Some pretty good scores this week.  Drew Symons with a 31, Ron Nauts and Paul Green with 34's and a 37 got you a T8 in the low gross category.   On the net side things might have been even more impressive than the gross.  I see that Bob Leunig cracked the "30" barrier (yea, I know... Bob cracked the "30" barrier a long time ago - I hate to go for the obvious ones) and a net of 33 barely got you into the Top Ten of the Sandbaggers list.  We might have to put the tees back a little farther next week.  

     Team # 10 was back on the good side of the Team vs. Team this week posting a very impressive 203 coupled with a solid turnout of 13 guys.  Even the uninitiated can see that they are leading based solely on their participation for the year.  We have three teams with 6 wins and 2 losses but the boys that comprise Team # 10 seem to find their way to the 1st tee more often than the rest of us.   This is the time of year when a Captain has to step up and distinguish himself and no, I don't mean like the Captain of Team # 1 Rick Kokoszka did with his deplorable net of 39.  The exceptional leader will rally his troops through motivational Email messages,  inspirational telephone conversations or impossible-to-fulfil promises of fame and riches that only Men's Night success can bring.  Please my friends, get out and support your team.  They need you.

     I overheard my good friend Mr. Brent Dunseith this week as he was telling a few of the boys that he's virtually positive his scores would be reduced if he could just hit the ball a little farther.  Though I rarely like to offer an unsolicited opinion I am prepared to make an exception in this case.  I’ve been observing the traditions of the game for 30 + years and there are but a couple of things of which I am absolutely convinced:

1. Course management is a misnomer - It should be called "ego" management.

2. Distance is the holy grail of golf.

     Let’s be perfectly honest with one another; everybody wants to hit the ball farther. While I agree that hitting it straight is an important skill, if you really want to shoot some low numbers you simply have to hit the ball a long way and... it goes over big with the chicks too!  A lifetime of exhaustive research on the subject of increased driving distance has revealed the options to be few; you can probably amplify your club head speed through lessons or fitness but that would be ignoring one of the great things about the game - new stuff.  Why work at it when you can always buy some game? I'm ashamed to admit that I visited a local testing centre this winter but my experience was not as propitious as I had hoped.  You probably haven’t noticed but I have a tendency to over think these kinds of things…

     I checked around and located an establishment that employs a Vector launch monitor.  According to everything I have read on the subject the Vector is a gloriously needless piece of high tech equipment designed for the singular purpose of determining your ideal club specifications and it has long been recognized as the "Cadillac" of testing equipment.  The day was fast approaching and although I was very excited about the possibility of adding some length to my drives I also found myself surprisingly apprehensive.  Deep down I knew the reason for my consternation; the people that operate these Vector launch monitors don’t fully grasp the fragile psyche of the typical golfer.  These things indicate without prejudice the launch angle, ball speed, spin rate and projected distance of each shot you hit.  In other words, after 30 some years of good old fashioned denial I might very well find out what every golfer can never, ever know… the truth.   In many ways ignorance can be bliss but in the case of your golf swing – it is an absolute must.  The truth could very well kill you.  In my mind’s eye, my swing resembles that of Mr. Ernie Els… but with a soupçon more grace, rhythm and balance.   I had hoped to keep it that way.

     As I wrote once before there is a sense of comfort that comes from denying the truth and completely ignoring the facts - golf equipment is the perfect case in point. We are best left believing there is something better out there.  Until someone proves otherwise it’s not really our fault; if we had better stuff, we would actually be quite good. The problem is that the technology to determine your ideal club/shaft combination is now readily available. Just don’t ever go and make use of it!  Consider this… what if you went to the test centre and found the equipment you currently have is perfectly suited to your game?  A clear worst-case scenario!  You are hitting the ball as far and as accurately as you ever will.  That is all there is.

     In my opinion, the best thing the tester could say to me is "Sir, the good news is that your existing equipment could not possibly be more ill suited to your golf swing". Thank goodness.  Things can always get better.

The Committee