Marvelous take, absolutely agree. I get way to angry over unfairness and bias.
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We need to meet up for golf in Charleston, or Myrtle or Pinehurst, or somewhere, Robbie.
Speaking of Charleston, what the heck is going on with the CofC hoops team??? They canāt lose! Closest call was last week here in Wilmington. If Iād known about that I would have gone to the game; UNCW is about 5 miles from me.
Jeff, you let me know when you wanna come to Charleston and Iāll roll out the red carpet. Iāll make golf arrangements and we can hit the town. As for Pinehurst, I am ashamed to admit I have never played up there. Iād need to take some time from the church, but they have been flexible with me. We do plan to come up to Asheville/Black Mountain soon, if only for 2-3 days. Iāll let you know if we do. Maybe you could drive down.
As for the Coogs, I admit that since I left in May, I havenāt been to a game. Deciding to hang it up at CofC and from being a college choir director in general was a HARD decision to make. Felt like leaving family. And with an interim doing my job (badly I might add), I decided to stay away. But I do need to go see them play. I know they are not the Cougars I knew under John Kresse. He was a half-court guy. Eddie Sutton style ball. Pat Kelsey seems to have gathered up some veteran players that love to fly up and down the court. Launching 3ās. Mike Neighbors style.
Its working.
BTW Jeff I see you texted. Mary forgot to pay the ATT bill and our phones were suspended! 60 years old and we canāt remember to pay the phone bill. Took our daughter face-timing me on the computer. She was like ādadā¦pay the stupid phone bill.ā
I like to say 60 is the new 40. Maybe not so much. 
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Iām having more fun at 62 than I was at 40. The fact that I was married at 40 may have something to do with that. 
Seems like my girlfriend lets her phone get cut off every other month; sheās very sweet but a little ditzy.
I havenāt played at Pinehurst yet either. My grandpa told me he played it when he was in the Army Air Corps at Laurinburg NC during WWII, so a few decadesā lapse there.
#2 is even more expensive than St. Andrews, which is probably why Iāll play the Old Course before I get to #2. I got my travel case yesterday to hopefully get my sticks to Scotland in one piece this fall. Thinking I may have to work in a side trip to the Emirates while Iām across the pond as well.
I will be totally disappointed if you DONāT go see your Gunners play. And enjoy the Old Course.
Speaking of the Old Courseā¦donāt do like I did. I didnāt follow my own philosophy when I was over there. It was 2013 and I hadnāt really made the attitude shift I eventually made. As a result, I stomped around mad that I wasnāt playing to my 3.7 handicap, and didnāt take the time to really enjoy the course like I should have. Moronic.
Stop off at the Lane and kidnap Daniel Levy while you are at it, please. He has to go. Itās just rinse and repeat at WHL until he is gone.
I started out planning like a week. Then I kept reading about Scottish golf and adding more and more courses I want to play. So it got up to two weeks, and thatās without a side trip to Islington. The only problem about going to Arsenal (and this will depend on the fixture list of course) is that that may oblige me to go through Heathrow, which I hate with a passion. The original trip plan was to fly in and out of Edinburgh. May still do that and just drive or take the train to London.
Courses on the list: OC and New courses in St Andrews; Crail and Leven in Fife; Cruden Bay, Murcar and Royal Aberdeen on the northeast coast; Royal Dornoch, Brora, Golspie, Fortrose & Rosemarkie and Boat of Garten in the Highlands, and Machrihanish/Machrihanish Dunes on Kintyre (yes thatās the area Paul McCartney wrote the song about; he owns or owned a farm there). Am I going to play all of those courses? Seriously doubt it, but Iām gonna try.
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Dude. Wish I could go. That is the trip of a lifetime. I know you will, but enjoy each and every little nook and cranny. Drink where the locals go. Drink what the locals drink. LISTEN TO TRADITIONAL MUSIC. (You have to hunt for Scottish traditional music a tad. if you donāt, you will just hear American Pop blasting at you. Ask about āsessionsā. You want to attend a traditional music session. Trust me on this).
And hire caddies when you can afford it.
Go read Golf in the Kingdom before you go. If you havenāt already.
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Golf in the Kingdom is sitting on my coffee table right now. As is To the Linksland, A Season in Dornoch and Blasted Heaths Blessed Greens. I also used to have George Peperās book about living next to the 18th fairway of the OC but I canāt find it now.
I have read Nick supposedly is going to be returning for the LSU game or at least thatās what the target date is.
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Get your punch and run game ready Jeff lot of flat ground over in Scotland will allow you to run a lot of balls on the Green.
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Exactly. I have one advantage. The local muni here in Wilmington was a Donald Ross design; Ross was a Scot, grew up in Dornoch, and his designs have a definite Scottish influence. A lot of Ross designs have been screwed up over the years, but there are still several greens at the Muni that punch and run still works.
Interesting story of how that came to be. Ross was in town designing the Cape Fear Country Club course, which was a PGA Tour stop (the old Azalea Open) for 20+ years. The story goes that Ross got into a card game with one of the country club members and lost his shirt. So to pay off the bet, they got Ross to design the local muni for free.
The Azalea was replaced on the tour by what is now the Heritage Classic at Hilton Head Island.
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Thatās a cool storyā¦ Ross has s produced a lot of golf courses!!
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First time I played out there they paired me with one of the course marshals who knew all the cool stories.
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I didnāt play when I was in the UK, but we traveled by bus to a few places and drove by quite a few links courses, they were gorgeous and made me wish Iād brought my clubs.
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@hogmaestro Iād be careful playing golf with Jeff. He has talked so bad about his game Iām beginning to think heās a hustler looking for a markā¦ 
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Oh trust me, Iām even worse than that. Iām a 28.8 handicap and thatās probably a bit lower than it should be.
Since I donāt have any golfing buddies here yet, I just show up as a single and hope they can fit me in with another group (which is also what I will do at the Old Course). Last time I played, they put me with a man and his wife. I got to the first tee before the couple did, and the starter told me ādo not make a bet with her. She will clean you out.ā I donāt bet on golf anyway, so that was easy advice to take. Somewhere around the third fairway, I told her what the starter had told me and she was POd. I said thatās all right, I wasnāt going to bet you anyway.
If Robbieās still anywhere around a 3.7 that would be about a stroke and a half per hole. And heād probably still beat me.
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Once Maryās cancer, plus covid, hit, my golf diminished drastically. I can still hit it pretty well, but my short game has gone to Hades. Lord only knows what my handicap is right now. I played in a captainās choice 4 man scramble about a month ago. I was responsible for several birdies. But I was also thankful I didnāt have to play my own ball after some bad misses off the tee!
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I pray for your wife to win her battle with cancer!
The cancer diagnosis sure has changed my outlook on life! Iām thankful every day just to wake up and see the sun! The little things are the most important things in life.
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Blessings army. Cancer, while still something to take very seriously (to state the obvious), is not an automatic death sentence any longer. For anyone with cancer out thereā¦every single day you live, there are more innovations. New treatments. I know someone who was diagnosed with stage 4 ovarian. Usually a killer. That was 20 years ago. She has now had multiple surgeries and rounds of treatment. But, by God, she is alive and thriving. (The woman is the wife of the legendary John Kresse, builder of the CofC basketball program. I know my choir has made an impact in Charleston when the Kresses started coming to concerts!). She is a true inspiration.
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Thank you! Im having to go do lab work on a routine basis and getting scans. Itās been rough.
Iāve watched a lot of other people that are as blessed as I am.
When I first started a couple of years ago there was a man that was there just asking for Marijuana! I saw him 18 months later after he had refused real treatments and he was bing put on hospice! I told the oncologist when they asked me what treatments did she want to have I old them Iām just a country boy and you all went fo medical school tell me what you want your dad or other loved one to do and Iāll be the best patient you have. Thatās been my attitude. My kids and grandkids keep me grounded and I have faith.
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