Course Opening

Will open the course at noon today and hope the rains stay away. Will close if they don't.

Golf Notes on a Wednesday Evening

Pretty busy day of golf out at Lakeview, especially after four when some of the workers of the world were able to get out and get in nine before nightfall.

-The Boys, Jack and Jack and Rex and Ken (Butcher, Lents, Hudson and Hudson) were out before noon playing eighteen. I went out with them and we all had a good time trying to figure out how to hit the ball. February golf, you know: lots of ugly mixed in with a dash of pizazz - those occasional sweet shots and well struck putts.

-Ray Shaw dropped in to say hello and see how we all were doing. And to ask about the start of Senior League (April 9th).

-Tony Trambaugh, Tracy Rayhill and Jeff Brookshire got out to walk and strike the ball for a bit. Learned that Jeff and the Mrs. are celebrating the birth of their third daughter, Lillian Grace.

-Several players on the North Daviess golf team came our for nine with their coach, Brian Brinegar. Dad Bill was also playing.

-Chuck Baker joined Short Jeffers, Doug Denson and myself for a pick up game of 3-3-3: Scramble, Alternate Shot, Best Ball. The Scramble and Best Ball were tied with the Alternate Shot going to the Jeffers/Bird team. Always fun to compete. (And to win...)

-The course: not all that wet and soggy. Some areas needed to be avoided but so far the course is handling the water very well.

-Tomorrow: expected to be warmer than today but also with rain for most of the afternoon.

-On the professional tour: Tiger is back and won his first match, 3 and 2, over Brendan Jones. Lots of upsets today including two number one seeds: Sergio Garcia and Padraiq Harrington.

Course Opening

Will open at 11am today. Walked around the course late yesterday afternoon and it is in pretty good shape.

Golfing weather making a return, Arizona's Match Play

Warming up here in southern Indiana and won't be long before we can start whacking that ball around again. Like maybe tomorrow (maybe later today for the really antsy among us). That's great news.

Meanwhile, down in Arizona, the big boys do practice rounds for the WGC Accenture Match Play event starting tomorrow. espn's Jason Sobel has TW winning it all while his writing buddy Bob Harig has Geoff Ogilvy taking the crown. It dawned on me that the last time Tiger came back from an extended layoff he won a major - the 2008 US Open. No reason not to put money on him this time, is there?

Tiger back next week!

Hurray! Here's Jason Sobel's take on a variety of issues dealing with TW's return. Like, can he win the first time out. I'm reminded of the US Open just after his Dad died where he missed the cut. But this is entirely different - he's coming back from a win with a serious injury and also just after the birth of his second child - each of which will brighten and lighten his day. Odds on favorite to win in Arizona? Hmmm. More here from espn.com including a clip with Andy North on Tiger's return. Good stuff.

Course Opening

Course will be open by 10 this morning. Looks like weather is going to start its nosedive mid afternoon. Best get your nine or eighteen in before then. Those who can, of course.

More than just honeymooners out today

Some of the other golfers out today included the aforementioned Ted Soldenals, high school golf team members from both Shoals and North Daviess; retirees from US Gypsum; and several golfers from just a little north of us - Bramble and Odon. Wasn't all that bad out there but helps if you are dedicated.

Honeymooners!

Honeymooners Don and Jennifer Carrico spent part of their wedding day out on the golf course. The two tied the knot earlier in a courthouse ceremoney that was witnessed by Ted Soldenals. Best wishes from all of us other golfers go to Don and Jennifer.

Course Opening

Will open the course at 11 this morning.

The Wie Lassie Stumbles on the Final Nine

Ouch. Michelle Wie was three up with eight to go and lost by three. Oh boy. She failed to do what no other LPGA rookie has done: win at her debut tournament. Still, solid play throughout with really just that one bad hole - #11 on Sunday, which she double bogeyed, has to be encouraging. Maybe the trophy next time, Michelle. Here's espn.com's write-up, and this is The Golf Channel's video clip.

Course Opening

Will open the course at 11 this morning.

Michelle!

The Wie Lassie has a superb opening round, closing with three birdies to tie for second behind Angela Stanford at the SBS Open in Hawaii. Wow! More of the same the next two days, Michelle. Here's a video clip from The Golf Channel with the wrap up.

Course Opening

Open by 11 this morning. Sunny, grounds not as wet as one would expect but still carts will be restricted to the paths. Come on out and limber up.

LPGA starts today in Hawaii

Hurray and Go Michelle! (The Wie lassie.)

From Brent Kelley and about.com, the four rookies to watch:

These are the four rookies who should make the Rookie of the Year chase a great race to watch all season:

Course Opening

Will open the course at 11 this morning. Lots of rain and wind yesterday - expect wet conditions. But we have sun! Could be lovely.

Golf in February

Has golf in February ever been pretty? I know that it's good to finally get out there and swing the club and hit the ball. But, my oh my, there sure are some ugly shots as we try to find a rhythm and a pace and an aggression that has been dormant for several months. All that had me thinking these last few days that maybe there should be a few things we concentrate on as we start another season of golf. So, my own early round considerations, or erc's:

1. Keep left arm straight on back swing - remains one of my most common swing breakdowns.
2. concentrate on making good contact even if that means less of a turn - something which may be Required as our muscles limber up from months of inactivity.
3. Accelerate and finish - even though I dial in the appropriate factors - distance, ground conditions, wind, temperature and come up with the perfect club and what seems like the perfect swing, I'll then make a three quarter swing effort and leave myself way short of my intended target.
4. Care more about the number of clean hits you get rather than the eventual score for the day. It's early season - we are no where near the mid season form we think we should be in.
5. Have fun and be thankful of the break in the weather - think of all that snow and ice that had us screaming meemie's just a day or so ago. (Wonder what a screaming meemie is?)

And, speaking of weather, at the moment the wind is howling and the rains are coming down. Supposed to be over by early afternoon with temperatures in the 50's and 60's. Sounds like golfing weather to me.

Opening today...

...at 10:30. Expecting rain later this afternoon. Several golfers took advantage of the warm weather yesterday and came out and played golf. The grounds were not as soggy as expected though carts were (and remain) restricted to the paths.

Course Opening

Will open the course at 11 this morning. Expect there will still be ice in the cups and thus no flags. But maybe not.

Yesterday's snowy plain...

...tomorrow's fairways. That's what we are looking forward to. Melt continues.

A Fuzzy Zoeller delayed action hole-in-one, Tiger's return,

Looking forward to the big melt this weekend. Golf on Monday? In the meantime, take a gander at this shot by Fuzzy Zoeller - guys from southern Indiana have all the luck. Hey! That's where we're from!

-from Brent Kelley at about.com: Tiger won't think about returning to golf till after the baby (which is pretty soon). But he is going full bore now and looking to increase his 'golf stamina'.

-Hope everybody enjoyed their snow break. About the third day in, Diane said she sure was happy we didn't live in one of those places where they have snow for five or six months at a time. Me too...