University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Off The Tee, Day 3
2/10/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Off The Tee, Day 3
Day 3, the 36-hole day, February 10, 2003
The 36-hole day is the longest day you will ever experience. You get to the golf course at 6:30 a.m., and don?t usually leave until about six that evening. The rain was gone, and we were ready to go.
The shotgun start was at 7:30 a.m., and we started on what I considered to be the hardest holes on the course. I made it to the tee on time for the start, but I could not find the golf cart that was assigned to my group. So there I was on the par-3 12th hole without a golf cart, and everyone else playing in the tournament had one.
Coach Johnson came to the rescue driving up in a golf cart that was labeled ?USM.? ?Here is your cart Lowell,? he shouted with a little frustration under his breath (Lowell being my nickname). Already I was not getting off to a good start, but I pared the first hole and was on my way.
I was teamed up with two international golfers from Tennessee and East Tennessee State. One guy was from England and the other was from Wales, so I felt right at home, being a Mississippi boy. Sometimes, it is hard to understand people from other countries, since they speak with ?different? accents. I find myself just shaking my head ?yes? when they tell me something or ask me a question. We had a good group, though, and we seemed to share the same problems on the course, with a few bad bounces and some miscues on the putting green.
Coach Johnson noticed that my drives were not traveling far and that my driver was making a strange noise. He figured that there was something wrong with my club, but I quickly explained to him that it makes that sound when you hit poor shots with it.
There is no better time to sit and talk about all the crazy stuff that happens during your round than in the van on the way back to the hotel. Whether you are listening to Ben Snow talk about the seven double bogies he made or Justin Elliott talking about hitting the ball all over the course, it is always good for a laugh after a long day of golf.
The whole team was a little off today, but we hung in there and didn?t put ourselves out of contention for Tuesday. There is almost always a day in golf when nothing goes quite like you planned, but the great thing is that if you hang in there, you can redeem yourself the next go-around.
