I’ll admit, I like golf. Okay… I like watching others play golf. I don’t really like the way I play golf, because I’m terrible. Probably because I don’t play very often. Golf is one of those things you have to play a lot to get mediocre. I don’t think you ever get good.
But I spent a fair bit of the weekend watching the Masters. I generally enjoy the Masters. Augusta National is a beautiful course. It is a bit more spectacular in April, when all the azaleas are in bloom. I like seeing azaleas on television. You can’t smell them. They are beautiful flowers, but they don’t smell particularly good, so seeing them on television is a plus in my mind. Only this was November. There were no azaleas in bloom, although they were still green. The constant falling of pine needles did add a little something to the show, though.
Then there was Tiger Woods. He played fairly well. Except for one hole. On one hole he played like… well… like me. He hit three balls into the water and ended up taking a 10 on the hole. I guess that rule where you don’t put double figures on your scorecard doesn’t apply when you are a pro. I won’t say I have not played golf with a long string of 9s on my scorecard, but in most friendly games, the 9 usually represented something much higher. It just remained unwritten. Not so for Tiger. He had a 10 on his scorecard.
This in one way made me feel good. Knowing I can play golf just like Tiger Woods. When he’s having a really bad day.
And he hit three balls in the water. Now, even with that, Tiger probably didn’t have to worry about how many balls he had left in his bag and if he had enough to finish his round. And he probably didn’t have one of those nifty little ball retriever gizmos in his bag. The ones that extend out to ten feet and allow you to harvest balls from a water hole. Honestly, it could be my favourite club.
But the one thing I really found different watching the Masters in November… no cardinals. If you watch the tournament in April, there are cardinals everywhere. You may not see them, but you can sure hear them. If you have cardinals around, you are probably familiar with their call. That loud piercing whistle does stand out, almost as much as being a brilliant red. But in November, there didn’t seem to be many cardinals to be heard.
It’s probably the time of year. I went out into my back yard, and there didn’t seem to be many to be heard there either. There are usually quite a few cardinals around. Not so much in November.
Maybe it was the fact that with no live audience on the course, they didn’t have as many microphones around to pick up the sound. Or maybe it’s just the fact that it’s not mating season for cardinals, so they just don’t see the need to chirp as loudly. Still, it was a bit disappointing. Hearing cardinals is one of the things I enjoy about the Masters.
Did I mention I’m not much of a golfer?
