Perfect Thanksgiving starts with golf and a Texans' victory

Palm Beach Par 3 (Mike Bailey)

Here’s how I see the perfect Thanksgiving for those of us lucky enough to live in a warm climate: Get up early, have a light breakfast, play nine holes of golf (or maybe 18 if you can squeeze it in), watch some football, enjoy Thanksgiving dinner, watch some more football, enjoy leftovers, go to bed, then play golf again on Friday.

Fortunately, for many of us, there are golf courses that are open on Thanksgiving, at least until the afternoon.

One of those is Palm Beach Par 3 Golf Course in Palm Beach, Fla. I got to play it last week, and it was even better than I anticipated. (Check out my review and photo gallery on Palm Beach Golf Course.) This little gem was recently redone by Raymond Floyd, and it’s terrific.

I’ve said this many times about par 3s: I think people would play them if they were in better shape. The trouble is that most of them are hardly maintained, but there are a few exceptions, and this is one of them.

It’s definitely among the best three public par-3 courses I’ve ever played, a list that would also include Threetops at Treetops in Northern Michigan and the Challenge Course at Monarch Dunes near San Luis Obispo on the California coast. Palm Beach Par 3 has ocean views, Intercoastal Waterway views and impeccable conditioning with its new paspalum turf. It’s very walkable, of course, which is a great way to burn a few calories before the big meal.

So among the many things I’ll be thankful for tomorrow is that we get to play golf in this country on courses like Palm Beach Par 3. Palm Beach won’t be an option for me tomorrow, but it doesn’t prevent me from playing nine holes on a local course. Forecast here in southeast Texas tomorrow: 80 degrees and sunny. Thankful for that, too.

Oh, and by the time that other football game featuring a Texas team comes on – Cowboys and Redskins – I’m hoping I’ll be thankful for one more thing: a Houston Texans’ win over the Detroit Lions to bring Texas’ best team’s record to 10-1. (Sorry about that Jason Deegan.)

Happy golfing everyone, and happy Thanksgiving.