Idle Hour

I had the distinct pleasure of playing a perfectly conditioned golf course last week. At the invitation of my cousin Art, I teed it up at Idle Hour Golf & Country Club in Macon, Georgia.

Idle Hour has been around for quit some time, and is the quintessential friendly Southern private club. It has seen generations of my extended family age gracefully, hosted its share of wedding receptions, and never failed to deliver a superior post-round cheeseburger. But what really matters is the golf course, and Idle Hour's is a very good one.

The golf course is tight and bristling with potential disaster. Tall Georgia pines envelope the fairways making it beautiful as well as threatening. It isn't terribly long, but requires considerable thought and awareness. The greens are uniformly small and well trapped. When I've had the good fortune to play it, it has always been in good to excellent shape. In particular, the greens always impress me. I can't remember a time when the greens weren't fun to putt. This isn't easy because Idle Hour's sloping greens are of the bent grass variety. Bent grass demands a ridiculous amount of care and attention when used in a sweltering summer climate like Macon's.

The greens are a particular pleasure for me because I normally play Bermuda greens here in Florida. It's just nice to be reminded of what a delicate art putting can be. I'm convinced that Bermuda grass milks the precision from your short game. When I write the great American novel, or, far more probable, win the lottery; I'll be parking myself near greens like these.

I've played Idle Hour on a number of occasions. Last week's round was notable because the course was in flawless shape. The greens were fast and smooth. The fairways were tightly mown. The bunkers held plenty of sand and were kind in supplying playable lies. Even the pine straw well off the designated playing areas was flat and free of pinecones. There wasn't a blemish to be found. No soggy low areas, no barren chunks of fairway, no ground under repair.

Our foursome played in the close, muggy, 95-degree heat so common in the south. Rather than being exhausted when we finished, I wanted more. I've played great courses all over the country and rarely enjoyed a round of golf as much as I did this one. I thanked everyone I could find on my way out.

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