I wanted to run this post on Saturday, right after I got done playing at Eagle Ranch, just a 7 iron away from my home, but the vij upload is having some issues on Blogger for the time being. Golf, the four letter word that rings of boredom and a incredible waste of time. Well, I used to play alot in my younger days, worked at a golf course in South Florida while in high school and junior college, and ran a fishing program atDoral Golf Resort and Spa in Miami for four winters in the late 90's.
Very fortunately, one of my old fishing clients was Jim McLean and his family. We fished in Colorado at Seven Lakes Lodge while I worked there for four years, and Jim and Henry Kravis got me the in at Doral to start my guiding business there. Jim McLean is one of Golf's most noted instructors, he appeared in the movie Tin Cup, and his lessons weighed in at $1000/hour from him personally, and his golf schools are all over the place. The funny thing is, Jim would CALL ME to go golf with himself and his two sons on occassion at Doral, and when we would tee it up on the Blue Monster, a crowd would gather to watch the legendary golf instructor stripe one down fairway number one like the touring pro he once was, then his kids, then me. Typically I'd have to strap a Depends "belted shield" on my ass 
for this first tee shot to keep from crapping myself with a crowd gathered, just to get the ball down the fairway on the short stuff, it was one of the most nerve racking experiences of my life. But I could play golf in those days, and Jim used to give me plenty of tips to work on and improve my game, for free. I still have his hand written note he gave me while out in Colorado after he first analyzed my swing while wearing fishing waders down at the White River. So now I make it a point to play nine holes once every two years, and when Big E asked me if I wanted to walk 9 on Saturday morning, I was a bit skeptical due to some shoulder issues I've had, but I decided to go hit some balls and check it out, and it was fine, and we played, and it was the same, and the notes Jim had written started coming back quickly, and I was +1 after three holes, made a bunch of good swings and just two bad ones and shot 43, without cheating, and it could have been a 39, or a 49, but it was 43, and I was ecstatic with that, and had fun, and once again realized that golf is not about how you play, but how you practiced so long for so many years, and it comes back, just like riding a bike. I can't wait for two more years to go by so I can tee it up again for another 9 holes. And maybe by then I'll have the vij uploaded.
24 months and counting, yo. I've got the tee-time booked already...
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