Carts Are Back

The Pro Shop indicated carts will allowed out Tuesday afternoon. The course is drying out and the weather looks great through Saturday. Looks like it will be in the mid 70's on Thursday and close to 80 on Friday. Since the club isn't open for lunch until Thursday that may the 1st day this week the JR/SR will plan on officially meeting (besides I'm in Germantown for Miss Emma's b-day on Wednesday).

Quote of the Day: Golf may be a hussy, but I love her. - Don Herold

I've have strived to keep this blog non-controversial but I was struck by the following piece I read in Golf Styles Magazine. Michael Brandes wrote the following in his column in the latest issue: Even with the new and improved Tiger campaign underway, the whole Tiger saga is tiresome, so I'll be brief. It is really none of our business that Tiger preferred a pancake waitress to his wife, but I am curious about one thing. When Tiger strode by adulating kids by the thousands, never giving so much a glance let alone an autograph, was it because of that famed steely resolve that sportswriters slobbered on about, or was it because he is one fraudulent, cold bastard? Certainly something to think about, don't you think?

See ya at the training table.

The Weather Tease

Well, as you might expect the weather gave us a tease last week. I keep forgetting it is still March and you never know what you are going to get from one day to the next. As I'm sitting here typing this it is rainy and I'm sure quite cold. The course was wet enough on Saturday that they wouldn't let carts out. This rain won't help any but with some wind and sun it might dry out enough by Thursday when it is supposed to be close to 70. Let's hope so. The Social Director, Great White Hunter and I did fill up on coffee and tried to solve the problems of the day. No luck there, so we went home to work on yard chores.

Stopped by the club Friday night for Happy Hour and to watch a little of the NCAA tourney. The new bar is becoming quite popular. I got a phone call and stepped in the lobby to talk and when I got back found a squatter in my seat drinking my fresh drink they put down before I left. After some playful ribbing I was able to get both back. Bobby (you know who I mean) has become a real "jack of all trades" and was cooking some good fajitas as the special for the evening. A good crowd, but not a huge crowd was on hand to enjoy. Just hope we don't have to call for a reservation for a bar stool.

I wasn't able to make lunch on Friday, but I understand Dr. J was really hot to roll the bones. Isn't he still on "Shake of the Day" probation?

Keep you I on The Weather Channel and your fingers crossed. If nothing else see you Friday.

Game On!

Well, the season started on Friday with some of the usual characters, and the same routine. Lunch followed by a round of golf with a skins game. It was highly unusual that no money changed hands even though there were five players. TTS was in his usual form and extremely happy that Eric had set the Blue markers at the front of the tee box. The rest of us didn't seem to notice or care for that matter. As expected roll was at a minimum since the ground is still wet but much drier than expected. The greens were slow but definitely puttable.The wet conditions didn't seem to bother Sarge and Tim G., who both played quite well. Twinkle Toes rode his "hog" to the course and wore his leathers but his game is still the same - not overly intimidating.

Friday night saw a healthy crowd at the first Happy Hour. Not sure of the number but everyone seemed to enjoy watching B-ball on the 3 TVs in the "Pub". I saw a lot of new faces, which is great. Plus we finally have steak sandwich on the menu that doesn't cost a king's ransom. In fact all the pricing looked pretty reasonable. Kudos to the House Comm. for their work.

Almost forgot. The shake of the day resumed without any close calls. So the pot grew slightly.

Don't know what the week's weather will bring, but it looks like a cooler spell. Stay tuned and watch the skies. We'll play when appropriate.

Big Crowd

Well, the club reopened Saturday night to a rather large crowd (close to 100). I think everyone had a good time catching up on what everyone has been up to over the winter. As usual the kitchen staff did a great job with the menu. I don't think anyone does corned beef any better than BCC. And, I haven't found anyone to disagree with me yet. The renovation to the lounge bar looks great and I am sure it will get a lot of use. I hope everyone had an opportunity to meet Chris and Brad. If not I'm sure you will in short order.

Remember we start having lunch on Friday at BCC and will start the "Shake of the Day". Yes, I still have the money, even though I tried to invest it in Las Vegas on our trip there in January. My wife reminded me of all the scandals in the Toledo area over the years involving the misuse of funds, and strongly suggested I not add my name to the list. Hence, I still have the money in the home safe.

Answer to the last rules question - False. You are not allowed to remove a tee marker if you think you might hit it on your follow-through.

The course may be dry enough to walk a few holes and the weather looks great for the next few days. The pins are in. Haven't seen any geese but the Mallards are back in force. Also, I've seen a migratory ducks on the lake on #2.

Finally, a new rules question. We all know (don't we?) that there is no penalty if you accidentally knock the ball off the tee with your club while you're addressing the ball before it is in play. Now what is the rule if you knock the ball off the tee after whiffing?

Where's The Commish's Locker?

For those of you were at lunch last Friday you'll remember the Commish questioning all of us about where his locker went. In fact he thought yours truly was responsible for it's disappearance, when I had absolutely nothing to do with the locker room changes. I have it on good authority that he has found an acceptable replacement right in the middle of JR/SR territory. I just want him to know that I have discussed this possibility with others who have lockers in the immediate area. After much discussion and voting down a petition drive to stop this move we have decided to accept his presence with open arms (despite all his faults) and look forward to all his knowledge on a variety of useful subjects. We hope he is now at peace and will enjoy his new surroundings. For those of you who haven't seen the changes you should get a chance next Friday since we should be having lunch at the club. They still have aways to go but a lot of progress can be made in a week.

Answers to the questions from March 9Th:

• John Cook was the first OSU men's golfer to earn All-America honors for three consecutive years.
• The penalty for playing a tee shot outside teeing ground and hitting it out of bounds is a two stroke penalty and you must re-tee the ball.

New question: Is it permissible under the rules of golf to move or remove a tee marker without penalty if you're concerned that you will hit it on your follow-through. True or False.

Who was the quarter back for OSU when Archie Griffin won his two Heisman Trophy awards?

Where's The Commish's Locker?

Bats In The Belfry

Well not really since we don't have a belfry and I haven't seen any bats around here in a long time. But we do have deer in the yard all the time. Sunday morning we woke up to find five of the critters bedded down in the backyard. Now mind you it wasn't dark but broad daylight. They were so confident in their surroundings they stayed until 7:45 AM before they decided it time to head for the woods. I can only put enough bird seed out for the day because if I fill the feeders they clean them out at night. At least I don't have to worry about trimming the shrubs they have done a pretty good job of that. Enough about the yard pets.

If this week is any indication we could be playing golf in the not too distant future. A tour around my yard showed the flowers were up about 6 inches. Plus, while the ground is a little spongy it wasn't too bad. The true die-hards could play if desperate. Remember the club opens this weekend with the St. Patrick's Day dinner. Hope to see everyone there who's in town.

Answer to the OSU trivia question - Oberlin. Next question - Who was the first OSU men's golfer to earn all-America honors three consecutive years?

Rules Question - A tee shot that's played from outside the teeing ground goes out of bounds. What is the penalty?

1. Stroke and distance.
2. Two-stroke penalty for playing the ball outside the teeing ground, re-tee the ball.
3. Two strokes for playing the ball out side the teeing ground, plus stroke and distance for hitting it OB.

Remember lunch Friday. Good luck with the questions.

This and That

There were a few things I forgot to mention the other day.

First our resident locker room doctor took medalist honors (as usual) while in Hawaii. But, he's been playing all winter in Arizona and should have been at the top of his game. He does deserve mention for his great play on the 18Th hole at the Plantation Course at Kapalua. I think everyone knows the hole I'm talking about, the long downhill par 5 that most of the pros reach in two even though it plays over 600 yards. Sarge missed his eagle putt but managed to make birdie. I didn't witness this first hand but it was verified by the attorney playing with him.

Does anyone know how Twinkle Toes fared in the dance competition? Last time I saw him he was claiming injury so he had an excuse if his performance was a bit off.

TTS tells me his game is coming back. Of course he's been playing those flat wind aided courses in Florida. We'll have to give him a real test once he's back home.

I hope everyone has been posting scores online with GHIN when they are playing in an active area such as Florida or Arizona. If you don't know how to do it let me know. The process is really pretty simple.

Also TZ is rumored to be on top of his game. Except when he pairs with TTS and the weather gets on the cool side.

Trivia ? - Who did the 1916 OSU football team defeat 128 - 0?

Looking forward to lunch on Friday.

The Great Tsunami

Well, I'm back from Hawaii and have mixed feelings about it. First of all I think it is one of the best places on the planet and enjoy every minute I'm there. But, the rest of the family doesn't agree and haven't been willing to move yet, besides I would miss all our great friends here. Enough sentiment and back to the trip.

Everything went really well until the day of our departure. Great weather, reasonable golf game (the Plantation Course at Kapalua is still tough but fun to play), mostly good food, lots of whale activity, a few tourist things (road to Hana) and a few rum drinks. Then Saturday morning the sirens sounded and we were informed we were under a tsunami warning. The Marriott staff did a great job of dealing with the situation. We were all required to evacuate our room and move to higher ground. In this case the ballroom on the main level. They provided food, water, TV, info when available and a real sense they were totally prepared. We basically sat there for about six hours waiting for the wave to arrive. Now we all know this event turned out to be less than a major disaster. There was some minor flooding in Lahania (20 miles from us) but nothing more. Our biggest concern after the all clear was the airline schedules would be all screwed up. But everything got back to normal very quickly and we had no problems getting back. The only minor problem was that Delta had limited catering for the return flight. This wasn't a big deal considering the quality of airline food. I know some people (Rush Limbaugh for one) said this was overblown but I don't fault the effort of the Hawaiian officials. They really acted in the best interest of the people. Let's not forget they have had a couple of these events in the past that were pretty big and devastating.

Now back to reality and the gray skies of Northwest Ohio. It does appear to be warming up some and maybe Spring can't be far off.

Hope to see everyone at lunch Friday.