18 of 70: PGA Golf Club, Pete Dye Course, Port St. Lucie, FL

Fairway bunkers.

The Pete Dye course is one of the most scenic and one of the most difficult we have played so far. Dye designed a links course reminiscent of the British courses but without the ocean breeze and familiar dunes. The course was built on wetlands and that natural environment still comes into play on many holes. The water hazards are mostly lateral. The fairways are bordered on each side by waste areas that also serve as cart paths from which there is no relief, the ball being in play as it lies. Playing from there is like playing from a cement pad.  To achieve the links style and feel, Dye peppered the fairways with bunkers that can be penalizing. The Bermuda grass greens are often multi-tiered. The scenery is so appealing that, at times, you can lose focus on the game.

The opening hole.

I started my round with a bang, making par on the first two holes. I did come back to earth in a hurry though, shooting double and triple bogeys back to back. A rare birdie on the par 3 sixth hole helped me finish the front nine in bogey golf. The back nine promised to be very good until I got ahead of myself, a mortal sin in golf. Anticipating a round in the 80's, I blew the last two holes with a triple and a double bogey respectively. And yes, Sterling, I finished in the 90's again. A 93, to be exact. Another lesson learned : stay in the moment on a golf course. I guess I must have signed up for "continuing education".

Brenda and I played teeter totter for most of the round. We both exchanged positions in bad and good holes until the very end when Brenda missed a winning putt on 18 by a few inches. Had she made that putt, we would have finished the match all sqare. She had a very impressive skill out of the bunkers as evidence by this picture : a perfect follow through that leads to a classic explosion were we can see the little pink ball in the sand cloud. Well done!

That ends our Florida adventure as we are returning home this weekend. Our golf experience will be in a long frost delay but we are looking forward to being with family and friends in Edmonton. In parting, I would like to express our gratitude to Jean and Yvette, our hosts in Florida. To my faithful readers I promise to return ASAP, after all, there are still 52 games to go. Au revoir!