First Time Golfing With My Daughter

This past few weeks, we (my son and I) have been taking my daughter to the golfing range.  At first, she was hitting it 5 to 10 feet, but on the first day at the driving range, I taught her that it’s her form that matters most, and after about a 20 minutes of practicing swinging, she started to hit the ball 50 to 100 yards!

For an eight year old girl, hitting the ball 100 yards is quite exciting, and it really showed in her face!  She was smiling ear to ear after she started nailing the ball!  It helped that both my son and I really made over how well she was hitting!  My son is a great guy and looks out for his little sister!

In fact, the entire golfing session was my son’s idea!  He asked me if I thought my daughter was ready, and I agreed!  Next he asked if Grandpa could go too, and of course I thought that was be a great idea too.

And then Tuesday rolled around and I totally forgot! lol…

Luckily he didn’t and ended up calling Grandpa and got the ball rolling again (pun totally intended…)!

Golf Cart

Golfing With My Daughter

My daughter and I rode in the same cart and honestly had a ball.  She actually played much better than I expected, and actually beat my son and tied me on 1 hole in particular (obviously we beat her overall, but for that one hole, it was hers!).  Although she doesn’t hit it 200+ yards, she definitely got it past 100 years a few times!  And you could see the confidence that she gained from playing well.  The funny thing was on the first hole, she even missed the water hazard (unlike my son and father).  I had a rare day where it seemed like everything I hit went super far (on the last two holes that were over 300 years, I landed on the green both time… this is very rare for me).

So all in all we all had a great time, and I was so impressed with my daughter and son that I took them for ice cream and pie.  Both of my kids like chocolate & peanut-butter pie, and so it was a great conclusion to a fun day golfing.

All in all it was a great memory…  I’m looking forward to taking them out again,

Don

Last Day of Golfing For The Year

Usually, I’m the happy-go-lucky type around friends.  I’m usually goofing off or just being crazy, childish yes, but still fun.

That said, this past Saturday, I was sick and it was obvious.  So when my dad called up to invite me and my son to golf, at first I said sure, my son would love to go.  My son really does like to play golf and he is pretty good for being 11 years old.

After my dad came up, I felt worse, but thought I’d tag along, just to see them play and enjoy the conversation.  Of course I took my golf clubs just in case…  As you might have guessed once I go there, I had to play too (sick but so what), so off we went.  Since I was lethargic and didn’t talk or joke around too much, I was able to focus and played my best game of the year.  How’s that for a twist!

I guess sometimes when you don’t have the energy for side distractions, you can concentrate and play a better game than your would normally, even when you are sick.  Go figure.

Overall, we had a great time, making fun of the bad swings that we all made, and cheering and complimenting each other on the great shots we had too.  It’s a fun process, especially when you don’t take the game too seriously.

 

Now on to interesting articles I read this week:

Watson, Inc:  Young People Avoiding Investing In Record Numbers –  This is a sad trend, but with unemployment so high among recent graduates, perhaps not to incredible surprising?  Mr. Watson does an excellent job of explaining the important of investing, especially if you are young!  This is a must read article if you a young person (or really any age)!

20s Finances: Obama’s Finances: How to Solve the Debt Crisis – Americans are left wondering how we as a country are going to get out of this financial burden. Read more about my proposal to solve the debt crisis that involves Obama’s finances.

Everything Finance: How to Save a Bundle on Your Auto Insurance – Car insurance is typically required by law. Most people pick their favorite company or the one their friend or family member uses and then set about paying their policy every 6 months. People often keep the same insurance company for decades, but doing so can cost you extra money.

Everyday Tips & Thoughts: Questioning the Panic Over Under-Water Mortgages – President Obama is amending the Home Affordable Refinance Program so those who are under water can refinance their homes. Is this new bail out really necessary?

Budgeting in the Fun Stuff:  Budgeting in the Undead Stuff –  What a fun article…  Sounds like they really know how to enjoy Halloween!

Prairie Ecothrifter: How to Save Money at the Supermarket – If you’re anything like most people, you’re probably feeling the pinch thanks to rising food prices. There is some good news though – you can bring your food shopping costs down with some careful planning. Here are some tips to help you to save money on your supermarket shopping.

Beating the Index: Investing in Oil: 5 Junior Oil Stocks for 2012 – Discover what makes these 5 junior oil stocks top picks for 2012.

Okay, enough reading, not to go out and enjoy when is left of the last few warm days of the season (at least in my neck of the woods)!

Hope you weekend was as rocking as mine was (minus the part about me being sick)…

MR

Golfing On The Cheap In Hilton Head, Our Caddyshack Adventure

Golden Bear

Last year we found a golf course a good ways away from the core activities of the island, that was relatively cheap.  But this year we wanted to be on the island and golf at one of the better courses.

We choose “Golden Bear”!  It’s a golf course in a gated community in Hilton Head.  The course is a beautiful Nicklaus-designed course, with a fairly challenging layout.  We saw exotic (local to the area) birds in the water hazards, and even a few alligators basking in the sun.  The houses along the golf course were spectacular (at least million dollar homes)!  Needless to say, I was amazed by both the scenary and the beautiful homes along the course!

To save on cost, decided to book our tee time at discount hours (after 4:00pm).  So we had a tee time set for 4:32pm.  The deal we got was $31.00 (it’s regularly priced in the $70s) per person, and we got my son in for free (perhaps because he’s 10).

So it was a bit expensive for my taste, but a lot cheaper than it could have been!  As we played, we had a blast!  At some holes, we looked like we were living scenes from Caddyshack.  In particular, my dad was driving off of the tee, and when he hit the ball, it hit a tree and came flying back at him (really it came back 10 feet to the left of him, but it was close enough).  My brother-in-law and I were roaring in laughter!  Another Caddyshack scene was when my son hit a ball that almost hit a very large stork-like bird.  The ball land so close to the bird that the sand that kicked up from the ball landing, hit the bird and causing it to fly away to another water hazard on the course.

One final moment was when my dad hit the ball and it hit the water, yet somehow the ball managed to skip across the pond surface and landed high on the fairway on the other side.  Without skipping a beat, I said that somewhere in pond, there was a turtle swearing out loud at my dad.  It’s still a mystery how his ball bounced out of the water, after all he was over 100 yards away when he hit the ball.  That was a first for me!

After we finished the 15th hole, the sun got tired of waiting for us and decided to go down.  The lack of light and the voracious appetite of hungry mosquitoes caused us to decide to leave the last two holes unplayed. 

It was a great experience, and by far the most challenging course I ever played!  Hilton Head is definitely a place full of discounts and deals… if you look!

Do you have any great ways to get deals on entertainment while in vacation locations like Hilton Head Island?

-MR