Wow! A 65 degree in February? And my day off?  And a tee time at 1:24 at Birdwood? That’s a hard combination to beat. Birdwood has always been a nice course, and now it’s nicer. Last year Boar’s Head Inn spent a gazillion dollars to have Davis Love, III practically redesign the entire course. I don’t know why, but I think it had something to do with college golf tournaments and UVA. … [Read more...]

I keep my golf clubs on the back seat of my car. That’s because my wife Nancy doesn’t like it when I stand them in their bag in the living room and it’s too much work to take them down to the storage room after every round. So they stay in my back seat. And they are lonely. My loyal and lonely clubs have not had the opportunity to pop a drive high in the air and fall short of the ladies’ tees … [Read more...]

One of the knocks against golf these days is that it’s expensive. It can be, but it doesn’t have to be. My golfing Amigos and I have been wearing out our VSGA VIP cards, making the game a lot less expensive and a lot more fun since we’re playing lots of different courses. A VIP basically allows a golfer to have free greens fees with a cart rental. Looking back over the past few seasons, I have … [Read more...]

  Weather permitting, we are playing golf again every Wednesday, my day off. Last week, we chose my favorite course, Heritage Oaks in Harrisonburg. Heritage Oaks is owned and operated by the City of Harrisonburg. Lots of municipal courses are grossly mis-managed as are many government-run projects. But not Heritage Oaks. For starters, it is a most friendly and welcoming course. After you … [Read more...]

I hadn’t swung a golf club in almost two months, but I teed it up with my Golf Amigos at Tanyard in Louisa last week and wondered what kind of golfer would show up after all that rust. I hit five ordinary shots on the first hole and was pleased to record a bogey. Bogey golf is about my speed. Then, on hole number 2, a short par 4, I laid up nicely with a six iron, knocked the ball on the green … [Read more...]

My golf game is now in shambles. Due to the intense heat, threat of thunderstorms and irregularities due to the Chinese virus, I haven’t played in 6 weeks. This means I have lost all momentum and will have to start from scratch in returning to my well-established bad habits. It’s not easy to master, for example, the rocket-ship sand blast. I’ve been working on this unique shot for years. To … [Read more...]

  Some claim that golf courses are a waste of green space, that they use too many chemicals and too much water. That land, they say,  would be better off in conservation easements with nothing done to the land. Baloney! Conservation easements are simply a way for wealthy people to earn tax advantages from the state – you and me. Whereas no building or improvements take place, they are … [Read more...]

  My golfing buddy, Greg Leffler, and I decided to take advantage of a pleasant Wednesday afternoon and tee it up. But we had to check around first. Two courses that I know of - Lake Monticello and Meadow Creek – are closed for the flu season. We checked with Old Trail and got a tee time with a few stipulations. First, it was cart path only – which had nothing to do with the virus but … [Read more...]