Bette and Lea had managed to only get through 15 holes prior to this hole, which would have been disappointing in other circumstances, but Bette was silently glad in this case because she was beginning to tire. It had been well over four years since she’d last played, and the course had been a challenging one.

This has been great fun, though! I should get Tina to start playing.  Something we can do on weekends in the courses outside of the city.  It’ll be fun for the kids, too, to hang out with us.  Gets them outside.  Gotta watch TJ, though … while that lil’ guy would enjoy rolling around … hmmm.  This means we have to look for a club or a course where the members wouldn’t have a problem with players bringing kids with them while out in the course.

“Signature hole of the course,” Lea announced, cutting into Bette’s thoughts. She lifted her driver off of the ground stretching her arms out staring at the club with singular focus, as if willing the driver to hit the ball squarely one last time so that she could end up in the fairway this time.

“Yeah?”

“Uh huh. A monster hole.  Makes or breaks your round.  Beautiful views from here, but …”

Bette squinted into the distance, and could just make out the flag of where the hole was set today, fluttering in the gathering darkness. She pulled the course overview she’d printed out and folded into her back pocket and re-read  the course notes about the hole.  “Wow! Almost 600 yards from the gold tee!  How can this be a par 5 for you, too?!”

Lea blew a breath out, still focused on the club she held aloft. “The last time I played, this hole repaid my aggressiveness.  But I had to hit a really accurate drive.   Friendly advice: if you get through bunkers, the hole will soften and become more forgiving.”

Bette pursed her lips, took a deep breath, and mentally geared up for one more charge.

“Let’s take our time, then, Lea. It’s our last hole anyway.”

It broke Lea’s focus. She slid a sideways glance at Bette, and, slowly, a small smile spread.

“Alright …”

She paused as Bette pulled her driver out of her bag.   “How about we go back to business?”