Last week I had the chance to fly out to Houston, Texas. I was there to visit the home of The Spirit International Amateur Golf Championship. The event will take place this November, but we went out to see their golf course and experience the facility firsthand. The course actually closed on July 1st for the summer. The golf course is located in Trinity, Texas, about an hour north of the Houston airport. We flew in on Monday afternoon and flew out the next day. It was perhaps the shortest trip I have ever been on.
Flying on Delta
For this trip we flew on Delta Air Lines. Typically when we go on business trips, we fly Southwest Airlines. I’m not a huge fan of Delta actually. I do fly with them nearly every year though, as they are the only airline that flies to Managua, Nicaragua, where my family has a vacation home.
Our flight left Indy early… Very early. Zach and I left his house at 5 AM! (Zach works with me, and is the director of golf development at IMAVEX.) We didn’t even stop for coffee… Nothing was open! But Zach made a pot before we left. He has a new Bunn coffee maker, and the joe was good.
The Drive North
Like I said, the drive to Trinity was about an hour north of Houston. When we arrived, we headed to the rental car center to pick up our car. While looking at all of the cars in the lot, I figured we would get a little four-door economy car. But no… We got a brand new Mustang convertible. We didn’t put the top down until we got to Trinity, but Zach was driving and it was obvious he was driving a hot rod. He had some fun with it. Well, until he hit 80 miles an hour. Once he got to 80 MPH a light came on warning him that the car had reached maximum speed. Apparently the rental car company doesn’t want people driving all that fast. The car had a restricted plate!
We also got caught in the rain on the way back to the airport. We had to exit to put the top up… It’s not rained in that area since March.
Playing 9 Holes
On Tuesday morning we got the chance to play 9 holes. We all decided to get up and be ready to go around 9:00 AM so we could get a round in. Zach and I needed to leave for the airport around noon in order to make our flight. So we teed it up early for 9 holes. We had to use rental clubs since we were only there for two days. No problem though, as they took good care of us on that. I played decent, considering how little I play. It was fun and gave us a chance to talk a little bit more about the event. It was only 103 degrees with no shade! (I got a nice tan line from that.)
Your Flight Has Been Delayed
When we started getting close to the airport, we hit some pretty thick traffic. We were already running 30 minutes behind. Nevertheless we managed to get to the airport just in time for them to tell us our flight had been delayed. Normally not a huge deal, but we had a connecting flight in Atlanta that we were now going to miss. Zach went up to the counter and talked with the gate agent. Before long, Zach and I boarded another flight to Atlanta. Not the original flight, but one that was already two hours delayed at the gate next to us. We hopped on that and headed east.
The plane would sit on the tarmac for a while, but we ended up getting in only an hour late. It could have been a LOT worse than it was.
All-in-all the trip was very productive. We got to see Whispering Pines Golf Club, had the chance to meet all the majors on this year’s The Spirit International, and managed to squeeze in 9 holes of golf. (This course was unreal… So nice. And in the middle of NOWHERE. )
Which country are you rooting for at this year’s The Spirit International?
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That’s a cool story. I have only played golf once before in my life. It’s one of those things that I plan to take up once I get more settled into a job somewhere.
I played in high school and college, and now I am lucky enough to still work in the industry. I don’t play as much as I used to, but when I do play I am playing nicer tracks. Having the opportunity to not only be a part of this international event, but to work it and to help run their marketing is a chance of a lifetime. I am excited to see it all come together, and to spend part of my fall in Trinity. Thanks for the comments!