Now on the Tee

I've been blessed in my life. A great wife, two amazing kids and the opportunity to have visited some pretty amazing places in my life. The latter have been shared both with my wife and some great friends. This trip is all about spending time with great friends and playing golf in a most special place. I do truly believe though, that we could be playing about anywhere and still have an amazing experience. We just happen to be able to do it in Scotland.

And where else but at the spiritual home of golf than St. Andrews? Ever since we booked this trip I have anticipated this day more than any of the others. No other course holds the same fascination for me as does St. Andrews. To stand on the first tee and relive shots you've seen made by the worlds best is to have reached the nadir of my golf career.

Today Greg, Bob, Tony and I reached that lofty height. I don't think that in my wildest dreams I would ever have managed that I would be standing on these grounds. But here we were. I'd like to say that I pured my driver straight ahead but I'd be lying. It was really more of a weak fade that only stayed in bounds by the grace of Old Tom Morris, St. Andrews designer. And since the winds of hell continued to blow as strong a they did yesterday my second shot was destined for a watery grave in the burn in front of the green. I was sad to walk off the first green with an eight but thrilled to be there in the first place.

The rest of the round was played in similar blustery conditions except for the middle six or seven holes where we were blessed with a bit of driving rain again. This made for some challenging shots and even tougher putts. A sure sign that it's windy out is when your caddies instructions include not only the break to take into account but the wind speed as well.

Well the rain finally stopped and the sun peeked out from behind still formidable clouds just in time for us to play the last five or six holes in relatively benign conditions.

The finish at St. Andrews is something special. The wide expance of both the first and eighteenth fairways joined together. A long fence separating the golf course from the town. Dozens of spectators lined up along the fairway hoping o watch some real golfers. I'm happy to say that we didn't embarrass ourselves. Four great tee balls to just at or past the path that cuts across the fairway showed that despite our earlier efforts we really can play golf. My fellow golfers played nearly perfect shots onto the green while I was a few yards short. A too strong putt that rolled thirty feet past the hole meant I had my work cut out for me. Fortunately my comeback was just a foot short for a five. The others finished with pars to close out a round that won't be forgotten.

Tomorrow we head to the Jubilee course. Most people feel this is a much tougher course than the Old Course. Time will tell. Our tee time is early in the morning so we will have time to wander around the town and see what else it has to offer other than a great golf course. As if it needed anything else.

Scenes from today:

Location:Saint Andrews, Scotland