The Chubster
My buddy Casey knows one of the caddies at Bandon Dunes. When I told him I would be stopping there to play, he said he would try to call him so that the caddie can hook me up and show me around the golf course. This was about a week and a half before I got to Bandon. This caddie I guess dates Casey’s aunt so that’s how they know each other. Anyhow, a week goes by and Casey informs me that he couldn’t get a hold of him because the caddie and his aunt broke up. No big deal, I was going to play the course regardless so no harm done.
Bandon Dunes is a golf resort. There are lodgings for vacationers and the restaurants are very well reviewed. It is however, not cheap to stay or play. But they do offer discounts on golf to the lodgers. I couldn’t get a room. I think you have to book like a year in advance. The price to play during prime season, and summer here is prime season, is $240 a round on any of the 3 courses. I know, I couldn’t believe it either. But they do offer a replay rate at $95 for the same day; that’s quite reasonable. The catch is however, if you’re not a resort guest, you can only replay the same course you played on earlier. Now that blows. I played the course called “pacific dunes” at 11:50am Tuesday with a couple from Washington, very nice people. Their daughter works at the resort so they were going to play all three courses in a span of three days probably at a great discount. I had no such luck. The guy runs a golf course in Washington however and invited to come up to play for free anytime. So that was quite nice of him. Anyway, after the round he encouraged me to ask for a replay on another course because they’re pretty nice about stuff like that here. So even though I was dead tired after waking 18 holes (7 miles), I went to the pro shop and asked about a replay at “bandon dunes.” Presto, it worked. I rush over to the other course; it’s right at 4pm. With daylight not setting until 8:30pm or so, I probably could finish the second round before dark. I teed off the 1st hole by myself and the starter informs me that I’ll probably catch up to the twosome ahead of me. They’re caddies so I could join them, pass them, or stay behind them. When I caught up to them on the second hole, they asked me join and I did.
They introduced themselves as Miles and Chub or the Chubster. Yep, the Chubster. His real name is Derrick Chub so there you go. Anyhow, the Chubster is quite a character, the life of the party kind of guy. He’s probably around 50 years old but he acts like a college frat guy. Awesome guy to hang out and play golf with. Miles as it turns out, is a teacher at an American military school in Japan. He went to the rival high school that I taught at when I first started teaching in Rialto. Quite a small world. After about 7 holes, another single behind us joined us, Ted from vegas, another nice guy. He was just passing through and heard about the course. So you think the course would give him a discount considering it was 5pm on a Tuesday afternoon. Nope, they charged him $240.
The round was fantastic; breathtaking views, great company, good exercise. I couldn’t clear my hips to swing the club properly by the 5th hole because I was so tired, but I didn’t care. I shot poorly on the front nine, but managed a 39 on the back nine. That was awesome.
Now to the good part.
As Chub was being the life of the party, telling stories about caddying for celebrities, cracking jokes with his friend, and smoking a huge cigar, a light went off in my head. Some of the stuff he was saying kind of resembled some of the things Casey was telling me about his aunt’s boyfriend. I thought there’s no way that they’re the same guy. I figured it couldn’t hurt to ask so I did on the 14th hole. He didn’t recognize the name Casey at first, but after I explained who he is and why I’m asking, he screams, “oh, I know Casey! Is his aunt’s name Susan?” and bingo, he was the guy. Small world indeed.
At the end of the round, Ted from vegas told me to call him up whenever I’m in town so we can play golf. Miles and Chub took me out to a local Mexican restaurant and we planned to meet in southern California in December to play some golf. Meeting people on the golf course has always been a pleasant experience for me.
Bandon Dunes is a golf resort. There are lodgings for vacationers and the restaurants are very well reviewed. It is however, not cheap to stay or play. But they do offer discounts on golf to the lodgers. I couldn’t get a room. I think you have to book like a year in advance. The price to play during prime season, and summer here is prime season, is $240 a round on any of the 3 courses. I know, I couldn’t believe it either. But they do offer a replay rate at $95 for the same day; that’s quite reasonable. The catch is however, if you’re not a resort guest, you can only replay the same course you played on earlier. Now that blows. I played the course called “pacific dunes” at 11:50am Tuesday with a couple from Washington, very nice people. Their daughter works at the resort so they were going to play all three courses in a span of three days probably at a great discount. I had no such luck. The guy runs a golf course in Washington however and invited to come up to play for free anytime. So that was quite nice of him. Anyway, after the round he encouraged me to ask for a replay on another course because they’re pretty nice about stuff like that here. So even though I was dead tired after waking 18 holes (7 miles), I went to the pro shop and asked about a replay at “bandon dunes.” Presto, it worked. I rush over to the other course; it’s right at 4pm. With daylight not setting until 8:30pm or so, I probably could finish the second round before dark. I teed off the 1st hole by myself and the starter informs me that I’ll probably catch up to the twosome ahead of me. They’re caddies so I could join them, pass them, or stay behind them. When I caught up to them on the second hole, they asked me join and I did.
They introduced themselves as Miles and Chub or the Chubster. Yep, the Chubster. His real name is Derrick Chub so there you go. Anyhow, the Chubster is quite a character, the life of the party kind of guy. He’s probably around 50 years old but he acts like a college frat guy. Awesome guy to hang out and play golf with. Miles as it turns out, is a teacher at an American military school in Japan. He went to the rival high school that I taught at when I first started teaching in Rialto. Quite a small world. After about 7 holes, another single behind us joined us, Ted from vegas, another nice guy. He was just passing through and heard about the course. So you think the course would give him a discount considering it was 5pm on a Tuesday afternoon. Nope, they charged him $240.
The round was fantastic; breathtaking views, great company, good exercise. I couldn’t clear my hips to swing the club properly by the 5th hole because I was so tired, but I didn’t care. I shot poorly on the front nine, but managed a 39 on the back nine. That was awesome.
Now to the good part.
As Chub was being the life of the party, telling stories about caddying for celebrities, cracking jokes with his friend, and smoking a huge cigar, a light went off in my head. Some of the stuff he was saying kind of resembled some of the things Casey was telling me about his aunt’s boyfriend. I thought there’s no way that they’re the same guy. I figured it couldn’t hurt to ask so I did on the 14th hole. He didn’t recognize the name Casey at first, but after I explained who he is and why I’m asking, he screams, “oh, I know Casey! Is his aunt’s name Susan?” and bingo, he was the guy. Small world indeed.
At the end of the round, Ted from vegas told me to call him up whenever I’m in town so we can play golf. Miles and Chub took me out to a local Mexican restaurant and we planned to meet in southern California in December to play some golf. Meeting people on the golf course has always been a pleasant experience for me.
posted by Presto at 1:06 PM
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