Holy Cow. Bales of hay are alongside many of the holes. Unlike Erin Hills you see what the trouble is in front of you and you can plan. I foolishly played aggressivly on hole 9 and got a double bogey for my efforts. On 18 which is laid out almost L-shaped around a lake I found myself in perfect position and carried a 3-wood all the way to the front edge of the green. Needing Birdie to break 80 I was in a perfect spot. A poor chip later and an indifferent putt I meekly took bogey. Nothing is more exciting though than having the chance to break 80 and having nothing but open water in front as you rip a 3-wood to the final green.

I ate in the resteraunt after my meal on the veranda looking over that same 18th hole. Good food. As I left I thought I should have had a cigar and watched the sun set. Alot of fun either way.

As always you can see the whole collection in slideshow format here.

You can also go through the gallery at your own pace here.

Comment either here or on the website.

Golf & Heaven

There was a time when the above statement would have rang as true as a cathedral bell. I'm certain that I even found world peace on a course at times. There still isn't much better than an early morning, first on the tee, dew on the ground and a club in my hand. I don't get to do it much anymore. Time, life pressures and so forth keep me away from 4+ hours on the golf course. I still love the game, but can't seem to make the time happen to play it. Except for one morning in September.

It's fitting that I put these two galleries together. Some may disagree with Golf being a religious experience, but indeed it is. I will forgo the old joke about all of the epitaphs to Christ and God that are uttered at certain times on the course. Today for your review is Erin Hills Golf Club. Built just north and west of Milwaukee and an hour plus drive from my homestead, they say they didn't move much dirt to make this course and it shows. Caddies can be found here and my suggstion is to get one, spend the money and let them suggest where to hit the ball because you will need him/her. I didn't and I paid the price on more than one hole. I happen to be getting ahead of myself a little, let me discuss my impressions.

Erin Hills is quite a place. They were just awarded the 2011 US Amateur so it's well regarded and in some ways justifiably so. When I arrived they had just gotten done hosting the US Woman's Public Links. Some of the conditioning aspects of the course could have come from having so many players in such a short period of time of such a high caliber play the course. Either way the course was in good condition, but not great. The Harvester which I played the week earlier was in better and I might add was 1/3 the cost. More on that later.

The drive in is gorgous, great care is obviously taken at each step along the way as you drive in and around the course. The staff is very friendly, you drop your clubs off at a barn and go to check in at a wooden house. From the name of the course you can see that you are suppose to disappear into Ireland and that is quite easy. The clubhouse has a beautiful wood interior and though I have never been to Ireland I have a sneaky feeling that I may have had the experiance. You can see from many of the pictures the little touches and the care that has been taken in building the course, clubhouse and amenities. Gratefully there aren't any houses. Today there seems to be much emphasis that for me it spoils the pristine nature of so many courses. Even the flags themselves are made of wood and aren't going to be moved much when the wind blows, the flags as well aren't Nylon, but cotton. Everything very professionally done and very well done, it all works.

After getting some direction off the first hole and how to play it, which was well needed I was off. The course was in good but not great condition. The greens though were like a table top. The second hole has a green about the size of my desk and a notice of this would have been very helpful. If I had just had that caddy. That thought will be a comment theme. You can see from another picture in the group how the bunkering was handled. I was chasing the green's crew all morning so maybe some of the conditioning issues I had were taken care of after they got off the course. The most friendly green's crew I have played around. One person eve came over to help me on a par 3 where I couldn't find the hole. Seriously it was on the other side of a hill in a valley and was completely not seen from the tee. Did I mention a caddy? On another hole that was 460 yards and a par 4 I thought I could let it swing, I mean it's 460 I have to hit driver right? Nope over the ridge there was a sharp dogleg and though the ball started staight down the middle and then was lost. The card didn't show that large of a dogleg and now is another good time to mention that caddy.

The best part was the Blarney hole. Strange place for one after hole #9, but there it was a part 3 that you have to play before you tee off on hole 10. I didn't need a caddy on that hole. However on the 10th whole I again couldn't see which way the fairway was and hit a perfect shot in the deep rough.

After my round was over I was in the clubhouse discussing with the pro. He let me know that there wasn't any dirt moved currently to make the golf course, that's a rarity nowadays. He also let me know that the 2nd hole was going to change, they were going to enlargen the green and move it so you could see it from the fairway another good move. All of these changes were going to be before the Amateur in 2011. All good changes.

I enjoyed Erin Hills, I can't say it was worth the money though. Especially for a course that demands you to have a caddy to play it effectively. The layout was challenging enough without having most of the trouble hidden from the tee or the fairway. I loved the staff though. Friendly helpful and cooperative. I'm glad to have played the course and I played pretty well. If I were to play it again and that is unlikely, I would have a caddy. The Harvester and 1/3 of the cost and some 6 hours to west was not as intimidating and didn't need a caddy.

From the course I could see the Basilica of Holy Hill. Truly a great place for a cathedral. Having completed my round I decided to take a look at the cathedral. They were in the midst of a refurbishment of the two tours. Truly a remarkable place and quite large. There was two sanctuaries, the main and the cloisters below. Amazing place and a place that you can see for miles around as it sits on the only hill for quite a few miles. My suggestion is to block a couple of hours and spend it here looking around the cathedral and the grounds.

You can see the gallery here.

A Slideshow of the images can be viewed here.