University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Off the Tee, Day 1
3/9/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Off the Tee, Day 1
2003 Louisiana Classics Collegiate Invitational
Day 1, traveling, March 8, 2003
As you probably have noticed, Hattiesburg is one big lake after all the rain. Usually we hit balls at the driving range at Canebrake Golf Club. I have been hitting balls there for four years, and I don?t ever remember them closing the range as a result of it being too wet. That just tells you how much it has rained over the past few weeks.
The featured fivesome this week is Shane Rushing, Matt Wofford, Justin Elliott, Mike Soroka, and I. Freshman Danny Dennis is playing as an individual this week, so we made him sit up front in the van with Coach Johnson, and gave him the roll-away bed in the hotel room.
We loaded the van this morning with hopes of a dry golf course and good weather. The trip to Lafayette lasted about three hours. It probably would have been shorter if Coach Johnson would have taken the right exit. By the time we realized that we missed the exit and turned around, we saw the sign that said we were 13 miles outside of Lafayette. Nothing like a little 26 mile detour, but we arrived eventually and we were ready to go.
Oakborne Country Club is the venue for this week?s tournament. When we arrived we went straight to the driving range only to find out that we can only hit irons on this range, because it is not long enough for woods. Turns out there was a lawsuit that was the result of balls hitting houses in a near by neighborhood. So we loosened up with a few 2-irons and hit a few putts on the practice green to prepare for a quick nine holes.
To our surprise the ground didn?t make that familiar ?squish? noise it makes when you walk through mud. The course was very dry compared to any course in Hattiesburg, and we were happy with the conditions.
After the round, we decided to go straight to dinner instead of checking into the hotel. Gator Cove was the name of the restaurant. I guess we shouldn?t have been surprised when we saw alligator on the menu. Justin Elliott and Matt Wofford got the alligator appetizer, and they said it tasted like chicken. Danny Dennis got the half and half alligator platter, and he said it had a blended taste of chicken and pork. I took their word for it.
Finally to the hotel we went and we were glad to settle down a bit. Of course there is nothing to watch on television on a Saturday night. Maybe Saturday Night Live if we can stay up that late. All of these early mornings that accompany college golf make us turn in a little early when we get the chance. I think it was the last trip when I went into Matt and Elliott?s room, and they were passed out asleep at 8:30 p.m.
