Casa Grande - Part 2

Saturday, 2 March

Today we played golf at the Dave White Municipal Golf Course in Casa Grande.  It is very popular in part because it is the lowest price 18-hole course in Casa Grande.  Last week, Jerry, the guy we met playing golf, said it was the best course in the area.  We missed the opportunity to ask him why he thought it was the best.

Surprisingly, we were not paired up with another two-some, but since everyone else was a four-some, there was a lot of waiting.  Darrell started off strong with a par to Kris’ bogey on the first hole.  He led the rest of the first nine holes to make the turn 2 strokes up.  Kris made up a stroke on the 12th hole, and Darrell had to work hard to finish three strokes up on the day.  His ball striking was not as crisp as he would have liked, and two dropped shots did not help.  Darrell was happy to treat Kris to the Frappuccino on the way back to camp.

Sunday, 3 March

Golf today was at Mission Royale Golf Course, the course we played last Monday.  We were paired up with Stewart and Mavis from Canada.  They winter at Mission Royale and are members.  Both Kris and Darrell got off to a good start with two pars each.  Darrell briefly led, then Kris started making par after par to lead at the turn by 5 strokes.  Darrell settled down and made 6 pars on the back nine.  However, Kris continued to play very well with 5 pars on the back nine (11 pars on the day) so Darrell was only able to make up two strokes.  Kris enjoyed treating the Frappuccinos today.

Monday, 4 March

Golf today was at Francisco Grande Hotel And Golf Resort, the course we played last Wednesday.  We made an earlier tee time.  We were paired up with Kevin and Bill, both RVers staying at a different park.  Both were good golfers, hitting well.

We both started off with good drives, and Darrell made a par on the first hole.  He continued to score well, however, Kris came on strong in the last four holes on the front nine.  Darrell was hanging on to a two stroke lead at the turn.  Kris played better and tied it up on the 16th hole with a par.  She parred the 17th (made 6 pars on the back nine) to take a one stroke lead.  She finished the day one stroke up with the same score as last week on this course.  Darrell enjoyed his Frappuccino afterwards.

When we got back to the RV park, the staff’s first question )as they were parking us) to Kris was “Who won?”, which Kris was happy to answer.

Tuesday, 5 March

After three consecutive days of golf, we made today a chore day.  We hit the RV park laundry before breakfast thinking we might be the first ones there.  Nope - a lady was already folding clothes.

The RV park had a guest speaker to present “Memory:  Normal Aging vs Forgetfulness/Dementia.”  An excellent presentation, which we learned a lot about why we remember some things and not others, as well as the outward signs of what dementia looks like.

Sprinty got a waterless bath and we did some other cleaning chores.  

Wednesday, 6 March

Golf today was at Robson Ranch Golf Course located about 30 minutes away.  The course is in a gated community which made us think of Soleil back home.  Golf is very, very popular, so we took some delight that the round was done in 4 hours and 10 minutes.  We both got off to a good start making par on the first hole.  We played pretty even with Darrell only up by two strokes at the turn.  We both started the back nine well, but Kris’ shoulder started to bother her.  Despite her having drives over 180 yards and hitting most fairways, Darrell picked up 4 more strokes.  Today was the warmest day of the trip, at least since Florida, getting up to 87 degrees.  We enjoyed playing in shorts and enjoying the sunshine.  And the course was in great condition, probably the best greens we have played so far in Casa Grande.

When we got back to the RV Park, we extended our stay for another week.  We are enjoying the weather and the golf opportunities.  And pretty sunsets:

Thursday, 7 March

Golf today was at Palm Creek Golf & RV Resort.  The Resort is a large RV park (including a lot of park models) with 1,888 sites.  Woven throughout part of the RV park is an 18-hole Par 3 course.  Using GolfNow, we were able to snag a Hot Deal for about half what it would normally cost.

The practice green was at best fair, making us wonder about the condition of the greens.  We knew from our visit last week to check it out that it is a very popular activity for the Resort residents.  As well as the challenge in getting tee times.  In fact, many of the publicly available tee times are for only nine holes.

We were surprised that they had a hitting net set up that allowed some full swing warmup.

We both started off well, with Darrell taking a one shot lead by making par on the first hole, then adding a stoke on the next hole with a birdie.  Kris’ tee shot found the creek on the fourth hole.  Darrell led by 4 strokes at the turn.  On here back nine, Kris made 7 pars to Darrell’s 5 pars to wind up only three strokes back at the end.  

After golf, we visited the resort Guest Services to learn more about staying at the Resort.  It seemed to have a lot of very active people much like Riverside RV Resort we stayed at last year near Port Charlotte, FL.  Lots of people out walking bike riding, lawn bowling, etc.  Guest Services made sure we knew about all the activities.  Like many other snowbird RV parks, they give reservation preference to returning customers and longer term stays.  They are already processing reservations for next winter, and the lady seemed optimistic about being able to still get a reservation six months in advance.

As we finished in the early afternoon, Kris was almost insistent about Darrell paying up for today and her rain check for yesterday when we finished golf too late for coffee.

Once back to the RV park, Darrell spent most of the afternoon working on taxes.  He hopes to finish those before the end of the month so that is not hanging over our heads in April.

Friday, 8 March

Today was a recovery day.  We appreciate that some people don’t think golf is a very strenuous activity and may wonder at the need for a rest and recovery day.  Full confession, a contributing factor to planning today as a recovery day was the weather forecast earlier in the week calling for rain.  As we got closer, the rain forecast changed, but the cool and very windy conditions did not.  

We spent the day reading, catching up on chores, watching golf, taking a walk without golf clubs, and relaxing.  Storing up energy for the next golf spurt.

Saturday, 9 March

We woke up to a sunny 40 degrees, cooler than most nights.  We think Spring is trying to make an appearance.

Golf today was at Arizona City Golf Club, a course we played once before.  A course where our impressions were mediocre, in part because the cart guy was such a grump.  A benefit to playing on Saturday was the $25/person Saturday special.

We were both a little disappointed with our tee shots - Kris’ shot got hung up in the unmowed fairway, while Darrell’s decided to wander left to the desert hard pan behind a tree.  Darrell went over the tree and set it right by the pin for a birdie.  Kris did not do as well.  After a couple holes, the two-some of ladies let us play through.  We just bumped into the next two-some on the next hole, who invited us to play with them.  Carl and Terrance were fun to play with, Terrance being able to hit some long, pretty shots.

Darrell went on to make 6 more pars on the front nine to be at one over par at the turn, and ahead of Kris by more than usual.  Darrell made two birdies on the back nine to be two over par going into the 18th hole.  Unfortunately, he tried to bend a shot around the tree, but the tree would have none of it, casting his ball off into oblivion, a long way out of bounds.  He wound up salvaging a double bogey for a final score of 77, five over par on the day.  Kris played much better on the back nine, but had too much to make up to have honors to buy Frappuccinos on the way back to the RV park.

We learned from Carl and Terrence that the golf course is going to close permanently next month.  They were both bummed as another golf course near Casa Grande closed a couple years ago.

On the back fence of one of the homes along the golf course, we saw this sign:

Sunday, 10 March

Low temperature last night was about 36 degrees, but things warm up fast.  Golf today was at Mission Royale Golf Course, a course we have played twice before.  We learned from the last two times that the on-line, GolfNow, rates are much better than the rack rate.

We were paired up with John and Judy from British Columbia.  He is originally from Scotland, so we had something to talk about.  We both started off well, Kris ripping her tee shot 181 yards in the fairway.  We both made par.  And it went back and forth the rest of the front nine, with Darrell having a slim one stroke lead at the turn.  Darrell made a birdie on hole 10 to Kris’ par.  And the rest of the back nine was very close, with Kris chipping in for par on hole 17 to keep the pressure on.  Darrell finished strong to have honors by just three strokes.  We both took great delight in playing well and striking the ball well.

Monday, 11 March

Yesterday morning as we were preparing to leave for golf, Darrell told Kris it was her turn today.  Kris laughed, but it was not to be.  This morning, Darrell again told Kris it was her turn, and that he was serious.  Golf today was at Francisco Grande Hotel And Golf Resort, the course we have played twice before.  In making the 11am tee time, we were taking a chance with the weather.  One weather forecast called for 20% chance of rain starting at 10am.  Accuweather was forecasting a 50% chance of rain.

We were paired up with Mike and Larry, who were wonderful to play with.  Darrell started off with a bogey on the first hole due to a penalty drop, where Kris made par.  We battled it out the first nine holes, making the turn tied.  Kris made a chip in birdie on the 11th hole to take the lead which she maintained the rest of the round, winning by 4 strokes.  Today, it was her turn.

Tuesday, 12 March

Today was a rest day, aided by the forecast of rain for most of the day.  We used the day as an opportunity to do laundry, defrost the refrigerator, do some interior cleaning, enjoy lunch out at a highly recommended burger place, and work on income taxes.

Wednesday, 13 March

Enough resting - today was a golf day in spite of temperatures a little cooler than the last week and 20+mph winds.  In anticipation of a late return and a planned early departure in the morning, Sprinty got his propane tank filled and we settled up with the office for electricity used over the last week.

Golf today was at Arizona City Golf Club, selected because it was the cheapest golf course around and, while we wanted to get out and play, we wanted a minimum of trouble areas.

Of course, Kris started with a nice, straight drive in the fairway, while Darrell’s ball caught the cross-wind and was in the left rough (just like the last two times he played this hole).  Nevertheless, we both made par.  And he made par on the next hole.  The score remained very close, with Darrell only up by one stroke at the turn.  On the back nine, it seemed the wind was affecting our shots more.  We both struggled in the wind, and Kris missed a couple putts she usually makes.  After two days of Kris having honors to buy, today was Darrell’s day to buy.

Because of the wind, there were very few golfers out, so we finished much earlier than expected, leaving us time to do some chores afterwards.  And stop by Starbucks.

Tonight is our 18th and last night at RoVers Roost, the Escapees RV Club Co-Op.  It has been a great place to enjoy some better weather and decent golf options.  We enjoyed getting to meet some of the other campers, and the managers have been super wonderful.  We definitely got a lot of value from our Escapees RV Club membership as this has been the 5th Escapees Co-Op we have stayed at on this trip.  And we already have a reservation request into the Co-Op in south Florida for part of our Florida trip planned for next winter.