I would like to thank all of you who have stopped by my blog during it's first year. Slowly, I am getting to the point where I will be posting pictures and a short article every time I play a new course. I hope you have enjoyed viewing the photo's I have on the site so far.
In 2009 I added 40 new courses to my list. I was fortunate to be able to play some of the better courses in the USA and discover a few hidden gems. As you can see from some of my photo's I was fighting the rain for most of the time I spent in the central and northern US. Several courses I had planned to play I got rained out and hopefully will be able to play in the future. Luckily, I was just one step ahead of the huge rains in Florida in May and Southern Indiana the end of July.
I try to take a couple of week long golf trips every year. In 2009 my two trips concentrated on the Midwest region around Ohio and Indiana. One of the most picturesque courses I played was the new Dye Course at French Lick, which won best new 2009 Public by Golf Digest magazine. There has been a $500 million renovation of the two historic hotels with the addition of a Casino. In addition to the Dye Course there is the 1917 Ross Course, another 9 hole track and a practice center. Well worth the trip to Larry Bird's hometown. On this trip I also played Victoria National, Wolf Run, and Sycamore Hills.
In the Spring on my way back north I made it to Wade Hampton which would be at the top of my list for courses I would love to be a member at. What a slice of heaven that area is. After that I stopped by Valhalla, Camargo, Scioto, Inverness, and Tullymore.
For 2010 I have already reserved my tee times for my biannual trip to Bandon Resort the first of August. With the addition of the 4th course there we will be playing 36 holes a day for four days. I am thinking about heading north to Seattle after Bandon to play a few of the courses in that area. My second trip is still open, either the Chicago area or going to the Northeast to experience golf in that area. Even though I used to vacation in the NE, I have never golfed in the 13 state region and could really add to my states played with a couple of trips there in the next few years.
I didn't play any competitive golf the first half of the year so I decided I would play in my club championship for the first time in several years. In the qualifier I finished 6th which got me in the championship flight, which I was quickly knocked out of in the first round. Only consolation was that I was the oldest guy in the field. Next year I hope to play more Senior events when I am 60.
My handicap stayed in the same , 2-4, range it has for the past 2o years. Even though I feel I am a better player than years ago, with much more knowledge of the game and a wider assortment of shots, it is hard to put it all together for 18 holes. I was really in the "zone" one day for a seven hole stretch where I made 5 birdies and missed two other putts inside 10 feet. It seemed like this was a year of birdies in bunches, then a week long drought.
It was a great year for me in the number of new courses I was able to play and the friendly people I met along the way. Another 16 years like this one and I will be close to 1000.
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