The last resort of a golf-less mind (or, How I Made the Best of Ontario's Latest Lockdown)

It feels a little weird to be thinking in terms of how I'm coping without golf when it's only the early days of May, but this is where we are.

Officially, my last round came April 10 (three-plus weeks from the day I'm writing this). Hopefully it won't be my LAST round in 2021, but this pandemic has taught me not to underestimate the irony of the universe. Therefore, this is where I find myself right now.

Golf-less in early May. Typically I wouldn't even be thinking about dusting off my clubs for another few weeks, but that irony I talked about a second ago had me in my golf shorts and getting a sunburn while I strolled around playing my second round of the season. Three weeks and a few snow squalls later, I have been thinking about how to best use my time when it's not golf related.

Thankfully, my better half has helped keep my mind occupied with a number of tasks. It's allowed me to absorb more of the messages she has been putting out there with her life coaching business, all while practicing my podcast editing skills. Before I go any further with this post, I would highly recommend people tuning in to Hitting Your Stride over on www.equestrianelements.com -- even if you're not a horsey person, I bet you'll still learn something from listening to Tracey and the variety of guests she's welcomed to the mic.

This brings me to my latest task -- distracting myself from missing golf. I actually Googled 'what to do during a pandemic', and I got lots of interesting results. Lots of lists came up; some had good ideas, and some were clearly not what I had in mind. Something such as purchasing an e-gift card or sharing my favourite local business pages would get a 'yes' from me, whereas hosting a dance party to see who has the best moves ... yeah, not so much. And more than a few internet scribes mentioned having a scavenger hunt, but given how often I misplace things I had in my hands just 5 minutes ago makes me feel less inclined to make a game out of it. That'll be a hard no, thanks.

I keep coming back to the lack of greens and fairways for me these days, so I came up with something that incorporates the aspect of planning ahead with my desire to be chasing my tail for 18 holes (or more): Lefty's Pandemic Wish List.

When I first came up with the idea of this website, I wanted it to be about more than just golf. I love travel and finding unique places to eat. Some of the best places I've found were by accident, both restaurants and golf courses. The rub here is that I had already been thinking about a small trip planned around a few rounds, so I'm just going to throw this out there and see what the universe's sense of irony does to me.

Provided things go according to plan and Ontario is able to ease the COVID-19 restrictions by summer, I hope to pack my bags for an overnighter to the Windsor area. I have history in that area as well as family, and it happens to be home to one course I'm anxious to play: The Ambassador Golf Club. I've had this yearning to return to the area for a while now, with my clubs slung over my shoulder this time. The pictures of the course have me already mapping out my attack, but that's only part of it.

As I said, I have some history with Windsor. I spent time at university there, and I have family there that I don't get to see as much as I'd like. I'm too late to revisit Tunnel BBQ, but there are tons of other options that offer a unique taste of the town. I'm going to take a cue from Tracey's teachings here and manifest a visit to the Walkerville Eatery -- pizza, sliders and more. Sounds like the ideal fare for a golf trip!

I'll have my camera in tow, so I'm sure I'll be on the look out for anything photo-worthy. And given what I remember of the city (compared with how I'm sure it's changed over the years), I would guess there are going to be lots of moments Thousand Words Photog will want to capture.

This won't be a one-round trip (at least, I hope not). Provided Lefty can tear himself away from the hotel's complimentary breakfast bar (fingers crossed), I'll be on the road early enough to make it to Round #2. Hopefully I'll be able to head down to tee it up at the Sutton Creek Golf Course. I came across this one during a deep dive on Windsor-area courses, and it piqued my interest enough to add it to the list. After that, it'll be time to head for home. And being that close to the lake, I'm sure there will be something that catches the Photo's eye.

So there you have it. I have placed part of my summer itinerary in the hands of fate and we'll see if the cosmos has a sense of humour. It's a small step, but it's a start. There will be more trips like this, filled with side-trips for amazing food and unique things to check out. That is part of the Lefty mantra, after all.

Besides, it was either this or knit something -- sorry, Gramma, but I'm not there yet.