Some numbers to crunch over winter
2012 is rapidly approaching
olf is a game of numbers – par,
handicaps, distance to greens, and
on good days dollars taken from friends –
so there’s no better way to assess the golf
season that is now in the rear-view mirror
than, yes, by the numbers.
60 – Full rounds played, plus or minus a
handful, through early October. That's
lower than in past years but I was away 10
days in June for the trip of a lifetime and
lost two weeks of prime September
weather to a mangled back. Still, throw in
couples’ scrambles, men’s night events, a
couple of charity scrambles and assorted
other outings, including four rounds in Alabama in winter, and I played about as
much golf as when I was working. (Kidding,
former boss, kidding.)
37 – Screen size in inches on the old-fashioned, furnace- sized TV that crippled my
back when I picked it up in September.
When your wife/mother/friends/total
strangers say, “you know, you’re not as
young as you used to be,” they’re right.
The funny thing was we were giving the TV
to charity, so when I dropped it off at the
Catholic church in town the priest had to
G
come out to my car and carry it inside while
I, bent double in pain, limped along and
held the door. That was more embarrassing
than a six-putt green.
6 – Speaking of which, number of putts
recorded by yours truly on the par- 3 fourth
hole at our course when they put the pin
far back on the edge of a hill and cut the
green short. Obviously I play with guys
who don’t know how to say “that’s
enough.” But when I say more embarrassing than a six-putt green, I know what I'm
talking about.
3 – Legs on one of the bears that occasionally romps around on our northern Wisconsin golf course. Apparently traps (with
teeth) are as tough on bears as traps (with
sand) are on high handicappers, but this
fellow doesn’t let his own handicap keep
him from startling more than a few golfers
when he plays through. But then bears with
any number of legs can do that. One couple surprised by a bear on the 18th hole recently went screaming off the golf course,
down the adjacent driving range and
through the parking lot to the clubhouse,
whereupon the man dropped off his
“Obviously I play with guys
who don’t know how to say
‘that’s enough.’ But when I
say more embarrassing than
a six-putt green, I know what
I’m talking about.”
scared-to-death wife and went back to finish the hole. That, my friends, is a golfer.
200 – Or even fewer, unfilled volunteer
positions for the 2012 U.S. Women's Open
at Kohler. Given the initial call in summer
was for 2,000 volunteers for the event, hav-
ing only a relative handful of openings this
far ahead is yet another sign of the strong
support the Wisconsin golf community has
for major championship events. Even more
impressive is that many volunteers have
done several championships in recent years
and plan to help with more in years to
come. My friend Jerry, for example, worked
the PGA Championship at Whistling Straits
in August, is signed up with his wife to
work the Women’s Open next year and
hopes that he and his brother will be
around to work the Ryder Cup when it
comes to Wisconsin in 2020.
