Who knew a record setting 24 putts would be at a golf course?

March 17,2018 started early for Ruth and me as we had a tee time at the Riverview Golf Course at 8:37 a.m. It was a perfect day weather wise; sunny, warm and no wind. We arrived at the Riverview course about an hour before our tee time which would enable us to warm up on the range. The range is close to the clubhouse and although it faces east, looking into the sun, the grass is well maintained and the range balls are in good condition. Bonus.

We were looking forward to another perfect day for golf.

We went to the clubhouse to check in. Ruth presented her Sun City Recreation Card and then said she would pay for one green fee and 1/2 a golf car.

NOW HOLD YOUR HORSES

The clerk at the cash register said, “You didn’t book a golf              car and we have NONE available. Ruth said, “You have no golf cars available?” The clerk said, “Yes, you need to book a golf car when you book the tee time” Ruth said “We won’t be playing as we definitely need a golf car.”

No further explanation was given but perhaps the reason is a high percentage of their members own their own golf cars. Perhaps it is not economical for the club to own and/or lease many golf cars.

We nattered about this situation all the way to the SUV. I said I will check on my phone with the Palmbrook golf club to see if we can play there. I pulled up their website and the “telephone” icon is on the left side.  I pressed it and the phone rang. “Good Morning, Palmbrook Country Club, how can I help you?” the man said. I immediately asked “ Do you have anything available for two golfers this morning?” He said, “ I have a tee time at 8:07 and I said we will be there in five minutes. And we were!

Palmbrook Country Club

We checked in at the Palmbrook course. We even had time to hit a few balls on the range before we headed over to Hole #1 to meet our playing partners: Steve and Mark. These two guys were locals and usually played Sun City courses. Both were well mannered but we saw little of them till we were putting as they were rarely on the fairways.

Starting on Hole #1
As usual I pulled my drive to the left just off the fairway and hit my second shot to about 30 yards to the green. I chipped close (about 24”) close to the flag and had one putt for a Par. I thought this might be the start of something big!

I played fairly well from tee to green but the day was memorable for my putting. I had seen on the Golf Channel the day before how Rory McIlroy received in a lesson with a Brad Faxon regarding his putting. This is what Rory had to say, “The work I’ve done on my stroke has helped, but I think it’s just the mentality of not really caring whether it goes in or not,’ he said. ‘If I hit a good putt, great. If it goes in, wonderful. If it doesn’t, I’ve done all that.” I took this to heart and freed up my putting stroke with a pendulum swing and had a wonderful putting day!

I had one putts on these holes: 1,2,3,5,6,7,9,12,13,15,16 and 18 and two putts on holes 4,8,10,11,14 and 17 for a total of 24 putts for the day!

Just think (1) if we had given up when we couldn’t play at the Riverview course and gone home and
(2) if I didn’t have a cel phone with Roam Mobility Internet Access to call Palmbrook Country Club

we would never had this day of golf with perfect weather and a record breaking putting day for me.