
We're the life of every party!
Usually, I write a very long-winded recap of my year, throwing out various statistics that bore everyone and prompt snickers and jabs from Harris and Cal. I've done away with the stats on the blog this year and I will stay true to my promise by not throwing a bunch of numbers at you even in this review.
Instead, I'll simply break my year down into the following categories: The Game, The Courses and finally, Looking Ahead.
The Game
I took a huge step backward in 2009 with my game. After briefly touching scratch status in '08, I started the year as a 1.7 and never came close to playing at that level at any point in the year, going as high as a 4.9 and ending the year at 4.1.
My scoring average was up over 2 shots a round over 2008 and I barely averaged less than 80 in my 58 rounds this year, a number that was down by seven rounds over the previous year.
Pretty much all my stats were down, none moreso than my greens in regulation percentage, which dropped to about 41% from about 49% the year previous. I also didn't break par once all year, with my low score being 73 (shot three times).
I played in far, far fewer tournaments in 2009, something that may have contributed to my poor play - I've always fared well when something is on the line and I didn't play in ANY Niagara Cup matches in 2009 and didn't go out for the provincial mid-am this past year either.
I played quite well at the Ontario Better Ball qualifier at Burlington with Harry, shooting a 74 on my own ball but bogeys on the last two holes meant we missed the cut by two shots. One year we'll get there...
I was completely mediocre on the Niagara Men's Tour this year, a big disappointment after winning an event in 2008. I finished 16th overall on the Tour in 2009 (was 11th in 2008) and only had one top five finish, with a 3rd place finish at the St. Catharines event. I only broke 80 twice in six events on the year, just a pathetic result.
I played in our Member/Guest tournament for the second consecutive year with my wife's Uncle Henry and we finished a very respectable sixth place this year. We led after the first round, which was quite cool, but we just couldn't keep up the pace in this handicap event. Still, a great time and one of the highlights of the year.
I flamed out early in the Langley Cup again, our club's match play competition for 0-7 handicappers, losing to Cal (the eventual winner in a classic match versus Harry) in the second round. It's the one event I want to win the most at our club, outside of the club championship.
Speaking of which, I finished T6th in the Club Championship at St. Catharines for the third time in my life, still my best finish ever. I shot 78 in the first round and was actually in second place but fizzled over the last two rounds.
Just a rough year for scoring. I was extremely inconsistent with my ball striking and I definitely need to put some more work into it when I'm not playing as much. Obviously, some late nights with our baby may have caused some fatigue but I won't make excuses. Simply put, it was my worst year on the course that I can remember from a scoring perspective and I hope I can rebound in 2010.
The Courses
I was pretty fortunate again in 2009 with respect to playing some excellent courses for the first time.
First, in late April, Harry and I played in the Ontario Better Ball qualifier at Burlington G&CC, a lovely Stanley Thompson design that is vastly underrated in my opinion. I have no idea how this course can be left off the ScoreGolf rating of the Top 100 in Canada. It's most deserving of that honour.
In mid-June, I had the pleasure of attending a Golf Club Atlas outing at Otter Creek GC in Otterville with the course architect Dick Kirkpatrick, fellow architect Ian Andrew (Mike Weir's design partner), writer Robert Thompson and a few other guys. We mixed the groups up so that all eight guys pretty much got to play at least a few holes together and we finished off the day at Ian's house, eating burgers and discussing architecture and watching the US Open. The golf course was pretty solid with a few notable exceptions - I'm not a fan of the 9th or 18th holes and there is some quirky routing on the 17th but Dick mentioned that his hands were tied on certain aspects of the routing.
The highlight of the year, without doubt, was my trip out west to British Columbia.

The next day, we played Bear Mountain's Mountain Course, a Steve and Jack Nicklaus co-design also located in Victoria. I was very impressed with the golf course, thought it was tremendous fun and the views are, at times, breathtaking. It's ranked in the bottom half of the Top 100 in Canada and definitely deserves that acclaim. A pleasant surprise.


The most disappointing day of the year was when Cal, Ryan, Dr. Greg and myself took the day off to play the well-respected St. Thomas G&CC for the first time. After getting rained out a year earlier and getting no holes in, we thought the jinx was over after teeing off on the first. However, we got to the 7th tee and the storm siren went off again and within an hour, the course was flooded and unplayable.
Things got worse - wanting to get something out of our day, we drove to Tarandowah Golfers Club, a new Martin Hawtree design that's getting wide acclaim. This time, we got only four holes in before seeing a funnel cloud in the distance and running like mad back to the clubhouse.
I also had hoped to play Hamilton G&CC, The National GC of Canada and St. George's in 2009 but those invitations all fell through, unfortunately.
Still, despite those disappointments, that's ten new courses seen in 2009: all of them well respected and highly rated. I've now played a pretty incredible 23 of the top 100 courses in Canada!
Looking Ahead
Things are looking very promising for 2010.
From a tournament and competitive standpoint, I expect things to be very similar to '09. I will once again play on the Niagara Men's Tour and my goal is to win again and finish in the top five overall.
I will once again play with Harry in an attempt to qualify for the Ontario Better Ball Championship and I can guarantee we will play at the best golf course that they offer on the qualifying list. Hopefully something new that we haven't seen.
I will likely play in the Member Guest tournament at St. Catharines for the third consecutive year with Henry and will participate in both the Langley Cup match play competition and the Club Championship at St. Catharines.
I don't expect to have the time necessary to play on the Niagara Cup again in 2010 and while I'd like to play in the Mid-Am this year (Donalda is hosting the event), time will likely not allow me to participate there either.
That is because I am planning two long weekend golf vacations for 2010.

I'm also working on something else very special for that particular trip but won't divulge details until things are set in stone for fear of jinxing everything. Let me just say this: if everything works out, this trip may end up being Epic. Yes, with a capital E!
I'm also planning on going back to British Columbia for a few days to play Sagebrush again, bringing some friends to share the experience as well. Looking at a mid-July trip for that one and may take another crack at Tobiano while we're there.
I'll be going on business trips to Ottawa in August and Mount Tremblant in September and will be playing at least one round of golf in each place. Not entirely sure which courses yet but I've heard good things about golf at Tremblant.


There will likely be a few other day trips in there, maybe to some reciprocals during the Canadian Tour Championship week (coming back to St. Catharines for a second consecutive year) and maybe I'll finally get an invitation to Hamilton, the National or St. George's that sticks. Highly unlikely, especially in the case of St. George's which is hosting the Canadian Open this year, but a man can dream!
Regardless, as usual, you can expect to get honest and detailed reviews and great photos of all the courses I play in 2010. I already can't wait until the end of March!
Bonus Photo Tour
Sagebrush may have been the golf highlight of the year but the highlight of my life is this little guy, my son Evan. I shake my head every day, knowing how lucky I am to have him in my life.
It's amazing how quickly time flies...Happy New Year to all my readers!
January 2009 (Three Months Old)

February 2009 (Four Months Old)

March 2009 (Five Months Old)

April 2009 (Six Months Old)

May 2009 (Seven Months Old)

June 2009 (Eight Months Old)

July 2009 (Nine Months Old)

August 2009 (Ten Months Old)

September 2009 (Eleven Months Old)

October 2009 (One Year Old and Wearing His First Sabres Jersey!)

November 2009 (13 Months Old)

December 2009 (14 Months Old)
