It’s the time of year when I think back to the previous months and consider what I succeeded in doing and what I failed to do. On one front, my web footprint increased as a result of work done for other sites. On another, I failed miserably to consistently write for my own site, BuffaloGolfer.Com. “Taken for granted” is an understatement, but I’ll do my best in the next few paragraphs to outline what I did in place of writing here and how it happened, then I’ll outline a plan (hypothetical, as all grand schemes are) to remedy that from this point forward.
What I Did
2013 started off in a promising way. The weather in WNY was balmy enough at times that we could sneak in a few rounds at Byrncliff and Terry Hills. In February, I headed south to Pinehurst with my coterie and smacked the ball around on five terrific courses. Essays for buffalogolfer came out of these forays and I believed that I would preserve that pace for the next ten months. Foolish me! This article on Pinehurst was the first of many outside responsibilities that drew me away from buffalogolfer.
The Good Weather At Dormie
I also coached high school golf all spring. Our girls team plays in the Spring, so March through June filled up quickly with training, practice and matches. Rewarding and certainly newsworthy, but not enough time in the day to put together stories on the foibles of male-coach-in-teenaged-girl-world. In addition, our boys team from the Fall had sent five guys on to state competition, from which two advanced to the federation level. It was a memorable spring for coaching and worth every minute…except to poor buffalogolfer!
Then It Got Rough
Summer arrived and the eastern New York swing continued. I found myself in eastern Long Island for the US women’s open and was able to photograph those golfers and that fine course from Monday through Thursday. I also received permission to shoot three more courses in the Hamptons, plus two more along the Hudson in Westchester county, on my way home. Heady stuff and great exposure to absolutely stunning golf courses like Shinnecock, The Bridge and Sleepy Hollow. Somewhere along the way was a week of golf camp for middle school students…need I say more?
As Fall approached, I made a mad dash to Cape Cod to use some vacation points, play some golf and shoot more courses. I crafted plans for the upcoming boys season, managed the return to teaching and another trip to Long Island, for the Walker Cup. You don’t like to think that the tournament viewing arc hits its high point at age 48, but National Golf Links of America was a course for all time. It’s not simply the aspect of getting through the gates; it’s the fact that the course is one of a kind, the master work of a master designer/builder. To watch an international series of matches play out over its fairways was bonus material.
This Would Be Heaven
Fall? Please. Boys high school golf, exchange student in house for three weeks, hosting of interstate high school tournament, classes…and on and on. The great whiner, but it’s true, all of it.
And now it lessens, just in time for snow to fly and interest in golf to wane a bit.
How It Happened
I am the victim of my own greed. The coaching and the golf camp are necessities; they pay the bills of life. The buffalogolfer thing had no trajectory when we began some 15 years ago. People barely had a relationship with the internet and buffalogolfer was buff-golf and a paper flyer. As these days go by, I make connections with more people and relish the opportunity that each provides. If I have a free afternoon, I’ll try to fill it with a trip to this course or that event. When traveling, I’ll add an extra stop to the itinerary, not knowing if I’ll pass that way again. When I was younger, I had no idea what I wanted out of my life. I was aware of what I wanted for my family, but not for me. Now that the picture is clearing a bit, there’s a chance that I can tick off a few boxes along the road.
A Plan
I’ve had this plan before, I believe. I’m trying to cache some stories now, to post down the road when things get busy. The problem is, information is so timely. I laugh when I recall a Tom Tucker piece that I cached for summer usage. No doubt readers got a chuckle when they read about something Tiger Woods just did…three months prior at The Masters. Sometimes the best-laid plans arrive late~In any case, I’ll do my level best to produce two articles a week over the next few months, until the crazy season begins again.
Truth be told, I don’t anticipate a 2014 to match 2013. No tournaments on Long Island, no vacation points to use at the last minute, no high school tournament to host. Some of the craziness should end. I’ve got a few new irons in the fire, so I might end up eating my words. I guess we’ll have to wait and see. There is a good chance we’ll reunite next year, about this time, and I’ll once again bemoan my lack of free time and my failure to be a proper steward to this fine website. Fingers crossed things work out differently.
