Golf with friends in North Carolina

We started our golf season right out of the gate! We arrived in Boone on Tuesday and by Friday we were playing golf. (It had been over six months since I had touched my clubs so I was a little anxious about playing.)

In spite of our collegiate affiliation, we were invited by the Hunters (Gators) to play in their Member-Guest tournament at Beech Mountain. We have only played that course one other time and it is, well, challenging to say the least!

Frank, Leann, Diane and Craig, before the tournament.

The tournament started Friday afternoon with threats of thunderstorms. But fortunately the weather held and we were able to complete the round. It's been a few years since we've seen the Hunters so it was very nice to spend time with them. Frank and Craig played very well!

Frank and Craig pointing out their score at the end of the first round - First Place!

Remember me saying I was a little anxious about playing since it had been a while? Well, that anxiousness reared its ugly head frequently throughout our round! Diane played fabulously and we enjoyed the ladies we were paired up with.

At the end of the first round, Diane and I were tied for second, thanks to Diane!

After playing golf, Craig and Diane took us up the mountain to their home. What a beautiful home with a spectacular view!

View from their deck.

We ate dinner at the Alpen Inn where every evening they put out corn and fruit for the deer. (The picture is a little fuzzy because it was taken through a window from a bit of a distance.)

Golf resumed bright and early Saturday morning...and we were ready!

Diane and I continued our fun and each had quite a few great shots! It was a great time and we finished third!

Frank and Craig had another great round and ended up tying for 1st place!

See, Gators and Seminoles can play well together. :)

In fact, Frank and Craig beat Doug (Frank's brother's brother-in-law, another Seminole) by 2/10 of a point!

All in all it was a great time and a good way to kick off golf in the mountains! Thank you Craig and Diane for inviting us!

More golf

Last week was the Hound Ears Member-Member golf tournament and I had been invited to team up with Shirley a very sweet lady who lives down the road from us. She and I have played together before and thought we would make a good pair.

Everyone was encouraged to wear pink over the two day tournament as it was the "Rally for the Cure" tournament. On Tuesday, we could purchase a 'get out of trouble' ribbon - 10 feet of pretty pink ribbon you could use 1 time to help if you found yourself in a bit of a situation. I resisted as long as I could, but ended up using mine to get me back into my own fairway. And as it turns out, onto the green! I didn't play so well the first day and was really frustrated. But after a long talk with myself, going back to the driving range and watching my golf lesson, I felt like I was a changed woman, ready for Wednesday's round.

Unfortunately, things still went a little screwy with my swing and I played worse on Wednesday, in spite of buying a Mulligan!

But, Shirley carried our team and we ended up winning Low Gross! She was very excited and I'm glad I could help with what little bit I did.

We had a fabulous luncheon and met a woman who is a cookbook author, designer and entrepreneur. Her company is W.I.N.O.S (Women In Need Of Sanity) http://www.winoshavefun.com/ and she donated some great gift baskets along with giving each participant a visor of their choice.

All in all, it was a fun time and I'm glad I played. Next season, I'm going to play with the 'Big Girls'. :o)

On the golf course

Thankfully the rains have held off for a day or so and we've been able to get out on the course. Rounds Saturday and Sunday proved helpful in getting the kinks worked out and taking several strokes off our scores.

There are quite a few feathered families that live on the course, including some noisy and messy geese. Couldn't help but snap a shot of this young troupe. (There is someone who feeds the ducks at this spot and so now they follow everyone!)

Day of Golf at Hound Ears

We've stuck to our commitment and have played full rounds of golf every other day while we're in Boone. Frank had an awesome round a few days ago! His lesson has paid off and given him a few things to work on. Hopefully the next time we're in Stuart, I can take the same lesson.

Tomorrow we're leaving the cooler temps of Boone and heading back home for a few days. Will be great to see everyone. The last pre-season Bucs game is on Thursday and hopefully the weather will be nice.

Then the travel and FSU football fun begins on Labor Day.

We're counting down....2 weeks from today until we get to see Chris and Nate (Daniel and Kathy too!)

Golf in the Mountains

We've been in Boone, NC for almost a week and it has been very warm! Days in the high 80's and lows in the 70's. (The cabin doesn't have a/c.) Most of NC has been experience high temps and droughts.

Our golf has been interrupted by thunder and lightening, but we did get to the driving range one day and play 9 holes another. Hopefully with an early start tomorrow, we'll be able to play a full 18 holes.

Frank took a golf lesson when we were in Stuart and they provided him a really cool video analysis of his swing. So now when we go to the driving range, we've been doing little movies and conducting our own expert analysis. :) (We'll see how it works tomorrow.) Hopefully we'll hit them well, but not often.

Just a few more days in the 'cooler weather' before we head back to Tampa.