The Western Old Guys Go Golfin'

This year we swore to try and hit the links a few more times than last year.  We have accomplished that goal.  We have been playing some mighty fine courses.  Our games are not yet up to par (pun intended), but we shall pursue the beauty of the golf courses and enjoy the beautiful weather and scenery of the Rocky Mountain Region as we strive to improve the quality of our game (This may be a hopeless task).  

Jerry continues to try for perfection, Doug has begun taking lessons, and the story teller continues to muddle along.  I truly do believe that Golf is someone's joke.  The only way they could have come up with that name is to have taken the true meaning of the game - - Flog - - and spelled it backwards - - i.e. Golf.

Below we shall share a few pictures from two of the most beautiful courses we have played this summer.  First, a new course (only open less than two years) - Bear Dance.  I don't believe I have seen many courses anywhere, that are any more scenic.  Then,  The Ridge at Castle Pines North, rated among the 20 finest public courses in the USA.  This course is just north of the Castle Pines Country Club where the International PGA event is played.

I could have taken beautiful shots on every hole.  Matter of fact, I did.  But here are just a sample.

Bear Dance

The 1st hole.

6th hole. Notice the traps are in the shape of a bear paw.

View toward the north on the back nine.

A random shot on the back nine around the 15th hole

The view of the green from the 16th tee.

Another view from the 16th tee.

A look back up at the 16th tee from the green.

The 17th hole.  A very beautiful little uphill par 3

The old guys, Jerry and Doug, at the clubhouse after a fine round.  They look like they are ready for a brew.

The Ridge at Castle Pines North

The 5th hole. (Doug lives just north of this hole, you can waive to LuAnn on the deck)

The 6th hole.  A short, but very up hill, little par 4.

The 12th hole.  A nice par 3.

The 17th hole. (That's the 18th tee on top of those rocks behind the green center)

A view of the 17th hole from the men's tee on 18.

This is the view from the 18th tee to the fairway.  The green is way up top by the clubhouse you can just see at the top center.  Yep that is way over a 200 yard carry to find your ball.  And yes it is slightly up hill to the green

This is what those tee boxes look like once you have gotten over the trouble.  That is the real men's tee to the left of those pines, not the girly-man tee that looks so large in the center.

Ahhh, once you have navigated your way to the fairway, you can see the green (and the clubhouse)

It looks like Doug has seen the clubhouse and he is headed for the 19th hole.

Well, it has been a busy summer of 2003.  Doug and I attended our 40th high school reunion.  See I told you we are old guys.  The three couples made our annual Vail pilgrimage.  We played Eagle-Vail for about the 29th or 30th consecutive year, dined at the Tyrolean again, stayed at the Tivoli for maybe the last time (they are supposed to tear it down and rebuild it next year).  And we have played golf most every Friday at some very fine courses.  We're now heading into the fall, but we intend to play a few more times before winter arrives.

That's about it for this update.  For any of you who may be fellow graduates with Doug and I.  If you were at the reunion, it was great to see all of you.  If you weren't, we missed you.  As we all get older, it would be really nice to make contact with a lot of you that never seem to make it to the reunions.  It's amazing that as time goes by the memories of all of you are only the good ones.  We all wonder where everyone is and wish them the best.  Those were fun, tough and special times we shared.   Please drop an email my way, we would love to know about your lives.  It would be great to see any of you that are by this way.

so long for now - The Old Flog-ger.