A quick reply to Mike Cirba...
Thanks Mike for the kind word. I love the game and I have always loved golfclubatlas. I marvel at the knowledge that members have always shown and I appreciate the manner in which most participants give respect to others' points of view. I'm new to the board, thanks to Rans' favorable consideration just after the new year. I'll endeavor to have my say when that's appropriate but I'm just learning the technical side of GCA like using the various icons, managing to respond directly as possible (I apologize if this message just pops up at the end of the string and you can't find it before The Open is decided.), and including the occasional picture along with a post. I had a glorious digital picture of my approach at Dyker number 5 with the bridge standards in the background. That's certainly one of the more memorable shots during the round. So there's the technical side and then there's board etiquette. My interest is in learning as much as I can from the participants. I've gone to meetings with GCA (at Essex, Baltusrol, Alpine, etc.) and I look forward to those exchanges as well. Here's hoping they still occur. This is quite a brotherhood and I consider myself pretty fortunate to be on the inside. Oh... the technical side, the board etiquette, and "first tee jitters". Speaking up in such a forum takes a fair bit of nerve.
Regards-