For over 20 years one of my birthday traditions has been collecting a free round of golf at one of the local Huron-Clinton Metro Park golf courses.  My birthday falls in September so I get to enjoy a taste of Autumn with my round.  Those with birthdays that fall between November 1 and March 31 get to celebrate a ½ birthday 6 months after their real date.  There are four Metro Park courses within a ½ hour drive and I have joked about hoping that my birthday would be a rainy washout so I could drive to each course and get a rain check.

Some other courses have joined in the “Birthday Club” idea.  Most require one to bring along one or more “friends” at full price in order to receive the “free” round.  That is not “free” in my book.

I typically take a full or ½ day of vacation on my birthday in order to enjoy my “gift”.  This year, sadly, a business conference fell on my birthday and I was unable to collect my round.  Otherwise, I pretty much have a perfect record.  One year my wife & I returned from a trip to Europe on “The Day”.  After unpacking, I grabbed my golf bag and headed to the course.

My most memorable birthday so far was my 60^th.  I took the day off and played a morning “free” round at the Brighton-area Metro Park.  A mediocre score left me mildly disappointed.  With an afternoon of great weather still left, I headed further north to Hunter’s Ridge where I had a prepaid round pending.  My par & bogey start was typical.  When I got up & down from the sand on the 3^rd hole, I thought the afternoon might turn out to be decent.  Five birdies during the balance of the round got me in the house at even par “71.”  Up to that point, that was the closest I had come to “shooting my age.”  It remains the best birthday round of my life, but then, there is always next year! 

Anyone else have a birthday golf tradition?