Yuma Golf Trip

Saturday, 26 January 

Today is day 77 of our Arizona trip.  Based on our original trip plan, we just crossed the halfway point of this trip.

Our neighbor for the last three-plus weeks at The Scenic Road RV Park has been a couple wintering from British Columbia.  A nice couple, we thought they were here for the entire winter.  So we were surprised to see them start packing up on Tuesday.  And “start packing up” was the observation.  They were in a 20+ foot travel trailer.  And they had a lot of stuff to pack.  They had been here for 3 months, and decided they had had enough of the cold.  We asked them where they were going, and they said Yuma as it was warmer by 5 or more degrees.  They spent most of Tuesday packing, and continued into Wednesday.  They did not depart until after lunch.  By dinner time, we had a new neighbor.

We too were looking for warmer temperatures and more golf options.  We decided to head to Yuma for the weekend and play two of the golf courses we played when we were in Yuma in late December.

One of the RV parks in Yuma was offering a free three-night stay, but it was not going to be until after 15 February.  We decided to stay there a night anyway and check it out.

We headed out of Quartzsite before the The Big Tent Show traffic.  Today, we played Las Barrancas Golf Course.  We previously thought the course was okay, although the back nine is harder than the front nine.  They offer a military rate on weekends, and the greens fees include cart and unlimited range balls.  And they have a nice practice area.

We left ourselves a little extra time in case we ran into traffic.  On the way down, we had a tail wind and Sprinty averaged 20mpg for the trip down.  After warming up on the range, we checked in with the starter.  A few minutes later, he said we could go with another couple if we were ready.  So we got off about 20 minutes before our tee time.

Our playing companions today were Steve and Linda, snowbirds from Oregon.  Kris and I both made par on the first hole, which was a good start.  Kris was making her shots, while Darrell was less consistent.  At the turn, Kris was up by 3 shots even though Darrell made a birdie on the par 3.  On the back nine, we both played better than the front nine, despite it being the harder side.  We both tied the back nine at 38.  Kris took the day by three strokes with a 79.  It was Darrell’s turn to mutter, “I shoot an 82 and I don’t get to buy.”  So Darrell made sure Kris paid up by having Sprinty head for the nearest Starbucks.

Tonight, we are at Fortuno De Oro RV Park.  It is a huge park (1,293 sites) focused on seasonals (snowbirds) with the majority of units being park model homes.  We had a back in site amongst mostly 5th wheels and Class As.

We enjoyed a pretty sunset, again.

Sunday, 27 January 

We decided to treat ourselves to breakfast at a nearby diner.  Both Kris and Darrell enjoy breakfast, but don’t usually do anything special except on Sundays when Darrell makes waffles.  Sometimes the convenience of breakfast in Sprinty outweighs going out.  The diner, Foothills Eatery & Spirits, is located near several large RV parks, and seemed quite popular with snowbirds staying in the RV parks.  Kris and Darrell enjoyed a breakfast burrito.

With an 11:20am tee time, we had plenty of time before he had to head east to Wellton, AZ to play Coyote Wash Golf Course again.  We played it twice before when we were in Yuma at the end of January.  As luck would have it, the range ball dispenser was out of range balls, so we were told we could go after the group on the tee.

Both of us hit nice drives, which impressed the three-some group of men at the tee box.  Especially as Darrell hit with his 5 wood.  And Kris ripped it 193 yards.  Kris made par to take a one shot lead.  Darrell evened it up on the next hole with a birdie.  Back and forth it went.  While Darrell found more sand traps than Kris, his two birdies on the front nine enabled him to lead by one stoke at the turn.  Kris played the back nine well, but could not match Darrell’s seven pars and a birdie.  Darrell finished the day with a 77.  It was Kris’ turn to mumble something about playing well and not getting to buy.

As we headed “home” to Quartzsite, we made the obligatory stop at the Starbucks on the way for Darrell to pay up.  Which after the previous three outings, he was quite happy to do.