Gabriel's Creek

An aging husband and father seeks the sanctuary of golf to find the depth of his faith. In order to deal with his newly diagnosed terminal illness, he chooses to spend one of his final days doing something he loves: walking 18 holes. Reaching an uncharted course, he doesn't know that he's headed for an introspective day in a delightful, unique, and special place: Gabriel’s Creek Golf Course.

Drawn away from his intended playing location to this unusual place, Chris Collins meets and grows comfortable with its staff, including their adorable mascot, a Border Collie named Ralphie. A special breakfast ends with the Pro’s caution, “This place is magical…You’ll see what I mean.” Ralphie becomes part companion, part guide throughout Collins’ round of reflections.

Chris is inspired by a variety of unexpected characters he meets, some familiar and some not. Their places in his life show a lot about who Collins is, who he was, and who he now believes he should have been. Both his pride and regrets are magnified as he reviews his life's relationships.

Collins' childhood, scholastic years, business executive and family-rearing lives all fall under his scrutiny. During his round, he is mysteriously whisked to holes he knows are not at Gabriel's Creek, but at golf courses around the country and the world. Like those other players that join him for fleeting stretches, some are familiar to him and some are not. Is this time travel, or is it just the enchantment of Gabriel’s Creek?

His walk with other characters blends with his memories of bygone places and times, leading him to learn many lessons of life too late. While playing, these insights lead Collins to plan applying his newfound knowledge to current life issues before his coming death. Like so many of us do, Collins learns the hard way that procrastination can be costly.

Chris is not so much fearful as curious about what is coming. All day, he wonders what the transition from this life to the next will be. He is shaken by the realization that every living thing experiences death, but no one really knows the details of the trip. The more he speculates about what his coming death will be like, the more he is comforted by what he’s gained from his day at Gabriel’s Creek.

Our player's emotional and inspirational round reinforces the notion that we should all treat each day of life as a gift. He just wishes he would have seen that years before this day.

The 18th hole is much more than the end of Chris’ round.  On that final green his life comes into clear focus; Collins finds that Gabriel’s Creek Golf Course exists in neither the earthly nor the next world, but perhaps somewhere in between.