My first trip of the year is in the books. I'll use this article to provide a summary of what I experienced and follow up over the next few weeks with a few more details.
Green Ridge Golf Course The trip started with my 49th consecutive Cleveland Indians Home Opener. Customarily before attending the opener, I spend some time with my parents in Wickliffe, OH and then take them to lunch. As I waited at the light where Lincoln Rd. meets Ridge Rd. to make a left turn towards my parents' house, I glanced to my right and noticed the sign for Green Ridge Golf Course, the nine-holer where I played my first round. Coincidentally, it was also one of the courses for which I had no logo ball and at which I had stopped at least 30 times to see if I could score a logo ball. To make this story very short, on a whim, I decided to try again and amazingly, I was able to leave with a logo ball from the first course I ever played nearly 50 years ago!
It was actually a balmy and sunny 66 degrees at Progressive Field when I reached my seat at 2:00 but the tarp was on the field. Shortly, an announcement was made that the 3:05 start would be delayed for about an hour until a "quick-moving line of showers" passed through the area. Well, the front slowed down and the start of the game was delayed for over 2 hours. When the game finally started after 5:15, it was a windy 45 degrees and not very comfortable.
Opening Day at Progressive Field
The Tribe beat the Twins 7-2 but the game did not end until 8:20. And I faced a walk to the parking garage and then a trip of over 4 hours to Charleston, WV. I was not in bed until after 1:00 A.M.
I was up early on Saturday morning for the two hour drive to The Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, WV where I played the Old White TPC course in weather where the temperature hovered around 40 degrees. Old White is a Charles Blair Macdonald design and C.B. created a delightful course fashioned after notable holes from his home continent of Europe. Old White is home to the PGA Tour's Greenbrier Classic which will be played the first week of July in 2014 (see http://www.greenbrierclassic.com/). You can learn more about the Old White Course at http://www.greenbrier.com/Golf/The-Golf-Club/The-Old-White-TPC.aspx.
That afternoon, I drove to Gordonsville, VA where I enjoyed a warmer round at Spring Creek Golf Club. Like Old White, Spring Creek is on Golf Digest's current Top 100 list (see http://www.springcreekgolfclub.com). Will Patrick, a geometry teacher at the local high school and a member at Spring Creek was my partner for the round.
On Sunday morning, the folks at Augustine Golf Club in Stafford, VA rolled out the red carpet for me. They were kind enough to slot me in with the members. Due to a large outing that afternoon, there was very limited member play early that day so they could clear the course for the outing. It is always a treat to play with people who have great emotional ties to their course. Don Ryalls, my cart partner for the day, was a wealth of knowledge about the history of Augustine which I will share in a later post. Augustine was previously on Golf Magazine's Top 100 list and was saved by an injection of cash after being purchased by Raspberry Golf Management. Augustine is one of sixteen courses on The Raspberry Golf Trail which is made up of courses in Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Maryland. Learn more about Augustine Golf Club at http://augustinegolf.com.
I was up early on Saturday morning for the two hour drive to The Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, WV where I played the Old White TPC course in weather where the temperature hovered around 40 degrees. Old White is a Charles Blair Macdonald design and C.B. created a delightful course fashioned after notable holes from his home continent of Europe. Old White is home to the PGA Tour's Greenbrier Classic which will be played the first week of July in 2014 (see http://www.greenbrierclassic.com/). You can learn more about the Old White Course at http://www.greenbrier.com/Golf/The-Golf-Club/The-Old-White-TPC.aspx.
That afternoon, I drove to Gordonsville, VA where I enjoyed a warmer round at Spring Creek Golf Club. Like Old White, Spring Creek is on Golf Digest's current Top 100 list (see http://www.springcreekgolfclub.com). Will Patrick, a geometry teacher at the local high school and a member at Spring Creek was my partner for the round.
On Sunday morning, the folks at Augustine Golf Club in Stafford, VA rolled out the red carpet for me. They were kind enough to slot me in with the members. Due to a large outing that afternoon, there was very limited member play early that day so they could clear the course for the outing. It is always a treat to play with people who have great emotional ties to their course. Don Ryalls, my cart partner for the day, was a wealth of knowledge about the history of Augustine which I will share in a later post. Augustine was previously on Golf Magazine's Top 100 list and was saved by an injection of cash after being purchased by Raspberry Golf Management. Augustine is one of sixteen courses on The Raspberry Golf Trail which is made up of courses in Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Maryland. Learn more about Augustine Golf Club at http://augustinegolf.com.
 The Greenbrier Old White TPC Course |  Spring Creek Golf Club |  Augustine Golf Club |
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