So, maybe you have seen the NHL 36 series. I am a Red Wings fan so
obviously NHL 36 Lidstrom is my favorite. They are
documentaries where they follow a player around for 36 hours going through
their daily activities of life, practice, and games. For this post, I am going
to walk you through a recent round of golf.
As with any round, it starts by getting a good group of guys
together. I don't have a regular foursome, but rather a larger group of
interchangeable guys that I am able to get 2, 3, 4 or sometimes more guys to
get out and play. Once the group is set, the trash talk begins. Alliances
are made, jabs are thrown, past victories are paraded in front of each other
like they just happened, and challenges are made. In the time leading up to the
tee time, there will be a series of exchanges in a texting chain that never
seems to end. The banter is harsh, funny, and friendly without pulling any
punches. Enough to stir the pot and give the winning side something to talk
about after the round. I get my last jabs in the night before and try to get
some quality rest. The build up from all the talking makes this impossible. I
toss and turn, wake up and watch a TV show on my tablet, then go back for a few
more hours of broken sleep.
The morning starts with coffee and Ibuprofen to get the body
going. Don't laugh, one day this will be you too. I make sure I bring a few
bottles of water and my Bluetooth speaker with me. If you haven't started
playing golf with music, I recommend you start. I call in my sandwich
order to my new found favorite deli, Breakaway Deli.
I get a sausage egg breakfast sandwich on croissant. Way better than any
breakfast sandwich you will get any fast food place. I also get a #2, corned
beef, Swiss cheese, coleslaw and Russian dressing on Rye to take to the course
for lunch. This time of the year there is limited staff working at golf
courses, so you can't count on getting food at the turn. You have choice of
big, bigger, biggest, and cold, hot, or grilled. I get bigger hot.
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Breakawaydeli.com
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I
get to the course in time to hit a few putts and away we go. There are three of
us today with Cole riding along. We hit two off the first tee to get the blood
flowing. Couldn't ask for a better
day in November.
60 + degrees sunny and no wind. The course, Links of Crystal Lake is
in great shape. Greens and fairways are excellent and not many leaves on the
course to make balls disappear. The game we are playing is 5-3-1. My
playing partners are striking the ball well leaving no room for error. The
front nine is not good for me as I 3 putt 7 of the 9 holes. Unbelievable!! If
this keeps up it will be an expensive round as my partners are playing solid.
The back nine goes better for me with some good breaks, my
playing partners slowing down their pace, and my game getting better. The shots
of Fireball that, I call him Magnus (not his real name), brought may be to
blame for my better play. I breakout my corned beef sandwich on #12 and share
with my friends. The sandwich is a hit. I am now bringing sandwiches to this week’s
round as we are playing again in this awesome November weather. If you have
never played the Links of Crystal Lake, it is a shorter course, Par 70, with
some fun and challenging holes. 
Like these two back to back holes. A 100 yard peninsula par 3
that two of us hit in the water, followed by a tee shot over water on the next
hole. The scoring stays tight all day, but in the end, there is one clear
winner.
18 is a nice finishing hole
and my last chance to cut into the lead. I get up and down for par to help my
cause a little. In the end, Magnus shoots 78, Cole's dad (Mike, you know your son
is cool when your referred to as Cole's dad instead of Mike) shoots 83, and I
bring up the rear and shoot 85. With all the 3 putts, I will take it. And so
will Magnus and Cole's dad, take my money that is. It was a friendly game so it
wasn't that much, more bragging rights than anything. In the end it was what it
always is, a great day to be out on the course with friends.
