Eat your heart out Don Ricketts

Some laughed when they heard I was going to work on my golf skills while in the outback. Looks who’s laughing their way into winter and who’s driving past the kangaroos and putting around the lizards. Sorry to rub it in but I have golf 3 times so far this week. That doesn’t mean I’m a good golfer, but it’s a great way to fill the day, meet people and enjoy the wildlife and sunshine. I am now a member of the Alice Springs Golf Club, which is currently ranked as the 62nd best course in Australia and is considered to be in the world’s top ten desert courses.

You just have to remember that: rough can be a reference to the surface of the sand; that nowhere is it written that fairways have to have grass on them; the lack of water hazards means you lose fewer balls and the less water makes for super sonic fast greens. Believe it or not, golf is a cheap hobby here. A mere$420 ($350 U.S.) gets you a one year membership with unlimited golf with no green fees.

My goal so far is to not exceed double the par on any hole. I’ve even managed to par a couple and bogie a few without cheating! Our home is on the 13th hole, so I can call the pro-shop and schedule to tee off from the back yard. My golf game was summed this morning by someone as “a fantastic shot that unfortunately wasn’t appropriate for where we were on the course”. Oh-Well, that gives me something to work on.