Weird Weather Golf

We've had some awfully weird weather here in Texas lately.  And of course I've tried to play through all of it.  Last week we had our first snowfall in my hometown in almost 15 years.  Needless to say golf was out for those two days.  However, the snow did melt (but the cold didn't go away), and this past Monday, I went out for a round with a friend.  

When we teed off, it was about 37* with a windchill of 25*.  I layered up with underarmor, some Thermotec, ski socks, a beanie, and my wind/rain jacket.  To top it off, I kept one of my ski gloves handy to wear in between shots.  After 9 holes, I gave up.  Maybe I need to invest in some better cold weather gear for days like Monday, but by the time I putted out on 9, I could no longer feel my hands, which made having any feel impossible.  By the end of the day, we had freezing rain coating my car.  

Weird weather didn't stop with the cold temperatures, though.  After the freezing rain thawed, fog set in.  I felt like I was living in San Francisco as the fog didn't lift for two straight days.  I still managed to get in a round yesterday (sadly finished with two triple bogeys to shoot an 89).  It was kind of eerie playing when wedge shots slowly disappeared into the clouds only to fall out a few seconds later.  When the fog finally lifted (and temperatures rose into the 70s) today I made it out to shoot an 85 (finished double-double...maybe I need to work on closing out my rounds?).  

Does anybody have any good stories about playing inclement weather?

Introduction

Welcome to my journey.  Over the next two and a half years, I hope you'll follow me as I attempt to go from bogey golfer to assistant pro at a golf course (any golf course!).  Currently, I am 24 years old, recently married, and soon to receive a Master's degree in atmospheric science.  Why, you might ask, am I changing careers now?  I didn't know that I loved golf until about 5 1/2 months ago.  I never played growing up, and while in college took a golf class and played sparingly.  In my first year of grad school, I played more consistently and eventually was scoring around 90 consistently.  However, research soon consumed my life and I quit playing for a year and a half or so.

Fast forward to summer of 2008.  My wife bought me a round of golf at a nicer golf course in the Houston area as part of our honeymoon.  I had only played one round in the previous year and had all but lost the "golf bug."  One round, though, was all it took to get hooked again.  Of course, "golf pro," wasn't something anyone would've described me as that day.  Indeed, with a score of 102, "hacker" might've been a stretch. 

Since then, I've worked diligently at my game, and have been making steady improvement.  Recently, I shot a personal best 78.  Scoring has been hard to come by the last few weeks, though, as winter has descended upon southeast Texas (snow last week, freezing rain in the forecast for today), but my dedication to the game has not.

In this blog, you will be able to follow my journey as I try to lower my handicap to 7.0 by August of 2009.  In September of 2009, I hope to enroll in the Golf Academy of America in Orlando, FL to pursue a job as PGA teaching professional.  Included in this site will be updates on my progress, thoughts on courses I play, thoughts on golf equipment, and of course insight into the mind of a "normal guy" trying to make a living playing and teaching golf.  Join me on the journey, and I promise to keep you entertained.