I played my first round of golf in three months today, the lengthy layoff induced by a worsening back injury having carried Keith Douglas through the winter league. A respectable return to the game it was too, 75 blows not too shabby for a forty something dosed up on enough ibuprofen to neutralise a buffalo. I played with a couple of newish members from Aberdeen on a warm and occasionally showery morning, the views as terrific as ever, a tranquil sea stretching for miles and Dunnottar Castle clearly visible along the coastline.
Lowlights of the round included a hooked tee shot onto the practice green when attempting to drive the last hole and a chunked approach on the 16th which moved the fairway a foot closer to the clubhouse. One of the other guys produced a spectacular shank on the 8th which disappeared into the North Sea and the guy ahead of us played his second shot on the 3rd from a position twenty yards behind the tee, he'd ricocheted his drive off the yellow tee box in front of him, quite a feat.
Highlights of the round were my consummate birdie on 17 and the quality of the boiled eggs I consumed on the 12th fairway. This gluten free diet means I've had to swap crisps for eggs and chips for fruit, it was no fun to begin with but I'm getting used to it now, although my guffs are emptying the clubhouse in ten seconds flat. Todays score gives me the encouragement to play again next week, perhaps I'll aim for the double whammy of shooting 74 and pickling the eggs this time to improve my clubhouse clearing personal best time from ten seconds to five.
