Round #4: Mid Pines Golf Club

THE GOLF

Mid Pines is an amazing place. The rooms are expensive and not all that great, the dining room requires a jacket (guess who skipped dinner last night?) so it's a bit stuffy, and the course is absolutely incredible. It's a tight layout with pine trees everywhere (shocking, I know), but the course itself is not all that difficult. Let me ammend the previous statement. It is not that difficult if you can hit your tee ball straight, which I was unable to do during my round there this afternoon. I figure I must have added a good 1,300 yards onto the 6,528 to which the course already stretches with the way I sprayed my tee shots left and right. As fate would have it, the best drive I hit all day was on the first hole. After that I was left with the unsatisfying feeling of enjoying the course while not enjoying the game. After 4 rounds, I still have yet to shoot in the 80's as I ended my round today with a dissappointing 91 (with a triple bogey on 18 - not the strong finish I was hoping for.)

Today's Course: Mid Pines
Today's Score: 91
Current Handicap: 8.3
Overnight Location: Day's Inn Southern Pines, NC
Tomorrow's Course: Pine Needles
Tomorrow's Overnight Location: Day's Inn Southern Pines, NC

ON CARDING A BIG NUMBER:

The highlight of the day, aside from draining an 18 foot downhill snaker for birdie on the par 3 8th was being paired with John, Ed, and Pat. Pat is the father of John and Ed...and 12 other kids!! That's right, there are 14 siblings in this family. I asked Pat how many grandchildren he had, with out hesitation he threw "37" back at me. It was stated that dinnertime growing up was a madhouse, they ate at 2 dining room tables, except for the 1 lucky soul who by way of formulas and calculations known only by mother nature, somehow earned the right to eat while sitting in front of the television simply because there was not enough room at the tables. Also a sacrifice simply due to size is a Christmas gift exchange - they said the tradition became too expensive and all-consuming, that it simply could not be done and has since been eliminated from their family's calendar. Six family members made up a team event in which they were enrolled for the day. Considering the family's size, I feel 6 is a poor turnout. They could field a football team or a political party with their numbers. It was a pleasure to be in this family's company for the afternoon and a memory of the round at Mid Pines which will stay with me forever.

After finishing up my round at Mid Pines I headed to Motel 6 to grab a room for the next couple of days. The gentleman who I spoke with on the phone yesterday evening said getting a room would not be a problem. This man works at Motel 6 for a reason, because when I arrived I was told they were sold out. As was Microtel, and Hampton Inn. Quickly, I headed to the local Panera for their free Wi-Fi and a Smokehouse Turkey sandwhich (I highly recommend this selection along with a Fandango salad - delicious). While there, I reserved a non-smoking king bedroom on Hotels.com at the local Days Inn. Thirty minutes later while checking in to the Days Inn, I was told the only room available at the complex was a smoking king room. Angrily, I accepted their offer of a discounted rate while suffering the inconvenience of smelling like smoke for the next 2 days. Luckily, another DI (as those of us now in the know call it) patron cancelled a room reservation, and I was upgraded to my original request of a non-smoking king bedroom. All is right with the world...as long as the rain holds tomorrow morning as my father and his friend Jerry Updike are scheduled to fly in from Winchester to join in my round at Pine Needles, and I am able to secure an early tee time at Pinehurst No. 2 for Monday morning. Only tomorrow will tell...