A bad round, but a fun round

As the title of the thread says, this is the type of round i've been relegated to for about the last 5-7 years, my swing undergoing radical changes due to significant weight gain and a nagging chronic shoulder problem. I still manage to play about 10-12 rounds a year, and still manage to have a good swing thought pop in my head every round that keeps me coming back, though it becomes harder and harder to implement.

The other day, because of some morning errands I had to run, I didn't get to the course until about high-noon. By then, I had a foursome, a twosome, and a single with his own one-person gallery right in front of me. The single let me tee off before him, relegating himself to the fact it was going to be a long day, even only for nine holes (it was a nine hole course). By the end of the first hole, I caught up to the twosome, who invited me to play with them, but warned me, they were pretty bad. I told them I was too. Now, in the distant past, I may have said that out of humility or to make them feel better, but this day, it was absolutely true. But we had a great time.

Where I used to be nervous about hitting the perfect shot, I was now nervous about things like pace of play, etiquette, and fostering a sense of camraderie, even though we were perfect strangers. Whatever prejudices I had as they hit their opening tee shots dissolved as I was now part of 'the group'. There were some good shots to be had among the bad, reminiscences of the 'old days' as they actually believed that at one time I was a much better player than I am now. They didn't have the experience I had to fall back on as they both took on the game later in life, and admitted they weren't asked to play by the better players among their colleagues. I could certainly relate. You know who your true friends are, when your game goes south. And sometimes the friends you thought would stay true, don't. But I digress...

It was an imperfect round, but a perfect day, not a cloud in the sky, bright sun, summer in the Midwest at its finest. And a round I couldn't think or dream up if I tried.