2009 Prediction: The year I get good at golf. Or at least, golf a lot

I think this will be a year of golf for me. I hit balls twice on Sunday, at two different courses. One of my closest girlfriends here bought golf clubs and we went to the range and she literally was pulling plastic off her Dunlops there, on the second tier of the driving range. Told me she got them on sale. Actually, an impulse purchase. She was strolling the aisles of Big 5 looking for a tennis racket, or some sort of racket, when she passed by the golf section and decided that she just must buy golf clubs. That day. Got them for under 200 bucks. She had initially told me her golf bag was pink and I envisioned a mass the color of bubble gum and cringed a bit. However, I was pleased to see it was actually more black and lavender.

This friend, she is a runner, and her body is a rail, a sturdy frame of bones and tight skin. Her pony tail was a dark curly mass of wildness, piled on top of her head. I watched as she perfected her grip before each shot, squinting her eyes and squatting just so. And then, every few shots or so, she’d try a new club, like a kid on Christmas morning. It was something to see! She’d pull off a sleeve of plastic and lop it on the ground. Within 30 minutes or so, we had quite the pile of trash.

It was a warm day and the sun beat down on us at the range. I was glad I had my PING hat on (another mon frère item) and I noticed something ever so “meat market-ish” about the range. Guys checked us out and seemed amused as we struggled with our bucket of balls, purses and other such gear. Eventually we got hit on by two orthodox Jews with curly facial hair, wire-rimmed glasses and skinny faces. We hurriedly packed up our gear (this took about 10 to 15 minutes) and moved down a level on the range to shake ‘em off our trail.

All went well until we were cleaning up and about to leave. She picked up her clubs, seemingly the correct way, yet the bag tilted towards the ground and her irons started to spill out. “Help me, Jo!” she cried. And then: “Don’t worry, Jo. Eventually, we won’t be so embarrassing.”

I nodded and smiled.