man & nature # 233 ~ a personal best

The Olympic ski jump towers at the end of a late day round of golf • click to embiggenFor one reason and some others I was unable to step onto the 1st tee on The Lower Course at my home course until 5:10PM yesterday. After my normal routine of stretching and loosening up, I teed off at 5:15PM.

If I had known that the sunset was at 7:14PM, I might not have even tried to play a round but I was not aware of that sundown timetable at that time. Nevertheless, I knew that I had to hustle and hustling was not a problem in as much as I was the only golfer on the course.

So, proceeding at a brisk walking pace, off I went. The only distractions I faced were the magnificent views on/of the course itself and those of the surrounding peaks - the warm (color temp) late day sun cast long shadows and the mountains were beautifully sculpted by the light. The temp was in the 65-70˚ range - it was a wonderful evening by any standards.

All of that said, I got in a complete 18-hole round. The last 2 holes were played just after the sun dipped below the surrounding mountains but with plenty of soft light remaining - way more than enough to see my intended targets and follow the flight of my ball. I walked off the 18th green at precisely 7:28PM - a 2 hour and 13 minute walking round of golf, my personal best time.

According to the EXIF data on the accompanying picture, it was made at 7:37PM. It was a grand and glorious evening.