Golf Outing at Pelican Pointe-January 14th, 2009

I am not a golfer. This is not news to those who know me. In the summer of 1970, my brothers discovered golf with a vengeance. Our family lived close to Edgewood Golf Course in Fargo and I spent quite a bit of the summer chauffeuring them back and forth so they could play the game. I decided to see what the fever was all about, so asked Al to give me a lesson. I have said many times that I think Al should have been a teacher. He was patient with me during the course of the lesson and as a good teacher, he included a recap of what was covered in the lesson and provided proper assessment. His final remark to me that day was, "Barb, my advice to you is just don't ever play golf." I don't remember being upset about failing the test. He was just so nice about it. And, being a semi-intelligent person, I got what he was saying and I have never really taken up the game. So, when a golf outing was planned at

where Kent and Margie and Beth and Gary live, I was a little nervous when I was invited along. I do know that the game has a strict etiquette.


And I didn't want to break any important rules. However, I have been on a few golf courses in Minnesota, so I was interested to see what Florida golf was all about. I had a few preconceived ideas.

I learned the course was set up for a shotgun start that day, so all of these golfers congregated before and strutted around (except my family) and practiced and warmed up. I observed that people invest lots of money in golf gear and golf clothes. I hesitated to take pictures at that point, in case I would put someone off their game!

Pelican Pointe has a beautiful club house.

And the course is a great piece of real estate.
The foursome that day was Paul,

Gary,
Margie
who, in addition to being a strong golfer, is a gracious hostess and an incredible

and my brother, Kent

who can be aptly described as


Let me tell you he is quite successful at both! I rode with Kent for most of the round. I was even more confused than usual as they didn't play the holes in the correct order. So, I had no idea how many holes had been played. Kent is in his element on the golf course. He moves quickly, smoking a cigar as he drives the golf cart zippy fast around these cool little paths and laughs alot. I so thoroughly enjoyed spending my afternoon with these four golfers.

I did try to stay out of their way. They were all very serious about the game.


Kent did slow down occasionally so I could snap a few pictures of spots along the course.



And Margie, always the planner, brought a bird book so I could identify birds along the way. Some of the birds got a little too close to the golf balls, but they mostly survived, I think.


Paul saw a bit more of the real estate than he had hoped. The woods are quite different from the golf courses in Minnesota.

But, he did do quite well on the greens.

The only time I think I might have broken an important rule was when Al called me on my cell phone. It was fun to catch up with him and I tried to whisper when people were hitting the ball.
I had a great day. Thanks, Margie and Kent for arranging the day.

We have continued to have a great time down here in sunny Florida. Yesterday, Paul and I went to Myakka State Park. Today, I think Paul will try fishing from the pier. We have enjoyed meeting Kent and Margie and Beth and Gary's friends. We will be sharing some of those experiences. We'll keep you posted!!!