The signature 10th at Picciolo.
Like all professional football players, the Elephanti enjoy golf as one of their top 'off day' past-times. Well, maybe not all. Or even some. OK -- the "AMERICAN" members of the Elephanti enjoy golf as one of their top 'off day' past-times. With that being said, George and myself, joined by WR Claudio "The Sheriff" Mangano, decided to hit the links on Tuesday! (For the record, he earned the nickname 'Sheriff' when he joined the Elephants 8 years ago, due to his striking resemblance to the character in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, which coincidentally is one of Kevin Costner's top 6 films of all time).
There are only two courses on Sicily, the closest being Il Picciolo Golf and Country Club, located about an hour north of Catania in the foothills of Mt. Etna. We arrived just after 1pm, and lucky for us, were able to get on right away without a tee-time. (There were only 3 other people we saw on the whole course. Apparently the Sicilians do not share the same passion for golf as their American counterparts).
After paying our green fee (60 euro) and renting two sets of clubs, we were ready to go. However, there were two things missing in our club rental: golf balls (we bought 10... and augmented this number as we walked by the range), and shoulder straps for the bags. While seeming light at first, the 30 pound behemoths felt much heavier later in the round.
Teeing off on another par 5... our 4th in 5 holes.
Being the more 'experienced' of the group, I spent my time banging out long drives and teaching Claudio about the game of golf. It was his first time on a real course, and for someone who began the round not knowing the difference between an iron and a wood, he did VERY well -- eventually being christened, "Il Naturale" by George. I was so excited to see him have some success! (He experienced the 'ecstasy' of a few pure shots AND the frustration of a few on the ground).
As with all things in Sicily, there were of course a few comical touches to the game that amused me. One is the course layout. While typical courses are a variety of par 3's (short holes), 4's (medium), and 5's (long), the Sicilians must feel that par 4's are too boring, and therefore make pretty much every hole a 3 or 5. At one stretch, we played four consecutive par 5's... which were even more difficult because of my second comical element: yardage. I know that roads are in kilometers and milk comes by the liter -- however I am not sure what system was used to measure these holes. Hole 6 -- measured at "435" -- took me a driver, 3 wood, and 5 iron to reach... probably more in the 800 range.
The power of George's game, captured mid-swing. It was tough for him to concentrate with the constant taunting of the trees.
The final difference between American golf and Sicilian golf is how you finish your round. In America, you are done after 18 holes. In Sicily, you are done when you run out of golf balls. (Which happens much quicker than you think with the abundant rough that seems to swallow any shot not down the middle.)
For us, we were down to our final 3 balls heading into the 14th hole, and made a turn for the clubhouse. (Or maybe it was the growing weight of carrying our bags by hand). All in all, it was a great afternoon for golf -- and please be sure to keep an eye out for "Il Naturale" on the 2014 European Tour!
"Il Naturale" -- aka The Sheriff -- about to tee off on another long par 5.
Claudio with another long putt. The line looks good, although speed was a little more tricky.
~ J. Twice
1 comment:
Hey, Jason ... just as an FYI, the photos with this entry don't seem to be showing up. (I've tried it on two browsers to make sure). I wouldn't want the Pulitzer committee to be deprived of the chance to inspect more of your work.
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