Sunday, January 26, 2014

2013 Year in Review

January 26, 2014

Before we get too far into 2014, I thought I should write a wrap up of 2013. I have dubbed it my "Year of the Return to the Grand Game". Back in 2009-2011, I was a police detective. Back then, we got one day off a week and worked four day workdays. Living in the Atlanta area, there were some fantastic courses, but most were very crowded on Friday through Sunday and could be very expensive. I chuckle at those green fees now that I am endeavoring to play the top 100 courses in the U.S. and the World, but on police pay, we always shopped for deals. What I had learned was Mondays were not only the least expensive days to play, but were also the least crowded, so Mondays were my day off.  During the summer, I could get in 72 holes on any given day.  Then, a work place accident happened in July of 2011 that caused me to be unable to play a round. It took nearly two years to get back to good health where I felt comfortable playing.

When I took the new job in Seattle, I knew I would get to travel. I still hadn't started playing golf again because of fear of reinjuirng my back, knees, and ankles.  But, when work decided to send me to Australia, I knew this was the "perfect excuse" to get back into the game I so dearly love. Since that round on March 29, 2013, I have played as much golf as I possibly could with the busy life of a Dad and husband, a good employee, and a football fanatic.

In 2013, I played 76 rounds of golf on 70 different courses.  Some of them have been great courses, others not so much. I have played on blisteringly hot days, perfect condition days, and very cold days (what is the rule when your ball comes to land on a pond that is frozen over?), sunny days, and rainy days (I live in Seattle afterall). But, every round was a good round. Every memory etched into my brain to always remember. A new logo golf ball to place into golf cabinet was sometimes the highlight of very poorly played round. My handicap started at a 24 back in March of 2013. As the year ended, I had taken lessons, played a good bit, and was able to get my handicap down to a 17. I am looking forward to seeing it continue to drop as I get more chances to play at some of the top courses in the world.

I love to play golf, and I love to experience a new course. When I was afforded the opportunity to play a top 100 course Harbour Town my fate was sealed. I decided I wanted to play more top 100 courses in the U.S. When I learned I was going to Australia again in 2014, I decided to bump that goal to include the top 100 in the world.  And hence this blog was born.

Courses I played in 2013 in the order they were played:

March 2013

Flinders Golf Club (Australia)

April 2013

Black Mountain Golf & Country Club (Las Vegas, NV)
Twin Rivers Golf Club (Fall River, WA)
Snoqualmie Falls Golf Course (Fall River, WA)
The Blue Heron Golf Course (Carnation, WA)
Cascade Golf Course (North Bend, WA)
Gold Mountain Golf Course (Olympic Course) (Bremerton, WA)
Gold Mountain Golf Course (Cascade Course) (Bremerton, WA)

May 2013

Elk Run Golf Club (Maple Valley, WA)
The Golf Club at Echo Falls (Snohomish, WA)
Golfclub Neuhof e.V. (Frankfurt, Germany)
Golf Club St.Leon-Rot (Sankt Leon-Rot, Germany)
Golf und Land Club Regensburg (Regensburg, Germany)
Golfpark Idstein (Frankfurt, Germany)
Golf club Main-Taunus (Wiesbaden-Delkenheim, Germany)
Kenwanda Golf Course (Snohomish, WA) x2

June 2013

The Golf Club at Redmond Ridge (Redmond, WA)
The Golf Club at Newcastle (Coal Creek Course) (Newcastle, WA)
Longaberger Golf Club (Nashport, OH)
Cumberland Trail Golf Club (Pataskala, OH)
Eaglesticks Golf Club (Zanesville, OH)
Glenross Golf Club (Delaware, OH)
Darby Creek Golf Club (Marysville, OH)
Druids Glen Golf Course (Covington, WA)
Desert Canyon Golf Resort (Orondo, WA)
Bear Mountain Ranch Golf (Chelan, WA)
Highlander Golf Course (Wenatchee, WA)
Leavenworth Golf Club (Leavenworth, WA)
Mt. Si Golf Course (Snoqualmie, WA)

July 2013

The Golf Club at Hawk's Prairie (Lacey, WA)
Salish Cliffs Golf (Shelton, WA)
Gold Mountain Golf Course (Olympic Course) (Bremerton, WA)
Gold Mountain Golf Course (Cascade Course) (Bremerton, WA)
Cedars at Dungeness Golf Club (Sequim, WA)
Whidbey Golf Club (Oak Harbor, WA)
The Resort at Port Ludlow (Ludlow, WA)
Peuramaa Golf Club (Kirkkonummi, Finland)

September 2013

Wolf Creek Golf Course (Atlanta, GA)
Hermitage Golf Course (President's Reserve) (Old Hickory, TN)
Hermitage Golf Course (General's Retreat) (Old Hickory, TN)
Bella Collina Golf Club (Montverde FL)
Hawk's Landing Golf Club (Orlando, FL)
Eagle's Brooke Country Club (Locust Grove, GA)
Château Élan Golf Club (Château Course) (Braselton, GA)
Bear's Best Atlanta (Suwanee, GA)

October 2013

The Golf Club at Newcastle (China Creek Course) (Newcastle, WA)
Lake James Golf Club (Angola, IN)
Cherry Hill Golf Club (Ft Wayne, IN)
Autumn Ridge Golf club (Ft Wayne, IN)
Washington National Golf Club (Auburn, WA)
Kenwanda Golf Course (Snohomish, WA)
The Blue Heron Golf Course (Carnation, WA)
The Resort at Port Ludlow (Ludlow, WA) x2
White Horse Golf Club (Suquamish, WA)
Trophy Lake Golf & Casting Club (Port Orchard, WA)
McCormick Woods Golf Course (Port Orchard, WA)
Old South Golf Links (Bluffton, SC)
Eagle's Pointe Golf Club (Bluffton, SC)
Harbour Town Golf Links (Hilton Head, SC) x2
Heron Point by Pete Dye (Hilton Head, SC)
Hilton Head National Golf course (Bluffton, SC)
Eagle's Talon at Willow Run (Redmond, WA)
Chambers Bay Golf (University Place, WA)

November 2013

Bay Hill Club & Lodge (Orlando, FL)
Streamsong Resort (Red) (Streamsong, FL)
Fairways of Canton (Canton, GA)
The Highlands Course at Lake Arrowhead (Waleska, GA)
Eagle's Crest Golf Course (Ypsilanti, MI) x2
Fox Hills Golf (Plymouth, MI)
Stonebridge Golf Club (Ann Arbor, MI)

December 2013

Mt. Si Golf Course (Snoqualmie, WA)
White Horse Golf Club (Suquamish, WA)

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