It is two days before Thanksgiving. The first snow has fallen and most courses have closed for the season. Although Thursday's forecast of 53* and sun has some planning to reopen for one last shot at revenue to help the bottom line. We were well into winter at this time last year, so is there hope for a milder, shorter winter? Let's hope so!I spent last week glued to the Golf Channel watching the President's Cup from Royal Melbourne GC (pictured). Prior to that, I enjoyed watching the Australian Open from Sydney. Much of my interest comes from the fact these are in my wife's homeland. Royal Melbourne, in fact, is as close to her childhood home as it is to Geoff Ogilvy's. We heard the stories of Geoff hoping over the fence to watch events. My brother-in-law used to hop the fence and play at night with golf balls painted with fluorescent paint! Hopefully, I will be able to play by walking in through the front gate.
Another reason I watched with such interest is the re-coming out, if you will, of Tiger. Aside from a third round 75, he played well in Sydney (T-3). And, despite going 2-3 in matches, he won the deciding point for the Americans in the President's Cup. The jury's still out if he will ever regain his game that saw him dominate the professional golf scene for over 10 years, but if his play in Australia was any indication, he's never been closer. While his personal escapades are inexcusable, as a player he is truly gifted and interesting to watch.
The last reason I watch was to see people playing golf in short sleeves and on green grass. There is hope! This is coming just after I returned from the IAGA Conference in Pinehurst, where I managed to play three rounds of golf in six days. The weather for the last round was perfect - 78* and that North Carolina blue sky! But even there, the (Bermuda) grass had started to go dormant. Typically, at this time of year I am ready for a slowdown - cold weather, white landscape, early darkness ... but not this year. Aside from my awful putting, I would love to keep playing. Maybe that's due to having one of my best ball-striking rounds of the year in my last round.
In the MGA office, I'm still working to fill open USGA qualifying sites. I should have been done long before now. Hopefully, the requests I have out will materialize into confirmed sites.
I also am working on the plethora of projects that will never see the light of day during the season, such as evaluating cell phone plans, answering rules questions for TeeMail, interviewing potential P.J. Boatwright Jr Interns, reading up on the rules changes for 2012 and reading in general. (I strongly suggest The King's Speech, but not at work!) Yet, each night when I go home and my wife asks, "So, what did you do today?", I scratch my head and reply, "I don't know, really, but I was busy all day." At least today, I can say I got something accomplished -- I updated my blog!!
Until next time-
Doug
