Chapter 25: Old Routine New Nationals

Dave woke to the alarm at seven o'clock. He and Jennifer had a final shower together before they ate a large quiet breakfast; both avoided bringing up any topics that might interfere with the game face Dave was developing. Jennifer dropped him off at Hornsby Golf Course where the team's passenger-van was waiting. The team and coaches loaded everything on the van. Dave gave Jennifer a goodbye kiss and told her he would see her in a couple of weeks. Jennifer drove away heading for North Beach and Dave watched her car disappear around the corner.

As Dave took his seat on the van he realized how much he would miss his friend, John, being on this trip. They had spent a lot of good times together at the nationals the previous year and that time had helped pleasantly distract Dave from the continuous pressure to play well. This year Dave would be roomed with one of the other team players and he would have to get used to sharing a room with someone who was somewhat of a stranger.

Bob MacTavish, the second place finisher on the team, sat beside Dave. Dave knew him from the various tournaments but he played out of the Squirrel Creek course so Dave basically only knew him in passing. The van was eventually fully loaded and left for Mont Tremblant, Quebec just after nine o'clock.

They stopped at three o'clock in Edmundston, New Dominion to eat. After eating and getting a chance to stretch, everyone loaded back on the van for the final long run to Mont Tremblant. They drove for six hours and arrived in Mont Tremblant at eight o'clock local time, after gaining an hour from the time zone change at the Quebec border. They pulled into the Country Inn and Suites in the main village of the ski resort; the rooms had already been pre-registered and a packet of keys was waiting for the coaches to distribute.

As he had half-expected, Dave was roomed with Bob and they immediately took their clubs to their room and unpacked. The team met at nine o'clock for a small late supper before Dave and Bob went for a walk through the small quiet village.

Dave was hoping to find a Tim Horton's so he could revive his routine of a morning hot chocolate which included time to get focused for the day. He couldn't find a Tim's but did find a little café called Café Bistro Ryan which opened at seven in the morning. It was closed now but Dave decided that the café would be where he started every morning.

Dave and Bob explored the hotel when they returned and found a large outdoor pool. Dave smiled as he remembered the pool in North Carolina and seeing Sheri sunning herself. By reflex he looked over his shoulder to see if he were blocking her sun. He realized it was a silly thing to do when it was nighttime but he just shook off the thoughts of Sheri and followed Bob back to their room. He called home to tell them he had gotten in safely and what room he was staying in. After the brief phone call, he crawled into bed and went right to sleep tired from the long drive.

The next morning the sun was shining bright and Dave woke at six thirty. He had a quick shower before he dressed in shorts and a golf shirt and left for the café. Bob was still sleeping soundly. Dave strolled up the mostly deserted streets and said hello to the few people he met. He walked into the café and went up to the older lady behind the counter. She said "Bonjour, comment sais va?"

Dave was familiar with the French welcome but replied in English, "Hello, I am very good. Do you speak English?"

The lady smiled and replied with a very heavy French accent, "Yes, I speak English. What can I help you with today?"

He smiled and replied, "I would like some hot chocolate and a raisin bran muffin, please."

The lady nodded and went to make his drink. She returned a moment later and, after he paid and tipped her, he sat down. He stared out the window at the incredible scenery - the ski slopes were cut out of the mountain and Dave thought how spectacular the skiing must be. He remembered the small hill on QAI and his two visits there. He liked skiing but for the most part he just pointed his skis towards the bottom and tucked the poles under his arms. On the small hill on QAI that was possible but here he knew he would definitely be eating tree bark before he reached half-way. He liked skiing on QAI because with his untrained skill there was an incredible rush and there was definitely an element of death in his poor style. He thought how this mountain would be suicide for him.

After relaxing for a half hour he walked back to the hotel. As he entered the restaurant, he noticed Bob sitting at a table and he joined him. Steve the coach was also sitting at the table and Dave ordered a healthy breakfast. His food was served moments after Steve's and Bob's and they talked casually about the upcoming practice round. Steve finished first and explained he had to check on the team to make sure everyone was awake.

Bob and Dave returned to their room and got their clubs and shoes. Dave checked his spikes - the plastic 'soft spikes' were still in good shape. He thought about the comments his father made about old metal spikes leaving marks all over the greens but Dave had never sent the damage metal spikes could do. Most Canadian courses converted to soft spikes in the nineties before Dave started golf. The van left for the golf academy where the team had the practice range booked for two hours before their scheduled practice round at Le Diable. Dave found the practice range very similar to Hawks Hollow and he worked hard to be sure he was ready to play.

Steve called the team together, they loaded onto the van again, and drove to Le Diable. Dave loved the look of the course as they pulled up and he immediately noticed the huge waste bunker which ran along the first hole. Dave thought how the course looked like a desert course from Arizona which he had often seen on television even though this course was cut through the mountains. The scenery was spectacular and Dave was slightly distracted from his game as he took in all the sights.

He spent an hour on the practice green getting a good feel for the roll and speed of the greens that day. He was in the second of the two Island groups to tee off and was pleased he was playing with his new roommate, Bob. The coach informed them that the Royal Canadian Golf Association or RCGA had decided the tournament would be played mostly on the black tees, the longest at Le Diable. He therefore told the two groups to play the blacks tees for the practice round.

Dave watched as his three playing partners teed off on the first hole. Bob hit his drive left into the waste bunker. Dave watched the ball roll into the sand and he thought how long it would take if all the waste bunkers had to be raked. There are two major difference between a waste bunker and a regular sand bunker or sand trap. First, waste bunkers don't normally have to be raked after hitting from them while sand traps do. And secondly, a golfer is allowed to ground his club in a waste bunker but not in a sand trap. In a sand trap, if a player touches the sand behind his ball with his club any time before he actually swings the club, he is assessed a two stroke penalty.

Dave settled over his ball and hit a solid draw down the left side of the fairway. The other three players had hit shorter drives than Dave and proceeded to hit their second shots before Dave walked to his ball. He had one-hundred and eighty yards to the green on the long par-four first hole. Dave hit a solid seven-iron onto the middle of the green. He missed his birdie but tapped in for par.

The rest of the practice round went well and he was pleased with his one over par seventy-two. The rest of the team scores ranged from Bob's seventy-nine to a high of ninety-three. A few of the Island golfers found the long sand-covered course very difficult. Dave loved the views and enjoyed the challenge. Some of the holes were as beautiful as the Belle Bay course he had played the previous week and Dave eventually came to the conclusion that this equally scenic course was even nicer than Belle Bay.

Dave returned to the hotel with the team and, after eating a large supper, he went to his room and pulled on his bathing suit. He rested by the pool for a half hour, allowing his meal to settle, before he got in the pool and swam laps for twenty minutes. He emerged from the pool to find Bob talking to two girls. Bob called Dave over and he politely joined him.

Bob introduced the two girls as tourists from New York. Dave talked with the girls for twenty minutes before he excused himself and started to walk towards his room. One of the girls, Toni, called his name and strolled up next to him to talk. She asked, "There's a movie cinema down the road. Would you like to go to a show with me tonight?"

Dave smiled politely, "Toni, you're a beautiful girl and normally I would love to go to a show with you; but the truth is I have a girlfriend at home and I am also here to try to win a national championship. I have to concentrate on my golf game and won't have much time to go to any movies this week. Thanks for asking though; I appreciate it."

Toni looked disappointed as Dave quietly added, "Have a nice night, Toni." He walked away from her and back to his room. As he showered, he briefly thought about the pretty girl he had just turned down but then thought about Jennifer waiting for him at home. He knew it was different last year in BC when his and Jennifer's relationship was in doubt and John had convinced him to spend time with Lynn and Tina. Even with his questionable relationship last year he still hadn't done anything sexually with Lynn or Tina until the following spring.

He climbed into bed with thoughts back to the Le Diable course and how much he looked forward to playing it the following day. He hoped the weatherman was wrong; rain was forecasted for the next day. Dave tossed and turned for a while and heard Bob come into the room. Dave pretended to be asleep so he wouldn't have to talk about rejecting Toni or anything else. He dozed off shortly thereafter.

He woke at six-thirty without any alarm. He got up and dressed in shorts and a golf shirt. He pulled on a nylon jacket in case it was raining and made his way to the lobby. As he exited the hotel, the rain was indeed steadily falling and continued as he walked up the street towards the café.

As he entered, the same lady from the previous day welcomed him, this time in English. "Good morning. How are you today?"

Dave smiled, "I'm getting wet, thank you. How are you?"

She chuckled, "It looks like it will be wet today. Are you with the golf group in town this week?"

He replied, "Yes, I am with the team from QAI. Can I have a hot chocolate and a raisin bran muffin?"

She got his order and returned, "I was on QAI last summer for vacation. It is a beautiful Island."

"Thank you. I really like living there," he replied as he made his way to a seat. He sat in the chair and thought about the steady rain and his plan for the day. He had a nylon rain-suit in his suitcase. He would put that in his golf bag. He had a plastic cover to keep the water from running into the top of the bag and getting his grips wet. He also had his umbrella as well so all he needed was a few towels and a few more golf gloves. He would buy three new gloves in the pro shop and take four bath-towels from the hotel. He knew his golf bag would be heavy with all the extras but keeping the grips of the clubs dry was critical when playing in the rain. He knew that it didn't matter as much how wet he got as how well he could hold his potentially slippery clubs.

He had his plan all decided when he stood to go back to the hotel. The lady wished him luck as he left. He thanked her and said he would see her the next day.

He again joined the team in the restaurant and ate breakfast with them. They left for the course immediately after eating. Dave's tee time was eleven o'clock - he had two and half hours to wait. He went to the pro shop and bought the three additional gloves, then found a quiet place in the lounge, sat in front of a television, and relaxed. He didn't want to start practicing too early because of the rain. He was confident that twenty minutes on the driving range and twenty minutes putting would be enough for him to feel prepared.

The rain was still falling steadily at ten o'clock. Dave went to the pro shop, got a bucket of balls, and then went to the practice range. He started with his pitching wedge and worked his way to his driver. After hitting the entire bucket he felt loose enough to move to the putting green. He putted for thirty minutes until he heard his name called to the first tee. At the first tee he met his two playing partners. One golfer was from British Columbia while the other was from Manitoba. Dave hit second after the Manitoba golfer. He hit a solid drive with a slight fade down the right side of the fairway. He was longer than either of the other two golfers and, after they hit their second shots, Dave hit six-iron onto the green fifteen feet from the hole.

The BC player had missed the green with his second shot and, while he prepared to chip on, Dave walked around his own putt checking all the angles. He had his umbrella open above his head with a towel running through the fiberglass ribs. When it was his turn to putt, he dried his putter grip with the towel before he set the umbrella down on the green. He settled over his putt and stroked a firm putt on the wet green. The ball rolled over the right corner of the hole and finished a foot behind the hole. He rolled the short par putt in.

The rest of the round was a wet ordeal as Dave struggled to keep his grips dry. He went through all his gloves including his three new ones and all four towels. His club slipped in his hand several times causing the ball to veer off line significantly. At the end of the day he had lost two balls - one in the water and one in the woods. He had some very good holes but with the lost balls and other shots where his club slipped in his hands he finished with a two over par seventy-three.

For the conditions he was generally happy with his final score. He definitely would have liked to have had several shots back to do over - but golf doesn't work that way. The two golfers he played with had a very hard time in the rain. The Manitoba player shot eighty and the BC player shot eighty-eight. Dave was the last player from island team to play and the other seven members and coaches were waiting for him in the clubhouse.

Steve asked, "How did you get along, Dave?"

Dave just shrugged, "Not bad considering - I shot seventy-three. I could have been better but I could also have been worse."

Steve laughed, "Well you did better than almost everyone else. With two more groups to come in behind your group, you are now in second place only one stroke behind a local player from the Quebec team. Seventy-three is very good under these conditions."

Dave was very happy to hear he was only one stroke behind. He checked the bulletin board to get his tee-time the next day - he had an early time of nine o'clock. He asked the coach if he could be here for eight o'clock and the coach said he would drive him over early.

The team returned to the hotel and Dave laid out all his wet clothes and his wet clubs. He was confident they would be dry for the morning. Dave and Bob joined the team for supper. After supper Dave went to his room and checked the weather forecast for the next day. He was hoping it wouldn't rain again. The weatherman was predicting sunny skies the rest of the week and Dave sighed in relief. He rolled onto the bed to call home. His father answered the phone and immediately asked how he did. Dave explained the awful weather and went through each hole with his father.

Jennifer was there and she talked to Dave for a few minutes before his father came back on the line. Roger explained that he was leaving very early in the morning and should be in Mont Tremblant around suppertime. Dave said he would see them the next day as he hung up.

Bob came in the room and asked Dave if he wanted to go to the show with him and the two girls they met the previous day. Dave looked at the bedside clock. It was only six-thirty but he didn't think it would be a good idea to go out with another girl even if it wasn't a date.

Dave explained to Bob that if some more of the team was going, he would go with the group but he didn't think he should go if it was just he and Bob with the two girls. Bob nodded understandingly and said he would ask someone else to go.

After Bob left Dave lay on the bed debating his decision. He thought maybe he should have gone but then he asked himself, "What would I think if Jennifer was away with some sports team and I found out she went to a movie with some guy she just met that day. I know I trust Jennifer but at the same time I don't think I would like it."

Dave finally reaffirmed to himself he had done the right thing and got up to go find his other teammates. He found two of them in the video room of the hotel. He joined them for an hour and played several video games before he went back to his room and relaxed. He fell asleep watching the television.

He woke up at his usual time and took a quick shower before going to the café. The sun was shining bright and he was really psyched for a good round. He said hello to the lady at the café and she asked, "The same as yesterday?"

He nodded, "Yes, please."

When she gave him his order she chatted briefly, "My name is Sylvia. I own this little café with my husband. Enjoy your snack."

Dave thanked, "Thank you, my name is Dave and it's nice to meet you." Dave sat and ate his muffin as he sipped his hot chocolate. He was visualizing the golf course in his mind and he was steadily getting more and more focused on his game.

After twenty minutes he went back to the hotel and ate a quick breakfast. His coach was just coming down the stairs as Dave was going up to his room to get his clubs. Dave asked, "Can you drive me now, coach?"

Coach Steve replied, "Sure Dave, I'll meet you at the van."

Dave was happy to get to the course a little early and spent forty-five minutes hitting balls before putting for just over thirty minutes. When his name was called to the first tee he was completely focused and ready.

He birdied the first two holes and continued his strong play the entire day. His final score was sixty-five and he was very proud of himself for remaining focused. His two playing partners from Ontario and Newfoundland shot seventy-two and seventy-seven respectively.

Dave was standing in the pro shop when coach Steve walked up to him and congratulated him on a great round. Dave thanked Steve then asked if he would drive him back to the hotel. Dave wanted to have a good dinner and then relax by the pool. He was also anxious to wait for his parents who had booked a room in the same hotel. Steve agreed and drove him back.

Dave ate a large meal then rested by the pool for the afternoon. He saw the two girls Bob had been talking to and he smiled and said hello to them. He swam laps for a while before just resting on a lounger by the pool. Later in the afternoon, several of his teammates joined him as they returned from the course.

Dave and his teammates were waiting for the last two players and the coaches to return from the course when he heard a familiar voice call his name. He turned and immediately walked toward Jennifer. She was smiling with her arms open and Dave embraced her firmly. He whispered, "What a great surprise to see you! How long have you been planning this?"