This is a post I finally got around to writing.

I’m lying in bed coughing out a lung then painfully swallowing, what feels like tiny razor sharp blades in my throat, as I caught my first ever bout of Covid.

During the day, I’m well enough to sit up in bed, read a bit, watch some YouTube videos or just look out the window to let the mind wander. (That’s my most favourite thing of having covid).

Then as soon as midday rolls around, fever jacks up again and a wave of lethargy hits me. I take an afternoon nap to sleep it off but feel worse when I awake. Sometimes I’m cold with chills, other times hot and other times, I’m drenched with sweat.

However now that it is in the AM, and I’m feeling a little better, I thought I might write about playing golf around Sandhurst Golf Club last week.

I put my name down in the Ladies Bowls. (Confusing name yes I know). It’s a competition between some clubs where ladies represent their home Clubs and compete with each other.

My handicap is still high (32) as I’m still a beginner but I’m expecting it to come down over time as I improve. I put my name down for this competition because it would be an opportunity to play a new private course (for free) and to have breakfast and lunch provided (for free) and a golf car provided (for free).

Some of my peers wondered why I had put my name down because my handicap was so high. Wouldn’t I be a detriment to the others who play better than me?

Thing is, leaving aside the free food, game and transport which was my main motivator, being a high handicapper on a team (and one who is improving in the process), you’re more likely to get more points than the low handicappers. Don’t discount the high handicapper – have one in your group always because it’s likely that they’ll put pressure on themselves to play better – and hold their own – with lower handicappers.

The probability is that they’ll end up playing better than their handicap hence more points for the team.

My peers also said, “but it’s a new club, you don’t know how to play it, you’ll be at a disadvantage!”

Again. I didn’t care about that knowing I had a free feed, a beautiful day and some new scenery to take in. I was going to enjoy every single second of it. Why would I? Besides, it all works out in the end with the MiScore app. Whatever you play, whatever golf course you play anywhere around the world, you get a score towards your handicap.

It was a no brainer. I was going into this Bowls thing and put my name down for ALL THE GOLF COURSES on the list.

I was selected for Sandhurst.

It’s a lovely club further south to where we live and it’s on some kind of gated community (looks like that to me). There’s a restaurant, health club, cafe, kindergarten, golf club, tennis courts etc and all set in front of the waterways. It feels “resortish” if you can discount that just outside are industrial estates and the like.

I was told by one of the ladies that I was selected for Sandhurst because many of them “don’t like this course”. I don’t know about that. Playing a round there was great. The fairways were well maintained like walking on carpet and it was picturesque enough to maintain my interest. Challenging at times too.

Zipping around between holes, I let my mind wander.

“I wouldn’t mind living here,” I said to my playing partner as she was navigating the golf car on a tiny bridge to pass over the water way.

She turned to me, dropped her shoulder as if she was saying something to me in confidence.

“Oh no. You wouldn’t say this if you knew the truth. We stayed in one of these communities for ten years. Everyone knows your business.”

I jerked up straight. No, nope. I wouldn’t like that at all. I promptly put that thought out of my head and focused on the next hole.

I played well that day, my friend. I was happy that we got 41 points thinking we had won the challenge.

Unfortunately another club Yarra Yarra (my husband’s golf club as he and I belong to DIFFERENT clubs) win with an amazing (unheard of) 47 points.

Why? Because they had two high handicappers on their team who played well on the day.

After the round, we all met at the restaurant for a drink and the Sandhurst ladies gave the presentations to the winning club and put on a wonderful lunch of hot and cold food. I stayed back and chatted with the women in no hurry to get home and enjoyed myself immensely. Before leaving I headed over to introduce myself to the Sandhurst Women’s Captain to introduce myself and thank her for a most wonderful event, great golf course and lovely lunch.

I would say that it was one of my highlights of the year.

(I’m now thinking of my Woodlands ladies representing our club today at Yarra Yarra Golf Course on a swap day. I would have been there if I didn’t catch this blasted virus)….