Greetings to all. I am writing this article from my car as I sit on a rainy day here in Sacramento. I realize we need the rain but, as a golfer I would rather see 350 days of nice weather. Mind you, I am not averse to playing in the rain, as I have done it plenty of times and will continue to do so, but a warm weather game can not be beaten.

I have been playing the courses I have already written about lately so I don’t have any updates. The courses I have been playing are in great shape. Cherry Island has their greens running very smooth right now. Joel Baker there has the crew doing all the right things. Dark Horse in Auburn is in fantastic shape and Geno is looking forward to a great summer. I have also been at Antelope Greens, Winchester, Teal Bend and Ancil Hoffman recently and look forward to a great summer of golf. While I am waiting out the rain, I decided to ask myself the age old question: why do we play this game?

I began playing this game later in life at the age of 30. In my youth, I played football, basketball, baseball, hockey and ran track. I saw golf as a silly game of chasing a little white ball around acres of open land. The fact that the ball isn’t even moving made it look even more ridiculous! Well, when some friends finally convinced me to come out and try golf, I thought this would be easy . . . boy was I wrong.

Golf is not a game of reactions and emotions, like football, basketball and all the other action sports. It is a game of calm, focus and channeled aggression. Because the ball isn’t moving, the player has more time to think of what he is supposed to do and where he is supposed to hit the ball. That makes more time for errors, both mental and physical. I was not very good when I began. I believe my first 18 hole score was somewhere north of 140. For a person who played college level athletics, playing that poorly, even if it was my first time, was not acceptable. I knew I had to beat the game. I began to play more and more. I took lessons (I strongly encourage everyone to take lessons) and got better. I enjoy playing with friends but I am really playing against the course. I find myself practicing every chance I get and being willing to play anywhere and during any type of weather. Is this you? Do you have the golf bug? Have you found ways to beat the course or am I the only one with this addiction? Judging by what I see on the Internet, I am not the only one. Let me know what your thoughts are and where you stand. Write to the North Sac News at golf@northsacnews.com and let us know how you got into golf and what keeps you coming back. I will publish some of the responses in the next few months. Meanwhile, the clouds have broken and I think I can get in nine holes.

Keep your shots in the fairways.