or: The back nine

My Thursday nights have now changed.

Last Thursday I discovered something new to do. It’s not actually new to do, it’s more of a new location for me to do it in.

I was invited by one of our divers to go to a local golf course for a fun run / walk. Yes, I’m aware that the word “fun” doesn’t often go with the other two though for me, it does.

We could choose to run / walk for either 1, 5 or 8 kilometers.

Thursday night rolled around and just before the sun set, another friend and I were at the golf course for a course briefing of a different kind. We sat on rattan chairs outside the clubhouse and listened to where the marshals would direct us and were told there would be discounted drinks and foods at the restaurant afterwards.

Good to know.

And with that, a small group in a mix of athletic and casual wear set off for a run / walk around the golf course. There were kids on scooters, a couple of dogs, some runners and some walkers. 

It’s not a race.

Being our first time, we decided on the 5km though we could have changed to the 1km or the 8km along the way if we had felt inclined. Turns out that we would be walking most of the Back Nine – I’m pleased with myself that I can put that in a sentence, it’s factually correct and it’s a golf term that I’d never usually need to use!

As the golf course was formerly part of a sugar cane field and processing plant, there are some old relics incorporated into the course. There are also some incredibly flashy houses and lawn that you could picnic on without a blanket though I’m pretty sure the people that maintain the golf greens would not be happy with this, particularly since we were told to stay on the path.

As we wandered along, we came to a few intersections which were well marked to let us know where to go.

Some were lit with the aid of golf carts and marshals waving their torches to indicate the direction we should head in depending on which distance we were doing.

We thanked them all.

There was a pleasant breeze along part of the course, the company was great and I learnt a bit about golf too since my walking buddy is a golfer. I’m lacking in coordination for this kind of activity and am happy that I can walk and chat without falling over.

We also managed to pass a few others. 

It’s not a race though passing is still an achievement in my world.

We finished after the sun set and there were quite a few people already at the clubhouse having drinks.

Next Thursday I’m going to do a bit of running and a bit of walking as I build my way back up to running 8km again. It’s a flat course so it’s the perfect place to train and start timing myself once I’m a bit more fit.

Also a great place to have a beverage afterwards.

We will plan better for this next time.

 

Thanks to Inxs for the title to this post.