Golfing during Super Bowl week

I was in Minneapolis for Super Bowl LII. It’s a very friendly city, the people are nice and even with the Superbowl in town, the streets weren’t that crowded. For a fleeting moment, I considered finding a course, renting some clubs and at least playing 9…for just a fleeting moment. For the week I was there it warmed up to 2 only once. The temperature hovered around -15 and was -31 for the game. So even if I felt like I would brave the elements, I’m pretty sure the frozen tundra would have had other ideas. As my luck had it, the only day I had off was the Monday following the game. Even the Prince museum, which I hear is fantastic and a must see, was closed on Mondays.

So now here I am in Atlanta. Superbowl LIII is in a potentially nice area for golf (anyone know East Lake and Augusta). Yes it’s January and coming from NY but in NY if it’s 45 degrees in January and February, good luck getting a tee time. That is what golfers in the colder weather as well as the humidity of summer in the hot areas when the humidity and temperature is down do. So I’m thinking; Atlanta… January… I should get at least one day. Problem will be will I have 4-5 hours before dark to get a round in. So I have reserved myself to play 9 at a course I never played. In the 23 countries I have visited, only Afghanistan and Lebanon have I not been able to play. The course in Kabul was landmined by the Taliban and the Lebanese people insisted I didn’t go into Hezbollah country to play. At the time, that seemed like a weak excuse. Looking back, it was probably smart of me to listen. ANYHOOO…

So the weather early in the week was 20-40. A little cold but still doable. It didn’t matter. I couldn’t get the time. But by Friday it had warmed to the fifties. So my thought was how about Saturday when it’s almost 60. Well, today is Saturday and I’m writing a blog about it. As much as the weather is cooperating beautifully, the clock isn’t. One of the other issues is that to get around town during the Superbowl is near to impossible. I found a couple of courses open to the north, but only one has club rentals and 3pm is the earliest time. So I could take my chance or wait til tomorrow. Only one of the guys plays the other two don’t. So we could either go by ourselves or the four of us could find something to do. One of the non golfers said that there is a Topgolf nearby. He had been to one and had fun. So while for a golfer it’s not exactly a substitute, for the four of us it’s a nice alternative when time becomes a problem.

The game is NOT dead. Yes there is a transition period now where the new generations have a different view of how golf should entertain them. But looking ahead, if the purveyors of the game can just see far enough ahead for what the customer sees, much like how they move the game forward like the retailers see, I see a rosy future for the game. Golf is an intensely personal game and every generation has millions of participants that have that dynamic inside of them. We need to listen and try new things to give them alternative roads that all lead to the grass courses, which are the rock of the game.

I’ll let you know how today went later.