Golf Fore the Good

As impressed as I was with Augusta National, and as much as I whined about the gray and the gloom of our local spring weather when I arrived home from a quick, southern sojourn in early April, my disenchantment with my local golf opportunities was decidedly short lived.

It was the heart of Master’s weekend when my plane touched down and Tiger was making a charge (a minor one, such as it was). Locally, it was the qualifying round of the Cape Cod Seagulls Fourball Championship, a usually grueling test of golf. While the PGA professionals were playing their hearts out at Augusta, our locals had been vying for position in a much smaller and less well known golf tournament, yet a contest with a rich history of its own.

I’d arrived to blue skies but the final leg of my trip home found the skies turning dark and stormy and thunderstorms blowing in. The leafless trees grew even more gray, if that was possible, leaving me wistfully dreaming of the balmy breezes and green landscape I had just left. My husband and I made a joint decision to head straight to the golf course without even a pit stop at home. A little libation and camaraderie would buck up my darkened mood.

Always the right decision, since there’s no place for a golfer like a golf course. Despite the deteriorating weather outside the bar was warm and cheery, and several TV’s murmured with the goings-on from the National.

As I bellied up to the bar I immediately let go of any misgivings about being back home to play golf in our questionable spring conditions. Simply to keep company with the golfers gathered at the bar that afternoon was enough; to call them my friends is more than I would ever have expected when I first started swinging a golf club.

From our humble little municipal golf course have come many outstanding players. That afternoon I traded stories with several pairings who were fresh from the trials of Hyannis Port and the Seagulls Fourball, both having made the cut that day to the Championship division. And they were just a small sect of our local boys who’d made the cut. No less than five twosomes making the grade for the Championship division boasted at least one member from Dennis Pines; not bad for a bunch of muni players in a golf tournament full of exceptional talent.

On Sunday I followed the final day of the televised action of the Masters, tickled by the fact that after my brief visit there I could identify with many of the holes and locations.

The Seagulls plays out through two weekends so while the Masters finished up we waited for word as to how our own boys were doing at the Port. More than a couple pairings from the Pines made it through to the second weekend, reinforcing the reputation of the quality of golf that emanates from our very own fairways. And – not for the first time - it was a Pines twosome who ultimately ended up the champions. Congratulations, Kevin Carey and Joe Walker; you’ve done it again!

Early on, back when I first took up the game of golf my pro often mentioned Dennis Pines and its fine reputation and challenging layout. “If you really want to play golf, go play the Pines. It’ll make a golfer out of you.” It was too early in my golf career to fully comprehend the statement. I didn’t know then that life would eventually steer me to Dennis Pines where I would find out exactly what he meant.

While I am sure to never set foot on the hallowed fairways of Augusta, a visit to the Masters is still truly inspirational. However, I need not look any further than my own back yard to be a part of a truly incomparable golf community. There’s no place like home.