Tag: fall

Weekend of Leaves and Golf

I find it funny how my plans for a Saturday never play out as I write them down. This Saturday, I was going to sort some paper, play nine holes of golf, rake, and do some work. Instead, I ended up raking for three hours, going on a hike at Misty Acres down near Frankfort, MI with dad and Katy, and then raking some more.

After we cleaned the leaves off of the entire driveway, Lindsey and I went to the Old Mission Tavern for a nice meal. We tried to use a 50% off your second dinner coupon, but the (excellent) waitress informed us it wasn’t good until November. Woops! The bread and salads were excellent, regardless. Lindsey wasn’t crazy about her prime rib, but I liked my parmesan-crusted whitefish. What made the evening, however, was running in to my golf coach from the University of Michigan, Jim Carras. I had not seen him since 2002 or 2003, when I was a Junior in college. He was up with friends visiting the area.

Sunday morning was spent eating pancakes and trimming some pine trees on the south side of the driveway. I am bushwacking all throughout the developed areas of our property in an effort to recover some of what I perceive to be areas and views lost to overgrowth permitted by prior owners.

I played in the Big Hole Golf Event at the Grand Traverse Resort on Sunday afternoon with Ben Orr and Chris Day. This is an event where they cut 10 inch (instead of 4.25 inch) holes in all of the greens. It was fun, but we still couldn’t make a putt!

The Tigers completed getting swept for the second time in the World Series. Not sure what the problem is there. Would have been fun to see them win, but I’m not a huge baseball fan. Lions won. Woop-de-do. Until next weekend, have a good week.

Remembering Summer

Gaze about from where you stand. Spin in circles ’til you’re dizzy as a child exiting the best merry-go-round ride she’s ever had. Look up at the humongous sky above and wonder aloud what’s beyond the antique clouds and shimmering stars. Watch the yellow leaves fall and remember it was a hot and dry and brilliant summer that left us with more than a handful of memories. And then, in good time, when the wind blows hard down the paths that we happen upon and the warmth has dissipated, take another moment to wrap the textures of life all around you like a hundred blankets quilted from everything that’s so much bigger than any single one of us could ever imagine. Remember summer. Enjoy fall. And look forward to all that is to come.

Fall Golf Highlights

The Fall Series – a.k.a. the FedEx Cup leftovers. Yes, that’s right. There are still official tournaments to be played that count towards the PGA Tour money list, although no one that’s likely to play in all seven of the remaining events can possibly catch Tiger Woods as the money leader. There is still room for improvement, and players can gain exemptions while climbing the money list. The Turning Stone Resort Championship starts tomorrow and will be thoroughly covered by the Golf Channel.

Dates played: Weekly starting tomorrow. Final tournament ends on November 4, 2007.

The Presidents Cup is a three-day team competition between the United States and the Internationals and will be played at the Royal Montreal Golf Club in Canada. Due to the similarity between golf clubs and hockey sticks large crowds will likely gather to watch this event. It remains to be seen if the Presidents Cup (Presidents is pointedly not possessory of the cup) can outshine the FedEx Cup. The U.S. currently holds the Presidents Cup, having defeated the International team 18.5-15.5 in 2005.

Dates played: September 28 – 30, 2007

The Seve Trophy is Europe’s answer to The Presidents Cup. It is a team competition that pits Continental Europe against Great Britain and Ireland during non-Ryder Cup years. Seve Ballesteros himself is captaining the Continental team while Nick Faldo is leading GB & I to battle. I can’t believe I’ve never heard of this tournament before yesterday. Apparently it’s been played before – four times to be exact.

Dates played: September 28 – 30, 2007

I Miss Fall Golf

Tenth grade in high school seems like a long time ago. I was spending my summers playing golf and working at a golf store. And in September of 1997 (a decade ago!!!) I played in a tournament at the Sault St. Marie Country Club in northern Michigan. The weather was cool and windy. From the time I hit the first range ball at 6:30am until I holed my last putt hours after noon various shades of light and dark gray intermingled above. Rain, although imminent, failed to fall.

I was young and immature – more so then than now – and had a poor putting day. I remember fighting the wind, moping a bit, and wishing I could play better. I don’t remember what I shot, but I can picture the ragged scorecard I turned in, its corners tattered and lead smudged. I remember hitting one very well-struck drive on an open dog-leg right hole. I remember that I was playing as an extra man with the varsity team to get experience. I remember enjoying everything about that day, but wanting to get out of the cold.

I really miss fall golf.

Watching the British Open doesn’t help.

It’s October!

This means a few things:

Red and yellow abound. The fall foliage will be peaking soon. Here’s some info on Vermont’s celebration on October 10. They have a flannel contest. Amazing.

I’ve known my NH friends for over a month and it seems like a lot longer… in a good way. Lots of memories.

Ski season will soon be upon us.

The Detroit Tigers are in the playoffs for the first time since 1987.

What’s Up?

I’ve been busy-ish. Therefore, no updates in a while.

I went to Lake Winnipesauke (pictures) yesterday and toured the Castle in the Clouds. NH is an amazing place and driving around the lakes here reminds me of home. Except, I guess we don’t have mountains, which are a nice backdrop.

This past Saturday was Mexico’s Independence Day. It’s kind-of-like our Fourth of July, except there were only five of us celebrating and there were no fireworks. We made t-shirts that read, “Mexico 1810 – 2006″ (pictures) and made Mexican food.

The fall TV shows are starting to pile up:

* Sunday is Simpsons and Flava Flav
* Monday is Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip
* Tuesday is Boston Legal
* Wednesday is nothing. How sad.
* Thursday is The OC (11/2) and Grey’s Anatomy.
* Friday is the weekend.
* Saturday is football. Obviously.