My personal hell is about to come to a close...

...at least until next winter.  That's right, this week marks the start of GOLF SEASON!!!! for me.  I got an email today that Pacific Springs is open for play this Saturday (and it couldn't have come sooner.)

I mentioned it in a "Looking Forward To" section, but I'll elaborate a bit:  I will be playing Pacific Springs and Shoreline Golf Courses for only $10 this year.  The wife bought me a "Tee it for Ten" card for Valentine's Day this year.  The math works out that if I play these courses more than eight times it will be cheaper than paying normal price, so long as I don't use it more than 50 times (in which case, it would have been cheaper to buy a membership).  But a membership doesn't allow play at both courses, which is one of the better selling points for me.

Shoreline is the lesser of the two courses (barely), but it is close to my work, so I plan on stopping by the course after work occasionally throughout the summer and sneaking in 18 before dark.  On the other hand, Pacific Springs is the better course, and would take me over an hour to get to after work because of rush hour.  Therefore, I plan to play it once (or twice) a weekend.

The final selling point for me for the "Tee it for Ten" program was that the holder of the "TifT" card can play Arbor Links, The Player's Club, and Plattesmouth CC, once each this year for a discounted price.  Well, both Arbor Links and The Player's Club are on my Omaha Golfing Wish List, and since they are private courses, I had basically given up on playing them.  But, now, not only will I play them, I'll play them for a reasonable price.

I don't think I'm going to have a free moment over the next 8 months, with all the golf, baseball, and traveling I have planned.

Since I'll be walking (for exercise and to save money), I'll need plenty of time to ensure that I get a full 18 in to make it worth the purchase price.

Not only am I excited to play $10 golf all summer, I'm elated because I just received email confirmation of the shipment of my new golf shoes and my new driver head.

These are the shoes that are on their way.

They are adidas FitRX and it has taken me forever to find a new pair of golf shoes that meet my criteria: they should be reasonably priced, they shouldn't look like golf shoes, they should be stylish and appealing to my eye, and my wife has the final say on whether or not these criteria have been met.

My current shoes are a pair of adidas Bradys that my wife bought for me before we were married (about 7 years ago), so you can bet that they have sentimental value.  I am going to be sad about retiring the Bradys, as they have carried me through countless rounds and they are the perfect shoe.  Hopefully the new shoes will be around for the next 7 years of my golf life.

I spent the end of last golf season using two drivers.  I had my "big dog" driver that I can pound 300+ yards, but have no clue in which direction it will go on any particular swing.  So I usually kept it in the bag unless I had a wide open (like, middle of the course, no danger in ANY direction, wide open) par 4 or 5 and my score was solid enough to allow such recklessness.  The rest of the time, I used my "straight-and-narrow" driver that I couldn't hit a slice or hook with if my dog's life depended on it, but only goes about 270 yds.  So, when I saw this driver was on sale for over half its original price, I thought it might be a good time to try and find a "straight-and-narrow"/"big dog" combo and this club looked like a good candidate.  I will be putting this head on the same steel shaft my "big dog" driver is on and will keep the "trusty-rusty" driver in my bag until I'm comfortable with this new club (which shouldn't take too long since I plan on spending the next couple of months living on the golf course.)

Finally, I can't wait to enter my first score of 2010 into my handicap service.  I ended last season with a 12.9 handicap, which was the lowest I've had it since the year before I got married (and even then, I've never been below 12.0).

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SONG:  "Shadow Stabbing" by CAKE

LOOKING FORWARD TO:  the snow storm that is bound to arrive the day before my new shoes and club head arrive, because Mother Nature is a biotch like that.

GOAL:  to get my handicap in the single digits this year (9.9 and under).  I feel this is an achievable goal, and one that will motivate my time on the course this year.

THINKING BACK ON:  how, were it not for a purple Harley Davidson 3-wheeled golf cart (similar to the second and fourth pictures on the top row HERE but not nearly as pretty, which was part of its charm), I would not be the golf nut that I am.  My dad took up the game of golf later in life (when I was in junior high or early high school) and at that point I had no real interest in golf.  Then he and his friend John bought the Harley, and my interest was piqued.  The summer before my senior year of high school, I worked at the swimming pool.  I often had mid-mornings and a few afternoons during the week off from work, so I would head down to the golf course, mainly to drive the cart.  I would zoom around the course (it was basically vacant) whacking the ball around as an excuse to drive the Harley cart around.  By the end of the summer, I loved golfing more than the cart.