Member introduction

[Kirk Moon]

I have been following this site for over a year now and have posted a bit but have never introduced myself.  I have very much enjoyed following the discussions on this forum and would like to thank those of you who make this place so interesting.  Apologies for my late introduction.

I am not a hard core golfer nor am I in the business, but I am fascinated by the game and have found the insights on this web site to be very informative and entertaining.  I always love looking "under the hood" of things and enjoy hearing the experts on this site wax eloquent about the many subtleties of golf course design.  I am well aware of the bias of the denizens towards "fast and firm" and natural style golf courses and am of the same mind.  

I am a 61 yo diagnostic radiologist who has lived and worked in San Francisco for the past 30-something years and have spent most of my life living in Northern California with stints in So Cal for college (Go Bruins!) and med school (Go Trojans!).

I was fortunate to learn the game as a teenager from my father, who belonged to Los Altos GC and Sharon Heights G&CC, both located down the Peninsula from SF.  I was a starter on my high school golf team but was never a star.  I suffered from the unfortunate disease of loving to hit the ball far rather than straight and was never able to truly embrace the joy of scoring low rather than hitting far.  I suspect that I am still suffering from that disease.  

I stopped playing golf when I went away to college and only played the occasional game once every few years for the subsequent fourty years.  I returned to the game in a serious way a year and a half ago when I decided that it was time to come back to my roots and see if I could master the game that I enjoyed but never mastered as a young man.  I have yet to master anything, but I am enjoying the many pleasures that the game has to offer.  Most notably, I love being outdoors and walking in a beautiful environment.  I love the emotional highs and the lows that the game serves up.  I love the challenges that it demands of my body and my psyche.  I love the strategy.  I love the smells. The sounds. The etiquette. The ridiculously complex rules. The whole enchilada.  

I play most of my rounds at Harding Park (kudos to the TPC for whipping the course into the best shape it has been in for many, many years) and I recently became a "downtown" member of the Olympic Club and am able to play on the venerable Ocean and Lake Courses (and the fun 9 hole Cliffs Course) when the mood strikes.  I am very interested in the Cal Club (great course) and may ultimately become a member when/if circumstances permit.  I took a trip to Bandon last November and was smitten and can't wait to get back.  

Thanks for letting me observe and occasionally comment.  I don't pretend to be an expert on anything golf related, but I think I have a reasonable head on my shoulders and a true love of the game.  

Cheers to all of you.

Kirk

[Howard Riefs]

Welcome, Kirk. Great to have you here!

[Kirk Moon]

Thank you.

[Matt_Cohn]

I'm sure you've noticed there's a pretty active and occasionally opinionated bay area contingent on here. Welcome officially.

[Mac Plumart]

I remember very vividly your comments about our military, Ben Sims, and our country in a thread, that I believe, has been deleted.

[PCCraig]

A belated welcome, Kirk. The bay area is a great place to be a golfer, but what really kills this Midwestern guy is that the area also has some of the best food & drink in the U.S.!    

[Michael Wharton-Palmer]

Welcome...what a hardship to only have your current choice os places to play
try your best to deal with the huge disadvantage of living in such a good course deprived area.....
welcome again sir.

[Anthony Gray]

  More to golf than the score. I like it. Welcome.

  Anthony

[Kirk Moon]

I remember very vividly your comments about our military, Ben Sims, and our country in a thread, that I believe, has been deleted.

I remember the thread.  I thought it was an interesting give and take that went far afield of the original topic.  I did not make any specific comments about "our military, Ben Sims, and our country" in the thread.  My comments (questions, actually) were of a general and rather personal nature and did not relate to any specific country or person.  

It sounds as though you may have been offended by them.  If so, apologies.  This isn't a political forum (occasional appearances to the contrary) and I have no intention of changing that.

[Kirk Moon]

Thanks for the welcome. 

[Dan Kelly]

A belated welcome, Kirk. The bay area is a great place to be a golfer, but what really kills this Midwestern guy is that the area also has some of the best food & drink in the U.S.!    

Maybe so, but it's damned hard to find a good Juicy Lucy.

Welcome, Kirk. There are plenty of us here who qualify for this statement: "I don't pretend to be an expert on anything golf related, but I think I have a reasonable head on my shoulders and a true love of the game."

[Tim Leahy]

Welcome, if you ever feel like playing in Sacramento area, drop me a line and watch for the Bay Area GCA group outings.

[Kirk Moon]

Maybe so, but it's damned hard to find a good Juicy Lucy.

Had to look that one up.  Mmmmmmmmm.  Sounds delicious.   : )

[Kirk Moon]

Welcome, if you ever feel like playing in Sacramento area, drop me a line and watch for the Bay Area GCA group outings.

Thanks Tim. 

[Stewart Naugler]

Welcome!

Love San Fran!

[JLahrman]

Kirk, I live over in Oakland. As Tim mentioned, the BAGCAT (Bay Area GCA Tour) is a fledgling mini-tour, one step below the Hooters Tour.

Here is how it works:
- A Bay Area golfer decides to play a particular course and decides to invite some friends. Realizing that he doesn't have any, he then turns to GCA members.
- He sends out PMs to known BAGCAT members to see if there is anyone else interested and available.
- He may or may not post a thread looking for even more players.
- He makes the tee time and notifies the other Tour members who committed to the event.

Golf and general joviality ensue.

Last year we hit up Metro, Monarch Bay, Crystal Springs, Sharp Park, and San Geronimo. Roddy Ranch turned into a 2-man gig.

Hope you can join us, though no one would blame you for sticking to the O Club.

As a brand new father (of a 4-month-old) I am counting on other BAGCAT members to drag me out on the course in 2012.

[Kirk Moon]

Kirk, I live over in Oakland. As Tim mentioned, the BAGCAT (Bay Area GCA Tour) is a fledgling mini-tour, one step below the Hooters Tour.

Here is how it works:
- A Bay Area golfer decides to play a particular course and decides to invite some friends. Realizing that he doesn't have any, he then turns to GCA members.
- He sends out PMs to known BAGCAT members to see if there is anyone else interested and available.
- He may or may not post a thread looking for even more players.
- He makes the tee time and notifies the other Tour members who committed to the event.

Golf and general joviality ensue.

Last year we hit up Metro, Monarch Bay, Crystal Springs, Sharp Park, and San Geronimo. Roddy Ranch turned into a 2-man gig.

Hope you can join us, though no one would blame you for sticking to the O Club.

As a brand new father (of a 4-month-old) I am counting on other BAGCAT members to drag me out on the course in 2012.

Sounds great.  I'd love to join in the fun.  And congrats on your new child.  Quite the adventure awaits you. 

[JLahrman]

Sounds great.  I'd love to join in the fun.  And congrats on your new child.  Quite the adventure awaits you. 

You mean it gets tougher from here???

[Kirk Moon]

You mean it gets tougher from here???

It's all good.  Especially in retrospect.  : )