Rainy Highlight-FORE!!!!

This was going to be one of the big highlights of my trip- St. Andrew's Golf Course.  Libby had booked us train tickets so we could go to St. Andrew's on Monday of our Scotland excursion.  I was thrilled.  She was not.  She went along because I wanted to go-she can be a trooper like that.  But it was pretty touch and go for the first couple of hours.  I'll give you one guess as to what the weather was like.  You probably didn't need even the one guess-it was rainy, cold, and miserable. I have no idea what weather deity or karma I have upset, but clearly there is a rain cloud stuck firmly to my behind. 

Getting from Edingburgh to St. Andrew's if very easy-until you have no idea where the bus stop should be.  But we figured it out.  As we were walking up to the old course, and I was seeing the iconic bridge and the various buildings I've seen so many times on TV, Libby said "that's the bridge we came to see?  Are you kidding me?  It's, like, ridiculously small." Yes, my dear-it is.  But every great golfer who has ever played the game has walked across that bridge.  I walked across the fairway, but I did not walk across the bridge.  I'm not a great golfer and I did not play a round at St. Andrew's and it just didn't feel it would be right to do so.  Golf is a game of character; you learn a lot of about yourself and you learn a lot about the people you play with.  I'm probably a purist.  I like to play with technique, play by the rules but not so strictly that if I'm having a bad hole I'm unwilling to pick up that little white doodie and take the max on the hole and move along.  A new hole means a new opportunity to play better.  I've played some great courses.  I even have gotten par on TPC sawgrass the day before Q-school was to start, so I can hold my own with practice, but I play for fun.  If I'm not having fun, it's time to call it a day.  

And so we did.  After we looked around the town of St. Andrew's, had a coffee, visited the cathedral ruins-in the rain, the University museum, stopped for lunch at a University bar and shopped in the pro shop for a little something, we went home early.  It wasn't fun anymore.  We were wet, cold, and tired. 

We got to the Royal mile apartment, treated ourselves like princesses with tea, Indian for dinner, and bed.  And I dreamt of the great golfers who crossed the bridge at St. Andrew's and how lucky I am to have been there to see it.