(Part 1 of 4)
Peter Dighton drove the electric golf court slowly along the path until he spotted the tee box of the first green. He pulled the cart up to the tee box, turned it off, and got out.
Peter wore a porkpie hat, a brown sweater over an open-necked blue shirt, brown slacks, brown socks, and brown shoes. He lifted down the golf bag in which resided six clubs.
His wife, Sasha Forrest, tugged her soft brown cap more securely over her eyes, and climbed out of her side of the cart. She also wore brown… a brown tweed jacket over a yellow vest, which was over a white shirt and tie. She wore plus fours – slacks that ended just below her knees, where they were tucked into long grey socks which revealed her shapely calves. Her shoes were the same color as her plus fours, jacket and cap.
All that was missing was a Korean caddy with a rather deadly metallic fedora, but considering what was going to happen at the end of the game - a 9 - hole round of golf - they had decided to forego that piece of verisimilitude.
Peter tugged a sheaf of papers out of his pocket.
“Okay, “ he said. “We’ve each got three clubs. We’ve got a driver, which we use to hit the ball off the tee here. We’ve got an iron, which we use to hit the ball from wherever it lands, as many times as it takes to reach the green, where the hole is lo.cated And we’ve got the putter, which we use on the green, to putt the ball into the hole.”
Sasha nodded. “Sounds easy enough.”
Peter nodded. “I thought so. For our incredible skills, three clubs a piece are enough. Especially when I’m the one carrying the golf bag.”
“Pshaw,” said Sasha. “You should be carrying the golf bag, but since the rule is we’ve got to use this electric cart instead of walking around the course, you’re not carryin’ nuthin, are ya.”
“Well, since you put it like that…”
Peter walked around to the back of the golf cart where two buckets resided. They were each filled with golf balls. Peter’s were Penfolds, Sasha’s were Slazengers.
“Ladies first,” said Peter, handing Sasha a Slazenger and a tee.
There were two tee areas, one for men, where Peter remained, and one a few yards further down the fairway, from which women teed off. Sasha normally had no truck with such special accommodations for women, but considering this was her very first golf game ever, and considering that she had carte blanche to cheat during this particular game…
She teed up the ball, braced her feet on either side of it, waggled her golf club to get a good feel of it, then swung it back and forward with all her might.
She missed the ball completely.
“That was just a practice shot,” she called back to Peter.
“Of course, my darling.”
Sasha waggled her golf club again, then took a few practice swings. Then, she addressed the tee-ed up ball once more, and swung with all her might.
She missed again.
“Jee-zus.” She said softly.
“That was another practice shot,” she called out, “and I don’t want to hear any laughing from you!”
Peter merely smiled.
Okay, Sasha thought to herself. You’re not going to hit it if you’re trying to crush it….so just go at the damn thing softly…three quarter speed….
She swung her club back again, forward, and there was a satisfactory smack as golf head met golf ball. The ball rose only a few feet into the air, but it traveled several yards in the air and rolled several more. Sasha kept her eye on it to make sure she could find it again, then walked back to where Peter waited.
“Okay, hotshot,” she said, “Do your worst.”
Peter teed up his own ball, addressed it, did an Ed Norton act of addressing the ball, then backing off to stretch his shoulders, then addressing the ball again, while Sasha waited, striving to keep a grim expression on her face.
Finally Peter let fly. He hit the ball on his first try, a clean smack. It rose in the air and sailed down the fairway, passing Sasha’s ball by a few yards.
Peter drove the electric cart closer to their balls, then waited while Sasha took her iron and addressed her ball. Again she hit it only three quarters speed, again she smacked it cleanly and sent it skittering toward the green.
Peter took his own iron, and hit his ball as cleanly.
Another shot from each. Peter was on the green, a few yards from the hole, while Sasha was in the rough, several yards away. She hit her ball onto the green. Peter gestured toward the hole, and Sasha removed the pin from it. Peter took his putter, examined the lie carefully, and then putted. To his utter amazement the ball went into the cup. He did a fist pump.
They returned to the cart. Grim faced, Sasha removed her cap and stuffed it behind her seat. Then, Peter drove them to the next hole.
Continued tomorrow
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment