Journal Entry #24
Monday
January 12, 2004
Even before the sun is up this morning I find myself in a van with Stan Thorp, Dick Hill, and Bill Gruenwald. We are on the road again to Mesquite, Nevada. This is an annual pilgrimage, which includes a large group of senior golfers getting away from the frigid Colorado high country to enjoy the comfortable 60-degree desert, which has become a golfing Mecca.
The coordinator of the event is Stan Thorp, who works out of the over 100 year old Patty Jewett Golf Course in Colorado Springs. Thanks, Stan, you do all the work and everyone else just enjoys the result of your efforts. This year Stan was planning on about 45 participants but ended up with 60 ol' codgers, as the teen set would refer to us.
I missed the 2003 trip because I was recovering from total hip replacement surgery. Take a look in the archives and read journal entry #7 and find out how you should approach getting back to golf after major surgery. Bottom line is don't do what I did.
We will be playing four courses to include the Oasis Vista, Palms, and Casa Blanca. The year I went the thing I remember most about the Oasis course was a hole you teed off on that was about 500 feet above the fairway and the five-par looked like it was 1,000 yards long. The Casa Blanca Course was a target course. By target I mean you hit your ball from one green spot and then to the next green spot. If you missed you joined the rattlesnakes and Gila monsters to find your ball….or maybe not. Take lots of extra balls. No alligators or crocodiles, however.
We will be staying at the Oasis Resort, Casino, Golf, and Spa. You too can enjoy a trip to Mesquite, Nevada at a sweet price of $99 per person including two rounds of golf or two spa treatments or one of each. To get this value you will have to sign up for a subscription to The Colorado AvidGolfer magazine. Check it out at www.coloradoavidgolfer.com. Your subscription also includes about 15 free rounds of golf and 15 or so discounted green fees at fine Colorado golf courses. There are a bunch of other discounts and incentives.
Check back in about a week to find out how the trip went. I am sure there will be a few chuckles.