First time on the course in YEARS

     I had an enjoyable nine holes of golf after work yesterday. It was the first time I've golfed since 2003. I've been to the range maybe 7 times total in those 8 years and it clearly showed. They say the first thing to go is your game around the greens. My friends, the rumors are true. I could not chip or pitch to save my life. My putting was horrid too. I had a few decent drives and a few decent iron shots, but overall you could tell I had not played in a very long time.

     The course itself, Pocono Manor, East Course, was pretty long. It was roughly 6400 yards, but its spread out over the property. This was quite different than what I was used to in California. I guess, due the premium price for real estate in Southern California, the course are more compact. Same yardage amounts, for the most part, but just lots closer together. Does that make sense? The condition of the course… well, that left a lot to be desired. The greens were in fair to poor condition, the fairways were decent. The worst of all were the carts and cart path. The cart path has clearly not been maintained in YEARS. We could have used a 4x4 golf cart to navigate it properly. Then we get to the carts…they are obviously older, weren't clean at all, and to top it off, the one I was in died. We were able to push start it twice, but then it crapped out completely. This was around 7:40pm, we were supposed to be off the course by 8pm We were going to make it no problem, until the cart died. I called the Pro Shop three times before finally getting a live person. I was then put on hold until I somehow got transferred to the phonemail of the General Manager of the resort. I left him a fairly hostile message and it appears it worked as we all got a free round of golf to use at our convenience.

     All in all, I did have a great time with the guys. It was nice as it wasn't crowded, so there was no one "pushing" us from behind as I was used to in California. I am definitely looking forward to going again, possibly this Friday to use our free round.