Round #8: North Fulton Golf Course at Chastain Park

THE GOLF:
Nestled in picturesque Chastain Park on the outskirts of Atlanta is the North Fulton Golf Course. The course is as municipal as municipal gets. Brown is the overwhelming color in the North Fulton pallete, fairways are not guaranteed to exist on every hole, the greens run slowly - possibly at a negative number on the stimpmeter, and bunkers are filled with a mysterious substance that lies somewhere between dirt and sand. Regardless of the condition of the course, the round was played with my friend and host for the past 2 days Jeff Weekley.

Jeff lives about 1 1/2 miles from the city park which houses the course. We arrived in time to hit a few putts and meet our playing partners on the first tee. We were paired for the round with 2 Georgia Tech engineering students named Andrew and Kevin. They were good guys and golfers as well. Jeff had a little more diffiult time today as this was his first outing since December. Regardless of Jeff or my golfing woes, the overwhelming theme of the day was "at least we're golfing." It took roughly 9 holes to get accustomed to the speed of, or lack thereof, the greens. This was beneficial for the back nine after making the turn in 43. On the par 3 11th, I hit my tee shot to 2 feet. I was able to utter my favorite 3 word phrase "tap in birdie."

The success ofm y first birdie of the day was followed by me draining a 15 footer for birdie on 12. The back nine continues reasonably, with a few more bogeys than desired, but reasonably nonetheless...until the 18th. The 18th hole was a disaster. On the 446 yard par 4, my ball finally came to rest on the green after my 6th shot. I closed the round with an 8. Instead of a 40 on the back, I took a 44 and finished with an 87.

Jeff's score on the other hand, like the recipe for Coca-Cola will remain a closely guarded secret. I should mention that even I can't confirm his score anyway until the calculations have been checked for accuracy by Price Waterhouse Coopers. Tomorrow I head to one of Atlanta's most exclusive clubs East Lake. The club is home to Bobby Jones and oftentimes the PGA Tour Championship. As was the case for Pinehurst, I am hoping my game will be in decent shape for such a memorable round. After East Lake, it's on to Jacksonville.

Today's Course: North Fulton Golf Course
Score: 87
Handicap: 8.9
Tonight's Overnight Location: Atlanta, GA
Tomorrow's Course: East Lake Golf Club
Tomorrow's Overnight Location: Jacksonville, FL