We Are With You Lexi: TV And The Rules Of Golf

     I wasn't going to post today, but it happened again. The golf world was rocked by what seemed to be a violation of the rules of golf in a televised golf tournament. The rule was not picked up by the rules committee but was sent in from a viewer on TV.  In my opinion, this should not be.  Let the players play and the rules committee be the ones that pick up any rules violations at the time the violation was committed--on site and in a timely manner.  Rules decisions should not come from or be suggested by those would be rules experts sitting at home on a couch wanting to gain fame by bragging they were the ones that caught a certain rule violation in a given tournament that cost a player a win.
      A lot comes into play here.  Those of us that play the great game of golf know that it is not a game of total accuracy.  There is a lot of guesswork and estimation.  I don't have a rangefinder for example and estimated distances.  There is no way that I can mark my ball on a green and return it to the exact spot that I marked it at.  There is a tolerance of a few millimeters, but at least the mark is close. I didn't see Lexi Thompson and where she had marked the ball, but where she replaced the ball had to be close. What's next? Do we start using GPS to determine the exact location of where a ball came to rest and where we are marking it? You talk about slow play.  Here it is.  You have to rely on the player's sound judgement and most players at that level are not going to cheat especially on something as small as marking your ball on the green.  Lexi is a person of high reputation and wouldn't do that.
     There is another point that can be made here.  The rules of golf and official rules book are kind of like the IRS tax code.  There are a lot of them and some actually contradict themselves. Is it going to get to the point that a player is breaking the rules of golf by simply stepping onto the golf course or by putting the tee in the ground?  Is that what it is coming to and is TV going to be the medium by which this absurdity is ushered into tournament golf?  How important is it that some person sitting at home with a rule book in their hand can have that much power.  It just shouldn't be, especially when that rule book is so complex.
     We all know that golf is a unique game. The way golf plays their competitive game is unique itself.  Golf tournaments are four day events.  This is different from other sports such as baseball, basketball and football.  When the game is over, the game is over.  These games have rule instant replays, but when the game is stopped and the decision on the rule is made, that's it.  The game goes on. When the buzzer sounds, the gun goes off ending the game or the last out is made in the ninth inning the game is over.  Can you imagine a controversial game winning home run being called back because of a decision made the day after the game?
     Lexi's supposed rule violation was on Saturday, but was assessed on Sunday.  Not only was she penalized for the wrong spot two strokes, but was penalized another two strokes for signing an inaccurate scorecard, which she was not aware of being inaccurate.  Had she been informed by the rules committee that she indeed was being assessed a two stroke penalty for not placing her ball at the right spot on the green before she signed her card on Saturday, I would be good to go on that. However, the penalty was assessed on Sunday on both the spot and the scorecard.  It was also sent in by a viewer on TV.  Why have a rules committee?
     I totally understand that the rules are an important part of the game of golf. They should be enforced.  But let's be reasonable about this.  We are human and do make mistakes.  However, shouldn't those mistakes have an expiration clause.  When a round of golf is completed, its finished and move on to the next day.  Behaviors have time limits and when a player holes out on the eighteenth hole, times up and on to the next day.  If it hasn't been observed or assessed by those involved, its too late.  Golfers are pretty good at assessing penalties on themselves and policing their games. There should be no third parties in golf.
     One last thing that has to be mentioned.  Lexi is to be applauded by how she handled this.  Yes, golf is about emotion and she certainly showed disappointment but she accepted what had happened with grace.  There was no blaming the other guy.  You showed a lot of class Lexi.  That's what golf is all about.

Ah yes, tournament golf. No TV cameras at this event. 

Junior Golf: Show It, Sell It--Hide It, Keep It

     That's kind of an odd title, isn't it? Before I began teaching and when I retired from teaching and began my writing career, I was a salesman and sold office equipment and wholesale food products to grocery stores. I had a sales manager share with me a very good idea as I was learning the sales industry. The saying was very profound and I will share it with you:  Show it, sell it--Hide it keep it.  After thinking about how we promote junior golf and even bringing kids into the game that is kind of what we are doing, aren't we.  We just are not giving junior golf the exposure that it should be getting as far as getting kids into the game.
      As I travel around town, I see all kinds of signs up.  Signs such as "Atwater Little League Sign Ups" or "Merced Girl's League Softball Leagues Now Forming.  Sign up At...On Saturday March 4". Sign like these are all over the place as I am sure they are in your town.  During the fall you see signs announcing sign ups for soccer leagues and basketball leagues as well as youth football. Most of these signs are put up around schools in order to get as many kids into the particular sports to sign up as they can.  I ask you though, Where are the signs announcing youth golf programs and signups for those programs?
      I can answer that question quite easily.  There are no signs that are put up.  One of the reasons is that golf programs for youth are not promoted except in the golf community.  Another reason is that there are not that many organized youth golf programs that you see in other sports.  I think that is a shame.  Why aren't there any programs out there?  How come we hide such programs as "First Tee" and "Golf Kids"?  Are we embarrassed?  Do we think that kids are not interested in golf?
     We need to be a bit more aggressive in bringing kids into the game of golf.  Yes, kids are coming to the game of golf.  We can just look at the growth in participation rates in youth golf tournaments and see that it is growing, but probably not as quickly or as much as it should be growing.  Let's take a hard look at what needs to be done to change this.
      I understand many of the challenges that are faced when you try to develop a youth golf program.  A major consideration is who is going to run the program.  Most golf facilities and their staff are totally overburdened with the tasks that are required to run their golf courses, let alone establishing a quality youth golf program.  It is hard to put together a youth program and takes a lot of resources in time and money.  In most cases, the courses and pros don't have that time and money to devote to a quality program.  I understand their logic and concerns that a youth program is another huge investment in the course's time and limited resources.  The decision is a tough one to make, even though the time and money spent is an investment in the future and many of these youth players turn into paying customers.
     Perhaps what is needed is for the men and women of golf look to the future and volunteer to supervise golf programs as in other sports. We need to establish more programs and advertise those programs.  The word needs to get out.  There are golf programs and many other programs can be created. We must go on the offensive and let communities know that these programs exist.  Let's get kids playing golf. Let's show parents and kids the wonderful benefits of the game of golf and how you can play golf for a lifetime.  Let's show it and not keep it.

They are our future.  Let's get them playing golf.

She Forced Me To Play Golf On Sunday

     So, my wife forced me to play golf on Saturday.  She does this almost every week and has intensified her efforts now that the weather is improving here in our part of California. I don't know how much longer I can deal with this.  Its kind of intimidating when she says, "You will take me to play golf today, or else." Well, I see no other alternative than to give into her demands. My guess is that's what The Founding Fathers meant when they put "To Insure Domestic Tranquility" into the Constitution.  If she's not happy, nobody is happy.
     We met as a result of using an online dating service.  I won't mention which one because E-Harmony is not compensating me monetarily to mention them so I won't.  One of the most important attributes that I put in my profile and the traits of a possible match was that the person I was to meet and possibly spend the rest of my life with play golf.  The fact that I played golf and enjoyed it very much was important to my wife as well.  Needless to say, this was a match made in heaven.  We were smitten with each other the moment we laid eyes upon one another.  I know that she loved to play golf, but I didn't realize just how deep that love for the game was.
     I think that I mentioned before that my wife used to play a lot of softball and was on the basketball and volleyball teams at the college she went to.  She is an athlete, so she took to golf very easily and hits the ball with some good power.  I have to say--and I say this in a good way Dear--that my wife is truly a competitive animal and golf is an appropriate outlet for her competitive drive.  And, she only gets better each time we play.
     Last year we actually broke down and bought her a set of women's clubs. It was pretty hard playing a set of her father's hand me down irons and woods. She bought a 24 pack of Top-Flite balls and at this point has used them all and has gone to a softer "ladies" ball which are a lot easier to hit. My wife can compress the ball much better than a "top rock" and it shows in the distances she has been getting as well as the higher ball flight. It is just easier to get the softer ball into the air. She was complaining that her putter was too long so Friday night we went to a local nationally known sporting goods store--I'm not going to mention Dick's Sporting Goods because they don't compensate me for mentioning them either--and she bought a brand new Odessy putter. When do I get a brand new putter?  Let's keep her happy.
     All kidding aside, I consider myself fortunate to have a wife that loves the game of golf as much as I do.  I can kid about the fact that she forces me to play golf with her but the bottom line is that we enjoy playing the game together and look forward to continuing this. We have a lot of laughs out there and the time we spent together is good quality time out of our busy schedules. If you have a spouse or significant other that plays golf, consider yourself blessed. Excuse me now, I'm going to take some ibuprofen and soak in the jacuzzi spa because I'm sore from playing two days in a row--ah, the misery of it all. It is a wonderful thing to share the game of golf together.

She hit that one deep.  It went by me by 50 yards.

Who Won The Golf Tournament?

     Who won the golf tournament? Yes, I do know that Dustin Johnson won the Genesis Los Angeles Open.  Congratulations Mr. Johnson for your dominating win in the tough conditions that were The Riviera Country Club.  I'm not talking about The Genesis L.A. Open though.  I'm talking about who won the NCGA qualifier at the local golf course.  Which do you think is more important to golf?
     We all know that golf is a great game.  The game can be played for many reasons and on many levels. There is the recreational player who really isn't out there for score but is playing the game for the sheer joy of playing it.  Then there is the player who keeps score and keeps track of their scores in order to improve their game. Thirdly, there is the player that keeps score and joins the course player's club and establishes an index through the G.H.I. N. system which determines their course handicap. Where do you go from there?
     I think the next step is to enter the club tournaments.  There is a bit of controversy when I say this because many feel that in every club there are "sandbaggers".  We all know that this a true part of the game and it will always be with us. The issue of "sandbaggers" causes many players to feel that they have no chance of winning one of these club tournaments so they don't enter tournaments.  However, you have to ask yourself why you play tournaments. Do you play specifically to win the club tournament or do you enter for the social aspect of the game?  The bottom line for me is that club tournaments are a lot of fun, no matter where you place.
     Yes, when I enter a tournament I do enter with a reasonable expectation of topping the leader board but that is not the only reason. More importantly, I want to get to know others in the club and enjoy the fellowship of playing the game in a more competitive setting. This was a four-ball event and the teams were not randomly made up. You chose your team. But most of the tournaments are individual events and you don't know who is going to be in your foursome. You meet a lot of people in the club you wouldn't normally play golf with. Its not the competition itself, but playing in the tournament with others.
     Yes, winning is the goal here but its more than that. Step back for a moment and watch the happenings in the clubhouse after the tournament with those waiting for the results. There is a lot going on. We can talk about the rubber chicken that I earned many times for coming in last place. That was quite an honor being recognized by your peers in such a way, but it was all in good fun.
 Just listen to the conversations and see the interactions among those who are there. Even though everyone in the room is totally different, there is a bond everyone shares and that bond is the game of golf.
      What is more important for the game of golf? Is it Dustin Johnson winning the Genesis L.A. Open?  Is it the televising of professional tournaments on TV? Don't get me wrong, I enjoy watching these tournaments and they give great exposure to golf. I feel that four ball tournament which was played at our local course is truly the real face of golf and is just as important. Players are of course the heart and soul of the game, and club tournaments are its true nature as far as people playing the game and competing. Keep in mind that not all gofers want the competitive side of the game, and that's OK as well. The idea is to play the game and have fun. Golf is a game for everyone, and the club tournament is one place that is a reality.

I miss playing tournament golf. I should be back soon though.

   

Of East And West--Golf Tournaments That Is (Update)

     How many of you watched AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am which was played on the famous courses of the Seventeen Mile Drive of The Monterey Peninsula? The first two days of the tournament the weather was questionable at best with some heavy rain, but then the sun came out for Saturday and Sunday.  The weather was gorgeous for the last two days and the tournament was a lot of fun to watch.  More importantly, most of the big names in tournament golf were there. This is a fantastic thing for golf, especially for golf on The West Coast.
     It seems as though The West Coast Swing is back, at least for now anyway. A couple of blog posts ago I wrote about how the big names of golf did not care to play in the tournaments out here on the West Coast early in the PGA golf season.  That seems to be changing. My thoughts are that the FedEx Cup has a lot to do with it but I don't have a detailed explanation. What I do know is that these top names playing the tournaments out here is good for golf. There are a lot of golfers out here living in the western states and they deserve to see the big names play in person. Yes, it is a big thing for us.
      The Western Swing is played on some wonderful old and new golf courses. The whole series of tournaments, from Hawaii to California, carries a rich heritage as well.  Most of the great names of golf have played in them and many of them have won.  Ben Hogan, Sam Snead, Gary Player, Lee Trevino, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods are just a few of those names. The West Coast Swing was very important for them.  They played in the tournaments on courses such as Riviera in Los Angeles, Torrey Pines in San Diego and of course Pebble Beach along with the other beautiful courses on The Seventeen Mile Drive of the Monterey Peninsula.
      The "Stars" of the game are returning to The West Coast Swing.  We have seen Jason, Dustin, Ricky entered and playing in "The Swing".  I was surprised to see Justin Rose play in so many tournaments out here in the west.  Phil plays out here in most of the tournaments and is very much involved in bringing back the old Bob Hope Desert Classic. Next week's Los Angeles Open will again have a full field with some of the biggest names in golf.  Attendance has been up at these tournaments.
      A huge thanks goes out to the big names of golf in their return to the West Coast Swing. A hearty congratulations goes to Jordan Spieth for winning the AT&T Pebble Beach. Even more than your win Jordan is that you played in many of the tournaments of The West Coast Swing. Its great to see The West Coast Swing gaining some of its old luster back. We welcome you back to the West Coast PGA and the "stars" of golf.  

An Open Letter To Golf Pros About Lessons

     I am writing this as an eighteen handicapper.  My game, as I said in an earlier post is good, but I do have the potential to get better.  The question has come up many times and from many people especially those I respect and admire (Mark, Wayne, Phil, Brad, Matt, Tom and all the rest of my FaceBook Golf Pro Friends) as to why I don't take a lesson from my local pro.  There are a few reasons why I do not, and when I am on the golf course I hear the same reasons from many of the players whom I am playing a round of golf with. As a journalist, I ask the question to of course see what the answer is.  I don't want to offend anyone, but here are some of those reasons, many of which I share with the average golfer.
     Here goes, and that is not to say that I shouldn't take a few lessons.  I am not anti lesson, far from that.  I think what it all boils down to is commitment.  That is not a commitment to the game, that is a commitment to time and to the funds that it takes to devote not only to the process of improving, but to the time and financial constraints of taking lessons.  Is the time and money spent on lessons worth it to me? For me, it doesn't, and I know that to many that statement is almost a sacriledge. Keep in mind that many of us feel the same way.  I understand that my feelings here may be contrary to the logic of improving my game, but I am being realistic.
     Let me explain how I feel, and I am sure that many recreational golfers feel the same way.  The statement I am about to make will clear a lot up.  I will never be a scratch golfer. I would like to be, but I have a life that gets in the way of that pursuit. When I go out to play golf, even if I have a bad round I enjoy myself.  First of all, I don't know how I am going to play or what I am going to shoot. It is an adventure.  Sometimes I hit some shots that amaze even myself, others other shots I wonder if I have ever played this game before. Each round is different. That's the beauty of it.  I have the potential to be a better golfer and score much lower, but I don't have the time to practice.  Life gets in the way, life and the fact that we only have one car and my wife uses it for work. Getting to the course to play or practice can be a major undertaking.
     I am sixty two years old.  You have heard the saying you can't teach old dogs new tricks.  That statement is very true.  It takes a long time to engraine a new concept or move into my golf game.  Changes take practice and time.  In the meantime, putting those changes in practice on the golf course takes a lot of sacrifice and frustration in order to make them permanent and while I am putting those changes in place, those changes take time really messing up my game when I am playing. I'm getting too old for this.  I want to go out and play as my time on this earth is limited. Improvement is a great thing, but I am never going to play on tour. I like where I am at and lack the patience to do that which will improve my game.
     Cost is also a factor.  In my case, I just don't see where it is a good return on my investment of the cost of lessons to take a lesson or two.  Don't get me wrong. If my game goes to heck in a hand basket or there are major changes in my physical makeup and I have to change something or not play, I will take a lesson to steady the ship. I won't take a lesson just to shave a few strokes off my scores. There won't be a significant improvement in my scores, just a marginal moving of the dial should I take a lesson.  I have to ask myself if that $40 and hour is worth the cost when I could go out and play, probably fixing whatever problem or hitch I have developed by myself. If I can't figure it out, there is always YouTube (Of course I say that facetiously.). Besides, I am not going to spend the time on the range to make any significant changes that are suggested by a qualified professional.
     One last thought here on the cost of lessons that I would like to share. I have to make a choice since I am a senior and live on a fixed income.  That choice is a major one.  Do I spend money on lessons or do I take that $40 and spend it on green fees?  Think about that for a minute.  In our household every dollar counts.  I have to justify playing golf, let alone springing for a golf lesson. I'd rather play golf. It seems to be just that simple.
      One last thought about this that I will share.  Which teacher and what philosophy of golf learning do I seek out?  There are many and I am confused.  There are the "Naturalists" and then there are the "Technocrats".  The Naturalists boil down to a philosophy of keeping it simple.  The Technocrats uses every bit of technology they can get their hands on and boil the swing and the game down into nanoseconds and very minute moves.  Where do I go for instruction. Who do I listen to? Which school of golf teaching is correct. It seems as though most golf pros and teachers can't decide how the are going to teach the game and don't know when what they are teaching is not enough or when it is too much.  This old guy doesn't want to sort it out, but I just want to play and that's it. It makes for some great conversation but how important is it?
     I want to say again here and EMPHATICALLY that I am not saying don't take lessons.  If you have a problem in your game by all means see a professional. I strongly recommend it, especially if you are just starting out in the game. I am just stating why I personally don't take lessons.  If you feel that you need a lesson, by all means take one or two. I'm definitely not an expert on this, but I do know my game and what I want from it. Right now I enjoy the game of golf and how I play it.  Yes, I do have my ups and downs as far as scores are concerned and how I hit the ball. Change is hard for me and I just want to go out and play golf. Is that too much to ask?

I said I don't take lessons.  I didn't say I don't try to learn as much about the game as I can.  This is Rick, a pro that was on board a cruise I was on.  I learned a lot from him. 

  
         

Of East And West--Tournaments That Is

      I am a Californian by birth. I grew up with all that is West Coast but I have a sensitivity for that which is East Coast as well. My father was from Ansonia, Connecticut and I still have family on the East Coast.  You just can't get a great pizza out here but things kind of even out because you can't get decent Mexican food on the East Coast. One thing truly bothers me and that is that there is an East Coast bias in the way this country is viewed, especially in sports.
     The Forty Niners are never supposed to contend for anything (Yes, I know they are not what they should be right now, but we will just leave it there.) but seem to always be in the thick of things.  How many Super Bowls have they won?  And the Giants, how many World Series Titles have they won in the last five years and weren't even considered to place.  The A's have come close, but just haven't gotten over the hump. What is a Dodger, by the way?
     The same thing has been true for a long time with the PGA tour.  Golfers generally don't want to come out here beginning with the Hawaiian tournaments and play in the West Coast swing.  To most of them, the tour begins in Florida.  That's on the East Coast, isn't it?  Big names on the tour would very rarely come out and play the early tournaments held here on the West Coast and many of them opt out for tournaments like The Dubai Open  Yes you did have a few such as Phil and even Tiger would play in San Diego, but it was rare that big names would come out to play the great historical tournaments such as The LA and San Diego Opens and many would even skip "The Clambake" or AT&T as it is known now.
     I'm not sure what the fields look like for this year's West Coast swing.  It seems as though they are getting better as some of the bigger names are deciding to play in some of the tournaments.  The Phoenix Open had a good field as players love to play the course, especially number 16 with it's huge gallery.  It is a shame that many players opt out of some of the wonderful traditional tournaments here especially in California like The AT&T.  San Diego's Farmer's Insurance Open is seeing a resurgence and that is a good thing, especially since Tiger Woods enjoys the tournament and Torrey Pines is one of his favorite courses. Phil Mickelson's involvement in the old Bob Hope Desert Classic--which has a new sponsor by the way--is also great for West Coast golf. Come on guys, we fans here on the West Coast deserve to see you play.
     With the advent of the FedEx point system, it is good to see that the West Coast swing is becoming important again. However, it will take time for it to regain the prestige it once had when all the big names like Palmer, Player Trevino and Nicklaus would not miss it. I realize that golf was different back then and in many cases a missed tournament was a missed pay check. The big names in golf need to come out and be seen here on the west. Its good for the fans here on the West Coast and good for golf in general. Golf is pretty big out here and these tournaments are played on some wonderful courses.  Welcome back and we hope to see more of you out here in January and February. The weather is nice and the money is good.

Ah yes, San Diego.  OK, so this is Coronado but San Diego is across the bay.

Golf Is Art Not Just A Product

     So, I'm confused. What am I supposed to be doing when I play golf?  Am I supposed to be thinking that I should score better?  Should I be thinking about how far I hit my driver or five iron?  How about this big one, do I spin my wedges.  Oh, and what about which ball I should be playing.  Should I take a lesson or not?  That opens a great big can of worms itself.
     There is one thing that a lot of us have lost sight of. This game, no matter how well we play it is a lot of fun.  How about we put aside all the complexities of the game and all the discussion and just go out and play. Let's go out to the course, simply enjoy the game and have some fun no matter how well we play. Why is that so difficult?
     Golf is like art.  I enjoy looking at a great masterpiece, the product of an artists work. It is meant to be enjoyed for what it is.  Here's what happens.  Experts come along and dissect the merits of the piece almost to the point where a warm, living piece of art becomes cold and technical. That is a shame, because the piece probably was created with the artist's feelings and eye, not by cold technique.  Technique probably played a role, but to concentrate on technique totally misses the point of the art.
     Golf is also like that.  Golf is a work of art that is created by the player. Yes, there is some technique involved but the experience is unique to the golfer. As golfers, our golfing experiences are similar but each golfer experiences the game in their own unique way. It is the golf that is important--the playing of the game and the enjoyment of playing it--not the technique.  Technique is part of the game and has its own beauty, but that's not all there is to the game.
     I have had my coffee so it is time to post this.  Thank you for waiting.  Take a look at our website at Golf Is For Everyone;  http://golfisforeveryonemd.com.  As I said, we have great plans for it. Make sure you invite someone to play golf with you and most importantly, have fun.

Come on, let's have some fun.  The first tee is waiting for us.

Golf Is Fun At An 18 Handicap

      I have a confession to make.  I am an eighteen handicapper.  I have the potential for a better game but that is just where I am. There is one fact that a lot of people in the golf industry seem to overlook in their quest to get me to improve my game.  I have a lot of fun playing golf and when I do play I am very comfortable at an eighteen handicap. This is for certain, I haven't been placed on the Las Vegas Odds Board as the golfer to next win a major and I will never be better than say a fifteen handicap but that is my decision.  For me, the dream of being a scratch golfer has evaporated long ago.  Here is the bottom line in all this. I love the game of golf and I have a lot of fun playing it.
     I totally understand the generally accepted notion that I should want to improve my game.  If you look at my history of scores, I do improve but not for the reasons you would think. I get better the more I play.  When I play more golf than the once every three months that I am doing now, my scores go down.  My "feel" comes back in my short game and that is where I shave strokes off my game. What can I say, its just that simple for me. My index goes down.
     I have seen comments on the fact that most golfers never get better than an eighteen handicap.  As an average golfer who happens to be an eighteen handicap golfer I have a something to say about all this.  First, golf is a game.  It is not life, although to some golfers golf is life. This has got to be put into perspective. Most of us have other important things in life such as families and that wonderful thing called work.  We after all have to devote time to family and pay the bills. This kind of gets into the way of our time devoted to the game we all love. Life doesn't stop and the priorities of life come first. Golf is a game and should be put in its proper place.
     We sometime focus too much on our scores. There is more to golf than a handicap number or a score.  Par is not a number that is going to get you into or keep you out of heaven--whatever your heaven may be.  So, many of us think that our golf scores are part of our identity and forget why we play golf in the first place. There is more to it than just counting the number of strokes it takes to get that little ball in the hole. A score becomes an obsession and we miss the real reason we are playing golf. Concentrating on a score kind of gets in the way of the real reason we play the game and that is for the enjoyment and fun of it.
     How many of us actually stop and look at what golf really is in all of its parts.  Yes, actually playing the game by striking the ball in order to get it into the hole is a very important part of the game, but golf is more than just playing the game. If you play golf by yourself, that is very important and you probably are well tuned into just playing the game.  However, most of us don't play alone. We play with other golfers and we are together for several hours playing and enjoying the game together. We talk about the things in life and swap bad stories.  We tell bad jokes and generally have a good time together, whether we know each other or not.  Some of my best times in golf have been when I hooked up with three other golfers whom I didn't know.  I have shared in the past how I met for the first time two friends from Alberta, Canada at the top of the Palm Springs Tram and wound up playing a round of golf with them.  We had an outlandishly great time, eh.
     Yes, golf is an individual sport.  We don't play it as a team.  That's not to say that we play the game alone.  There is always the group that we play with and the rounds in the clubhouse after the round. There are the stories we can tell and all the exaggerations that come with those stories.  It is more than just a game and score is just a part of that game. I am having a lot of fun at an eighteen handicap. Go out and play some golf.  Have fun, no matter how you play or what your score is.

Says it all.

No Golf Today--Too Cold And Foggy

     When is it too cold and damp to play golf.  The answer to that in my younger days was it's never too cold or foggy.  There was a day in a cold January that I even played in a rare Central Valley of California snow storm. Those were the days my friend and I thought they would never end--Thank you Maryanne Faithful.  Things have changed as I have aged. I confess that I have a different attitude and has gone from a "Let's do this" to more of an attitude of Danny Glover's character in Lethal Weapon when he says "I'm getting too old for this sh..."  Times they are a changing my friend.
     We have had a wet and cold winter here where I live. Today's high temperature will soar to about 48 degrees--Fahrenheit by the way--and we will not see the sun due to a persistent winter overcast that forms and stays until a rainstorm breaks it down. I realize that is a heat wave in some parts of the world in winter, but it is still cold and damp. If you live in the Southern Hemisphere and are reading this you are probably in shorts enjoying the warm weather.  Enjoy it while you can because your winter is coming sooner than you think.  I thought I would throw that in there.  Here where I live, you can still play golf, but you have to bring out the thermal underwear and layer your clothing. You can still play though.  At this point, I prefer 55 degrees or warmer and sunny.
     My wife and I had a tee time for today which I made last week when the sun was still shining. The fog rolled in Friday and stayed for its annual Central California California vacation.  The past few years it went somewhere else, but this year it is back.  Saturday and Sunday it stayed cold and got even colder and foggier, although the fog never got on the ground here yesterday.  It was still cold.  I asked my wife if she still wanted to play even though it was cold.  She said, "Yes, kind of but I am really tired and haven't had an occasion to rest this weekend."  I am getting very good at translating wife speak so I know that she didn't want to disappoint me.  Truth is, I didn't want to go in the cold myself. I canceled the tee time.  We might go see a movie in a nice warm theater. Its cold out there.
     For those of you on the East Coast or who live in areas that the courses shut down because of the snow, please don't get mad at me.  You are probably saying that my wife and I are wusses and you are envious of us here in this part of the country being able to play during the winter.  Well, I am envious of my partner Mark who lives in Yuma, Arizona where the sun is shining and it is probably in the 60's.  We may not see the sun until Mid-March or April here in the Central Valley. Brrrrr...Its cold out there.  I'm getting too old for playing in the cold like this.  I can handle cold and frost because usually the sun comes out even though it is cold.  When it is overcast, dreary and cold like this my bones are no longer taking the conditions. Hey honey, what do you want to see today?

Yep, that's what its like out there today.  Most of all, its cold.