Apologies to those who requested a review on Riverdale Dunes for this entry, but I didn't have the heart to even finish that course, let alone pay enough attention to write a review. One of the great things about golf - it gives you insight to life if you're careful to observe all the changes playing out around you and the reactions of yourself and fellow golfers. A simple booking mistake turned our foursome into a threesome with a pairing with a stranger. Frustration at the mistake took over for the Szar as he was the fourth and they turned him away at the pro-shop. Confusion flowed over me, because I knew there was a simple way to solve this problem, but I couldn't figure out what it was.
Three of us volunteered to walk away from the incorrectly booked spot allowing the remainder to play. The problem was the volunteer who made the most sense to be excluded also happened to be my wife, who is not familiar with the surrounding Denver area. I also knew how excited she was to play golf that day. She walked, I stayed. The Szar, who had also volunteered to stay in the club house and get pickled instead of playing, played and fumed the entire front nine.
As I wound my way through a slow course-congested 18 (see side note below), my thoughts faded more and more away from my swing and my score and more and more to what kind of a man and a husband I am.
Although the booking mistake was innocent, I ultimately suffered in my score and in all fairness, I have to believe that I took a small notch out of my relationship with my wife. For some reason I couldn't see past playing golf that morning, but by the 8th hole (when my birdies, pars, and bogeys turned into double pars) it was clear that I should not have been on the course. My head and my heart were not in it, because I had screwed up, not the person who made the tee time. I'm not the person to turn someone away so that I may enjoy exclusively my time with my friends... and in this instance I turned away the person I pledged my whole life to, the person who changed her name to Picklewoman for me.
Next time there is a tee time screw up, I hope that I can be a big enough man to walk away from my friends to ultimately do whats right. This time I didn't and feel that I have learned something about myself.
Side Note - Slight review - Riverdale Dunes has a lot of native grass that will devour your balls. Also watch out for snakes on the fairway. Expect a 5 1/2 hour round if you play on a weekend and the starters aren't doing their jobs. There are a lot of slightly blind shots, where a knoll or shall we say a dune, obstructs your view from the flag stick. Its not an incredibly long course. Accuracy on this course is more important that distance, so don't be afraid to drop the driver and go even as low as a 5 iron off the tee. You'll be able to reach it in two on most of the par 4s if you're knocking it out 180 to 200 with your tee shot.
Three of us volunteered to walk away from the incorrectly booked spot allowing the remainder to play. The problem was the volunteer who made the most sense to be excluded also happened to be my wife, who is not familiar with the surrounding Denver area. I also knew how excited she was to play golf that day. She walked, I stayed. The Szar, who had also volunteered to stay in the club house and get pickled instead of playing, played and fumed the entire front nine.
As I wound my way through a slow course-congested 18 (see side note below), my thoughts faded more and more away from my swing and my score and more and more to what kind of a man and a husband I am.
Although the booking mistake was innocent, I ultimately suffered in my score and in all fairness, I have to believe that I took a small notch out of my relationship with my wife. For some reason I couldn't see past playing golf that morning, but by the 8th hole (when my birdies, pars, and bogeys turned into double pars) it was clear that I should not have been on the course. My head and my heart were not in it, because I had screwed up, not the person who made the tee time. I'm not the person to turn someone away so that I may enjoy exclusively my time with my friends... and in this instance I turned away the person I pledged my whole life to, the person who changed her name to Picklewoman for me.
Next time there is a tee time screw up, I hope that I can be a big enough man to walk away from my friends to ultimately do whats right. This time I didn't and feel that I have learned something about myself.
Side Note - Slight review - Riverdale Dunes has a lot of native grass that will devour your balls. Also watch out for snakes on the fairway. Expect a 5 1/2 hour round if you play on a weekend and the starters aren't doing their jobs. There are a lot of slightly blind shots, where a knoll or shall we say a dune, obstructs your view from the flag stick. Its not an incredibly long course. Accuracy on this course is more important that distance, so don't be afraid to drop the driver and go even as low as a 5 iron off the tee. You'll be able to reach it in two on most of the par 4s if you're knocking it out 180 to 200 with your tee shot.
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