A Journey With Cerebral Palsy

We turned off the main road. Taking the right to descend into the Hualalai resort. The golf club is attached to the Four Seasons on the Big Island of Hawaii. Stopping at the guard house to state our reasoning for entering the exclusive piece of property. Hualalai isn’t only made up of the resort and golf club. Many houses border the golf course and scatter themselves throughout the property. There was a feeling of positive affirmation from the gentleman at the gate house. The reaction to our reasoning for entering the property was met with a welcoming enthusiasm. His manner reiterated my belief that this was going to be an unforgettable experience. From the gate house, the road gradually twisted further downward. Taking the car toward the Four Seasons, sitting on the shore of the Pacific Ocean. On previous trips to the Big Island, I had driven in to look at the resort, giving me a mental picture of what to expect. Pulling into the reception circle of the resort, brought back a familiar emotion. The area appeared almost identical to the mind’s eye memory. Dropping down a slight hill onto a horseshoe shaped ending. The picture created was a pool just beyond the drive. As your eyes rose from seeing the pool water, the waves of the ocean crashed just down from the pool deck. The vision was captivating, as we pulled the car to a stop in front of the resort valet. 

The car and golf clubs disappeared, as we were instructed to make our way across the horseshoe shaped roundabout. Through a small passageway was the golf shop for checking in to play golf. For the first time, there were two golf shops at one course. The shop next to the entrance was full of merchandise. Hats, shirts, shoes, with the Hualalai logo on them. I bought a hat for the round of golf and the memory of what promised to be an amazing day. Our golf clubs appeared at the bottom of a staircase. Fastened to the back of golf carts, ready for taking off to the next destination. The following stop along our pre golfing journey was the second golf shop. This building would be the final place for checking in before talking with the starter. I found the restroom inside, then went outside to hit some golf balls on the driving range. Hawaii is not a challenging place for getting warmed up to play an afternoon of golf. The warm tropical weather making body movement much easier. The aches so familiar during my daily life with cerebral palsy are greatly eased in the tropical climate. My golf swing felt more fluid on the range. I didn’t hit many balls before wanting to spend time on the practice putting green. Walking down the hill from the driving range and onto the putting green was the moment when I realized the gravity of where I was about to play golf. 

The grass on the putting green looked spectacular from the naked eye. This was before placing a golf ball upon the turf. Probably one of the best putting surfaces I have seen during my time of playing golf. The interesting thing was, I didn’t think much of it, as I walked down the hill and onto the green. I was just taking mental notice of the nicely manicured surface. Having seen other putting greens look good from a distance before setting down a golf ball, striking a putt, and experiencing some disappointment. Snapping me back into the reality of where I might be playing golf on that given day. When I stood over my golf ball, to strike my first putt, there was no feeling of disappointment. The grass looked even better up closely. When I sent my first putt rolling on the green was when the true magic stuck. The smoothness of the roll was something I couldn’t remember experiencing. I hit a few more putts of practice, getting a feel for the speed, and trying to stay in the moment. It was difficult not to get swept away in the magical opportunity of playing golf in this place. The time had come for moving toward the first tee box. I walked off the putting green and climbed the shallow hill to the golf cart. We chattered with the starter about our home and quickly got onto the subject of the Seahawks. With the Super Bowl just a few short days away. The final comment from the starter was, we’ll talk about the Super Bowl next year. I thought it was a cool way of sending us out to the golf course. 

The first hole looked wide and inviting. Well-manicured grass inviting the golfer into an unforgettable experience. I stood on that first tee awe struck by the hole before me. The feeling of excitement had elevated from the drive into the resort. I often judge a golf course by the view of the first hole. Hoping to look out onto the design of the first hole with optimism not intimidation. The course architect has seventeen more hole to instill anxiety in my chest. I’m always hoping he or she welcomes me with a handshake. An agreement of allowing me at least one hole to gain my whit’s before the challenges begin in earnest. Hualalai achieved this nicely with the first hole, though I failed to take advantage of the handshake welcome. The par-4 first hole was medium in length and gently climbed upward. The fairway appeared wide from my teeing ground. Having a pretty straight ball flight, I didn’t bother with looking outside the lines of the fairway. I also failed to take into consideration the nervous energy running through my body. The questioning of whether I deserved to be playing golf somewhere that felt this exclusive. I pulled that first tee shot into the bunkers lining the right side of the first fairway. Showing me the jitters of playing somewhere I had seen on television were real. I decided against hitting the golf ball out of that bunker for my second swing of the day. Instead, picking the ball out of the sand and giving myself a better chance from the grass. I finished up the first hole with the course conditions leaving me mesmerized. The day was going to be unlike anything I had experienced; I thought driving to the second hole. 

The afternoon of golf lived up to that thought I had driving to the second tee box. The golf course opened itself up into a grand theater. We continued to gradually play up into the hill. Moving away from the shores of the Pacific Ocean. The black lava rock always just off the grass of the golf course. It framed every patch of sparkling green grass the eye could see. Some of my favorite holes were on the opening nine holes of the course. Golf holes I had never seen when watching the pros play the course on television. I went into the day excited to play those few holes that always seemed to be spotlighted during the Champion Tour event. The par-3 seventeenth running along the ocean. Or the eighteenth that majestically went back up toward the clubhouse. The final green surrounded by hills of grass to provide an amphitheater type feel. The clubhouse sitting grandly atop the green slopping hillside. Those two holes were breathtaking in person. Making me realize how much television falls short of painting the reality. The par-3 seventeenth was the hole that most captured my attention. What seems to get missed on television is the way the hole sits beside the ocean. I felt like I was playing golf really close to the level of the surf. Something I don’t remember experiencing in any previous golf experience. In all my memories playing near or alongside the ocean, I have always been above the surf by seemingly ten or more feet. With each step I took on the seventeenth I had the feeling I could have reached out and touched the top of the waves crashing into the rock. One of the coolest sensations while playing golf. But there was more to the golf course, beyond those two finishing holes. 

I was surprised when I looked back at the golf course through videos on the Hualalai golf site. When I play a golf course pictures of golf holes tend to populate my mind in the following days. Images that captured my imagination during the day of golf. My struggle becomes placing those pictures in my mind along the golf course. I recall the sights that made me want to play the course again but couldn’t tell you the holes. In looking back at the website, I found some of my favorite spots on the golf course were all in a row. Going into the day of golf I didn’t really think about the holes on the front 9. I perceived the first handful of holes to probably be generic. The magical holes would most likely be the ones I had seen on TV for years. I knew these would be in the latter stages of the afternoon. From watching the course being played on television. The 17th hole would be the signature hole of the course, running along the ocean and the eighteenth would be breathtaking, as well. So, following the day of golf I was surprised to recall my favorite holes as being the 5^th, 6^th, and 7^th. The shock of experiencing them probably added to my enjoyment. The 5^th was a par-3 with a pond running up the right side of the hole. The mound to the left of the green gave the 5^thcharacter. The 6^th went sightly uphill, as we climbed away from the Pacific Ocean. Six ended by gently sloping downhill to the green. The lava backdrop, just beyond the green, provided a cool picture from the middle of the fairway. The 7^th started taking us back down the hill. A hill we had spent the first six holes gradually climbing. The par-5 had a unique lava outcropping that pinched down the middle of the fairway. The lava was at about 150-yards from the green. Again, giving neat character to the golf hole. 

The course at Hualalai had unexpected character. Seemingly around every corner was something interesting to behold. Something I was not expecting when warming up on the range. The day of golf had one of the most unique traits. An aspect I had never before experienced on a golf course. This course didn’t have a place for getting food after the first nine holes. instead, we were simply given a key to use. After finishing nine we pulled up to a nice-looking building. It reminded me of places along a golf course you might stop for a bathroom break. The building did have small restrooms to use, but that wasn’t the brilliance of this structure. The key on one of the carts in the group was used to unlock a large barn door. Once the door was rolled away, a snack bar was revealed. The golfer could pick up anything looking appetizing to eat. They had items behind this barn door that surprised me. Like full cans of Arnold Palmer, which I don’t see much. They had chips and cookies like would be expected. But the coolest was little wrap sandwiches they had. Each one in its own little plastic cup with a lid. The lid was like something to be found on a plastic cup of soda. With a slot in the middle for the straw. Only these were much smaller without the need for a straw slot. I grabbed a can of AP and a few of the small sandwich wraps. I had never seen anything like this. Not the setup of the snack station, nor the kind of small sandwich wraps. Into the cart my food went and off to the second nine I motored. 

Eating on the golf course has never been an easy task. I think about the impact of cerebral palsy when it comes to these kinds of subjects. The challenges I have with my fine motor skills. The difficulty with manipulating objects with my hands also includes food. Combine these obstacles with trying to eat while in movement. Making sure I continue playing golf at a steady pace. I look for opportunities during play to take a couple bites of whatever I might have selected. Even then, I’m faced with placing the food back into its wrapper to save for later. The need for all the challenging navigation leaves me cautious about the items I grab to eat on the golf course. Usually, I’m reaching for a hotdog, as I have historically found it to be the easiest item to eat while playing. Sandwiches can be good too, depending on how they are packaged. The best is when each half of a sandwich comes individually wrapped in its own foil. This way I’m not opening the entire sandwich and trying to manage it as I play. My cerebral palsy challenges in this area were part of what made the wraps at Hualalai so good. Not only were they small two or three bite wraps. They were individually packaged in containers that were easy to open. These small snacks could be easily taken out and munched down between a drive and second shot. They made no mess and were incredibly yummy to eat. I always love being able to eat with less concern about cerebral palsy. 

What an incredible afternoon of golf it was at Hualalai. The experience was one that will not soon be forgotten. The grass all around the golf course was in amazing condition. The greens were challenging with the undulations running through many of them. Like the awe I felt when walking on the practice putting green. With the impeccably smooth surface, I found for striking my putts. Each of the greens along the golf course on that afternoon had the same feature. The surfaces were a blessing to putt on with the quality they were maintained. I very seldom in my life have played on greens like those. Another joy of mine was the size of the greens. Most of them felt large, which I tend to enjoy on the courses I like playing the most. The lava bordering most every fairway provided unique character. A staple of the golf courses on that island. Hualalai was a once in a lifetime feeling experience. An opportunity not to be missed. I felt blessed to be experiencing the afternoon with each of my steps.