“First Round of the 2025 Season”

Today was a treat for me and Kathy. We got a chance to golf with one of our regular readers. Our golfing partner was Danny. Danny is the father of one of our longtime friends, Lisa. Lisa started sending her father a link to our blog from the start-up of 18 Holes and Counting. One day she suggested we add Danny to our Golf Gallery.

We sent Danny the link, and from that time on, Danny has been a regular reader of 18 Holes and Counting. 

We are in Pensacola for our annual stop and we always have playing golf at some of our regular spots on our schedule while here. But, before our first round in Pensacola (actually before our first round of the 2025 season), Lisa called and mentioned her dad would be in the area visiting, and is interested in playing a round of golf with us.

Without skipping a beat, I said of course! 

One of the many things we enjoy about the Pensacola area is that there are quite a few courses to play. However, for this time of year, we recognize local courses experience many changes during the winter, including slower grass growth, firmer ground, and frozen or wet areas. Heck – just two weeks ago, Pensacola received over 8 inches of snow.

That’s right….SNOW in Florida!!

So it wasn’t lost on us that these changes can make it more difficult to play golf. 

We decided to play Scenic Hills Country Club. We felt that Scenic Hills Country Club would be the best golf course in the area this time of year. When we got to Scenic Hills we were told they were working on upgrading the bunkers. That worked out fine because that made them GUR (Ground Under Repair).

Believe it or not, only one ball from the three of us needed a drop out of the bunkers. Go figure.

Scenic Hills Country Club also seemed to be making a hole change. There is a par 3 that runs along the side of the main road. It is no longer there for play. Instead, the next long par 4 is now two short par 4s. I think when it is all done and fully developed, it will be a nice couple of holes to play.

Both Kathy and I enjoyed playing golf with Danny. He is an avid golfer and enjoys playing several times a week. Even on vacation, Danny likes to get in as many rounds of golf as possible. A man after my own heart. His joy of playing is exactly in line with how we enjoy playing golf – The only time to take golf serious and to stress about your round is when you are being paid. I guess that is easy to say when all of us played well. Not our best round, but definitely not our worse one either. To top it all off, the weather was perfect. Sunny and 65 degrees with a little breeze.

Danny showed us his mastery of the game with a few beautiful drives and several skilled approach shots. Danny seemed to blend right in with both Kathy and me. We chatted like we were old friends that hadn’t seen each other in a while. We look forward to our next round of golf with Danny.

Playing golf with Danny reminded us both of why we enjoy this game. We play for fun, friends, exercise and fresh air. Today, we were able to meet all four.
Thanks Danny!

On a side note – The changes to Scenic Hills Country Club are going to be drastic enough that we will have to do another course rating when all of the changes are complete. 

Fairways and Greens – We are 18 Holes and Counting.

Written by Marc Festa