Occasionally the golf course gets busy and there can sometimes be a group waiting for their turn at the tee box while we tee off. This makes me insanely nervous, and I nearly always end up with a ball in the woods, popped up 5 feet in front of me, or I miss the ball completely, hitting up a large clump of grass instead. One time, Jeff and I golfed 9 holes at a golf course in the cities and they paired us up with another twosome. While waiting for our tee time, I literally thought the anxiety would make me puke up my morning Latte. Luckily, it was a mom and her son, and they weren't too much better than me, so by the 3rd hole or so I relaxed a little.
Jeff and I have had a pretty tough summer, with only one free alone weekend. Sadly, that weekend involved painting my house, so really not countable. So as this past weekend approached, we decided a weekend away, just the two of us, was in order. Since we were planning our little getaway late in the game it was tough to find anything available. We settled on staying at Fortune Bay Resort and Casino on Lake Vermilion with a round of golf at The Wilderness (the #2 casino golf course in the nation, I might add). I was quite nervous about golfing at such a fancy place since I really struggled during my last round at Lakeview. But Jeff assured me that we would spend some time at the range beforehand working out my kinks.
On the drive up he informed me that the course would probably be quite busy and that we would probably be paired up with another twosome. A pit was instantly placed in my stomach and continued to churn there for the next few hours. I imagined two older executives playing with us... serious golfers... playing 3-4 times a week at only the best courses... club members somewhere... taking golf vacations all over; golfing while their wives shopped at expensive shops where I can't even afford to window shop. I imagined them being frustrated with me as I take 4 shots to their one. This was going to be bad...As I struggled to work out the kinks on the range, I noticed that other than the beverage cart girls, I seemed to be the only female around. This of course just added to my nervousness. My swing looked terrible... Jeff continued to tell me to just relax. I did some deep breathing yoga moves... my swing improved slightly.
Our names were called and we headed to the first tee where we met our partners for the day. Tall athletic Mike, short nonathletic Mark. Friendly enough, with smiles to put me a little at ease. Jeff had on a very nice black polo with a Red Wings logo on the chest. Mark instantly pointed this out to Mike... "Look out Mike, we got a Red Wings fan!" Jeff explained his connection to all things Detroit, Mike tells us he was raised in the Hibbing area, and that they now both live in the cities, and so begins our day.
Jeff hit first... beautiful long high shot as usual. Mike and Mark hit... not as nice as Jeff's. I hit... not my worst but certainly not my best. After 10 shots and some really nice divots in the grass, I completed hole #1.
Hole #2 was a little better... after we tee off we all tended to go our separate ways so no one was really seeing how horrible I was golfing. I relaxed a little. Had a beautiful long putt. All were impressed. Whew, getting better.
Jeff then asks them what they do in the cities. Awkward glance between them and then the older nonathletic Mark says he is a recovering lawyer trying to get out of the business. Mike says nothing. How very peculiar that they don't want to disclose how they make their living. Mike certainly doesn't look old enough to be retired... maybe he's a golden boy born with a silver spoon?
On the drive to the next hole, Jeff tells me that he thinks Mike plays some sort of professional sport, maybe hockey, and Mark is an agent or something. What?! I cannot possibly golf thinking I'm playing with a professional athlete! I am the most nonathletic girl alive... how can I possibly play with a professional athlete!
So as Jeff goes off to hit, I sit in the cart sweating; worried about the next hole which is a short shot, but over water. I have a history of hitting really terrible when water is involved. Meanwhile, Mike, the possible professional athlete, approaches me and says how jealous he is of Jeff and I. (What?!) He tells me that he thinks golf is an awesome sport to share as a couple and he tried to golf once with his girl and she ended up throwing her clubs at him. We talked and laughed a bit more about this and I realized that whatever this man's background, he is a normal guy and a really nice one to boot. I went up and hit a beautiful shot right over the water just left of the green.
For the next several holes I tried to piece together who Mike was. I was also golfing better... impressing all with my nice putts especially. I noticed that Mark at one time called him Palu. Hmmm... Brandon knows everyone in sports... I texted him and he replied that he didn't know any Palu. Palu must be short for something... Jeff suggested Paluso, thinking that it sounded familiar. Brandon replied that Peluso was a hockey player who played for the Chicago Blackhawks.
OMG, I'm golfing with a professional hockey player! I'm super excited about this news, along with feeling like I could puke, but of course cannot say anything to him. I was rather impressed that he kept who he was hidden... did he not want the fuss? Was it a humble act? Or did he not want a confrontation with Jeff the Red Wing fan? Regardless, I liked it. And the four of us really had a nice time golfing... shared quite a few laughs... lots of encouragement all around. Twice he approached me and said what a nice time he had golfing with us and thanked me.
I did a little research on Mike Peluso today and found out his Dad worked in the mines and he played hockey in the range area as a kid. I am 3 months older than him. He was drafted in the 10th round by the New Jersey Devils out of high school, but wanted a college education first so went and played at Univ of Alaska -- Anchorage.
This is a 1984 photo of Mike... I'm guessing it's his HS grad photo... what an awesome mullet!He started his NHL career with the Chicago Blackhawks in 1989. After the Blackhawks, he played for the Devils, the St Louis Blues, and the Calgary Flames. When he joined the Hawks, he was told to fight if he wanted to stay. His first fight came in his first NHL game which happened to be against the Minnesota North Stars. He fought Basil McCrae. There's a pretty good chance that I was at that game, since during those years the North Stars were a big part of my life. Apparently, he became somewhat of a cult hero in New Jersey, where the fans liked his gritty, hard-nosed style. According to Wikpedia, Peluso played with emotion, known to be a dominating figure in person and on the ice. He was on the famed "Crash Line" with Randy McKay and Bobby Holik, a fourth-line combination that provided energy and timely goal-scoring during the Devils' 1995 Stanley Cup run.
Mike and his Devils competed with the Detroit Red Wings for the 95 Stanley Cup run... thus the comment about Jeff's Red Wing shirt! And actually, according to Wikpedia, "he is most remembered for how he displayed his emotions on the bench in the closing minutes of Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals against the Detroit Red Wings on June 24, 1995." According to another blog, he cried when they won. But as the blogger stated, "You try calling him a wuss, and let me know how that goes."
I wish there could have been a way for me to let him know that I knew who he was. I would have loved to have talked to him about his hockey playing days! I'm sure Jeff felt so even more, since his dream as a kid was to play professional hockey some day. I needed my friend Jacquie -- she is so much better at communicating with famous people than I am! Back in the years when I followed sports much more than I do now, I was a big fan of Donny Beaupre, goal tender for the North Stars, and Kent Hrbek. They actually played in a golf tournament across the street from my house one summer day. I talked casually with both of them through the fence, (Donny loved my dog Polar) but never had the nerve to ask for a photo, or an autograph or anything.
Well, maybe I'll run into him on another golf course some day and have another opportunity to talk to him. Hopefully I'll be playing better by then! 
By the way, at the end of the course, even though I was golfing a difficult course I'd never golfed before, and with extra celebrity pressure, my score was equal to my average score at Lakeview. Good for me!
