Peninsula State Park Golf Course = Home

A wise man once told me, “Shoot for par. The bogeys will come.” Unfortunately for me, it’s more along the lines of, “Shoot for bogey and the doubles will come.” I have a feeling I’m not alone in this category. Regardless of the frustration that builds upon failure time after time, I continue to punish myself on a weekly basis for this wonderful game called golf.

After 17 gruesome holes and one clerical error hole of success, I’m left behind the wheel of my car sweaty, tired and broken. With all of the complaints so far, which is just the tip of the iceberg, one would wonder why I continue to play. My response is that it simply wouldn’t quite be a great summer in Door County without it – I guess you could call it tradition.

On a sunny Monday morning a few weeks back I got up real early and headed over to the Peninsula State Park Golf Course. For the lot of you, 6 am may seem like a normal hour to be awake, but for those of us in the service industry, it’s real early.

If I had to choose a home course or a club to which I belonged, I would have to say Peninsula State Park would be mine. It’s the course I’ve known the longest, played the longest, lost the most balls at and where I’ve spent the most money. Broke or not, it is still a beautiful course with views that are nothing short of majestic.

It feels like home and it is home to many golfers – locals, tourists and families. Built in a park that’s celebrating its centennial the course is in great shape and only 88 years young. It even has a family of friendly employees, some of which that have worked there long before my entrance into this world.

As for that glorious Monday morning in the sun and trees, well, I hit the first fairway and a great second shot off the carpet. I wondered why I don’t do this more often. From hole two on, I realized it’s because I belong in the trees. That’s my home. To save my family name from complete embarrassment I’m not going to reveal my score. I’ll just say it was a traditional day for me at the State Park Golf Course.