Notes for a snow day

Photo: Another shot from last Friday, which looks as if it will be the last day of golf in this neck of the woods for the month of January.

Notes:

-While we are experiencing our first major snow of the season with schools closed and roads almost impassable, might be a good time to spend a little time getting ready for the golfing weather that will soon be here - you know that February is going to have several days of half way decent weather, right? So, here's something for you to do, courtesy of Brent Kelley and Perry Adrisen at about.com: watch yourself. At the link, Perry lets you know what to watch for in your golf setup and swing after you have set up a mirror in an appropriate space. Go take a gander - should give you something to do while you wait for good weather. And remember to do it in pieces - Perry suggests ten minutes a day. Sounds about right to me. Of course, don't forget to keep your putting stroke sharp with daily practice while the tv drones on.

-Michelle Wie about ready to start off the year with the LPGA out in Hawaii. Here's espn.com's write up on her first event of the year at a course - Turtle Bay - where she has done fairly well. Note this in the article:

In an article Monday in The Honolulu Advertiser, Wie said she was planning to
play a "full schedule," on the LPGA Tour and will try other tours while
continuing her education at Stanford.

Looks like she is going to be pretty busy. Hope her outings include a lot of weekend play around the world.

-Where's Tiger and when do we get to see him in action? Read the other day (here) that he was instructed not to rotate on his knee - the reconstructed one - for a period of six months after the surgery. That's a long time for anyone, and an even longer time for a golfer more than interested in getting back in shape.

-Don't forget to stretch. I've incorporated the lower back exercises mentioned a while back into my daily routine. Lets see if I can find the link. Yup - here it is - I referenced it in my blog of January 8th. You know I expect that little exercise to lower my score by at least a half a stroke. (:

Time for another cup of coffee on an overcast, cold, snow covered winter day.

Another January Golfer

Curt Johnson sent this cell phone photo of Bric Parker as he was getting ready to hit yet another shot out at the golf course yesterday. Looks like he is chipping on to #7 green after going a bit left with his tee shot. Btw, the golfers in the previous blog included Chuck Baker, Brian Brinegar and Bill Brinegar. The fourth is one of the North Daviess golf team members whose name I do not remember (Eric probably could help me out here).

January Golfers

Some of the golfers who made it out yesterday though these photos were taken late in the afternoon when the temperatures had dropped ten degrees and the wind was howling in from the northwest. They didn't care - they enjoyed getting out in mid January. We all did.

Friday opening...

Looks like Friday is going to be another day for January golf. Course will be open by 11am.

Opening today...

...at 11:30. Suggest you bundle up even with the temperatures in the mid 40's. Still winter out there.

Tadd Fujikawa: 5'1" and 285 yards

Jason Sobel at espn.com was full of words and praise for the Hawaiian teenager who went low Saturday at the Sony Open. Sunday's 73 dropped him down to a tie for 32nd but that didn't stop all the good things people were saying about the 'wee' one. He may be small but he apparently still hits a long drive. This article, from back in 2006 when he was going to the US Open, talks about drives of 285 yards. He was being compared then with that other hot teenage golfer from Hawaii; you remember her - Michelle Wie.

Pretty impressive showing for the young man. Which reminds me: Isn't it about time we all got a chance to hit a few balls out on our very own golf course? Seems so to me. Somebody make a call for some sunshine and temperatures in the forties and fifties, please...

Lakeview Golf Course Web site

Spent some time updating our web site today. Take a look here.

Got a pick for POY in the LPGA for 2009? Rookie of the year? In 2008, Lorena Ochoa was the POY based on her first place on the money list. Rookie of the year, also determined mathimatically, was Yani Tseng. (Go here for a Miami Herald review of the 2008 LPGA season.) My picks: Lorena has won three years running; time for a change. Not only a change but a double when Ji-Yai Shin also captures the Rookie of the Year award (my heart wants Michelle Wie but my head goes with Ji-Yai). Go here for more on the young South Korean who won the British Open as well as the ADT Championship in 2008. Here's a list of the ladies who made more than a million on the course last year (source and full list here) to help you with your choices:

1	Lorena Ochoa	$2,763,193.00
2	Paula Creamer	$1,823,992.00
3	Yani Tseng	$1,752,086.00
4	Annika Sorenstam	$1,735,912.00
5	Helen Alfredsson	$1,431,408.00
6	Seon Hwa Lee	$1,187,294.00
7	Suzann Pettersen	$1,177,809.00
8	Inbee Park	$1,138,370.00
9	Angela Stanford	$1,134,753.00
10	Cristie Kerr	$1,108,839.00
11	Na Yeon Choi	$1,095,759.00
12	Jeong Jang	$1,080,097.00
13	Katherine Hull	$1,045,619.00

This pretty lady is...

First you have to go here and take a guess. Then here for the answer.

Fun reads: Books on Tiger's year and Loogootee's Boys Basketball

That would be Bob Smiley's Follow the Roar which Diane got me for Christmas. I've taken my time with the book, savoring the daily minutes I've spent reading Bob Smiley as he went around the world and the United States following Tiger hole by hole over the course of the abbreviated season for the greatest golfer in the world. The book is more like a blog - short pieces that sometimes drifted off into subjects and areas that had nothing to do with golf or Tiger. but the focus is definitely on Tiger and his spectacular season. So many glorious moments; so many fantastic shots; so many golden memories. A must read for Tiger fans. (I'll have it on the clubhouse bookshelf if you think you can hold off till the season starts.)

A second book, A History of Loogootee High School Boys Basketball 1905 to 2008, I'm about three quarters of the way through and is fun because I'm seeing a whole bunch of golfers as basketball players down through the years. There's a mention of Rex Hudson who was coaching the 5th or 6th grade teams who happened to play a whole bunch of youngsters in a game but for one: Junior Gee. Junior remembers that and writes about it in the book. And then there's Gary LaMar and Virgil Harper, a couple of golfing partners in our Tuesday Men's League who have been playing together for more than fifty years, maybe first as basketball players a long, long time ago. And even Jim Bateman who broke into a scoring column when he was a sophmore. (Have borrowed this book - it's Jim's. I'll get it back to you here pretty quick, Jim. Promise.)

Fun books.

POY for 2009, muscle tone, golfing fun photo

Photo: Just in case you needed a reminder about how much fun golfing is out at Lakeview. Remember that Sunday morning?

From about.com and Brent Kelly, some wondering and a poll on who is going to be the POY for 2009. Possible choices: Tiger, Anthony Kim, Camilo Villegas, Vijay, Sergio, other. Go take a peek and take a guess, educated, of course. My pick? Tiger.

Also from about.com, this lower back exercise to keep you in shape for those big swings (and little ones) that you will be making shortly. You are still praying for three or four nice golfing days in January, aren't you? Let's kick it up a notch and go for six or seven such days. Maybe right after this deep freeze that is heading our way next week...

Sunday morning golf

Looks like this morning is perfect for golf - for a January 4th! Things change after the noon hour. I'll be opening up at 9am for the golf fanatics out there.

Saturday opening

Expect to be open for play from 11 to 5 today.

Lakeview Golf Course is...

...open for play this afternoon. Come on out and start the New Year off in exactly the right way.

The weather

Warm enough for golf today and tomorrow? Sunshine today and mid 40's; cloudy and near 50 tomorrow. I'll be back in Loogootee by noon today.

Big John Daly begins year on suspension, etc.

Fan favorite John Daly was suspended for six months by the PGA - espn.com has the story. Here's hoping the big guy can straighten out his game and get back to thrilling and funning his fans here in the US and the rest of the world. Guess he will play outside the US of A for the first several months of the year. I wouldn't mind doing that for a while. How about you? How about a week in the sun in Dubai for starters? I think I could handle that with the weather so iffy here in southern Indiana. We did get a few days this week for golf: several members and a grandson made it out on Tuesday to ring out the old year with walks up and down the Lakeview fairways. My afternoon started with several holes with Jack Lents; then a full nine with Tracy Rayhill and Curt Johnson. M golfing day concluded with a game (3-3-3) where Doug Denson and I took on Dave Wininger and George Templin. After splitting the scramble (won by the other guys) and the alternate shot (won by Doug and I), the best ball segment was decided by Dave's fifteen foot birdie putt on #8. Dang. Dave had made a longish putt at an earlier hole as well, thus putting to rest (?!) any question about his putting expertise, at least for the time being. Great way to end the golfing year - on the golf course, even though there were no hole-in-ones and plenty of shots in the 'scary' category (like, where did that come from?). Now on to the new year and renewed resolutions and additional opportunities to do brilliant , or not so brilliant, stuff with a golf club and a small ball. Happy New Year, everybody.