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Elderly gentlemen, gentle in all respects, kind to animals, beloved by children, and fond of music, are found in lonely corners of the downs, hacking at sandpits or tussocks of grass, and muttering in a blind, ungovernable fury elaborate maledictions which could not be extracted from them by robbery or murder. Men who would face torture without a word become blasphemous at the short fourteenth. It is clear that the game of golf may well be included in that category of intolerable provocations which may legally excuse or mitigate behaviour not otherwise excusable.
-- A. P. Herbert
Saturday, July 19, 1997
Tonight the Seattle Cacophony Society played Badminton Golf. Tremendous fun!
We gathered in Belltown, a rather trendy part of town, in front of the Sit-n-Spin, a combo cafe and laudramat. Jayson, Yasha, Caroline, Nick, Christina and Tobin were there, plus two Canadian friends of theirs and a group of five new people who saw the notice in the Seattle Weekly. We had been requested to wear golf attire if possible, and one of the new guys (a very tall guy) was indeed in golf togs: yellow polyester slacks, a pastel argyle sleeveless sweater, and a cap.
In a visit earlier in the afternoon to the Seattle Goodwill Store (one of the largest Goodwill stores in the country, I think!) I had gotten a white golf shirt with navy stripes on the sleeves, a badminton racket with shocking pink strings, and a cap with glitter on it, so I fit right in.
Jayson had laid out the eight-hole course ahead of time, and printed out scorecards with a map of the course, an estimated par for each hole, and a written description of the holes and the rules. He passed these out along with the tiny pencils and we were off!
The sun was still up as we went from hole to hole in Belltown. I'll spare you a stroke-by-stroke description, but we did get to a part of the neighborhood I hadn't been to before. Under the Highway 99 Viaduct at Leonora, there is a walkway/bridge leading out to a stairway and elevator that gives access to the waterfront, which is much lower. A great view of Elliot Bay, the waterfront and Puget Sound.
One hole did lead down a block filled with outdoor cafes, and if you hit a person (non-player) you had to take a penalty stroke.
Christina had brought a pack of "super-sized" shuttle cocks, but she didn't use them during the game. Since we were caught without a prize for the low scorer, we marked one of these large plastic cocks with a sharpie pen and awarded it for the prize. The winner: the guy in the yellow polyester pants. He really did have incredible range, although one of the other men in his group hit his birdie so hard it got stuck between the strings of his racket!
We ended up having a beverage at the Speakeasy Cafe, (our ninth hole?) and discussing the evening. Badminton Golf really is a fun game, and we have played it a few times before. Maybe next time we'll play on Capitol Hill, which is my neighborhood!.
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