Bachelor Parties Are Cool... But Bachelor Parties Involving Golf Cannot Be Topped.

Folks, I'm going to present some breaking news that may have you all shocked and confused...it's bachelor/bachelorette party season. To some, this means some rest and relaxation at a spa or small resort close to where said bride and groom reside. To others (the vast majority of others no less), it's trips to either Nashville, Austin and the like (Vegas is so tired) over not two...not three...not four...you get it. Evidence of these trips is sprayed all over the various forms of social media, particularly Instagram and SnapChat stories which makes even the most mundane and bland parts of the trip seem like we're all missing out. To some extent, maybe we are? Actually nah, you do you and I'll continue watching The Office.

That being said, I must say I was fortunate enough to attend a bachelor party this weekend in the mountains of Vermont and to sum it up quickly...it was perfect. Why was it perfect? Golf was involved.

Getting to Vermont was half the fun, as myself and a buddy who shall remain nameless because he out-drove me in the long-drive competition (atta boy Benny) rode top down and guns blazing in his Jeep Wrangler for four very short hours. Why were they considered short? Well beside the free tans during the drive on a flawless July morning, Benny and I decided to break the roadie up with nine holes halfway through the drive. THE Maplewood located in just gorgeous Bethlehem, NH along the White Mountain route to Vermont was the perfect way to get out and stretch the legs. The golf before the golf. The party before the party. We were in and out in two hours and back on the road, like it never happened.

Except it did, and it set the tone for the rest of the weekend. Not going into the full breakdown of the weekend, the simple point of this posting is explaining why golf is a perfect activity for each and every bachelor party, regardless of skill or interest. To paint the scene, it's Saturday afternoon in the summer and we're a group of 16 extremely good looking and intelligent individuals of all skill levels. By the luck of the draw, or the hat, I was placed on a team with said long-drive champ, the bachelor (atta way Mikey D!), and our assigned weekend photographer who also had the shot of the day on the 17th hole of Sugarbush Golf Club (cheers Tony!). The other groups filled out a squad who, at the beginning of the round was held in very low regard by the bartender since she may have seen us trying to load up the carts with our own coolers, some kind of a no-no in the green mountain state. After agreeing to fill the coolers with PURCHASED beverages from the club, her attitude quickly changed, as did ours.

Thinking back to other bachelor parties I've attended, traveling with a large group who have different intentions on what they'd like to achieve on said weekend can be tough for everyone involved. Some activities suit half the group, while the other half couldn't be bothered. But golf? Golf's different. Golf involves beer. Golf involves competition. Golf involves getting to know people you met 20 minutes ago and leaving the course with the promise of being each others beer-die partner in about four hours. You're outside, you're in a golf cart flying around in a beautiful setting, you're playing a format where everyone is able to participate (scramble) and it's almost impossible to get down on yourself because if you hit a shitty shot? You play your partners shot, end of story.

In closing, and I know I'm bias when I say this, but if every bachelor party I attend from here on out (or family vacation, solo vacation, birthday party, etc) involves golf? Well, you won't hear me arguing. Except when the measuring stick comes out during the long-drive and closest to pin challenge. That shit's rigged.

Cheers Mikey, you're the best.