Chartreuse Balls and Fairways Full of Leaves
Squeezing in the Final Rounds
by Robb Hoff
October 4, 2012
There's nothing quite as dramatic as the display of Fall colors from hardwood foliage.....especially on a golf course where finding a ball hit down the middle of a fairway during this time of year can result in a seemingly endless undertaking of turning over leaf after leaf until the sought-after ball is finally located.
The last really, really nice days of the year are a must for golfers in climates that dictate the change of weather will limit the rounds left in the year.
As a golfer who walks the course and carries his clubs, I enjoy these final days more than others (except for the rise in lost balls that would stick out like sore thumbs any other time of year). Walking through these changes in the surroundings is like walking back through time once again.
During the arrival of Fall, the air seems different, like pressure has been released and it's easier to move. The light, too, seems different -- like it is golden and an ally rather than an oppressive force hanging overhead on the hottest of summer days.
Obviously the climate backdrop become secondary to each golf shot that provides its own challenge and another opportunity to redeem or improve. And the urgency becomes a little more palpable with each putt that lips the cup and every wedge shot that could have been just a little bit better because the season is winding down, the chances are dwindling and the time is definitely now to do more than just have a good up on a putt for eagle or stick a five-iron for perhaps the last birdie of the year.
The time is now because the time is vanishing.
