Starting the new year with a 79....my Bro and a 91model

The game of golf is not black and white....for amateurs it's totally gray. There are so many reasons to enjoy playing a round of golf and then when you add family, and or friends, it becomes extremely hard to classify the experience as anything but enjoyable.

Then you detail the actual game of golf and you find there are at least 15 to 20 reasons why it totally sucks. Those 15 or 20 reasons result in scores in the high 8o's and low 90's. And once in a while it goes well beyond that.... but it's fairly easy to forget those days.

So the process of playing golf, as a once a week duffer, comes down to how many good or perfect ball strikes can be recorded. And who can you share the experience with.

My Brother, my father and my father's best friend is a perfect foursome. Dad shoots right around his age and sometimes in the high 80's. My dad's buddy, Bill Blackman, is a few years younger and shoots in the 80's. My brother Jerry can shoot 78 or 95 depending on the day. He's only been playing for 3 years and hits the snot out of the ball.

I should be shooting in the low 70's. Of course I've been saying that for about 30 years.

The truth is.....I've never struck the ball better than I do now. I make perfect contact numerous times during a round. Perfect contact is when you strike the ball first, take a nice divot and let the club do the work.

I should be shooting lower scores but something goes amiss from time to time and I turn into Mr. Stupid. Mr. Stupid does something with his back swing that causes the club to strike the ground about an inch behind the ball. Now an inch might not seem like much, but in the game of golf it's like from here to Catalina. Mr. Stupid (no muscle memory) shows up about 6 to 10 times in a round.

Whenever I do make a bad shot I always have the extreme pleasure of being able to hear my dear old Dad make some type of unique remark. It's always comforting when you hit your ball into the trees and you hear a voice say....."why did you hit it in the trees?"

I actually regard my rescue shots as one of the best parts of my game. I've had so much practice that I've learned how to drive the ball under trees, between trees and over trees....and sometimes directly into a tree.

And there's a tree at our course that is more like a very large bush and every week I find a ball in that tree. Give and take......that's what it's all about.

I do have one wish for 2011. I would like to see more hot women playing golf. It just makes the course that much more attractive.

And it's also fun to watch my Dad sweet talk the ladies. He's been married three times and it

obviously is something in his DNA. He's actually pretty good at it. I guess when you are 91 and still playing golf.....flirting is just another part of the game.

The best part of everything about golf is that the weekly Tuesday game continues.

I treasure it with every ounce of my body and soul.

Michael Timothy McAlevey