I will keep this post short as my last few have been near novels! My good friend Erick and I decided last week we would make a trip to the Charleston, South Carolina area for the weekend in hopes of playing some golf. We left Friday afternoon once Erick finished up work and made our way down the coast towards Hanahan (Mount Pleasant area) where we would be staying for the weekend.

We tried to secure a tee time on Saturday for Yeamens Hall Club which is a top 100 (#92) course to play in the world. Unfortunately, I called and after no answer, assumed they must be closed for course maintenance before their play picks up again in the fall. So Erick made a call over to Daniel Island Club where our friend Ray Franz works as an assistant golf professional. Ray is a heck of a player and recently just qualified for the PGA Assistants Championship down in Florida in late October I believe. Congrats to him and I will be monitoring his play and cheering him on!

We arrived at Daniel Island Club around 2:00 and hit the range for a little while to warm up. We got out to the first tee box of the Ralston course (they have 36 holes here) around 2:45 and played 18 holes without seeing another group the entire day. It’s always a more enjoyable and memorable experience when you can play a golf course and feel like you have the entire course to yourself.

Besides a few rain drops here and there, we were also able to skirt any bad weather that was headed our way from Florida. Although neither of us played all that well, we had parts of our game that were pretty sharp. Erick hit 11 fairways I believe and I hit 14 greens in regulation. We both had a tough time reading the greens and getting used to the speed which caused us to miss more putts than is customary for us. Overall, the course was in absolutely perfect shape and I would highly recommend that if you ever get an opportunity to play either of their courses, you jump right on it.

The long wooden bridge crossing the marsh of the 230 yard Par 3 #9

We had every plan of playing Sunday at Bulls Bay, a private course very close to where we were staying. We also know the 1st Assistant Professional there, Chase Adams, who we ate dinner with the prior evening. It’s also a great track that’s pretty wide open on most holes and gets more challenging towards the green. Its always in great shape as well and we were really excited about playing it again. Mother Nature was not so cooperative.

The rain and thunderstorms were right overhead beginning around 10:00 and moving in closer by the minute. We grabbed a bite to eat whilst checking on the radar constantly and texting with Chase to see what the on-course weather was like. After much debating, we decided to make our way back to the Southport area since the radar looked much to ominous to even attempt at bringing our clubs out of the trunk.

In the end, we drove back and played at Carolina National, a few short miles from Erick’s house where I had parked my car. Much the same effort as I had at Daniel Island Club and I walked away with an even par 72 effort. I am struggling to get all aspects of my game to come together but I am making progress little by little each and every day. I am enjoying the process and really getting addicted to working out with my new Superflex Bands that I purchased recently. It’s nice to workout in your own home sometimes and avoid any strange stares you may get doing seemingly strange exercises at the community gym.

All for now and I will be back to post again soon!