If you haven’t played Swannanoa golf course in a while, you’re in for a surprise. In previous years, you could give a downhill putt a good rap and often leave it short. Not anymore. The greens at Swannanoa are now fast and quick, and there are no more mysterious bumps on the surfaces. They have really improved the course. Last year, during the Chinese Virus (it came from China, you know), a lot … [Read more...]

He follows me no matter where I go. Old Trail, The Homestead, Trump National, Stony Creek, no matter the course, he’s always there. He’s a Golf Fly and his favorite perch is on one of my white golf balls. My Golf Fly is particular, though. He won’t land on a green golf ball, just a white one. I don’t know how he does it, but no matter where I hit my drive, he zeroes in and settles on top of the … [Read more...]

    I played Trump National in Charlotte last week. The course is a little like the Sahara Desert with patches of grass here and there. Yes, there are lots of sand-filled hazards and some are almost as deep as The Grand Canyon.   But yea though I walk through the valley of traps and bunkers, I shall fear no sand, because I have my xE1 sand wedge with me.   Two … [Read more...]

  Earlier this year, I saw “Temporarily Closed” on the Swannanoa Golf Course web-site. That’s not a good sign. I was worried that the course had closed for good. Then, for the past month or more I have called them and no response. Finally, I asked a friend, a fellow golfer, and he said they were open. So on his word, I took my granddaughter Berkley to the top of Afton mountain to play her … [Read more...]

Remember Mr. Magoo? J. Quincy Magoo - the elderly, wealthy, cartoon character who got into a series of comical situations as a result of his extreme near-sightedness? I’m a little like Mr. Magoo, other than the wealthy part. I wear tri-focal glasses. Blind, blinder and blindest are my lenses. I can see pretty well at distances, however, but not so much up close. I wear glasses most all the … [Read more...]

We were on the 16th tee box in a spirited golf match at Heritage Hills in Harrisonburg when the young man from the Pro Shop appeared and said the carts needed to be in at 5:30 - and it was 5:30. That was good information, but information we never received.  I wouldn’t have booked at 1:30 tee time (the only one available) had I known. We normally complete our round in 4 hours, but we were placed … [Read more...]

Everybody makes New Year’s Resolutions, usually on New Year’s Eve, but rarely kept. I make Masters resolutions, right before The Masters Golf Tournament in April. Since they didn’t have The Masters in April last year, it really screwed up my golf game. I had an awful year. Come to think of it, most of the years I play golf  are awful, but I digress. Each year, I try to make a resolution that … [Read more...]

  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...]