Every year I do my absolute best to make a great vacation for My wife and kids, and myself of course. Our favorite spot to which we have now been eight different times is the Door County peninsula in Wisconsin. We typically leave in late July or early August to spend a little over a week in the northern climate to escape the oppressive St. Louis summer. Last year, I finally got into golf enough to actually want to start going to golf courses, and I discovered just a gem of a place at the Alpine Golf Course in Door County. This year I was determined to improve upon my abysmal performance from last year’s game and prove to myself that I am capable at improving at something physical. Plus, golfing and cigars go so well together, so why not have another excuse to light one or two up?
Situated right near the shores of Green Bay, the Alpine Golf Course has a full 18 holes, and while it is currently going through a transition period with a new set of owners (meaning some of the greens are in the process of being repaired and revitalized and they are currently doing construction on the clubhouse), the course itself is still gorgeous to experience and a lot of fun to play. Early one morning while on vacation this past August, I got myself hyped and ready to hit the links one more time, with of course a couple of great cigars on hand to sweeten the deal. Getting to the course just after 7:30 in the morning, the Sun was still very low in the sky the mist was still hanging low over the fairways, there was a brisk coolness in the air, and man was I ready to make the most of it.
Teeing Off!
I was able to get there early enough that I could have the course basically to myself. There were a couple of people who were going to be playing behind me, but they weren’t going to be hitting the tee box for another half hour, so I effectively was the only one on the course that early weekday morning. I stride up to tee box number one, pull out my driver, line up my shot, take a few practice swings, aaaaaaannd… I shank the damn ball about 30 yards to the right of the fairway. OK! No big deal, just go over to find your ball and recover from that less-than-ideal tee shot. I end up bogeying the initial hole, which given my typical play isn’t too bad.
A Nice Rebound
On to the hole number two. At this point I pull out the AJ Fernandez Dias de Gloria Brazil. I fire that tasty little sucker up, relax for a couple of minutes enjoying the full-bodied smoke that comes off of that incredible cigar, and start on my next tee shot. This one is a little bit better, not perfectly down the middle of the fairway, but hey I’m on The fairway. The second shot gets me on to the green. With this being a par four I am what the pros call “on the green and regulation!” I am still a far cry from the hole, (at least 70 ft) but I my best effort and close the gap with my first putt to get within about 18 ft of the hole. Oh well I guess I will be bogeying a second time, but it could be a lot worse. What! My second putt actually goes into the hole meaning I actually parred hole number two?! Hot DAMN! Maybe I am a good golfer after all! This would basically be the high point of my morning as far as my golf game went.
Slugging it Out
I won’t bore you with the details, but the remaining 16 holes varied from bogeys to triple-bogies up until I got to hole 18. Now, hole 18 is where the resort takes their money shots for their website and advertising. The tee box is way up on the top of a bluff affording players just a breathtaking view of the Green Bay waters. It is a par 4, but it’s a shorter par 4, not even 300 yards. Having been swinging my driver rather erratically most of the day I hoped rather than believed I could actually make the fairway off of this tee. Wouldn’t you know, I smoke this damn thing absolutely pure, maybe my best drive of my life.
A Dramatic Finish!
I couldn’t really tell how far the ball went from my vantage point, (I mean these stupid golf balls are tiny) but I know I hit it straight down the middle and it definitely had some distance behind it. So, I take the last few puffs of the Cuban Link, which was my follow-up cigar for the back nine, I hop back into my golf cart, and drive back down the windy cart path to see if I can figure out where my tee shot landed. I am just speechless! After a couple of minutes of searching, I find my ball no more than 3 ft from the green. So yeah, I’m feeling pretty good it’s a simple matter of just chipping it on to the green, make a smooth putt, and finish the round with a birdie. Hey, if I get really lucky and make a super good chip shot, perhaps I can sink it right here for that coveted Eagle! Fast forward 10 minutes later, I end the 18th hole in six shots. SONOFABI****!!!
Hopefully, there are others among you wonderful readers who can relate with this bittersweet experience of golf, so please share with me your best stories from the links in the comments. Happy Golfing!
Joe Kenney
I am a Certified Consumer Tobacconist, have enjoyed cigars for over 10 years, and I run the Jonose Cigars cigar review channel on YouTube. My primary goal is to spread cigar lifetsyle to as many as possible while discovering as much as possible about the craft of cigars along the way.