Retirement and Golf in Lake Chapala Mexico

Retirement and Golf in Lake Chapala

One of the many benefits of Retirement in Lake Chapala is the opportunity to play year round golf because of our amazing climate.

Yesterday 12 of us decided to play three foursomes of best ball at the Chula Vista Country Club in San Antonio Tlacayapan on the carretera in Chula Vista.

I used to be a member of this wonderful executive golf course and was delighted to be playing there again.

It is a beautifully kept course with a very nice club house where breakfast and lunch is served along with all kinds of liquid refreshment. There are several holes with breathtaking views of Lake Chapala.

I had not played golf in almost two years and was a little nervous about how I would fare but I worried needlessly as I put the ball on the green off the tee on the first hole, a par three, of course. I had only done this twice before prior to the green being raised and, I must admit, it got our foursome off to a very good start. The beauty of best ball is there is virtually no pressure as there are four members of the team to make a decent shot.

Our team was 2 over after the first nine but with an eagle putt and two birdies on the back nine we had a total score after 18 of -4 giving us the win.

Then we all enjoyed a delightful lunch on the terrace of the club house and had a lovely time catching up with all our friends.

We are planning to do this again at the Chapala Country Club in San Nicholas on the other side of Chapala and then later on at Atlas which is the second longest golf course in Mexico and is on the way to Guadalajara.

My father was a scratch golfer who once played with Gene Saracen in the Canadian Open and he taught me a lot about the game of golf. The first time I stood over a golf ball at a lovely course near the Tanglewood Music Festival in Massachusetts, everything he had ever said to me came into my head and I hit a wonderful drive which surprised my husband and I completely. I remember thinking “What an easy game!” which I have since learned is not quite the case.

My father also said that when you have not played for awhile you tend to forget all of your bad habits and seem to be able to hit the ball with more ease.

This was certainly the case for me yesterday. I hit some of my best drives ever, actually chipped well and sank some very important putts including an off the green double breaking putt for a birdie.

I was thrilled and now, of course, I can’t wait to get back to playing on a more regular basis. Golf is such a mental game and being under no pressure is terrific for your confidence and enjoying yourself and not trying too hard is one of the keys to this most complicated of games.

I remember one of the British golf announcers saying, after some pro had made a particularly spectacular golf shot, “This is an easy game really. It is us who make it difficult”.

So dust off your clubs and get there out and enjoy this wonderful sport that most of the world can only play a couple of months a year. Indeed it is another great benefit of Retirement in Lake Chapala.