#7
Tag: dinosaur
Lost Balls
A simple walk down the road at the end of my driveway can be dangerous. Sure, the coyotes, the javelina and even the rattlesnakes are always cause for concern, this is the desert. But the real danger, the one with the greater odds of doing serious bodily harm as you walk the road across from my house, is a golfer with a mean slice.
Had the golfers I walked by a couple of days ago not played their random rap(?) music as loud as they did I might not have paid any attention as a seriously sliced Noodle whizzed behind me and sailed down the dirt drive way of a neighbor.
“Whoa!” is exactly what I said. Then I laughed. I have golfed Dinosaur before. The spot in the road I was standing was about 180 degrees from where that ball should have been headed.
Even the best of golfers can hit a shot nowhere near the direction they had aimed. Hooked it or sliced it but either way it was not a good shot. I am also 100% positive this golfer had no idea I was out there wandering around so I didn’t take it personally that he could have killed me with his completely off track shot. His partner in the cart seemed equally surprised they were not out there all alone.
The Gold Canyon Resort http://www.gcgr.com makes sure their golfers are so spoiled and golf focused before they even reach their cart that we should give them partial blame for creating this high velocity danger!
In the Clubhouse they have water with fruit floating in it for goodness sakes! The cart girls drive around to bring you icy cold mango infused towels! Your personal carts cooler is full of ice and cups of water are ready. Spoiled golfers I tell ya!
Then, as their now happy, relaxed and carefree golfers drive over to the first tee of the Dinosaur course, they are met with the most mesmerizing views of the Superstition Mountain that by the time they are teeing off at the 9th hole they are no longer consciously aware there are roads anywhere. Bad slice? Blame those fabulous icy mango towels.
Our regular nightly walks, long after Dinosaur has closed, yields roughly 5 to 6 balls on average. It’s August. I’m starting to think wearing a helmet might be necessary to walk safely during prime golf season.
I’m also starting to wonder if there is a pattern as to what type of balls are found more often. Hhhhmmmm? A study? Stats? That might have to happen…
So far there just seems to be too many possibilities that a chart would make my brain explode. We have found quite a few Titleist ProV1. Not a ball I would be that happy to lose. I’m surprised we aren’t rescuing golfers stuck to the barbed wire trying to go find them! I don’t golf well enough to play with ProV1s. I certainly would climb over the barb wire, into the street and hunt around the desert to find one if I had paid $45 a dozen.
But now that I find them for free…
I think the unknown is what makes looking for these lost balls so much fun. There is always the very real danger of animals and reptiles at that time of evening. The bats zipping and zagging, the night hawks making their rounds. We have heard the coyotes calling. 
But every time I see that obvious white, sometimes neon yellow shape sticking out in this desert landscape like a sore thumb I get excited. Can I grab it or is there a rattler staring back under that bush? Is it going to be a “good” one?
9th Hole of the Dinosaur Lost Ball Stats
Sunday August 7, 2016
- Nike Mojo White #2
- Titleist ProV1x #1
- Top Flight XL Distance #4
- Callaway Super Hot 55
- Top Flight Magna High Trajectory #3
Daily Total :5
GOLF?
Our heat here in AZ has been so extreme this weekend we continue to set records, yet I can look outside my window to the tee box on the 9th hole of the Dinosaur and see 4 men happily waiting their turn
Just like the Superstition Mountain we live next to, the game of golf seems to have this pull, this energy, this drive that makes a grown man go outside in 110 degree weather to “play”.
I can hear all of you golfers now “Just get an early tee time.” It was 95 degrees at 5:30 this morning with an expected high of 117! No joke. (6/20/16)
The way our little house sits on the hill we have spectacular views all around. The mighty Superstition dominates the North and East views. But if you look out to the South you see golf, the tee box for the 9th hole. If you look out to the West you see the 11th hole tucked into the mountain.
Living here I’m finding there are golfers for whom excessive heat is not going to stop a good round of golf. Blasts of hot wind, heat radiating in waves on the concrete, doesn’t matter. Its golf. And right now its CHEAP golf on some of the best courses in Arizona. When you normally can pay well over $150 a round during peak season, a $35 tee time can entice a serious golf lover to go withstand oven like heat to start a round at noon.
$15 will get you a tee time round 2 or 3 in the afternoon. Just go to http://www.GolfNow.com.
I love golf. It’s a great sport. I just have no idea why anyone would want to play in this heat! But I see them. They are out there.
Now I’m not a golfer. I don’t think what I do out there classifies as actual golfing. I’m told if I “practice” I will get better. If hitting one or two balls 10 times or more at a hole that I never get it into isn’t “practicing” then I don’t know what “practice” is. Just the word “practice” makes me giggle. Practice. I repeat the word “practice” about nine times like I’m Allen Iverson…not a game…we talking about practice. I belong in the cart.
Most courses are beautiful and quiet. Like being in a park. Usually lots of nature too. I have even seen alligators! ( No, not out here. In South Carolina, another home of some amazing golf courses.) An alligator laying by the greens is not enough to stop a golfer! Especially in the South where they are common.
I guess it’s like us out here in the desert with lizards and snakes, it just comes with the territory.I have seen deer, quail, squirrels, roadrunners, lizards and more bunnies than necessary out on our “home course” Dinosaur. Like a ridiculous amount of wild bunnies. I’ve counted 9 and 10 just hanging out by a fairway. They just kill me. After years of golf course living they still have absolutely no idea how to navigate any oncoming cart traffic. Confusion every time.
Javelinas usually don’t get to roam on the courses but it wouldn’t surprise me to hear someone tell they saw one or two.They wander through my yard. I’m sure they find their way onto the grass. My husband seems to see coyotes quite often. But coyotes and Javelina are not going to stop a good round of golf any more than an alligator is. Be serious.
Planes were diverted yesterday. Couldn’t land. It was too hot. I’m not making that up. It is illegal for planes to land or take off once the temperature hits 120. Something to do with the effect the heat has on the equipment.
4 hikers died this weekend on our trails due to the heat. The news reporter said one of them was a personal trainer. This heat is serious.
I can just hear the argument that its actually SAFER to be a golfer:“ Golf courses have carts. No hiking except to find your ball. Golfers aren’t walking the whole round. The carts have coolers with ice and beverages. The carts give shade.”
Its 110 degrees outside currently. Just saying.
Sure, you could also argue that the colorful clothing golfers wear make it much easier to spot one in distress when he flops over on the green holding a flag! I see you guys from a good seven iron away. I see those neons. Golfers are much easier to rescue. Rarely is a helicopter required.
For some even the worst round of golf in this heat can produce an inner happiness that a walk through an air-conditioned mall just can’t provide.
Don’t believe me? Ask a golfer.
adesertviewwithstace 
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