Season Starters...

San Diego was a great start to my season this year. The weather was great, 75 and clear for the two days. The course, Maderas Golf Club was superb. A Robert Muir Graves course design that was 'tweaked' by Johnny Miller. Johnny (can I call him Johnny?) took, what was a classic design on a crazy great piece of property, and made it even more demanding. Sloped at 144 and ranked at 75.4 it played so, but then I love hilly courses. Having grown up in mid-Missouri our home course was built on these wonderful rolling hills but only miles away were some very 'billy-goat' courses that I played my state championships on and always enjoyed the most.

My goal in this season is to learn the place where I fall into "Zone" and not accidentally. The zone is that often elusive place that once you have been, you desire to stay and play. Some say, and they are growing in number, that the zone is simply the place that we naturally play golf from. It's a long conversation but suffice that these first two events have been good in finding the zone, loosing it and knowing that it will be found again.

Then off to my second event...

I came home from Phoenix last night after having caught what I describe as the Phoenix Fever --- although sounding a bit like a new sports association it is NOT! It's a high fever respiratory sickness that started in it's infancy at the end of my practice round and took off with bold attitude on the 13th tee box the day of the pre-qualifier. Not a pleasant back nine but finished and overall, I enjoyed playing desert golf for the second time in my life.

What a different game desert golf is. Where I'm used to going off the fairway into rough and trees, with desert golf you find yourself in rock, stone, dirt and a variety of desert things called bushes....REALLY! I only found myself there twice in two days, unfortunately both were on tournament day. The first one was interesting. My drive took a nice hop right over the hill into the desert. As we went searching I found it almost suspended in a tumble weed. I could see it clearly, there was a lot of 'air' around the ball. My first thought was how I could swing a club hard enough to actually knock it out and back onto the fairway --- then a second thought struck me harder than I'd have to hit that ball. How many other golfers have thought similarly and after they had taken a wild and ruthless strike find their ball smiling back at them in the very same place, mocking the golfer.

I heard a voice in my head -- I think it is was Scotty reminding me as he has so many times, "Take your medicine and move on." It's a good lesson and so I took the advice, pulled the ball, found a decent spot to hit from, recovered and went forward.

In between these two tournaments I had the blessing to see Diether Maier, friends from Karlsruhe, Germany. We played a fun round at Hiddenbrooke Golf Club while Diether was here doing work in the Bay Area.

Now I return home to play the Pepsi Tour this Spring when in May I will be considering the Canadian Tour Q-School.

Thank you so much for stopping by and reading these little bits.

Byron