Don Quixote

I am 51 years old and one of the items on the top of my bucket list is to play the Old Course at St. Andrews (reasonably well). I love golf! In my dreams I am teeing it up from the tips on No. 17 (the Road Hole) and hitting my drive about 275 yards over the hotel with a slight draw into the middle of the fairway. In reality, I am about an 18 handicap (although I do not have a USGA handicap and I do not strictly adhere to the Rules of Golf as dictated by the USGA or R&A; more about that later).

I am planning a golf vacation to Scotland next summer and my goal is to have a legitimate single digit USGA handicap. Until yesterday, I had never taken a formal lesson although I have received a lot of advice from friends and playing partners over the years (including advice to give up the game!). Generally, I play "client golf" and get out once a month or so. I love going to the driving range and just banging balls and hitting those Top-Flite rocks. I just continue to tinker with my swing and perfect all of my bad habits.

Over the next year I am going to blog about the improvement (hopefully!) in my golf game; the plethora of golf training equipment that I am going to use (I am hoping that someone will actually read this blog and send me free training equipment to critique); all of the magazine articles to boggle my mind and confound my swing; planning the golf trip to Scotland; and all of the characters that I know or meet playing golf. I hope that you enjoy this Journey to St. Andrews with me. I have no trouble laughing at myself (with my swing what choice do I have) so feel free to post any comments.