Summer Recap

Howdy folks!

Michael Sims here, President and CoFounder of H+G.  We hope y'all had a great summer!  This week ushers in a new season, and we are already starting to feel the cooler and crisper temps in the mornings here in South Carolina.  But before we jump head first into fall, I wanted to recap and reminisce on some of our good times we had this summer.  

Many of you know that I still play competitive amateur golf.  I played at Clemson from '99 to '03 and I still love to compete.  Earlier this summer, I was able to take a break from competitive golf, and instead I checked off a major golf destination on my bucket list when I took a fun trip to Pebble Beach with a group of my neighborhood buddies. 

I will say this--I've played a lot of great courses, and I've played tournaments at several courses that have hosted US Opens and PGA Championships.  Pebble Beach is by far the best course I've ever played.  It was breathtakingly stunning, even for a guy who thought he'd seen it all when it came to golf course design.  The course was everything it was advertised to be and more, and the views were just unbelievable.  We had a perfect 65 degree day when we played it, with the sun shining and a light breeze.  The water was crystal clear.  The views from the fairways and greens looking off down the beach and over the cliffs and dunes, well, again, the scene was just spectacular.  I loved every second of that round. 

We also played Spanish Bay and Spyglass.  I was very impressed with Spanish Bay.  It was a very enjoyable round and course with similarly stunning views, but set more in the dunes (picture below). 

Spyglass was also amazing, but we played the first 9 holes in a thick marine layer and a bit of a breeze.  We couldn't see the ball land in the fairway on several of the holes as the fog was very thick (see the opening tee shot below!). 

The course is very different from front to back.  It starts in the dunes near the beach and then winds back up the hills further into the woods.  I liked Spyglass, and that front 9 might have been one of the more difficult 9 holes I've ever played, but Pebble took the cake!  If you ever get the opportunity, this is an unsolicited raving review--make it happen!  It is the best 18 holes I've ever played and there is no comparison!  Absolutely amazing.  

In July we met up with some of our friends in Atlanta to catch a Braves game.  We always try to go to at least a few games each year.  The bullpen is a bit of a question mark right now as some of these teams like the Marlins and the Phillies are lighting us up these last two weeks, but I'm hoping we can save some of that regular season magic for the post season!

In August I played the SCGA Mid-Am Four Ball at Florence Country Club with my partner Garland.  We played very well and made a lot of birdies with no mistakes.  Garland made a clutch birdie on 17 in regulation the second day.  I birdied 18 to get into a playoff and made another clutch birdie to win on the first playoff hole.  It was so fun to get the competitive juices flowing and pull one out under pressure!

My family lives on the tail race of Lake Murray--the Lower Saluda River to be exact. We have a striper run that occurs from about April to the end of September on our river.  But the "easier fishing" is up on the lake.  You can take live herring and catch these little schoolie stripers at sunup.  I took my two boys to do that a few times this summer, and they enjoyed it.  (But I prefer targeting the river stripers on the fly!)

And, dove season is in full swing.  My oldest is 12 and he has graduated to a 20 gauge with a shorter stock.  My other son is 9 and he graduated from the Red Ryder to the .410, and they've been so excited to get out in the dove field, although neither has been able to knock one down after a few shots.  In their defense, we've had much fewer birds this year, but they love it regardless. 

Already in August and September we've had two storms skim the eastern seaboard and produce a moderate swell off the SC coast, with the most recent one being Hurricane Lee.  It produced some large swells in the OBX and further north, and some further south in FL.  Our swell on that first day was pretty moderate though.  We had three footers in glassy conditions, and when I rode the bike out to the beach to check the surf that morning, it was perfect longboard and funboard waves.  The following few days brought about shortboard conditions and we had some guys out there early in the morning before it got chopped up with the north wind, but we definitely had some fun that week and we're thankful this storm was just a close one and veered off.  

As summer comes to a close this week, there are still many things to look forward to this fall.  We enjoy tailgating at college football games, hunting, jumping in the river to get after some rainbows and browns and brookies, maybe catching one more swell in September or October from one of the last tropical storms, and watching the kids play their fall sports.  People ask me sometimes to name my favorite season.  My favorite season is whatever is in season at the moment.  There is always something to look forward to.  Summer was amazing, time well spent with family and great friends, and fall will be equally as fun I'm sure.  Hope y'all get to spend more time with family and friends this fall and enjoy the outdoors!  Thanks again for your continued support of our business,

Michael

CoFounder/President, H+G