How Do You Spell Graeme Anyway?

Graeme McDowell has been voted player of the year by the Golf Writers Association of America. Not sure I will ever learn to spell his name. I am good with the spelling of Tiger or Phil just in case they rise again next year.

Let Me At Um

-David Fay to retire-

David Fay is retiring from the U.S. Golf Association and I am waiting by my phone for a call. I even checked my answering machine to make sure it was working in case I happen to be outside scooping snow (something I do a lot of these days).
When Fay stepped down last Friday many people were surprised, not me. He is nearly as old as I am and old guys like us need to play golf not watch others play. But I will put down the clubs and take over if the call comes. Ordered two dozen golf balls yesterday just in case someone in the Association office is on vacation and they accidentally call the wrong person.

Christmas and Sledding

Christmas is over and I am sitting in my recliner playing with my brand new Kindle. All four kids and all seven grandkids made it. BUT as always there had to be a mishap and this one was a dozy. Our four year old granddaughter broke her leg sledding. It was our second day on the hill (yesterday) she is a tough little kid but when she said she needed to go to the doctor we knew it was hurting. Now it is all cast up (hip to foot) and in about eight weeks she will be as good as new. Thank God for grandkids, good doctors and quick healing for four year olds.

Merry Christmas from the Old Golf Guy

From time to time I will be posting some of my favorite quotes and jokes from the world of golf. This is one of my favorites.

The proper score for a businessman golfer is 90. If he is better than that he is neglecting his business. If he's worse, he's neglecting his golf.
~ St Andrews Rotary Club Member



Merry Christmas and hope you get a bunch of great golf stuff from Santa this year.

FORE !

FORE – Is that enough warning for one of my wild shots?
Looks like I don’t even need to holler.
A case brought to court by Dr. Azad Anand, who was struck in the eye ( and blinded in that eye, according to news stories) by a shanked shot in 2002 on a New York (Long Island) golf course by his friend Dr. Anoop Kapoor. (I think this may have strained their friendship.
Anand said his injury was caused by Kapoor failing to yell "fore" or some kind of warning for a ball headed his way.
But the New York State Court of Appeals upheld a lower court ruling, saying that Kapoor was not at fault.
"A person who chooses to participate in a sport or recreational activity consents to certain risks that are inherent in and arise out of the nature of the sport generally and flow from such participation," the court wrote.

Giving Golf for Christmas

This is a bit tricky. If you know exactly what is wanted, golf stuff can be a great gift. If you guess, giving golf for Christmas can and likely will be a disaster. I give my kids (all grown-up) golf balls every year. But I know what is good, what they like and what they play. Not sure anyone should pick out a bag, clubs or balls for Christmas, stick with shirts, sweats, bad ties, books and food items. This stuff they can re-gift—now that I think of it bad golf gifts could be re-gifted for bad golfers.

Tiger's Got A Brand New Putter

So Tiger’s got a brand new putter. He ditched the Scotty Cameron Newport 2 he has used for years in favor of the new Nike (surprise) Method 003 in the last tournament of the year. Wonder if the change will stick this time.

Stewart Cink and Lucas Glover are already using this model and looks like Tiger thought he needed to give it a try. It has a different look than the Scotty Cameron, might take some time to get used to how it looks at address. I thought Tiger looked pretty comfortable on my TV screen with the new putter. Changing from the more conventional looking Cameron to the semi-mallet is a huge for the greatest golfer on earth and may take more than one tournament to find the correct feel.

The putter is a little pricey for this old guy (who once putted great with a fourteen dollar K-Mart putter) and at two and a half bills I will pass. I think for most of us a putter in a mid price range will look and feel good. If you want to compare brands, prices and styles before going to the shop or range, I like this site—GolfPutters.net.


Oh by the way-Think Tiger will put a Ping grip on this new putter like he always did with the Newport 2?

The All New Golf Blog

Another Golf Blog! Oh No!
Well this is a little more than that. I have spent a lifetime at the golf course, no, not just waiting to get on. Following are a few of my golf associated activities over the years.
• Manager of 2 golf courses
• Professional Golf course superintendent
• At one time a single digit handicapper (hey, give me a break I am 62 years old now)
• More than a dozen years of golf course work
• Architect of one water system and two golf course remodels
• Architect of two course expansions—adding holes
• Golf club builder and tinker for over thirty years
• Golf teacher for ten plus years
• Published author of several golf course articles
• And I watch the Golf Channel to excess

Follow me here for two or three blogs a week – let me know what you think

The Old Guy Talking About the Weather

Maybe there is something to global warming. We had a great fall and we have not had a single temperature below zero this winter—very unusual here. But we have had 25 inches of snow and double that up on the ski area. Not even the first of the year yet and I am already hoping for an early spring.

Pearl Harbor Day

We should all remember this day in history. December 7, 1941.
My wife and I visited Pearl Harbor three years ago and it was one of the greatest experiences of my life. Every American should be lucky enough to some day visit.
When I was in college I had a history professor who told us that when he was a kid he thought he would never watch a parade without old men proudly walking by in their Union and Confederate uniforms. When I was a kid I watched so many old solders marching in their World War One and World War Two uniforms waving to us kids. I hope that there’re not all gone before all of us remember to say thanks. And not just to them but to all who served and are serving now.

Fall is Gone Winter is Here

We had a great fall and now winter is here. And winter means snow and Ice everywhere, maybe that’s what we get for living at 7,200 feet above sea level and its cold outside. Not sure I will spend so much time here in the winter when I retire, but that is still a while away. I am now officially starting to think about playing some golf – only six months away.

-N-

Thanksgiving is Near

Almost time to over eat and over watch Football on TV.
We really should be spending more time giving thanks for everything we have.

Here is my list of things to be thankful for.

1. Old age - mine because the alternative is not great

2. A job – even if I do grumble about it most days

3. A house to live in – and jobs to do around the house –ah—when I get around to them

4. My Mustang –Love that car

5. Family – with wishes they do not over stay there Thanksgiving stay with mom and dad

6. Text messaging – just kidding about this one

Wonderful Wyoming Weather

Second night in a row I am setting out on the patio enjoying another beautiful Wyoming evening. We pay for it when winter comes but summers are spectacular. Seventy-one degrees, southwest breeze and 27 percent humidity can’t beat it. Last night we sat outside until ten-thirty, put the blankets over us about nine. Temperature went down to 48 last night but back around 80 today.

Back Home

Took two weeks to travel through parts of Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska and at last back home again in Wyoming and cool weather. My wife grew up in Texas and Oklahoma so we saw a bunch of her old stomping grounds. (Not sure the next generation will say stomping grounds but I still like the way it sounds. Great time but it is always great to be back home no matter where your stomping grounds are.
-N-

Strange things in the night

Strange things are about. We left our back sliding door open a few inches to let air circulate through the house last night. It’s finally warm here. Our back yard is fenced and gated and we thought impenetrable to intruders and large puppies, but we found out differently. We were awakened in the middle of the night, okay it was five AM but it was Saturday and we like to sleep in on Saturday. A large black dog (we do not own one or know anyone with one) was drinking noisily from the toilet. (YUM) He was scared and only too happy to be led outside. I opened the back gate and he was off. Within a minute he was around to our back yard again trying to jump through the opening in our fence where our garbage cans set. I moved the cans a little closer together and he could not or would not jump in again. He made some rather deep tracks through my raised bed garden but no other damage. Looked like a very young, maybe only a few months, Newfoundland Retriever. Sure was a good looking pup, someone must have paid a bunch for him.

Memorial Day

Let’s all remember our fallen heroes during this weekends celebrations and Monday on Memorial Day.

In Flanders FieldsJohn McCrae, 1915.

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

Easter

Here's to you and yours! I hope you all get a day or two off and spend some time with your kids or gandkids.

-N-

Why am I so Exhausted - I Want My Hour Back

Spring is here and along with it comes Daylight Savings Time and the new Health Care Bill. Someone asked me today what I thought about the Health Care Bill, I said, “I’ll let you know in 2016 when most of it is working or not working. And as far as Daylight Savings Time is concerned—I want my hour back! How did we save daylight when we took away an hour? I’m not sure either. Didn’t you love it in the old westerns when the hero crawled up on his hoss and said, “Come on we’re burnin’ daylight?” Sounded good every time!

Spring

Spring is here, finally. Four months since it reached fifty degrees—and it was 52 today—yippee!
Weather man says high of 24 and snow Friday. I just can’t seem to get it right.

Grandkids--Gotta Love Um

Grandma takes our grandson 'Alex' to swimming lessons every Tuesday and Thursday and sometimes they let me tag along. Yesterday the instructor had the six kids playing a game. They were in the shallow-shallow end and when he called out SHARK!!!, all the kids would kick the water like mad. They did this two or three times and then it was question time. (You know the teacher thing – check for understanding) He said Alex—“what do we do when I yell SHARK?” Alex answered, “Swim for the boat.” From the look on his face I knew that the instructor had not spent much time around five year olds.

Winter Olympics

The Winter Olympics are over--four more years before I, once again, become an expert in pairs skating, short track and down hill. Guess I will watch a little Basketball.

New Health Plan

Just thinking about health care and all the time congress is spending on it—and all the money. After much sitting and thinking I believe I have the answer. I am sure that many members of congress read my blog postings and this blog will make it easy for them. Here they are- 4 things we need to do for American health care.
1. Give all Americans dual citizenship with Canada—we can all go there and stand in line for care.
2. All- meds half price on Tuesdays at Wall-Mart. Didn’t someone once say,” Heal thyself?” If no one ever said it, I just did, and I like it and I like the half price meds.
3. Every Friday all businesses will close from noon until three and all Americans will walk two or more miles. Some might even start to like it.
4. Tell China we are out of money, cancel our debt and give everyone the same health insurance as members of congress get.

-N-

Winter Olympics--I think I can do that!

Like most people in America I have been watching the Winter Olympics the past few days. I like most of it, don’t like Luge (too fast to see) and most of the pairs skating (Dancing With The Stars On Ice) Seems like I did most of these events as a kid growing up in Nebraska and later living in Wyoming. Here is a list of the Winter Games events I have almost tried at one time.
1. Sledding—Lots of it as a kid this meets my requirement for Luge and Bobsled
2. Ice Skating—fell a lot but in Jr. High and High School I did some of it—I do remember I may have done some of those triple something-n-a-rather jumps, they are now doing in the Olympics—mine were all unintended.
3. Skiing—when we moved to Wyoming and had a mountain, skied for eight or ten years—not continuously, hardly skied at all in the summer. (hey I used two adverbs in a row in that sentence)
4. Ski Jumping—On occasion and always by accident
5. Ice Dancing—Prom Only!
6. Cross Country Skiing—Often I skied out of control and walked back carrying my skies –I believe that should count for something
7. Hooky—I did a lot of that as a kid played a lot of hooky. OH Sorry, Hockey played some, we didn’t really know all the rules but we fell down a lot, got really cold and had great fun. Also played a summer version on the tennis courts with a tennis ball—not sure if I should count that one or not.
8. Biathlon—The one where they ski and shoot –did both, never at the same time
9. Pole Vault –Opps—summer games
I never got a medal but I did get cold—I do like watching these events on TV. I know nothing about any of them and every four years I turn into an expert, scoring figure skating and ski jumping from my recliner—go figure.
-N-

More Snow in the East

Wow-more snow in the east. Living in Wyoming we get lots of snow and we get used to it. Record snow all over the east and it has been mostly warm, for 7,200 feet, here the past few days. The snow is melting and I am starting to think spring.

Small Business--Help I need a Bailout

I still have not been bailed out by the government. I’m waiting. Looks like some of the big wall-street boys will get their big bonuses again. Never could figure out why anyone needs that much money.
I find these government bailouts interesting—we have owned a small business and struggled in the down turn, no not this one. We took our losses, closed down and went on with our lives. Not one time did we think someone else should pay us for not making it. Took four years to dig out from our hole, but we did it.
READ MY STORY HERE >> http://www.helium.com/users/357802/show_articles

Haiti- We have it so good

Have you been watching the news from Haiti? We should all be proud and happy to be Americans. Even before the quake these poor people lived in conditions that even the worst of Americans would look down on. Send your prayers and money if you can—they can use it.