It wasn’t a good day for golf. How bad a day for golf was it? Well, my son Tanner and I were one of only two groups on the course. Everyone else was smart enough to stay home out of the rain and chill.
Part of it might have been that the old Lafayette golf course still had four holes closed due to recent flood damage.
But I hadn’t been in a golf cart on a golf course with my son since early 2021. That was the last time I played before Dr. Michael Abtahi at Vanderbilt Hospital put twelve titanium screws and two titanium rods in my neck June 10, 2021.
I hadn’t even so much as swung a club since that terrible experience. Until today! I took three swings at different spots along the course with Tanner’s driver. No pain!
Tanner thinks I’m ready to do more than just ride along like I did today. He thinks I’m ready for Augusta down in Georgia, at least Valhalla in Louisville. Lol!
I’m not, though. I don’t know if I ever will be. I’ll have to overcome the powerful grip of fear first.
Besides, I thoroughly enjoyed riding along, taking pictures, helping Tanner with his clubs, looking for lost golf balls, etc. In spite of the ugly weather, it was enjoyable, as it should be.
(from behind the 16th green)
We parked overlooking a beautiful 16th hole. It was a chilly 50 degrees and raining, but it was a good view.
As soon as we drove out onto the course in a cart, reality hit us. It hit me at least! Tanner was wearing shorts and never complained. Let’s see how he handles it when he’s almost 58 years old.
I believe it was hole #4 where we were accosted by four Canadian geese. I’m sure they were two breeding pairs with nests close by, though I wasn’t about to go searching and suffer their wrath.
Tanner didn’t keep his score today. He simply took one hole at a time, and since we had the course to ourselves, he hit lots of extra practice shots.
There was plenty of time for finding other folks’ lost golf balls (plenty of Tanner’s lost ones, too).
(Tanner watches his chip on #8)
I wish I had snapped a photo of hole #13, so you could see the condition it was left in by the hundred-year flood Kentucky endured a couple weeks ago.
The water sat there so long all the vegetation was killed and cover in mud. If I had taken a pic, you still couldn’t have smelled the stench of decay left behind when the flood waters finally receded.
Recovery will take some time. How long is anyone’s guess. Possibly next year. You never know, though. Mother Nature is a tough old bird!
As we were leaving, I stopped to snap a pic of the 18th green and clubhouse.
(Nice!)
And before we exited the resort, I had to take a picture of the Green Family Mansion, a bed-and-breakfast now.
And of course the old Falls of Rough mill and old iron bridge over Rough Creek.
I’m a sucker for history, and Falls of Rough has it. All the way back to 1795, I hear! The prominent founder, a Mr. Willis Green, had connections with famous Kentuckian and American Henry Clay (Hugh Ridenour, digitalcommons.wku.edu).
Some day I’ll come back to visit the mansion and mill and learn even more about the Green family. That was enough for now because Tanner and I were tired and hungry.
Despite the weather, it was a fantastic day. I’m glad my son asked me to go. Maybe the next time I’ll have my own golf bag, and maybe I’ll see how many holes I can handle.
’Til then, grip it and rip it!