Tigress (in the woods)

   Once again the weather people were wrong. They predicted rain every day this week. Today it was changed to sunny and about 61 degrees with clouds coming in later in the afternoon with possible rain.
   C and I knew what we were going to do today. It was a day for golf, miniature golf, that is. There's nothing like getting out on the course on a nice fall day. Since this is the end of the season, the courses are empty. We don't have to worry about anyone playing ahead or behind us.
  We set out after breakfast. We stopped off at Shopko so I could get a new pair of shades and something to keep my hair out of my eyes. Then off to Johnson Park. The course there is pretty easy and is a good place to warm up. We paid our fee (C got to use a senior discount.),selected our clubs and balls and went out onto the course.
   I put my ball on the starting point and took a good swing. The ball hit the side of the enclosed area and came right back to me. This was not the way I wanted to start my first round. I replaced my ball and told C that we would each get one do-over. I hit the ball again and it went right where I wanted it to go. It took two shots to get it in. That was more like it. I picked my ball out of the hole and curtsied to C. If football players can do touchdown and sack dances, then I could do a victory curtsy over my hole. C was not paying attention.
   For someone who had not played in nearly a year I was doing well. It was taking me only one or two shots to get the ball in. (For me this is a very good game.) I was tearing it up. Those shots were going in just like I wanted. I was the Tigress.
   Then I got to the the sixth hole. (I think it was the sixth hole, C lost the score card.) I hate this hole. You have to hit up onto a small plateau. If you hit the ball too hard it goes out of bounds, too soft and it rolls back down the hill. I stepped up,placed my ball and gave it a firm whack. The ball sailed to the edge of the enclosure and then came right back at me. Dang it. I'd already used my one do-over. I would have to take a penalty. I hit the ball again softer this time. It rolled barely up the plateau and then rolled back down to the edge of the plateau. I hit it up and it rolled into a rough. After six strokes I gave up. I stalked off the hole and waited for C to play it. Stupid hole.
   That was my worst hole. The only other problem I had was when I hit my ball into the water. I gave myself a one stroke penalty before realising that if I had left my ball in the water it would have rolled into a pipe that let out right next to the hole.
   I was so pleased with my play that I didn't even mind that C won the round. This round could very well have been my personal best. Now that we had warmed up it was time to go to the Pirate Cove.
   We have a set order for the courses we play. Pirate Cove is more challenging. The roughs are actually made of rock and are impossible to get out of. There are bunkers and other things that you have to hit around. The holes are also slightly raised, which can be frustrating.
   It was not one of my better games. Instead of taking two or three shots per hole, I was taking three to four. Par on all holes is two. Oh well, even Tiger has bad days. Besides that the wind was picking up and playing heck with my game. I did make a hole in one on one hole. I did my victory curtsy and waited for C to play the hole. He hit a hole in one as well.
   It was after lunch by the time we finished. We were both hungry. We found a nearby restaurant and had something to eat.
   When we finished eating the wind had picked up even more and clouds were rolling in. There was a very good chance that it could rain in the next hour or so.We had a decision to make. Usually we head to the most challenging course of all, The Red Putter. We do it last because it is a lot more difficult than the other two. We had our warm up rounds at  Johnson Park and Pirate Cove. It would make playing the Putter easier. On the other hand neither of us wanted to play in the rain and the wind was picking up. Playing the Putter on a calm day is challenging and playing in the wind could make it much worse. We decided to defer the Red Putter until tomorrow.
   With any luck, the wind will die down and the Tigress will come out again.......