Not all golf experiences are good, and that doesn’t mean just a bad day swinging the club and recording a high score. We have plenty of those and can still have a good time on the links.
But when the golf traffic is backed up bumper-to-bumper, I find it impossible to enjoy my round, even if I’m scoring well.
Last week three of us decided to play Old Trail in Crozet. We were a little concerned about dodging the spring showers, but we missed the rain. What we couldn’t avoid were other players.
We were put at the tail end of a local charity tournament, a captain’s choice venue. We didn’t realize it until we had played several holes and it took us 4 3/4 hours to complete our round. Maybe it takes that long on a busy Saturday morning, but it should never take five hours on a Wednesday afternoon after 1 PM.
On the back nine, we waited 8 or 10 minutes on every tee box before we could hit. There was no use in asking to play through since it was like that on every hole. Each player in every foursome was lining up putts as if the U.S. Open title was at stake.
Golf courses ask many things of players. They ask that we be considerate and call ahead if we will not be able to play or will arrive late. They want us to return the carts to the proper stations after our round and repair ball marks. They instruct us not to take a cart on the par 3 fairways and let faster groups play through. There are many things that golf courses want players to do, but there is one thing I insist on from the pro shop. Please advise me beforehand if there is a tournament that day so I can make other plans. I would rather mow grass than stand and wait ten minutes to tee off on each hole.
I will play Old Trail again. It’s a nice course. But it’ll be a while.
