And this is why you don't golf in the winter
A couple of my friends and I are talking about establishing a USGA handicap so that we can potentially try to play at a couple courses this summer that require a certain skill level to enter. So, I had this brilliant idea on Friday - let's get started now and go play this weekend.
Getting there on time was almost a comedy of errors, but I got there with two minutes to spare. And discovered that the course is playing all temporary greens. And it was just two of us playing. Being brave golfers, Bruce and I forged onward and took off for the first tee box. At which point in time the full impact of the pro's "the ground has been 20 degrees for the last week" sunk in. Teeing up a ball? Forget about it. Getting under a ball with a wedge? Forget about it. Amazing roll down the concrete-like fairways? You got it!
A little more than an hour, and nine holes later we finally admitted defeat and will try again some time when the nights haven't been as cold. But now I know that when you drive into a normally packed course and the parking lot is 80% empty, there's a good reason for it.