Chasing Daylight

It was 3:23pm when the car door opened. Ryan jumped in, still breathing heavily from sprinting out of school, and tossed his jacket and backpack full of books into the back seat. I pulled away from the curb before any other parent awaiting their kids could fill the road and block our escape.

A few minutes later, we pulled into the parking lot at the club. We gathered our clubs and the change of clothes Ryan had left in the backseat earlier that morning and headed for the clubhouse. Ryan detoured to the locker room to change out of his school clothes while I checked us in at the Pro Shop. I think the staff was surprised to see anyone else headed out to play before dusk arrived.

Ten minutes after Ryan had buckled his seatbelt in the car, we were standing on the first tee, ready to play some golf before daylight savings time would bring the darkness of Friday night to the golf course and the city it sits in. Lucky for us the 40 degree temperatures and overcast skies had kept most sane golfers away. Ryan had his heart set on playing golf this week and after the course had been unexpectedly closed for repairs earlier in the week, it would have taken a hurricane to keep him off the course this afternoon.

There were a few other people out enjoying the brisk chill of autumn but it was actually the Ohio State Men’s Cross Country team. The guys were getting in a training run so they could be prepared for future cold, dreary, overcast race days during their season. Luckily we avoided hitting any of the runners as we teed off and headed up the first fairway.

Ryan and I felt like we were the only people on the course but there must have been a few other golfers out there somewhere on the 36-hole property. Ours wasn’t the only car in the parking lot when we arrived so there were probably a few other brave souls getting in one last round before the pending polar vortex hits Columbus early next week.

It turned out to be a gorgeous afternoon with rays of sunshine blasting through the cloud cover every now and then, highlighting the last few bursts of fall-colored leaves left in the trees that surrounded the course. Even though it was 42 degrees, the air felt fresh and the winds were finally slowing into a dull breeze.

It was a great afternoon; a Dad and his son enjoying a round of golf, chatting about school and sports, family and life in general. It was two golfers who didn’t care about their score because they were just thankful they were out on the golf course on November 7th in central Ohio. In previous years we could have been home shoveling snow. No, this was what we call “bonus golf,” so just having the chance to carry the clubs and make a few good swings along the way was worth the hassle of the extra layer of clothes we each were wearing.

After finishing the front 9 we had just enough daylight to jump over to hole #16 and play our way in. Three more holes; three more opportunities for “the perfect swing,” a great shot or just more moments to enjoy being together. Our final putts dropped into the hole as the headlights shone from cars driving past the course that were bringing people home from work. They just got done working; we just got done golfing.

We did it. We chased the sunshine to the finish line and used every last second of daylight we could to accomplish our goal.

It had been a long week with full schedules almost every day. I had spent time building relationships and solving problems, so it was the perfect way to make sure I could have some fun. It sure helps me when I can get refreshed and re-focused because just a few more sundowns and it’ll be time to go back on Monday and start doing it all again.