Chapter 21: New Course, New Adventures

Dave woke at six-thirty, even before the phone rang with a wake-up call. He was really pumped up and ready to play. He looked out the window and was pleased the forecast for a nice sunny week seemed to be coming true. He went into the bathroom and did his morning routine including a shower.

As he walked out, his father passed him heading for the shower as well. Dave pulled on a Hawks Hallow golf shirt and a pair of shorts. He wore his Blackheath golf hat and sat waiting patiently for his dad.

It was twenty minutes before they were sitting in the lobby eating breakfast. Dave again ate a large breakfast before they went to the course.

Dave hit balls for an hour and was putting when Josh walked past the green headed for the first tee. He said hi to Dave and Dave wished him luck. Dave was feeling comfortable with the speed of the bent grass greens when he heard that horrifying familiar female voice. "I hope you don't get the yips out there today, Sasquatch. These greens are probably faster than the snow-covered ones in Canada."

Dave just smiled at her and replied, "Don't worry about me, Barbie; these greens are actually slower than I'm used to. Not all of us play on cow pastures like you."

Dave heard her muttering something else but he shut her out and concentrated on his stroke. Shortly, he heard his name called to report to the starter; so he left the practice green and got his clubs. As he was walking towards the first tee, Sheri walked up to him again and said, "Watch out for that tree down the left side of number one. It can definitely be a problem if you hook the ball. And I've seen you hook the ball."

Dave was really pissed that she continually tried to throw him off his game and, without thinking, he turned and snapped, "My drive on the first hole is going to be something you will never see - a long hard one. You're probably so damn frigid that a guy would get frostbite just touching your panties."

She had a shocked look on her face but she quickly shot back with, "Well, you'll never have to worry about getting near my panties. It will just never happen."

Dave looked around mockingly and replied, "My name isn't Ken and I'm not an airhead; so you're right about being safe around me, Golfer Barbie."

He quickly shut his mouth and walked to the first tee. He briefly thought about what he and his father had talked about on the long drive from QAI and he realized he may have gone a little far but then, so had she. He felt somewhat bad for the hurtful things he had said but, at the same time, he had more important things to think about so he set his focus back on his game.

He sat at the bench next to the first tee and quietly got himself re-focused on his round. He kept saying, "Fairways and greens; fairways and greens; let the putter take care of itself." The mantra did seem to work and he could picture the perfect drive in his mind.

When he was called to the tee, he hit a huge drive down the middle of the fairway, exactly as he had envisioned. He had hit it right in the screws and he was totally pumped as he walked off the first tee. He glanced over at his father who had settled into the group of parents following his threesome. It turned out Dave's drive had carried to roughly the same place his second shot had ended the day before. The wind was a little stronger at his back but the pin was farther back on the green so, when it was his turn to hit, he chose his four-iron again. He hit it really well and the ball finished less than four feet from the hole.

After the other players finished the hole, Dave stood over his short eagle putt and rolled it dead centre. He gave his hand a low pump. He was off to a great start and he carried his positive energy through the entire eighteen holes.

He shot an awesome sixty-four and was the leader in the clubhouse by three strokes with O'Mahoney still on the course. Dave found Josh who was also pleased with his own opening round of seventy because that had him in the top ten. He congratulated Dave on a great score.

Dave was standing by the eighteenth green with his father when a man walked up to them and introduced himself as Tom Parsons. He explained that he was a college recruiter and that he had seen Dave play in the Canadian Nationals the year before and had wanted to speak to him after his final round last year at the Nationals but didn't get the chance. He said, "I'd like to help you find a college next year."

Dave and Roger spoke to the man and found out that he was not affiliated with any school in particular but would check with various colleges on Dave's behalf. Dave thought he sounded like an agent but Dave didn't say anything. When the man finished explaining everything, he gave Roger and Dave some correspondence and they thanked him before he left. Dave just didn't feel comfortable with the idea of an agent and he remembered his uncle Alan warning him to avoid agents until they could find a reputable one.

As soon as the man was gone, Roger said to Dave, "Sounds kind of like an agent to me." Dave nodded agreement thinking his father thought just like him. They didn't really talk much about it but just watched players come up the final hole. Dave heard someone in the crowd mention that a player in the group they were watching was O'Mahoney.

Dave waited until after the group was finished and walked back to the scoreboard. Eventually O'Mahoney's score was posted and he had shot sixty-six. Dave was still the leader.

Dave and his father went back to the hotel and ate a supper made from the groceries they had purchased. Dave went out to the pool for a swim and his father joined him a half hour later.

They had been swimming for a while when Sheri and her mother walked out of the hotel. Sheri walked right up to the side of the pool and called over to Dave, "Hey, Sas. I guess you kept it in play today - but can you do it two days in a row?"

Dave swam over to the side where she was standing and looked right up at her, "Yes, I can do it two days in a row." Then he added as an evil afterthought, "Sometimes, even twice a night." The double entendre was not lost on Sheri, but her only response was a widening of her eyes. Then Dave continued more conversationally, "I'm going to give it my best shot. If you keep motivating me like you did today, I may have the best tournament ever. How did you do today yourself, Barbie?"

She smiled and replied, "Not quite as good as you but I was seventy-three and I'm tied for second place in the girls division."

Dave smiled as he replied, "Well, you could always do worse tomorrow." Then he swam back over to talk to his father. He was happy their insults weren't as bitter as they had been earlier. He didn't mind a little teasing but outright attacks on his game were never welcome.

His father left the pool shortly after and Dave swam several laps before he got out of the pool. As he was drying himself, he glanced over at Sheri and noticed she was staring at his body. He smiled to himself and went back to his room.

He and his father spent the evening watching a movie in the hotel room before going to sleep. Dave knew his tee time for the next day was early - seven-thirty, so he went right to sleep. He had already booked a wakeup call for six o'clock.

He was up before the wakeup call the next day as well and had just finished his shower when his father entered the washroom and climbed in. Dave was sitting on the bed with a Hornsby Golf shirt on today with the same Blackheath hat when his father came out of the bathroom.

They ate a quick breakfast before going to the course. Dave hit balls for fifteen minutes to get limber before he went to the practice green to work on getting the green speed down. He putted until his name was called to go to the first tee.

The wind today was very strong and it was right in his face on the first tee. He hit a good drive down the first hole ending up on the left side of the fairway right beside the first cut of rough. He had two hundred and fifty yards to the pin and, although he thought he might be able to make it, he didn't think the risk was wise when he had already posted a good score the previous day. He took out his eight-iron and planned to play the ball to the hundred yard marker leaving a safe distance for a full wedge shot.

He hit a smooth eight and ended up just short of the one hundred yard marker. When it was his turn to hit again he selected a sand wedge. He estimated the wind to be about one club extra; otherwise he would normally have hit his sixty-degree wedge. He put a smooth swing on the ball but the wind held the ball up more than expected and he finished thirty feet short and slightly right of the hole. He two putted from there and walked away satisfied with a par.

The rest of the round was really tough because of the strong wind. He had always considered himself a good wind player because golf on QAI is often windy but he still hit a lot of stray shots. At the end of the day he was happy to finish with a two under par seventy. The other players in his group had shot seventy-seven and seventy-nine. They really struggled with the wind.

It was just noon when they finished and Dave didn't want to stay and watch the scoreboard all day, so he asked his father if they could go shopping or something. Roger thought that was a good idea so they drove down the highway to Charlotte and spent the afternoon shopping.

It was a good distraction for Dave and, after they ate supper in Charlotte, they drove back to the golf course and checked the leader board. Dave was in second place one stroke behind O'Mahoney who had shot an unbelievable sixty-seven in the wind. Most of the other golfers had shot much higher scores and the closest player to Dave was now five strokes behind him. It looked very much as if the final day would be a dual between Dave and O'Mahoney. The draw was set with them teeing off in the last group of the day, even after the girls division which had teed off last the two previous days.

Dave quickly looked to see how Sheri played. She shot seventy-six and had fallen back to third place but only three strokes behind the leader.

Dave and Roger talked about home on the drive back to the hotel. Roger said he called the trailer while Dave was at the pool the previous night and suggested Dave call Jennifer tonight and give her an update.

After getting to the room, Dave changed into his bathing suit and headed for the pool. He was surprised to see Sheri in the water; previously, she had always just been sunning herself. He threw his towel on a chair and dove in.

He swam over to Sheri and said, "Nasty wind today, eh? Looks like you had trouble just like me."

Sheri countered with, "Eh? You're a true Canadian, Sas. The wind was tough but I should have played better. You're going to have to adjust to the conditions better if you want to beat O'Mahoney. He's an incredible golfer; but don't let anyone know I said that - I have a reputation to keep."

Dave chuckled to himself, "Whatever you say, Golfer Barbie." And he began swimming laps.

He swam laps for about twenty minutes before he looked for Sheri again; but she was gone. He climbed out of the pool and went to his room. He and his dad watched another movie and just relaxed. He was in the last group of the day at eleven forty-five so they didn't have to get up too early. Eventually he called Jennifer. She said she missed him and he promised to keep Saturday, the day when he returned home, open for her. He tried to go to sleep shortly after he hung up.

He tossed and turned most of the night as he thought about beating O'Mahoney and getting to write his own ticket as Josh had implied. He thought about the schools he had looked at on the internet. Stanford had produced Tiger, Notah Begay, and Casey Martin but that was on the west coast and a little too far from QAI. He thought about Ben Crenshaw's Texas University. He really didn't know where he wanted to go but he thought he would like to play somewhere in the southeastern states. Then he thought he might have to take anything that was offered and he immediately knew he would play anywhere he could.

He finally awoke after a restless sleep in which he had played every hole at the Peninsula Club several times. He looked at the clock and tried to get more sleep but finally, at seven, he got up and went to the bathroom. He pulled on his bathing suit and went for a very light swim.

When he returned around eight o'clock his father was just coming out of the shower. Dave showered before he dressed. He put on a Buzzard's Bluff golf shirt and his Blackheath hat. He packed his clothes then helped his father pack the car before they went for breakfast. They had planned to leave directly from the golf course so they had to check out before they ate.

Dave's stomach was doing flip-flops as he tried to eat - he was quite nervous. He managed to eat a reasonable amount of food before he and his father left for the course. He still had a couple hours before his tee time so he hit balls for a while before he went to the putting green. Sheri was there, putting as well, but he was concentrating on his own game and didn't pay much attention to her.

He eventually heard her name called to the first tee and he thought about saying something nasty like she had done to him but instead he just walked over to her and said, "Keep in the short stuff, Barbie."

She had cringed when he first walked towards her but after hearing his words she smiled. Dave saw a smile on her face for the first time since he had arrived in Cornelius; she replied politely, "You too, Sas."

He put his putter away and followed her to the first tee. He watched as she teed off. He realized that it was the first time he had seen her swing a club and he was very impressed with her long smooth swing. She hit a big drive down the first fairway before she strolled over to her bag and pulled her clubs over her shoulders. She had a double strap golf bag and it was pushing her breasts out nicely. Dave was staring at her nipples as they began to make little tents in the cotton material. Dave looked up at her face and she was staring at him watching her. He felt a brief stir in his shorts before he smiled at her and nodded. She smiled again and turned to proceed down the fairway.

He shook his head to clear his thoughts but couldn't resist watching her round, full ass move as she walked down the fairway. After she was well down the fairway, he went to his golf bag and pulled out his putter again to practice. He had only been putting for five minutes before his name was called to the tee. The final two boys' groups were playing behind the final girls' group. Dave was glad Sheri was two groups ahead and not directly in front of him - he didn't need the distraction of playing behind her curves all day.

The next to last group was just walking off the tee as Dave reached the starter's hut. He was handed his scorecard and he introduced himself to Greg O'Mahoney and his third playing partner, Steve Hall. Dave took Steve Hall's card and handed his to Greg.

After the group in front cleared the fairway, Steve teed off first. He hit a good drive down the right side. Dave was really nervous as he teed off and hit a gentle hook into the rough on the left. Greg knocked his drive down the centre of the fairway. Steve's drive was the shortest and he hit his second shot to the hundred-yard marker. Dave and Greg were about an even distance from the hole, so Greg hit first. The wind was much calmer and he had no trouble hitting a five wood onto the green, twenty feet from the hole.

Dave's ball was sitting down in the rough and he wasn't comfortable hitting a wood and an iron would not make the green so he pulled out his pitching wedge and hit his ball to the hundred yard maker. The ball ended up one hundred and eight yards from the hole so Dave next selected his sixty-degree wedge and stroked it smoothly. The ball landed five feet past the hole and sucked back to three feet in front of the hole.

Steve hit his ball onto the green as well, leaving a fifteen-foot putt for birdie. Greg putted first and rolled his ball just past the hole. He tapped in for birdie. Steve missed his birdie putt and settled for par. Dave had a straight uphill putt and he rolled it into the right side of the hole - a birdie to start.

Dave and Greg both played well and Dave drew even to Greg several times just to see Greg pull ahead again. With five holes remaining, Dave was two strokes behind. He was four under for his round while Greg was five under. Steve was now seven strokes behind Dave, so he was basically out of the race for first.

Greg bogeyed the fourteenth hole while Dave birdied which brought them back to even. They both made par on the fifteenth before Dave birdied sixteen while Greg made par - so Dave had his first lead of the day. On seventeen, Dave made par while Greg birdied which left them again tied going to the last hole.

Dave had noticed that a large crowd had grown around them and there were now several hundred adults and junior golfers following them to the last tee. Greg had honors so he hit first. He hit a solid drive down the long par five. Dave was next and he caught a huge drive which rolled thirty yards past Greg's ball in the middle of the fairway.

Greg couldn't get home in two on the last hole so he hit his ball to the hundred yard marker. Dave was confident he could hit the green with a good two-iron. He settled over the ball and hit it perfectly. It sailed onto the green and finished twelve feet from the hole. Greg hit his third shot closer than Dave's ball but only by two feet.

Steve hit his third shot onto the green twenty feet from the hole and then two-putted for par.

Dave read his putt carefully but stoked the ball a little too firm and the ball didn't break because of the faster pace. It rolled four feet past the hole on the high side. Greg just missed his birdie putt and tapped in for par.

Dave had to make his four-footer for birdie and a one-stroke victory. He looked at the line carefully. Even though he had run the last putt past, he decided that a firm putt would minimize the break. He lined up just a little right of center, not giving the hole away, then stroked the ball firmly. The ball rolled for the hole and hit the middle of the back and dropped straight down with a satisfying rattle. Dave put up his hands in celebration. He had won the tournament and, he hoped, some much needed recognition in the United States.