After 4 1/2 months of playing Indoor Golf League nearly every week, this past Wednesday marked our last match for the season.  We always have a good time at indoor golf, but by the time April rolls around we’re ready for the temperatures to warm up and to start playing outside again.  It makes the last night bitter-sweet because we’re ready to be out in the fresh air, however, many of the people we see at league we won’t see again until the next November.

We are fortunate enough to have an indoor golf facility in Mason City.  It opened over a decade ago, and Mike started playing in it before I met him.  He convinced me to join him a few years after we met, when I had just taken up the game, and we’ve been participating in it together ever since.

Many people ask me what I mean by indoor golf.  The easiest way to explain it is that it’s essentially a video game. There is a big screen that you hit into that has sensors that read your ball flight and speed.  Once the ball hits the screen it travels through the air, on the screen, just like you’re outside.  You get to use your real clubs and golf balls so it’s a great way to keep swinging throughout the winter months.  The program contains many golf courses from around the world and you can choose which you play.  We usually play the courses the PGA Tour plays throughout their season.  There are different spots on the mats to hit from including rough, fairway, sand, and wildgrass…depending on where your ball lands on the course.  You even get to putt.  The short game is by far the hardest part to get used to because its hard to get a feel for the distance you may be pitching, chipping, or putting from.

This is a picture of Off Season Golf where we play in Mason City, IA. It includes a bar, 4 screens (3 on one side and 1 on the other), and a putting “green”.

For our league each team plays in pairs that play a best shot match.  This means that Mike and I both hit from each location.  We then take the best shot and both hit from there for our next shot.  Each team holds a handicap (the average of what you usually shoot) throughout the season based on their last three weeks of play.  This makes the matches fair and more fun, giving everyone a chance to win.  So, for example, if Mike and I usually shoot around Even (making our handicap Even) for 9 holes and the team we are playing usually shoots around 2 under par (making their handicap -2) then they would have to give us 2 strokes.  That means we could shoot an Even par round and they might shoot 1 under, but we’d still beat them because they have to give us 2 strokes.  It evens out the playing field.

Last year I’m happy to say we won the whole thing so coming into this year we had high hopes as the reigning champions.  Unfortunately, we didn’t pull off the win this year, but we sure had a lot of fun trying!

This is a picture of me getting ready to take a swipe with my pretty pink and white driver…my favorite club. On the right is a picture of me giving Mike a “Birdie” kiss. That’s what we’re known for whenever we make a birdie. I won’t tell you what we do if we get an Eagle 😉

Indoor Golf League is what led to Crock Pot Wednesdays.  Before we had T.J. we had a bad habit of stopping at a restaurant (usually our favorite Mexican restaurant) and overindulging after a night of fun and beer.  Once we had T.J., we obviously couldn’t do this anymore but didn’t want to have to make supper when we got home.  We also didn’t want to get in the habit of picking up take out in an attempt to be healthier.

To celebrate our last night of Indoor Golf, I decided to do one of our all time favorite crock pot meals…the classic Beef Pot Roast.  I love this recipe!  It makes enough to serve 6-8 so we have plenty left over that I can freeze and enjoy on another fuss-free supper making night 🙂  There are also a ton of veggies so I like freezing a few extra by themselves for a tasty side dish on another night.

So, in honor of our last night of indoor golf and in celebration of our real outdoor golf course opening TODAY (WOO HOO!!!) here’s an all time favorite recipe in our house…enjoy!

Here’s what you’ll need on your grocery list:

**This recipe makes enough to serve 6-8 people**

2 1/2 lbs Chuck Roast

Salt

Pepper

Garlic Powder

1 (1 oz) packet Dry Onion Soup Mix

3/4 cup Water

3/4 cup Red Wine

1 lb Carrots, chopped

1 1/2 lbs Red or Golden Baby Potatoes (I usually use red but I had golden potatoes that needed to be used and they tasted just as good)

1 bunch Celery, chopped

1 small Onion, chopped

Add soup, water, and wine to crock pot and stir together.

Season both sides of roast with salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste.  Gently place roast in crock pot.

Cook on Low for 4 hours.   After 4 hours, add vegetables to crock pot.

Cook on low an additional 4-6 hours. Total cook time is 8-10 hour.

Serve and Enjoy!

I can’t even put into words how good this meal smells slow cooking all day in our house.  This is a great meal for anytime of the year and one I wish I made more often.

Off to the links…