I love discovering things that naturally compliment each other. Don’t get me wrong, I respect the purist, but sometimes two things can combine together and create an entirely different experience than if they were enjoyed individually. It just so happens that my discoveries in this department typically have a top shelf bourbon as the common denominator. Fancy that! That being said, go ahead and add golf to the list of things that go well with your favorite bourbon (i.e. cigars, steak, bourbon chocolates, political debates, etc.)!
It may seem a bit counterintuitive that straight brown liquor compliments a game of mental dexterity and focused concentration, but I have hard evidence that it indeed does. Those of you who also enjoy golf are probably surprised to hear me balk at the idea of consuming alcohol on the course, but hear me out. I do understand the long standing tradition of downing a couple of beers throughout eighteen holes, but I am suggesting something just a bit off the beaten path of tradition when I replace beer with bourbon. Packing a bottle of hard liquor on a round of golf is a new concept for me, but I have learned that it has some very powerful benefits!
This all started a few weeks ago while I was on a bachelor party trip in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Instead of the typical burlesque hounding adventures into the doldrums of one’s moral compass, this bachelor party weekend was one for a gentleman. Just good old friends congregating on the East Coast for some good clean fun and world class golf. As one would expect, I showed up to the golf course on day one with a fifth of Knob Creek bourbon tucked into my golf bag. By the fourth tee box, I had the cork out and was taunting the rest of our crew to join me in a swig!
Before I opened the bourbon, I had lost two balls to a nasty slice straight into the course’s only water hazard, four putted every hole from less than 20 feet, and removed an estimated acre of carefully cultivated grass from the rough/fairway. I was not having a great round and figured what the hell, at least the bourbon will add to the excitement as I guess which tree my ball is going to smack into. So I took a swig, grabbed my driver, and stepped up to the fourth tee box with a sense of confidence that I had been lacking all morning. When I nailed my ball for a 270 yard drive straight onto the green of the short par 4, I began to think that there might be a little more to this bourbon than I had previously expected. To verify that it was more than simple coincidence, I repeated the experiment on the next hole to find nearly the same result. At this point, I had piqued the interest of my fellow gentlemen in company, who then decided to join in on my intoxicated pursuit. The results were outstanding and undeniable! We began nailing long, straight drives and sinking unbelievable puts like we were training for the PGA. It was as though we had found our muse and could do no wrong!
Our trend remained consistent through the front nine, but things soon fell apart as we rounded the turn for the finish line. By that point, we were all a bit toasted and the sun was starting to heat things up. Even still, my game never digressed back to the piss-poor level that I started on! I shot a solid 90 on the eighteen (not great, but I will take it any day), with two birdies to brag about back at the club house. As far as I am concerned, bourbon on the golf course can turn a bad game of golf around in seconds! Ever since my discovery, I always carry a bottle of Knob Creek in my side pocket just in case things start to take a turn for the worst.