I wanted my first golf round on this adventure (trip? chapter? not quite sure how to frame it) to be memorable. Realistically, every one will be but starting off on a good footing is always ideal. Decided to pop down to Huntsville, AL and the Robert Trent Jones Trail to play Hampton Cove. Got there super early to enjoy the sights and sounds. Not sure why, but my reservation that I phoned in and made the day prior seemed like it didn’t show up. But no worries, a few clicks later and I was set to play the Highlands course at 1:10 PM.
I had the typical range session of my life. Hit the ball great, put it where I wanted. Chipped fine, putted decent. And I decided to walk the course, so I headed up to the tee box a bit early. They’re re-doing their bunkers and we started off from the 10th hole.
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| Per the course recommendation, we played the Orange tees |
The course was in really good shape for the season just starting, fairways in perfect condition and the greens were rolling fast and true. Teed off with 3 other players who all had played the course prior and lived in the area.
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| From L to R: me, Luke, Stephen, David |
Couldn’t have asked for better guys to be paired up with. Luke is a fellow fan of soccer (Aston Villa) who did some nonprofit work prior. Stephen works air traffic control, asked him what he liked most about his job and he said that he doesn’t bring work home. Makes sense, can’t really direct flights from your living room. David did commercial banking, now owns a company that likely is going to be sold by the end of Q1.
Back to the golf for me, wow, the range session did not translate over to the course. I should have known on my first tee shot when I didn’t see it off the face and it was right in the middle of the fairway. Something about the round felt off from the jump. Definitely had the case of “one bad shot” per hole and I carded an 89. Which, that math tracks.
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| Some of the sights (and sky changes) out at Hampton Cove |
I was surprised to hear from the boys that this course was the “worst” of the trail. 11 locations in total, each site has at least 2 courses on property, all located in Alabama. For the price ($70 on a Friday) I was more than fine with it. Course had a lot to offer, not much elevation change with the exception of a couple of holes (the 9th was our finishing hole and is a straight uphill par 5). From the tees we played, all par 3’s were healthy. I actually laid up on the 16th hole, par 3 210 yards but with the wind into us it was playing 245. Only 4 greens in regulation, putting didn’t hurt me. Just getting there in regulation was the challenge. Hit the ball well, but directionally was all over the place. Hit about 1/3 of the fairways, my miss was right. Crazy to think on the range I was drawing everything. Hindsight, the wind likely played a factor on the range, but I still was moving it that way.
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| The damage |
Alas, they can’t all be gems. Left AL and headed east, finally stopping in SC for the night. Going back to the Carolinas for the weekend to spend some time.
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