the Running GOLFER

Ok, so by now you get the "running" bit. What about the golfer bit?

Well, there isn`t too much to the golfer at the moment. In fact, I haven`t touched a club since 20 October 2007. I remember the date well cos we became the World champs at the rugby world cup that day. That was my last round. I played with a few buddies, Riaan, Henk and Fisher at Erinvale, a beautiful course here in Somerset West which has hosted 2 SA Opens (both won by Trevor Immelman who used to be a member here).

I remember the round pretty well. First nine I played pretty well. I shot 39 and was pretty consistent. Wheels came off a bit on the 2nd nine and I came in with a 44 which gave me an 83 for the day. Pretty decent considering the conditions and the fact that it was only my 3 round in 6 months.

We moved to Somerset West in May of last year. I left my regular four ball in Jhb and with that, also my regular golf. I was a member at Reading Country Club and it was a convenient 5 minutes from home. We also played a lot of golf at Germiston CC. Lots of fun. Riaan was my golfing partner and we won MUCH more than we lost. We had a regular competition called the SFAQ Cup and it was serious stuff! Riaan and I played against Quinton (Riaan`s brother) and Andre (our Springbok buddy and also the best golfer I know). It was INTENSE. Played for big money and the right to keep the cup until the next time.

I miss those days but for some reason I dont miss the golf as such. More the cameraderie and the 19th hole!

I was a pretty decent golfer. Handicap around the 8 mark with a lowest of 5. Best round was a 76 in the wind at Germiston, a day where I beat Riaan, a 5 handicapper at the time, Andre 3 handicapper and Quinton 5 handicapper. I was a decent driver of the ball but a terrible putter. Damn those knee-trembling 5 footers for par.

Now, I enjoy my running more. Maybe because I haven`t even thought about playing golf in such a long time. I still watch a lot of it and will always be a golfer at heart.

I`ll be back on the fairways but I`ll be more interested in how my new levels of fitness will affect my golf than I will be in how far I hit my Cleveland driver. Incredible how life takes you in different directions. Who would have thought, me a runner?