28th Annual Golf Trip to Myrtle Beach

Our golf group has stabilized, which makes the trip easier to plan and more fun. Five of us have been going for 28 years and the "new" three have been going for six or seven years. Even though we don't see each other much (or any) during the year, it takes about 30 seconds to reunite as old family.

I was absolutely blessed with the weather.  Not only was every day sunny and in the 70s, but I was missing out on several days of April snow back in Park City.  Over the years our golf trip has moved from January (very cheap, but cold) to April (more expensive, but much warmer).  Everyone has agreed that future trips should be in April.  I guess this is part of getting older.

It is a friendly group, but teeing off with everyone watching and me shooting pictures can be a bit much.

Dave Allred and I spent most of our rounds playing together.  The first two days, after  random drawings, we were sharing a cart. As best I can tell, the God of Random has a warped sense of humor.  Dave and I spent way too much time with our buddy, Captain Morgan. Our lesson for next year is either to split us up, or more likely, to buy a smaller bottle (for each day).  On the days that I left the Captain behind, I played terrible, ugly golf.

Here we have Lewis, our second best player, teeing off. He inevitably finds ways to amuse us along the course.  This year it was playing with an assortment of regular golf balls, optic orange ones, and my favorites, ones that were so bright and shiny that they almost hurt your eyes in the sun.

Darrell Baber, my old roommate and best man, still crushes everyone, every day. He was shooting consistently in the 70s and almost every shot was straight down the course. It seems like such a reasonable concept that I am unable to replicate.

We tried something different this year, playing two courses, twice each, to see if we would learn for the second attempt.  In general, it made no difference so I doubt we will try that again.  Glen Dornoch (seen below) was right along the Intercoastal Waterway. Nice scenery and a lot of hills made it interesting.  Shaftesbury Glen was inland.  It was in great condition, but was a bit boring.  Every hole was fairly flat with an elevated green that seemed rock hard.  It won't be at the top of our return list.

 We continue to stay at some big, ugly, boxy houses in Cherry Grove.  They are a block off the beach and each guy gets his own bedroom.  This is the marsh view from one of our decks.

In addition to seeing my golf buddies, I also got to visit with some family.  I spent my first night with my dad and Colleen. Then I spent my last two with my aunt Martha and cousin Sara. Sara and I went to visit my uncle Sam and we wheeled him down the road for a nice lunch out. One of the downers of living in Utah is being so far away from all my family.

A great trip. Got to see a fair number of friends and relatives. Caught some early year rays to lay my base tan.  An an odd one: I got a rental car with only five miles on the odometer.  It hadn't even had time to start smelling like a rental car.