Beauty and the Beasts

I am a self-proclaimed winter wuss.  The bear in me wants to eat and sleep until the sun comes out and the temps reach the mid 60s.  As a result, mornings with heavy frosts make it especially hard to get motivated.  My cure?  Coffee and a hot….golf tourn?

Yes, a golf tournament.  Yesterday, I turned on the Golf Channel to get my daily Morning Drive fix only to find the recorded, first round of the Australian PGA.  As the frost lingered outside, I was being transported to a piece of paradise.  Bright blue skies, warm sun, lush fairways began to warm my core.  Cameras panned back only to expose the beautiful, hilly landscape that is Coolum, the Sunshine Coast.

But warm conditions and lush landscapes are nothing new to golf.   Some courses are obviously more beautiful than others, but each course offers subtle differences that help separate it from courses around the globe.  In the case of Coolum, it was the ‘moving landscape’ that caught my eye.  The kangaroos.

I live in an area where deer are rampant and it is not unusual to see several during a round at any given course.  But, how awesome would it be to see a mother with a joey sitting in her pouch?  That is exactly what one cameraman caught during the telecast.

This morning, the frost looked like a dusting of snow.  Again, I searched for my visual warmth and turned on the Golf Channel to find live, second round coverage of the Alfred Dunhill Championship in Malelane, South Africa.  As predicted, beautiful, lush, warm landscape with a little something extra.  While players contemplated yardage and club selection, rhinos, zebras and giraffes frolicked in the distance. And I’m starting to think the Golf Channel should change their name to Golf Planet.  Only on Animal planet could you see more animals in their natural habitat.

Now, I realize that this may not be as cool to some people as it is to me.  But I want to thank the cameramen and crew who obviously enjoy the beauty of their surroundings and allow us to be a part of it.  And for this stay at home mom, who loves to travel, it is very much appreciated.

The coffee is now gone.  The frost still lingers.  I may not be motivated to go outside quite yet, but at least I was motivated to write.  I did ask a friend playing in the Australian PGA to snag a kangaroo for me.  Do you think he will have trouble in customs?