Jeepthrills

First round in six months. I shot a 48 (+13). The score was not what I was looking for, but considering that it was 35 degrees with snow flurries and constant winds at 25 MPH+ it's not too bad. I played the first three holes triple, double, double. Great basketball stat line, but not so much for golf. This is even worse when you consider that the next hole is my all time nemesis. Let's assume that I play White Lake Oaks 20 times per year (low estimate) in my regular Sunday morning round and that I am in my 19th year playing there. I have made par on this hole 4 times and never made birdie. There has never been a more appropriately numbered hole than the 13th at White Lake. It is a 90 degree dog leg right. There are trees tight up the right side that end at a large pond. You can't hit driver for fear of going through the fairway. Anything too short leaves you with no way of reaching the green. A perfect tee shot leaves you with about 200 yards into a green set back into the trees with a marsh on the left and the 14th tee box, which is protected by huge trees, on your right. Once you get to the green it is the toughest one on the course. Good luck stopping a put from above the hole and forget about any side hill lies. OK, enough about the design. I hit a perfect tee shot, put my second just off the back fringe. Mediocre chip left me with about 12 feet right and about 4 feet above the hole. Drained it. From there I finished reasonably well. Three great drives. Including one that left me hitting from 130 on a par 5, after a lost ball off my first tee shot. If I could have made a putt I would have fared much better.

It's been a while, but I am back. I'm looking forward to getting back up to speed.

Is it from BHM Golf? Sorry, but I still hold a grudge.

I am 39 and will be 40 in October.

I am an exercise physiologist and I teach Sports Medicine and I can assure you that working out and looking like a bodybuilder do not have to go hand in hand. It is a matter of how you train. It does not benefit these guys to look like Mr. Olympia, but being stronger, leaner, more flexible and more cardiovascularly fit all can and do help the golf game. I spent a lot of time in the gym during the off season and I am looking forward to my return to the course. Last Summer I started getting back in shape and my distance came back quickly. I am now stronger than ever and in the best shape i have been in close to 10 years. I am confident it will carry over to the course.

I got the e-mail and figured it was like the ones they did in the past where you had to buy it and then would get a refund. Guess I should have read the e-mail before hitting delete. Now I have another reason to dislike him.

I should have been more clear about the 8 seed. We did lose to San Jose in 1994 as the 1 seed. However we did not win the Presidents Trophy that year. It was the first time in history that a 1 lost to an 8. Don't get me wrong. I am as big a Wings fan as there is and I am not bashing them or the fans. My original comment was that even as Hockeytown, they are struggling to sell out the Joe. This is obviously an economic thing. I would take a 1/2 filled Joe over a capacity crowd at almost any arena. Detroit has the most knowledgable hockey fans in the US and I would argue the world.

100% agreed. Making it to the highest level in any sport still takes a great deal of natural ability. Tiger showed that at an incredibly young age. He then worked harder than everyone else to become the player he is. If he had not gotten out of the highchair and made a good swing his dad may have just thought it was cute and never done anything with it. Look at some of these guys who play high school basketball and football. They mature early, work incredibly hard and rack up big stats. Then they end up in college and are being dominated by better athletes who may not work as hard as them. When you combine the natural ability with the hardest worker and the guy with the drive to win you get a special athlete. Tiger Woods or Michael Jordan. To say that anyone can do this by working hard enough is crazy.

I simply said LeBron was a bigger star than Kobe. He is not in a class with Tiger, Jordan or even Babe Ruth or Ali.

I don't disagree with you at all about Detroit being a strong hockey market. It's just a lot different due to the ecconomy. Detroit and Michigan are at or near the top when you consider support of the Wings, NCAA and youth hockey. The fringe fans are just not going to the games anymore. Crazy when you consider that they are hands down the top franchise of the last 15-20 years.

Being in LA I can see why you might think Kobe, but he is not even close. LeBron is a bigger star.

Best record in the NHL regular season. As a Wings fan I can tell you how unimportant it is come playoff time, as we have been bounced in the first round by an 8 seed more than once.

As I have done the past couple years i am breaking my goals into two groups: Personal and League. Personal: Drop my H.C. to 12 or lower . That would be a five shot drop and I think it is achievable this year. Practice more : This could easily be labeled Practice some. Last year I rarely got to the range or hit balls. My schedule was crazy. Now that I am a teacher I get 10 weeks off for the Summer. I plan to work on at least some aspect of my game 5-6 days each week. Break 40 at White Lake Oaks : I have hit 40 on the nose a handfull of times and 41 even more times. Get back into shape : I spent the last 15 years in the fitness industry, but let my workouts take a back seat. I have said for years if you want to cut back on your workouts just start managing gyms. Teaching is not the most active of jobs, but I have joined a gym for the first time in years. I am on Spring Break right now and have been 4 days in a row. I actually have even more reason to do this. I had a physical on Tuesday and my cholesterol and triglycerides are through the roof. I started meds yesterday. I am down 5 pounds since the start of break, but still up from where I have been for most of the last 5 years. The fitness thing is actually easy for me. I tend to respond quickly and actually love working out. Birdie #13 at White Lake and #1 at Heather Highlands : These are the only two holes that I play regularly that I have never birdied. Have more fun : I think this will happen as I spend more time on my game. Fun for me is shooting low scores and winning matches. League: Much the same as last. Most of these were met but one major one eluded me. League Champs : My wife and I had our best year ever individually. Both our averages were our best ever. However this did not always translate to wins. We lost on position night when my wife made a tripple on the last. Double would have won it outright. I birdied the last to make up 3 shots but we needed to take all 6 points to win. In her defense I crapped the bed the previous week to put us in that spot. Low Men's Average : I have held this title for three straight years, but we picked up a new player this year who I have never plaed with. All I know is he is "good." Average below 38 : You may look at my handicap and think what the Hell? We play a course that is 31 par. I actually had a chance to finish last year at 37.9 but finished with a 41 and 39 to kill my chances.

As a Bulls fan I was disappointed that they lost last night and dropped to the 7 seed. It looked to be a sure loss to Boston. However, my hopes were bouyed when I heard that KG is potentially out for the playoffs with his knee injury. Don't get me wrong, I would never root for a guy to get hurt, well maybe Kobe, but I am all for taking advantage when the door is opened. Without KG, the Celtics are a pretty good team, but not a superpower. If he does not play in the series I will say Bulls in 6.