Shanks and the boys will be playing golf in Pinehurst

If you live in a warm climate, you’ll have little understanding of the pure delight derived from the golf trip that kicks off a new golf season. My boys, my chums, me mates, my friends, mon amis and I are heading south to Pinehurst for a little 4-day golf soiree. Up in the vicinity of Washington DC where I live, temperatures are currently hovering between 30-45 degrees F on average. While only about a 5.5 hour drive from my area, the temps down there are 10-15 degrees warmer. So the courses are in fair condition even though it’s late February.

It happens that we are playing Pinehurst No. 2 this time, but not all of these trips include playing at the Pinehurst Resort itself. There are another 30+ courses in the area that range from decent to excellent. I have only played about a dozen of them to date. My hopes are to get around to all of them eventually.

Might as well introduce you to the crew for this trip. We only have one foursome this time. There’s E (my brother), Billy (aka Hoover - from his baseball days), Bake and myself. Regular travelers Hutchie, Lucky Lew, Joe-Joe and Gene-O aren’t making this trip. None of us has played more than twice since late November. My group may be typical to most groups in terms of golfing abilities, however the negotiating of stakes and handicaps never ceases. Billy has managed to mysteriously hurt himself in recent weeks – no, really, it’s not a ruse - and that surely will be the centerpiece of negotiations on the ride south.

I’ll give you the hot skinny about the whole trip when I return.