Welcome and Intro Bradley

 

My name is Bradley and I am a recent transplant to Connecticut. After almost 17 years spent roaming the southern states of the U.S. my wife and I chose New England and specifically Middletown Connecticut as our home. After trying a few courses near me I saw a nine-hole course near by. So on a sunny Sunday morning I found myself at Indian Springs Golf Club in Middlefield, CT. and at the threshold of a new friendship. Matt is one of those friends that everyone needs in their life. I have always been the golfer in the group that is considered "avid" or "obsessed" with the game so it is refreshing to know someone and play golf with someone who has "the golf sickness" WAY WORSE than I do. Matt is terminal with it. 

To say I have been lucky in life is an understatement. I have traveled the world for work and pleasure and have golfed in most of the places I have visited. In 2015 I created a gameshow for the golf course called: Shot at the Green. We shot the pilot for that show in Orlando. The YouTube golf world had not yet been pioneered and the show, sadly, did not go on. Maybe there is chance it can make a return in some form in the future. 

When I am not golfing I am working on renovating/restoring our home that, as of this writing,  is 273 years old. I love saying: "...our house is older than our country and Guinness." When I am not doing that I write words for other people to say or read. 

This adventure, to talk about courses and the food we eat before and/or after our rounds,  is a way to log the memories of a life spent golfing. My hope is that you find our ratings and musings helpful, maybe insightful but always humorous. 

Hope to see you out on the course in New England- B.

Welcome and Intro - Matt

 Hello!  My name is Matthew.  I am a PGA Associate Pro.  I live in Middlefield, CT and have been golfing since I was 12 years old.  I grew up in RI, but moved to Connecticut in my mid 20's to pursue education.  I went to school for Physics and ultimately became a Physics teacher for 13 years.  In that time, my passion for golf has increased at an exponential rate, and at this point (aside from being with family) golf is the predominant occupier of my thoughts.  I'm constantly thinking about every aspect of the game, especially when I'm not on the course.  

My physics knowledge has helped me develop my golf game by allowing me to analyze the why and how of shot shapes and mechanics of the body.  I currently am playing around a 5.7 handicap. 

I work at Indian Springs Golf Course in Middlefield, CT part time as the Director of Instruction - running the youth development program which hosts around 30-40 kids in multiple sessions during the season, as well as running the front desk on Sunday mornings.  I am also the Members Champion for the 2022-2023 season.  

One Sunday morning in the spring of 2022 I received a phone call I'll never forget.  I answered the phone like I always do, "Good Morning, Indian Springs, this is Matt", and the person on the other end has changed my way of thinking.  A long story short (or perhaps saved for a later time), this is how I met Brad.  A guy with his own, far more interesting, backstory that loves the game of golf (almost) as much as I do.  He was new to the area, never played our course before and asked if I could squeeze out a single that morning.  I told him to come on down and I'd see what I could do.  When he arrived, as I do for all first time players, I pulled a scorecard and walked him through the intricacies of our little 9-hole course.  As we talked a bit more, he just seemed like a fun guy to play a round of golf with, so I suggested we do just that.  That was the start of a phenomenal friendship that has evolved and developed into many things, including the idea for this blog.    Brad will post his intro here as well.

As our friendship grew, we started playing more 18 hole courses around the area, both excited most when we are trying out new courses that we hadn't played before.  I don't know how it began, but it became a quasi-tradition that we would try a new diner every time we played a new course as part of our experience.  Usually breakfast.  We want to document our "Diners and Drivers" or "Courses and Cafes" experiences here with you.  We will be posting reviews and ratings of both the diners and courses around CT that we play.  We ultimately want to share our passion for the golf experience with golfers of all types alike so they have an unbiased means of pre-iewing golf courses in CT from a low handicapper, and a mid handicapper.  I have no idea where this will all go, but I'm excited for the journey it may take us on.  

If you have a golf course or diner that you love that we haven't reviewed, please leave a comment and we'll try to get there as soon as we can!  

Thanks, and "hit 'em straight, unless it's a dog leg"

Matt