Golfers on Flight 1549 missed the chance to play the excellent Caledonia Golf Club in Pawleys Island, SC, this weekend, but thanks to the tremendous skill of a pilot and crew, they will be back.
Dame Fortune works her magic in many ways. The six golfers, good friends all, on the USAirways jet that landed in New York City's Hudson River on Thursday were headed south for their annual long weekend of golf. It turns out, according to a column by Jeff Jacobs in the sports section of the Hartford Courant today, that their original flight on Spirit Airways was cancelled. They considered renting a van and driving the 12 hours but checked with USAirways first and found six seats available.
That was the bad luck part. The good luck was that an experienced, decisive and highly skilled pilot was at the helm of Flight 1549.
The six were headed for a stay at the Legends Resort in Myrtle Beach and had plans to play four days of golf, including at three terrific courses I know well -- Caledonia, TPC Myrtle Beach and the Heritage Club. Heritage and TPC are adjacent to residential communities, while part of Caledonia's great charm and high rating in golf magazines is that no homes encroach at all.
Although their plans this year are canceled, next year's buddy golf trip to Myrtle Beach should be something positively special. To read Jeff Jacobs' column in the Courant, please click here.