… it could have been much better.
The Tuesday group reschedules Eagle Landing after cancelling last weeks round because of the sever cold snap. Eagle landing is in excellent shape; the greens are over seeded and the bermuda fairways and rough have transformed into the dormant winter tan that provides a striking contrast to the brilliant green of the putting surfaces. There is something about this contrast of colors that appeals to The Outcast’s eye.
Ten players are signed up for the day’s play. The Outcast, Chicken Noodle and Mr. Z are the first group off. The Outcast lashes at the ball with his first swing of the day. It flies straight and true to the middle of the fairway; a short iron remains to the green. The short iron isn’t quite as solidly struck and comes up a couple of paces short of the green. The Outcast uses the putter to roll the ball the ten feet short of the hole. He follows the principles advanced by his new putting guru and stokes the ball into the hole. Mr. Z chips to gimme range and saves his par. Chicken Noodle struggles with the speed of the greens and three putts for a double.
The Outcast will par four of the next five holes on a strong putting performance. The only unsettling putt is a ten foot birdie putt that stops on the front lip of the hole. The front side is completed with Mr. Z at plus four, and Chicken Noodle and The Outcast even.
The Outcast makes a strong start on the back nine when he rolls in a twelve foot birdie putt at the tenth. He will miss another birdie putt from short range at seventeen when he hammers the putt through the break. The round ends with Chicken Noodle even, The Outcast at plus three and Mr. Z at plus seven.
Mr. Z slides to second place when The Painter walks into the Grille Room and announces a career low round and a plus eleven. While waiting for the last group to arrive, sandwiches are ordered. The Outcast chooses a grilled cheese with tomato and bacon on rye bread. The sandwich arrives and is sumptuous. The cheese is just barely oozing out from the edge of the bread, the tomato is still cool and naturally there could never be anything wrong with bacon. Sweet potato fries with fresh ground salt provide the perfect accompaniment. The Outcast savors every bite of the sandwich. It soothes the memories of missed birdie putts and an opportunity to break 80.
The final group arrives and The Painter and Mr. Z maintain their positions. Skins are are called and The Outcast is blanked; his birdie is cancelled by St. Augustine Jeff’s birdie.
As The Outcast heads home, the blue sky begins to cloud over. The weather prediction is for rain to begin over night and continue through Wednesday. The Outcast’s mid week round at Magnolia Point my be a rain out.
