It Was Colder Than I Thought

Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Golf Book

BY: Y. John Lee

Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating; there is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather.
~John Ruskin

A sane man doesn't expect to play golf in Wisconsin in the middle of the winter. But the particular winter in question had seen little snow, though it had been plenty cold. Without snow, outside activities are limited in Wisconsin. Cabin fever had set in, and bad. So one Sunday, when the mercury in my porch thermometer inched just above freezing, I decided it was golf weather. I put on several layers of clothing, got my clubs out of the basement, told my wife and three children I'd be back in a few hours.

I decided to play the back nine first since it was more sheltered from the whipping winds. The greens were staked to keep off cross-country skiers, but the tees were open. The ground was frozen but I did manage to force the tip of a tee into the ground.

Number 10 is a par 4. The tee is elevated above a creek that feeds into a small lake hidden from view by fir trees.

After a few warm-up swings I whacked the ball pretty well, considering both my lack of recent practice and blood circulation. The low liner easily cleared the creek but was heading for a sand trap on the right side of the fairway. The ball didn't even slow down when it hit the trap. It bounced hard and high off the nearly petrified sand and down the fairway, finally skating to a halt just short of the green.

After getting that much roll, I remember thinking, this was going to be fun. As I crossed over the creek bridge, I glanced over at the lake to my right. It was frozen solid. Out in the middle were three guys in orange overalls, ice fishing. One of them saw me at the same time I saw him. For that moment, we just stared at each other. Simultaneously we smiled, doffed our woolen caps at one another. I stepped off the bridge onto the fairway and headed towards the green. He returned his attention to his hole in the ice, and I mine. I imagine he was as hopeful as I was.

It was colder than I thought.

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