Is Summer Really Over?!

I suppose it is… a great one at that.

Well I have pretty much gone ‘blogless‘ all summer long so I thought it was time to catch up. I know my blog audience of three or four has been extremely disappointed!

It was an amazing summer on many fronts. My professional and personal life are going great and are at a place I didn’t think was possible a little over a year ago. I am extremely excited about the future.

Now…how about my golf life?

Starting out the year as a 25+ handicap and dropping down to as low as 10 before finishing at 11 makes this season reasonably successful in my eyes. I managed this level of improvement by playing a little more than once a week on average (6 times a month or so) and hitting range balls about twice a week. My pre-season goal was single digits…close…but no cigar. All in all though I am reasonably happy with my results.

I learned to feel at home on the golf course again and my short game improved immensely (it was brutal at the start of the season). I have a long way to go but basically met my objective of reacquainting myself with the game and giving myself a reasonable starting point to make a serious push for improvement.

This push will come early in the new year when I start a customized winter golf improvement and golf fitness program. I have never taken formal lessons before and I am looking forward to working hard on the fundamentals of the game and learning how to ‘practice’. I will be engaging a top instructor and investing in new (properly fitted) golf equipment. I am not sure what to expect in terms of improvement but I am excited about the possibilities. The goal of my winter program will be to lower my handicap to 3 or less by the end of the 2008 golf season.

Is this a reasonable goal? I’m not sure…but who said I’m reasonable. I will be sharing my goals and expectations with my instructor over the next couple of months and will fill you in on what he believes is possible. There will no doubt be a lively debate.

To lessen the pain of withdrawal as the season ends here in Calgary I will be embarking on a trip to Mexico for seven days that will include six rounds of golf at a beautiful Jack Nicklaus designed course. Perhaps the handicap will drop to single digits before I hang them up for good this season after all. Or perhaps the sunshine and margaritas will push it the other way. It will be my pleasure to let you know!

Adiós!