Tee Thursday: Adopting ‘on the way golfing’

It s my fourth season as an official real golfer aka reformed hack and there s one thing I know for sure about golf that mirrors ski life true enthusiasts don t need a reason for the new season I couldn t be more excited to be out on those green fairways working on my passion obsession But one thing we do constantly dependably want can be summed up in one word More We want more variety We crave more options We seek to up our total rounds The only thing we don t want more of in this crazy life of hitting a ball over and over is a higher handicap So this season I m working at finding more means to fit more rounds and more experiences into the rest of my life Like this I m calling it the On the Way There Rounds more golf strategy My sister-in-law Tara whom if you look up golf obsessed in the dictionary I m pretty sure they ve added her photo turned me on to this sneaky little round-adder just last week We had a family wedding shower to attend about three hours from our home town To me that looked like a wonderful day with family but also a sunny weekend day of golf lost of unit family comes first Right Right So I set aside my sunny weekend golf expectations Until Tara established me how to have my wedding shower cake and savor a golf day too On the way golfing Tara opened a map of golf courses along the passage to our event and studied them looking for not just tee-time openings but a unit that would be stimulating to check out She identified The Tradition Golf Club at Oak Lane www traditionatoaklane com in Woodbridge Connecticut a quick jaunt off Direction and very close to New Haven proper you drive pretty much through the Yale population to get there We were to tee off near noontime on Saturday and chose to arrive an hour early something I was thankful for because their driving range as well as putting and chipping areas are primo As I practiced putting I chatted up a regular who recounted me I d love the curriculum but gave me one warning It s challenging Ah I announced with all the confidence of a former hack who s still leaning more toward hack than master My league lesson is super hard so I don t mind the challenge Shout out to Crosswinds in Plymouth You build courage He wasn t wrong and Traditions let us know that right off the par first hole is the No handicap as well the toughest hole on the lesson Other challenges you find are diabolical but not in a way that makes you curse them more in a way that makes you want to show them who s boss bunkers super dynamic read every putt seems to have more than one thing to overcome greens and particular of the preponderance challenging par holes around Their rough means business too though thanks to the consistency of the grass quality you adapt But it s all overlaid with the golf accouterments that make any round great First the tee boxes fairways bunkers and greens are in incredible shape It s clear this program is well-loved And while our -hole round included free bottles of water and carts with excellent GPS we paid just Even in the early season that s a deal And it s just plain pretty Maples and other hardwoods tower high and the freshly blooming leaves set against the blue sky made for a lovely setting The lesson is maintained in a way that just makes it feel beloved There s no water to drink on the curriculum thus the free water bottles but the beverage and snack cart was well-stocked and the staff on them super available It was like any time any of us pondered a craving they appeared That s extra nice and surprising on an affordable constituents module On a sunny warm and busy Saturday we got our holes in and loved every minute of it including post-round drinks in rocking chairs on a covered porch as an afternoon shower rolled past we perfectly timed our round And then as we were meant to we continued on to our family event destination I ll be doing this often this season Tara s On the Way Golf set-up More rounds new discoveries and all without sacrificing those things we want and need to do You should too Author s note Happy Hole-In-One-Aversary to aforementioned Tara