Well, my day 2 ended late yesterday and unfortunately, there won't be a day 3. My golfer, Jesse, battled but missed the cut by a paltry 4 strokes. We'll get to that.
This time we went out in the afternoon and started from the 10th hole. We were the last group to go out and it did hurt us a bit. The golfers' timing was thrown off as we had to wait on most holes. About the only time we didn't have to wait was after we played 18 as we needed to have a rules official come over to give us a hand.
The weather was nice for golf - not too hot and no wind, but it was cloudy which makes it hard to read the greens. Flat light makes it very difficult to see the breaks in the greens. That, and the greens at the Edmonton Country Club are very subtle and hard to see at the best of times.
On the 18th hole, Jesse hit his tee shot a bit long and it came to rest up against the viewing stands behind the green. The rules official came over and had us go through a full series of motions to find the correct spot to drop the ball. Once we got that all complete, a few minutes had passed. That put us behind the group in front of us, but we caught up to them again a few holes later.
Jesse did finish well and had some great holes, but some tiny mistakes that caught him. He was 2 over for the day (a score I will never shoot I am sure) and he did have a couple of drives that were 350+. This is coming from an 18 year old - once he ages a bit and bulks up, his shots are going to be scary long.
Being a caddy is a different experience. There is so much that you have to do to keep the golfer in the zone so he can just golf. I have a new respect for the guys who do this as their job and chase golfers around the course day after day. The bags aren't light and you spend a lot of time trying to keep up with your golfer. There is a lot to remember and you don't want to interrupt anyone out there. You need to interact with your golfer to keep him loose and focused plus you need to ensure that you are maintaining a good relationship with the other golfers and caddies in your group. You have to know the rules so you don't inadvertently break one. If a caddy breaks a rule, it hurts his golfer - there is no penalty for the caddy.
All that being said. I really enjoyed it. I am sure that my shoulders and legs have something different to say, but it was a great time. I saw the game from a different view. These guys are amazing. They hit the ball right where they want to. They manage the game so much better than us duffers. In places where we would hit a driver, they hit a mid iron to place the ball. The imagination around the green is something to see. Also, having a gallery follow you around the course is something different too.
Anyway, I am looking forward to the next one as I think that I want to do this again. I will schedule this into my calendar so I don't forget to take the time off work to volunteer again.
Too bad there is no day 3 to this story. However, I will be following the career of Jesse Gibson as he will be going places as a golfer.
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