Well I sure hope so. Officially, for handicapping purposes, the season doesn't start until next Friday the 14th of March for clubs in the Colorado Golf Association. This includes all the men's clubs associated with the Denver golf courses. But we've had a taste of things when a week ago we saw temperatures in the 70's. My girls and I went and flew kites that day, and by Sunday morning we saw near blizzard conditions and 3 to 6 inches of snow. Such is the weather in Colorado in March. Historically, March is the snowiest month of the year in Colorado, but for those like myself who have been stuck indoors since October, we are finding ourselves going stir crazy. I can't wait to get outdoors and enjoy playing golf. I've gotten most of my winter repairs and upgrades taken care of, I've got the clubs shining, the bag cleaned out (I highly recommend going through your bag just for the purpose of seeing things you thought you lost years ago, like the petrified Snickers bar that had found it's way to the bottom of my bag with an unreadable expiration date, yeachhh), and I've even gotten some range balls hit. So bring on the good weather and let's get out there!
For those that expressed interest last year, the software I use to create the scorecards we used last year and track my rounds was Caddie Master Pro. Brian Yager is the software developer living in Canada, who is a real live golfer. Obviously this is his passion and his product is very good. In an e-mail with him last week he indicated that an update is due any day so hopefully it will fix the one problem I encountered last year and add new functionality to make it even more user friendly. I highly recommend the program for tracking your rounds, the link to his website is over to the left.
This year I'm also going to test out a new product from Medicus (the people who brought you the hinged clubs) called the eData Coach. The product is a little handheld device that you input the particulars of each shot including the club used, the yardage hit, the direction it went, etc. The output is downloaded to a website and reports can be generated that indicate that my drives go 230 yards but tend to hook. From all the data a practice plan can be developed that will allow me to work on the identified weak parts of my game. One of the developers of the product was formerly a teaching pro at Kennedy golf course and will be back in town to work with and promote the eData product this summer. I'll know how well this works pretty fast depending on how well the input device works. It looks a little clunky from a form factor perspective, but I'm sure if it is successful for golfers like you and me, then there will be improvements made over time. If you happen to play with me early in the season, be patient with me if I seem to be fumbling with yet another electronic gadget on the course. At least I'm not taking business calls. More information about the eData Coach can be found at http://www.edatacoach.com/
On these cold days at the end of the week I am enjoying XM satellite radio's coverage of the PGA without paying for XM or using a new piece of equipment. If you are at a computer with a broadband connection you can connect to the full XM radio coverage of tournaments at http://www.pgatour.com/ . The website allows you to connect and listen gratis from the comfort of being in front of your PC. I find it nice to listen to as I am struggling with creating my software applications for work. It's sure beats listening to the regular drivel from sports talk radio that generally doesn't say a thing about professional golf.
We start the next segment of Fantasy Golf with the ESPN Best Ball Challenge next week. Sign up and take on Jason and I, as I seem to be an easy mark the last few weeks. And don't forget that The Masters is only 5 weeks away and DirectTV will feature some great coverage on multiple channels with the standard network coverage to include 56 minutes of golf every hour (only 4 minutes of commercials). Could this be the start of the first Grand Slam since Bobby Jones? Who knows, but so far this year Tiger has won twice, Phil once (came in second once), and Ernie once (he also came in second once). So all the top players are having success which could make for an interesting tournament. Augusta National has so far escaped the drastic measures that the level 4 drought in Georgia has exacted on other golf courses, but if the drought continues and the situation worsens in Augusta, it will make for a less than lush environment. In other words, pray for rain for the area.
Well I should really get back to work, but I'll let you know when I head out to the range, and when I expect to play my first round of the year. And if you don't hear from me for a week, it's because it's still too cold for me to get out of my basement.
Don't forget to 'Spring Forward' and move your clocks 1 hour ahead this Saturday night. If you don't you'll be late for church on Sunday.
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