Though we have technically reached that point in the year when the amount of daylight begins to slowly drip away, we are still in the middle of those endless summer days when golf can become an after-dinner activity.
Everyone has a favorite time to play. Some love the early morning when the dew is heavy enough to keep your irons clean, the greens have just been mowed and the day’s heat is taking its sweet time awakening.
Some prefer a more leisurely start, maybe after a light lunch with the last putts falling just as happy hour hits.
But there is something about going out late on a summer afternoon, often knowing there isn’t enough time to play as many holes as you would want and racing sunset but without hurrying.
Golf can be a game for all seasons, but summer afternoons that stretch past kids’ bedtimes in the winter are a bonus. The pressure to play well is off.
Golf courses are at their most beautiful late in the day when the shadows stretch across fairways and the golden hour can bring alive even a scruffy layout. The heat may linger, but the edge has come off the day. Playing a few holes as the light begins to fade can be its own kind of therapy.
Maybe you throw a carry bag over your shoulder and go by yourself, accompanied only by your thoughts and the rabbit or two out for a nibble around the course’s edges.
Maybe you throw a couple of cold ones into a cart, grab a friend or two and set off to see what happens.
If you happen to play well, you wonder what might have happened had there been time to go a full 18. If you play your usual game, you’re going to be glad you did it because before too long, these afternoons will have turned to evenings and the summer sweat will be traded for sweatshirts.
These days don’t last forever. They just seem like it right now.
Ron Green Jr.
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