The test......

5:53 am - Thursday - June 20th - LPG&RVR - 44° F, humidity 48%, wind 1 mph out of the east by northeast.......crystal clear, blue, sunny skies today with a forecast high of 85° F.  On this date in 2021 TLE and I were helping wash the outside of the home of the owner of Seal Rocks RV Cove in Seal Rock, OR....

 I had an appointment to play a round of golf with Mower Mike (Mike Picot) and John Benner at 11:30 am.  Mike mows the fairways on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, so he is off Wednesdays.  John is one of the permanent residents here, but also consults on some of the big jobs done here each summer.  But, I get ahead of myself.

TLE and I took our 4th two mile out and back walk of our 4 day weekend averaging 3.2 mph for the course....

.....we were back from the walk around 10:30 am, at which time I did my workout to stretch out my back for the upcoming 18 holes of golf.  I've only played 20 holes so far this season, so playing 18 in one day was going to be the ultimate test of how well my lower back is doing.

After getting my back limber I headed over to the Clubhouse around 11 am to hit a few balls, and I mean a FEW. I didn't want to overextend my back before I even began playing the round.  Just wanted to be sure I could hit my driver, fairway woods, and a couple of irons.  After 10 balls I was happy with the results and headed to the first tee to meet Mike and John.

It was to be one of those days when one part of my game was working as well as it ever has, and that was off the tee.  I managed to hit 14 fairways with my driver....something I have never done, even when I was in my 20's and 30's.  They weren't always long, but they were straight, and a few went over 200 yards.  Wow....that was unexpected!  By the way, since last season I've been playing from the yellow tees, which are the shortest ones.  On Wednesday I played from the red tees for the first time since our first season here, so I am hitting the ball off the tee al little further than I have in the past.  I did manage to hit 2 of the 4 par 3's in regulation, too.

The rest of my game was kind of spotty, but I did manage to par 4 holes, and had a bunch of bogey holes, but there were a few where the score really mushroomed....lol.  I did hit my #7 fairway wood very consistently, also.  By the last 7 holes I was putting much better, and made a few long range putts to secure a par, and a couple of bogeys that could easily have been double, or triple bogeys.

The big news, however, is that I never thought of my back for one second over the four hours we played.  It did not bother me at all. In fact, as I sit here typing this morning I only have a little stiffness, but no pain.  That is a first for me.  It's been over 2.5 months since my fall at GNHS in early April, but I think my back is officially better, and I can begin to play golf more frequently than I have thus far this season.

We finished our round at 3:30 pm, bid our adieus, and headed for our respective homes.  TLE was busy in the kitchen when I arrived.  She also had a nice 'Clarke free afternoon', which she says she enjoyed, but I know she missed me....lol!

Well, it's the beginning of another four day work week, which will see us working Thursday through Sunday.  The temps are getting back into the 80's, and it appears we'll see some temps in the 90's over the next week.  Summer is finally here to stay....I think!

Thanks for stopping by!