“TGIF”

Today is Friday – TGIF Baby! Before I retired, Fridays used to mean the beginning of the weekend, which meant a golf day was coming! But now – every day has become Friday – which means it’s a great day to golf!

Although my favorite playing partner would ask: “When isn’t it a good day to hit the greens?” some days are obviously better than others (think: severe lightning storm). I also have to consider that some courses have specials on certain days for league play.  Most golf leagues are based on a set schedule that the league plays each week at the same time, which makes it more difficult to get a tee time if you aren’t part of their league. 

Weather and league play aside – there are certain days that offer a more rewarding experience for me than others.  Of course this is purely subjective and who am I to tell you what is the best day for you.  But as for me, I have two days I enjoy the best….

The added bonus when playing on Tuesday or Thursday at my home course is I get to see the Blue Angels practicing while I play.  It is an amazing sight to look down one of the long fairways when the F/A-18 Hornets fly over.  

It’s the sound of freedom!   

Thinking about this I realize it isn’t so much the actual day I play as much as what time of day I play that I find more rewarding.

For me – my favorite time to tee off is early morning.  I love hitting the course between 7:00 and 7:30 am because the course is pretty empty. The birds are singing, the sun is shining, the air is fresh, the morning dew is still on the fairways and there is very little ambient noise from the grounds crew. It just is a very special time of day to play. Not to mention, playing early is great for my mental state and always leaves me refreshed after 18 holes.

While living in Singapore my favorite playing partner and I would get up at o’dark-thirty (4:00 a.m.) and head to Malaysia to tee off at 7:30 a.m. at our home course.  I know, I know, many of you are thinking we are crazy and you would be right – we are!  

But those memories of playing a round with great friends and the enjoyment of the game is something I will relish forever!

Playing in the early morning is when I shoot my best scores. I don’t know what it is, but when I tee off around 7:00 or 8:00 a.m., I seem to play better than any other time. I am not sure if it because I am rested and ready to play, or the conditions are just right. Whatever it is – I just seem to score very well in the morning. 

And it’s true for me off the course as well.  I really do love early mornings.  I just love the invigorating feeling it gives me.  

I love the peace of the morning, the cool crisp air, the hush that has fallen over my home like a soft cuddly blanket. Mornings are an integral part of my day. It’s the time I set my mind on what matters, I plan, I take time to focus on me, and I am energized. The days that I sleep in and miss the quiet time of the early morning, my days seem a bit out of kilter, like a car running out of gas – lurching around, all start and stop and no smoothness.

I believe early mornings have a bad reputation.  

The association with work and weekdays has tainted early mornings. Everyone wants to sleep in.  Nobody wants to wake up early. Of course….late nights and partying don’t agree with early mornings either. But there’s something about early mornings that a few extra hours of sleep can’t compete with. Just being there to see the daybreak is something really special.

The gift of witnessing the earth waking up is like no other. I find it humbling, reassuring, a blissful experience.  In fact, there’s no better time to simply just “be”, to reside in nature’s palm and feel a part of it all.  It’s a calming, somewhat hypnotic time of the day, watching the morning unfold.

I find getting up early offers an alternative view of life, which may be missed by those who get up later.  It’s a front row seat for the waking of the planet.  A gift of opportunity in so many ways….

• Every frown is given a new chance to smile
• Every grudge given a new chance at forgiveness
• Every situation given a fresh chance at change

No matter whether it’s a beautiful sunrise in a foreign land or a rainy morning in the good Ole U.S. of A, each scene is different, each act familiar but previously unseen.  No morning is ever the same –   the sun is a little closer, the grass is a little longer, the world a little older, and we all are a little more experienced. 

My Reads from the Reds – Every morning is a chance at a new Day!

Fairways and Greens – We are 18 Holes and Counting

Written by Kathy Festa