I’ve been taking golf lessons this summer for a variety of reasons. For one thing, I’ve always wanted to play golf, but didn’t want to get out on the course and make a fool of myself by playing very poorly. And everyone I’ve known that plays golf well and was willing to try to teach me didn’t have the obstacles I have – big boobs. It’s really hard to develop a good swing with great big old boobs in your way.
And whether it’s fair or not, being able to play golf gives a person an advantage in corporate America. I didn’t really care much about the business aspect of golf at my previous job – there wasn’t much professional competition for me there and golf is not part of the corporate culture at my previous company (which is rather unusual). But now that I’m at Express Scripts, it’s a little different. They hold a charity golf tournament, there are a lot of execs here that play golf and I’ve had to turn down a few invites to play in our vendors’ golf tourneys since I started just three months ago.
So I decided it was time for me to learn to play golf. A friend sent me an article about women and golf in the business world yesterday. Two things in that article really struck me: “At night when I go to the driving range, it’s wall-to-wall men. When they’re on the driving range, they’re working on their careers. Men recognize it, but for some reason women don’t get it. They think it’s just a sport. It’s not. It’s business… Women that can’t golf, don’t. Men that can’t golf, do.”
And the most important reason to learn to play golf? What other sport can you play where someone drives right up to you to sell you beer right in the middle of the game? Beer and golf, they just go together like… beer and fishing; or beer and bowling; beer and pool. Okay, so maybe there are a few other sports…
So of course, once I started my lessons and decided I was going to stick with it – I had to go shopping! I bought these really cute clubs – they’re good, but they’re also really cute. They’re Square 2 Opal petite length ladies clubs. They’re a dark blue/teal color and the bag matches the clubs – of course. And I had to get golf shoes – so I got two pairs of very cute Nike golf shoes; leather oxford style black and white shoes and a similar leather and suede pair that are tan and white. And of course – you gotta have the clothes. So I have some nice shorts and tops to wear while I suck out on the golf course.
Anyway, the lessons have been going pretty well. My drive isn’t too bad (gotta do something about it always going to the right though – I know what the problem is, I’ve just gotta work on correcting it). My short game isn’t too bad either. But really all I need is a lot of practice.
So after six weeks of working on the basics and learning the rules and etiquette, we were ready to actually get out on the course and play our first game. Before we were supposed to meet at the course, I went to the driving range to warm up a little. It was about 97 degrees out, so after half an hour at the driving range I was plenty warm. We met at the clubhouse to start our scramble. As you can imagine, with five beginners, we’re moving pretty slowly. By the time we finish the first hole, the temp is starting to drop. We arrive at the second hole tee box and the wind is picking up a little. As the last person is teeing up, we suddenly hear a roar of wind and all turn to look north – and you can SEE a huge storm coming up on us. SHIT! So everybody runs for their golf carts and books it back to the clubhouse. Of course, golf carts go very slowly and it’s mostly uphill back to the clubhouse. This storm came up FAST. So as we’re heading back, there are tree limbs falling around us and we’re hearing loud sounds all around us (later found out it was trees and tree limbs falling). It was really scary – I honestly started thinking of all the things I’ve been through in my life I just know it’s not all going to end on a freaking golf course after my very first hole (and by the way, just for the record – I’m the one that sank the putt on our first hole)!
We get back to the clubhouse and go inside, they’ve already put everyone in the clubhouse in interior rooms – we were expecting to see Dorothy and Toto go flying by any second. The sky was that sickening dark yellow/green color. The power went out almost immediately and everyone was on their cell phones checking to see what was going on and where their loved ones were. I called Jeremy – and of course he’s standing in the backyard, watching it all. It was far too bad to even try to leave, but we did get free beer from the clubhouse. Still not worth it though!
It was a monster storm. http://www.ksdk.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=100574 There were traffic accidents all over the place, semis were blown over on the highways (I know of at least four). Part of the roof was torn off of Lambert International Airport and ended up on Highway 70. People in the airport were evacuated down to the baggage claim area. There were a few tornadoes spotted. The new stadium was full of fans – I heard it got a bit panicky in there since people weren’t really sure what to do or where to go to safety in the new stadium. There were 30 people injured at the stadium. The winds were so strong that a tractor on top of the tarp on the field was moved by the wind. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13944394/ As of this morning there are still 450,000 people without power in their homes. We were one of the lucky ones, we had power all night last night. I got to work to find out almost everyone else I work with didn’t have power last night and most of them still didn’t have power when they got up this morning – which means no AC, hard on kids, the elderly and pets. And due to the nature of the storm and the large number of homes without power, AmerenUE can’t even give people anticipated restoration times.
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