I decided that I wanted post #500 to mean something to me..if not to everybody else.
I though about what was it in the game of golf that continues to make me wake up in the morning with that maintained kid like passion.
I love swing mechanics..I love hitting balls working on those mechanics..I can imagine Hogan contemplating every nuance of the golf swing..I love standing there on the range trying to shape shots that I see in my mind..shots that I have had to play before, on courses that I only dreamt I would ever play..the grandest of golf sites
I love the competition the game provides. I cherish the opportunities I have been given to compete on great courses and at a level that sometimes makes me proud of all the hard work I have put into the game. Even though that same competition, sometimes tears at my stomach and on ocassions has me hunting for the closest funny farm.
I love the togetherness and comraderie that only this game is able to provide..whether that be on the golf course or at venues like GCA where equally passionate lunatics bare their souls and hunt for knowledge.
I love that the passion for the game encourages that search for knowledge and the realisation that people out there will share their wisdom with me..this game has taught me so much about life and how perhaps life should be led.
But, what I like most is the golf course itself..how every one brings to the forefront it's very own piece of the puzzle.
The sheer beauty and elegance of Cypress Point and Augusta National..The history and brilliance of Merion and Pine Valley, where one gets the feeling of the "Philly guys" all gathered above watching as I try to soak up every last inch of their respective masterpieces..imagining their toil and hard work as they planned and strategised to provide the ultimate routings.
The deep rooted passion that only the old traditional courses can provide...my frustration at trying to imagine what those guys were thinking..how could they be that brilliant and inspired?
The deep love of the links land, going back to my early days in the game...that unique smell, sound and sights that accompany the thrill of teeing it up in the sea breezes..the rugged dunes and the fescues swirling in the breeze.
The shadows cast upon the undulating fairways as sunset appraoches and the ensuing shadows of the steep bunker slopes that render the sand a dark hue as if to signal their penal intent.
Walking up 18 at Royal Birkdale, Troon, St Andrews or Western Gailes..striding towards the inspiring clubhouses, with the fish and chips waiting in the clubhouse dining room. I love the tradition and formality of the great venues..the no caps worn in the clubhouse..jacket and tie in the dining room, the pride of the club tie.
I love the genius of guys like Tom Doak whose vision and expertise bring my beloved links golf across the pond and at least one other continent.
I love the thrill of seeing a new course that leaves me tingling all over..in a way that Cypress, Pine Valley, Merion, Pacific Dunes and Western Gailes were able to do..the anticipation of that next "one"......courses that leave me stunned just as my wife Teri Neal did on our first date....
Gentlemen..that is enough of your time..thank you for allowing me to divulge my passions on this site amongst people I have grown to respect.
I simply love the game of golf...long may she live.....michael