Archives ~ Arrival in Bermuda July to December 2005
Archives ~ January to December 2006
January 2007 ~ Life is a Golf Course!
March 2007 ~ How to play golf
June 2007 ~ Anniversary
July/August 2007 ~ Dog Daze
September/October 2007~ Indian Summer
November/December 2007 ~ Panama
January / February ~ 2007
So what does one do in Bermuda in the Winter months when the temperature is down in the 60's (burrrr...) and the wind is gusting? Why you go and play golf of course! Although the Islands of Bermuda are bereft of tourists and the beaches are empty, the weather is perfect for chasing a little white ball with a club with the intention of sinking it in an impossibly small hole.

This months posting is all about the little golf club to which Lori and I became members a few months ago. It is the Southampton Princess Hotel's eighteen hole par three which is within walking distance from our home and, as you will see, a very pretty and challenging course.

To those who don't like "golf" and think it a silly pass-time I apologize as the next several images are of the various Tee-offs, greens and fairways of the "South P Club". To those who are avid golfers, each image is clickable if you wish to view the full screen version, and if you wish to try it out .... all it takes is a plane ticket to come and visit.

The two greens in the image to your left are the first and the second, as viewed from Tee#2. The water in the distance is of course the Atlantic Ocean looking South.

You'll notice in these pictures that the sky isn't totally clear although the sun did peek through a couple of times this day. There is often a bit of a wind, which alternates between gale force to no wind at all. In the heat of the summer one is thankful for the onshore breeze.

I've been using a five iron on Tee#2 and actually landed a ball on the green ..... once.

Here is a shot of myself teeing off on the fourth fairway. In the background is the little lake one must hit over in order to reach the green on hole number three. I hate this pond! It's a mental thing I know but I've lost more balls into it's murky depths than I care to count. It's lucky for me that Lori enjoys finding balls almost as much as the game itself!

The fourth hole is long enough to bring out the big gun. Up hill and around 240 yards. A close look at my tee shot (right) proves that no matter how impressive the follow through and no matter how hard I strain to see where the ball landed, I needn't look far to find it. As I say .... this is a horrible game!

 

Whereas I am a complete novice, Lori has played golf most of her life. Her mom and dad play often and taught her at a young age. So I'm trying to come close to being half way good enough to play with. I'm taking lessons from Leo the pro who must be greatly admired for his patience. I'm still not playing even double bogie golf and often despair of ever improving, but still, it's great to get out on the links and hack away.

The circle below Lori isn't the green but the ladies Tee box on the fifth hole. We both tee-off from the men's box.You can see the fifth green at the bottom of the fairway beside Lake Hateful.

Although it's termed an "executive golf course", there is plenty of room on the fairways for even the most inexperienced hacker to slice it up.

Looking down on the Sixth green from number seven tee box. Hitting onto this green usually results in another couple of sacrifices to the greedy Water God.

As you can read, many of the holes should be an easy pitch onto the green from the tee box with an eight iron at 140 yards.... should be.

At right is the Eighth green. You can see the tee box on the plateau in the upper left corner. Lori chipped an overshoot from the point where this picture was taken right into the hole for a birdie!
Moving right along, we find yours truly on the fifteenth green with about a 20 foot putt to make par. It's about 4:30 PM and about an hour before the sun sets. You can feel the tension in the air, the steely concentration, beads of sweat forming on his copious forehead. Does he make the putt? What do you think?
Mouse over the image above to see the style of a future pro ...
In the picture to the left we see Lori lining up to place the ball on the sixteenth green which you can barely make out in the distance, just below Gibb's Hill lighthouse. Here again one gets to try out a driver as it's about 240 yards to the pin.

The eighteenth hole and the game is almost over...Thank God. Of course Lori will want to go another nine at least.

Behind Lori you can see the seventeenth green and yet another ball eating body of water.

 

Below is a view up the 18th fairway back towards the clubhouse. The white dots in the distance are not divots but "ducks".

No Lori .... no more golf. Tomorrow is another day. You can see the Fairmont Princess Hotel in the background.
So Ok .... enough with the golf! You might have noticed that this posting is for January and February. I'm not having all that much time to put these together lately as I spend most of my time at work and Lori has been out of town for the last month. Below are some pictures taken while in Maple Ridge visiting with her Mom and Dad, and in Whistler visiting with the Goodwins. As you'll notice, there is a bit of a difference in the weather.
Robin and Eleanor Knight at their home in Maple Ridge
View from Lori's parent's window to the parking lot below

Above you can see that the snow effectively grounded everyone in Maple Ridge for a few days.

On the other hand, the snow glistening on the peak of Blackcomb Mountain in Whistler looks so beautiful. This picture was taken from brother Randy's and Lisa's living room.

Blackcomb Mountain in December

Finally a night image of downtown Hamilton during the holiday season. Looking down Front Street, you can see the Bank of Bermuda in the background.

That is it for this posting. We arrived in Bermuda in 2005 and now here it is 2007 already. Time is passing quickly. Talk to everyone again in a month or two.

e-mail and say hello!