From The Bottom To TopGolf

 From The Bottom To TopGolf

Todd Swank's Diary Entry for May 22, 2022

On Tuesday night, we drove to Brooklyn Center for my first visit to TopGolf.

The first thing that jumped out of me was how dang high the nets around the field are.  They must really value their golf balls to spend this much effort to make sure they don't lose any.

During college, Avery had visited TopGolf and told us it was a good time.  He's a much better golfer than I am so I was skeptical if I'd have the same assessment about the place.  Although I was somewhat intrigued hitting the balls into the big holes scattered throughout the field.

I was excited to see the display screens tracking our shots and keeping score for us.  I found it to be a lot more like a video game than I realized.  Unfortunately I still had to use my own physical body to hit the balls, but other than that I really had a good time playing.

As usual, Miss Sheri got the hang of it really quickly and soon started crushing my dreams for winning the game.  I still really like her, though.

At the end of the game, we all received stats on our game with our longest drives included.  Although I'd always expected that my drives were the worst in the family, it was a bit jarring to get scientific proof.  Luke out-drove my best shot by almost 25 yards.  This is the motivation I need to start developing a new swing or go to the doctor to see if can buy some new arms.  

We had new pickleball courts suddenly appear near our neighborhood.  We'd been interested in Pickleball for some time after hearing it's the fastest growing sport in the US.  So we went out and bought some paddles and whiffle balls and headed to challenge each other in a new sport.  This one I was bound to dominate!

I actually found it to be a lot of fun.  It's kind of a cross between tennis and ping-pong and is relatively easy to play since the ball just doesn't move around that fast.  I still have to get used to the physics of the ball, though, as I did have a bit of an accident charging the net and ended up taking a tumble.  I smashed into the net pretty hard and was disappointed to find out it doesn't have nearly the give that you'd think it would.  Luckily my injuries were only a couple of knee scrapes and I'm looking forward to getting out there again soon!

To add to my embarrassment this week, I spotted this "bald eagle" out of the corner of my eye while stopped at a stoplight.  I tried to snap a quick picture, but ended up getting honked at by the guy behind me.  Later upon my drive home, I was surprised to catch another glimpse of it still standing there protecting it's babies is what I assumed.  The next day, I was having lunch in a nearby neighborhood and remembered the eagle's nest and wondered if I'd still be able to see it.  This time, I actually pulled into a nearby parking lot and walked across the busy street to finally get a picture.  Right when I arrived with my camera in hand, I realized it was a statue.  I had a good laugh at my own expense which is fun to do sometimes.

On Sunday, we went to St. Paul for the 10th annual Minnesota Monthly Grillfest.

We went with our friends, Troy, Rhonda, and Renae.  They're a fun crew to walk around a baseball stadium with tasting a variety of adult beverages and grilled meats.

We did two full rounds and received our fill of the finest burgers, steaks, beers, and other goodies from around the Twin Cities.  My belly was ready to leave after a couple hours of tasting things.  Good times, though!