“I’ll get you next time,” Jeff offered.“But the rest of you are on your own,” he quipped.
A round of laughter filled the pro shop.Each man grabbed a few items, and then they loaded their personal belongings and clubs into the three carts that awaited them under the luxurious awning beyond the front doors.
Cavin climbed into one of the driver’s seats, and Walt, the accountant in the group who looked every bit the part with his thick glasses and short, plump stature, plopped down beside him.
“Do you guys want to play individually or split into teams?”Walt asked, digging through a handful of snacks he grabbed in the clubhouse.
“How about three teams of two?”Daniel suggested.“That way Jeff doesn’t destroy all of us.”
Everyone laughed except Cavin who smiled in response to the information to which he already had insight.
“I will play with Jeff since I am the weakest link,” the doctor suggested.“Unless Cavin thinks he can challenge me for the title.”
Laughter erupted again, and all eyes turned to Cavin.
“Cavin might challenge me for the pedestal you clowns put me on,” Jeff inserted.
Cavin held his hands up in submission.“I am average,” he claimed.
“That settles it then.Just play with the person in your cart,” the chiropractor mentioned realizing the teams seemed evenly split.
Cavin would have been content to ride or play with any of the five men, but being closest to the accountant throughout the day might prove helpful.How many accountants could there be in a town the size of Beaufort?Walt probably knew the figures line by line for nearly every business in town.Although client confidentiality would keep him from sharing details, Cavin felt sure he could still garner some valuable information, especially if the guy had a few more drinks like the one currently in his hand.
A well-manicured asphalted path led them away from the clubhouse toward the course where after a couple of turns beneath gorgeous live oak trees, they parked at the first tee box.Neatly trimmed grass stretched across a wide-open area, and the guys pointed out a rather obvious flag on the lavish greens where the cup for hole one rested.
Cavin hoped to tee off after everyone else in order to gauge each player’s skill level.He figured Jeff, the pro in the group, would either want to go first or last, so once Jeff offered to start the round, Cavin quickly made the next request.
“Since I just picked up this new set of clubs in the pro shop this morning, I would like a few warm-up swings with my new driver,” Cavin mentioned.“So I will follow the rest of you guys if that is okay.”
“You should have told us you had new clubs,” the chiropractor mentioned.“We could have hit a couple baskets of balls at the driving range so you could break them in.”
“We should have done that anyway,” Daniel commented.
“Oh, it is not that serious, guys,” Cavin remarked.
“That’s a nice set,” Jeff observed.
The others chimed in with similar responses as they looked closer at the shiny clubs, each one’s neck sticking out of the brand new bag and begging to be swung.Cavin also picked up a box of top-of-the-line golf balls, and the club pro threw in a couple of complimentary bags of tees, a divot tool, ball markers, and a towel featuring the country club’s logo since he spent all that money.When Cavin selected a left-handed glove to wear, the pro told him the story about golf gloves being invented in the late 1800s but added it took a while for them to become popular.
“Well, we are here now so start us off, Jeff,” the doctor encouraged.
A slight breeze blew left to right as Jeff set a pristine white ball on a tall blue tee and readied his stance.Cavin noticed the man’s athletic form from head to toe and watched how he maneuvered the club with ease starting with a slow and steady back swing before coming forward and ending with a picture-perfect note.As expected, he crushed the ball down the center of the fairway.Cavin guesstimated the drive at around 275 yards which was impressive.
The guy who claimed the weak link title stepped up next.His stance showcased several noticeable flaws, and his swing looked a bit erratic.It didn’t shock Cavin when his ball traveled about half the distance of Jeff’s, curving into a wooded area out of bounds.
“I warned you,” he laughed.
“You won’t be the last person to hit a tree today,” Daniel reminded him with a courtesy chuckle.
The next three guys hit decent shots, each ball landing within a hundred or so feet of one another.And as Cavin stepped into the tee box, all eyes fell on him, and the chatter grew silent.Everyone always wanted to know what the new guy brought to the table.Cavin purposely downplayed his approach and stance and even thought about shanking a ball into the woods.Instead he drove the ball a bit right and landed it nearly in the middle of the rest of the group.
“Nice shot, teammate,” Walt complimented.
“Not bad,” voiced another.
“So Cavin’s not the weakest link,” the weak link teased, throwing his hands up in defeat.
The next few holes went about the same, and the scorecards clipboarded to the steering wheels showed similar totals for each team.Golf talk soon gave way to social and business conversations, and that’s the part Cavin looked forward to the most.He listened intently to the discussions about individuals, businesses, and the town’s events.He learned about the Thanksgiving Feast, and Daniel mentioned the mayor’s party occurring later this evening.
