By Tyler Hanck

Monday, March 15We made it to the airport without incident, and several hours later we were on the plane and Jekyllbound. I love airports. They’re just so alive (and not in the Frankenstein’s monster gone wrong kind of way). I have always marveled at the Chili’s To Go; what a novel idea. I have never dined there, but it’s on the list along with learning to pronounce the word “tiramisu” and keeping the putt total under 40. From experience, I know two things about airport food: expensive airport food sucks and inexpensive airport food is non-existent. Subway was the choice of most of the team, save Matt Caminiti ’13 and his addiction to cheap Chinese food. Grace Caird ’13 and I bonded over our shared love of Door County, Wisconsin. Waiting for your flight is definitely more fun with your friends.

I ordered ginger ale, as I always do, on the airbus. I really don’t understand why they just can’t call it a plane, but I digress (and will again no doubt). Ben Hogan would drink a ginger ale before an important round. He claimed the beverage had an effect on the kidneys which made his fingers feel thinner. Great pianists did the same the night before a recital. There comes a time in every flight I take where I mentally play out the whole “the plane is going to crash” scenario. I can’t be the only one. You know you do it too. To my imagination’s disappointment, we landed safely in Jacksonville, Florida. It was a short drive across the border to the Peach State and our destination Jekyll Island, Georgia. Our house legit direkt am Strand, German for right on the water, is amazing!

Tuesday, March 16

Nick Santrach ’11 woke up early for practice with Martha Nause (Head Coach and Angie Ause (Assistant Coach) to find Mark Thomson ’13 sleeping on the couch covered in towels from the waist down. Apparently he had fallen asleep watching Bracketology on ESPN and woke up in the middle of the night chilled to the bone. In this situation, one might look for a blanket, quilt, or maybe an afghan, but not Mark. No, he resorted to the stack of towels on the dining room table. Needless to say, Nick had a good laugh about it and offered his resourceful teammate a blanket from the closet.

Friday, March 19

Yesterday was our last day of practice and the first day of Dan Allen’s ’12 21st year of being a champion. We ate at Mullet Bay seafood restaurant to celebrate. The tables were covered in paper, and we played hangman with a couple of crayons we commandeered from somewhere. There were only the primary colors – very upsetting indeed. I love cerulean. Matt Caminiti challenged us to a math puzzle (which I solved, by the way). On the way home, Nick held his breath for almost 2 minutes as we crossed a long bridge to our island. Alligators can hold their breaths for up to eight hours if they remain stationary. The night concluded around the TV, soaking up the March Madness drama.

Today was the first round of our tournament, but before I go any farther, I want to share some thoughts on the wonderful game called golf:

You should hold the club like you would hold the hand of a cute girl, gentle and relaxed but with purpose. The swing is a dance to a pleasant waltz, and you lead.

I’m stealing this one from Harvey Penick, “A poor putter is a match for no one. A good putter is a match for anyone.”

Also from Mr. Penick, “Pretty is as pretty does.” Cough, cough Grace! This means not wanting to have rather hit the ball like a pro and shoot 95 than scrap it around for an 85.

Tonight we have the tournament banquet. I already spilled orange juice on my button down shirt. Off to a great start.

You can read the blog in its entirety and view spring break pictures at macgolf10.blogspot.com.