A NEAR MISS

 I got up very early (for me) this morning and headed out to play 9 holes. I was at the golf course just after 6AM at the start of a beautiful day.

The golf course is in a lovely setting surrounded be water and hills with views out over the striking volcanic formations of Whangarei Heads.

There was only one other car in the car park and that golfer had set out to play the back 9 holes. I played the front 9. It's especially nice playing at this time of the morning as there is more birdlife activity and the colours of the trees, water and hills change rapidly as the sun rises. being first onto the greens is a treat as the track of the ball through the dew shows the line to the hole, or not as the case may be.

Not having anyone following is good as well as there is no pressure in having to move along and more care can be taken with shots and there is more time to look for golf balls. I played some great tee shots and was happy with my play. I didn't find any balls though and this song went through my head - to my changed lyrics.

No balls today, no golfers went astray
I stand here quite forlorn, in the early morning dawn
No balls today, it makes me very sad
But it'll make The Old Girl glad

Why can't she know, how much it means to me
To find some new balls, in creeks and under trees
Doesn't she know, it harks back to my past
When to play a round, I needed a ball fast

No balls today .......

All was good though - until disaster struck. Gather around folks and I'll tell you a scary story.

Just after the 7th hole (which I played brilliantly) I headed down a steep path to the 8th tee, pulling my golf trundler behind me. Suddenly a golf ball rolled between my feet and I just managed to stop it and picked it up. I was wondering where it came from as there were no golfers behind me. Looking back I was shocked to see that the lid to the seat/storage box on the trundler had flapped open due to the vibrations from going down the steep and bumpy path. The ball had bounced out!

I was horrified and walked back up the path to see if any more had bounced out. I couldn't see anything so, hopefully I didn't lose any. It was a near miss though.

  

      
                       A near miss

(image courtesy of Richard's bass Bag
- why should I get all the blame?)