St Andrews

The Home of golf. And I felt right at home. Have you ever dreamed of a place and then actually arrived and it was everything you expected and more? I have been forewarned about forming an opinion of something before I have been there - and with St Andrews I had amazingly high expectations. If I am going to pay $200 for a round of golf - it had better be quite the event. And that it was!

Unfortunately the old course was closed (members only tournament). I had amazing weather (sunshine, a few clouds and just a slight breeze). I showed up - the head pro and I chatted - and within 5 minutes i had clubs and was on the first tee. 1 hole - 1 par. Pretty good way to start the afternoon considering I spent the morning on an airplane after my emergency landing.

I walked the course and played alone - nothing but me, the course, and my 8 lost golf balls. The course was so beautiful and amazing I got emotional. It brings a tear to my eye to relive it in my blog. Sports and competition are something that I have always been very passionate about and I truly believe Golf is a sport in which it is you against nature. The undulations of the terrain, the wind, the rain, the sea, the natural obstacles that have become obsolete in our concrete jungle but lurk every day in natures natural environment. Golf is how I connect with nature and with myself. It is 4 hours in which I get to think - to appreciate my athleticism (or lack thereof) and nature.

There were 4 fighter jets in the sky over St Andrews - every so often they would zoom by - as if to say hello. Doing full 360 degree loops, barrel rolls, and other acrobat maneuvers. It was almost as if the raw engineering power of aviation was in competition with the simplicity of the Scottish landscape. The course was powerful and didn't even make a sound. St Andrews is flat, narrow, and not tricky. It is a very straightforward course. BUT..... you have to be deadly accurate. Perfect on every shot. Most of the fairways are 30-40 yards at their widest and sometimes you even share a green with an opposite hole coming back. Greens are small, true, and perfect. If your ball is off the fairway...good luck. Not only will you get to become friends with the sharp prickly plants but if your ball is in the weeds - forget about it. You will never find it.

I ended my day with a 94 - the victim of 8 lost balls.
I ended my round at the Inn - a small 12 table tavern on the 1st tee box of the old course. I had fish and chips and a pint of Scottish ale for dinner.

Then I snacked on a lost passport.

I had already set off to explore the city and take in the scenery of this little amazing coastal town. The town was dead. Hardly a soul in site. As I walked the coast I stared into the sea... wondering what I was going to do? Perhaps I was meant to stay here.... play golf at St Andrews and be bound to a life of golf, fish and chips, and pint after pint of ale. Honestly I was so high on life after that round of golf - I didn't even care. There was no reality - only beauty. The birds flying overhead - the light - the ocean crashing into the rugged rocky cliffs hundreds of feet below... nothing mattered. It was as if I had just lived a life long dream - done something that I had always wanted to do - made the pilgrimage - survived it - and now everything was going to be allright regardless of any consequence. As darkness fell - I returned to St Andrews to catch a cab back to the train station for the hour long ride back to Edinburgh.

As I approached the taxi stand - one of the golf professionals came out and said hello. When I told him about my passport - the head pro had taken it to the police station. They found it in the pro shop! I jumped in the St Andrews van and off we went to the Police Station - sure enough they had my passport !

Steve (the asst pro) then dropped me at the bus station and some old drunk Scottish man accosted me. What he was saying to me... no clue. Something about buses and hearing aids. Finally my bus came - I caught the last train back to Edinburgh and was in bed snuggled in with my Alan Greenspan book - just before midnight!