A Journey With Cerebral Palsy

The drive to the golf course would take over an hour. Through Tacoma and out onto the Peninsula. The small town of Port Orchard, the city of a tree lined course. A place I have played a dozen time throughout my years. The afternoon was going to be warm, somewhere in the lower eighties. Without a cloud in the sky, it would be a great day in the Northwest. An early afternoon tee time meant departing from Woodinville in the late morning hours. It was challenging to know how traffic was going to play out. A sunny day in the middle of July could provide crowded highways. There was traffic to be found, during the middle of the journey. Though, the stop and go cars were easily passed in the available carpool lane. After making it past the slow middle portion of the drive. The highways opened for a comfortable drive toward the small town. The golf course parking lot was crowded. Forcing a short hunt for an available parking space. As I jumped out of the car and into the warmth of the sun. I was concerned over how busy the golf course might be, during the afternoon. However, after checking in and getting situated to play, it became obvious, all the cars were there for the restaurant. There was a familiar calm, as I walked toward the putting green, before play got started. 

McCormick Woods has always felt like a comfortable place to play. I use the word homey when referring to the emotions felt, but don’t mean it as a negative description. In fact, I use the word homey to mean the direct opposite. From the first time experiencing the grounds, McCormick felt like a place I could play every day. Something about the surroundings of each fairway bring a feeling of peace. Each of the holes seem to have a unique quality that is all their own. Leaving the golfer in a state of anticipation when moving from a green, toward the next hole. However, I rarely remember playing McCormick Woods on such a brilliant day, in the middle of the summer. My memory has me playing the golf course during the shoulder seasons, usually in the early spring, or later in the fall. When the weather can be a bit more unpredictable. My memories of playing the golf course always strike me as dealing with some kind of discomfort. Some kind of battling with the elements of being a bit too cold, or a concern over the possibilities of rain. When getting ready to play on this day in the middle of July, none of those feelings was a factor. The only mild concern I recall, going into the day, had to do with an elevated temperature. Come to find out, the warmth of the low eighties was feeling just right. The round of golf began on the second nine, instead of starting on the first hole. 

I was starting to notice a bit of a trend. Playing McCormick Woods was my second golf course in the South Sound region within a month. The first was Auburn golf course, which I had played a couple weeks, prior. Both golf courses mysteriously had players begin on the second nine, rather than sending players off the first tee box. When word came down for the round at McCormick to begin on the second nine. I thought about the experience at Auburn and was contemplating the seeming strangeness of these situations. Wondering why this would be happening, without the ability to formulate any kind of meaningful answer. On the way to the tenth tee box, I shook off the weirdness of my thinking pattern. Instead, my thoughts moved toward remembering the golf course, I was about to wrestle.  There are some memorable golf holes at McCormick Woods. Holes I have enjoyed picturing in my mind since my initial round at the golf course. Still, I find that I haven’t played McCormick enough to create the pattern of the course, in my mind. Leading to some excitement each time I travel to play. This time, it was my small goal to better place the pictures inside my memory with their location around the golf course. Even if I could place into memory a difference between the first and second nine, that would be an accomplishment. The holes I could distinctly remember and place their locations were the first and second holes, along with the tenth. Otherwise, I had these beautiful pictures in my head, without any concept of their location. I stood on the tenth tee box, looking out over one of the holes I could recall, ready to hit my opening shot. 

As I played the first nine holes of the round. I continued scrolling through the pictures in my mind. Wondering where these holes were on the golf course. I found most of the holes I was recalling so vividly, were not on the second nine holes at McCormick. There were two of my favorites that did make an appearance within my first few holes of the day. Even though I had misplaced the first one. I left the tenth green thinking my next stop would be looking out over one of my memories. When I found there to be a short par-3 as the eleventh hole on the golf course, experiencing that picture in my mind’s eye, would have to wait. It was the twelfth that I had remembered vividly. A short par-4, with an elevated tee box, the fairway starting at the base of a strong drop off. The hole being one of my favorites. The second hole in memory, on that side of the golf course, popped up without my knowledge. One that I could see, but not place within the flow of the course. The hole turned out to be the fifteenth, which might be the reason I remember it well. On a regular golfing day, the hole would be played much later in the round. On this day, because we began on the second nine, it was played relatively early. The hole is another short par-4, noticing a bit of a trend, I’m drawn to the shorter holes. Fifteen goes straight out in front of the golfer, then turns to the right, around a couple trees, and moves slightly up hill onto a huge green. One of the coolest things about this hole, every time I have played McCormick Woods, I see at least one deer, as I play the fifteenth. The hole is also, the last relatively easy hole of the day, and sits between two uphill behemoths in fourteen and sixteen. 

The golf course came into better focus after moving onto the first nine holes. It would be the second nine holes of my golfing day. The first two holes of the second nine, I could remember vividly. As the front side of McCormick Woods unfolded, many of the holes from my memory began showing themselves. I started understanding the magic I had always associated with the golf course. Taking the pictures in my mind, which I hold as some of my favorite golf holes and placing the puzzle together. Even when writing this post, I must call up the score card of McCormick Woods. Working my way back through my pictures from the day to understand the sequence of holes. After all the rounds played there, I still get lost in the emotions of being on the grounds. There is a three-hole stretch on the first nine holes at McCormick Woods. Holes four, five, and six, which are some of my favorite golf holes, I have gotten the opportunity to play. A par-3 followed by two par-4’s, each with its own unique style. The final hole in the short stretch is among the most challenging on the golf course, depending on your tee box of choice. Each hole has a common trait, which I think makes any hole look more appealing. They each have some kind of water hazard. In fact, many of the holes on the front nine have the element of water. Probably, a large reason why the course appeals to my senses in such a major way.  

It feels clear to see, I get lost inside this golf course. McCormick Woods has always made a special impact on me, each time I have played. I remember the excitement I felt the first couple times playing McCormick Woods. There was an unspeakable wonder when I arrived on each new hole. Like this hole was even more impressive than the one I had just finished. It’s an illusive feeling and not one many courses can provide. When I describe McCormick, it would sound like a course I would play frequently. Or, at least, make a point to play once a year. That hasn’t been the case. For me, the golf course is like a treasure. One that I hope keeps its mystic character, each time I visit. One hole can not be seen from another. Providing the feeling of being alone, among the soaring trees, and deer you frequently come across. The ideal place to give the feeling of escaping the world, even if just for a few hours. McCormick Woods brings back touching memories, having played the course with important people in my life. With friends, who I couldn’t tell you where they are today. It holds memories of time spent with important people, who I don’t communicate with any longer. And a couple weeks ago, my mom, who got to experience the wonder of McCormick, for the first time. A day at McCormick Woods has developed another tradition through the years, taking the ferry home.