Backspin Volume 3, Issue 1 | Page 7

narrominded Playing golf is fun. Tr a v e l i n g and playing golf is really fun. Traveling to really cool places and playing really nice courses is really really fun. I’d like to tell you (brag) about the best golf trip I’ve ever taken. Truth is, it doesn’t have to be a long trip or to play a top 100 course – it’s more about the people you are with. But this time, it was a long trip. I played the Old Course at St. Andrews a few years ago. In 2009, my son Shayne and I flew out of Armstrong International at 3:30 p.m. on a Wednesday. We connected in Dallas on American Airlines at around 6 p.m. We landed in London at Heathrow at 11 a.m. on Thursday, and my wife and daughter met us there. Amber had taken a group of students on a study abroad trip, and our daughter Alex accompanied her. They had been there for three weeks before we arrived. It sure was nice to see those beauties smiling at us when we got there. After fighting through customs, we got on the tube (subway) by noon and headed for Kings Cross Station. We thought our train was leaving at 1 p.m., and we were running to make it. We got there at 1:15 to find out the train left for Edinburgh at 1:30. Whew!! I was so proud of my wife but even more proud of my daughter Alex, then only 15 years old, because she led us directly to our train from the tube where I would still be wandering around in London today. Sure, 15 may sound mature enough to know directions, but if you’ve ever been to London, you know that is a huge transportation system, especially for a newbie. Alex was navigating it like a pro. So we made the train on time. Now, the ride to Edinburgh was four hours and then connected to St. Andrews for another two. So if you’re keeping count of travel time, which I’m sure you’re not, that’s 28 hours of traveling when we arrived at the Old Course Hotel, minus the 6 hour time change. My adrenaline was pumping!! Believe it or not, at no time on any leg of the trip did I sleep. Not sure how I didn’t because I love to sleep. Anyway, where are we? Ahh, arriving at the Old Course Hotel. It was roughly 7 p.m., and I was a bit out of it due to the travel. I walk ed into the lobby of the Old Course Hotel, and yes, it’s the one that you have to hit over, and like a guy who’s traveled for a few thousand miles B