2016 Year in Golf

One of my annual goals is to play 12 different golf courses.  It started out as "New" courses but that is not so easy for someone who has played as much as me.  Here is a list of 12 highlights which to some degree covers 12 courses:

1.  Austin Country Club - our family was a former member family so I've been there before.  But not since the 80s.  Since then, the course has aged, has had a multi million dollar renovation and is the new host of the World Match Play Championship (won in 2016 by Jason Day).

I played with Ed and our host was John C. who I had met while skiing in Utah in January 2015.  So it was a great homecoming and we enjoyed our return a lot.  The new renovation is first class and definitely improved the course to a very modern feel.  Score of 85 from the Riverside tees was a good one.

2.  Brackenridge Park, San Antonio.  Ed and I continued our golf trip with a visit to one of our favorites.  Home of the Texas Golf Hall of Fame includes people that we have known through our careers.  Looking back on the scorecard - lowest round of the year of 80.  I made birdie on 15, but then double on 16, then good pars on 17 and 18 for 80.

3.  McAllen CC.  While I played there many times, my second lowest round of the year 81 was there on April 6.  I enjoyed playing the Sundowner from April to June - 9 holes on Tuesday evening.

4.  Palm View Golf Course, McAllen.  I played in the McAllen City Championship.  I worked hard to get my game in order but hot windy weather and the pressure made for a tough run of 93-95.    Susan said that I looked like I was not having fun and she said I should not play in that tournament again for someone who loves golf otherwise.  I agree.

5.  Houston CC.  The scorecard I have shows 9 holes on March 30 with my father Ed.  Birdie on #9 for a 39.  I recall the 4 iron as a great shot into the wind as the sun was going down.

6.  Palmer Course at La Cantera.  I had a free round for 2 there won in a CLE raffle the past year.  It was set to expire, so I arranged to drive up, Clint and John came down from Austin and we had a GREAT time - good weather. The day before Clint's 50th birthday.  Great course.  And a good round of 84.

7.  Max Mandel Golf Course, Laredo, TX.   This is a new course owned by the City of Laredo.  Designed by top designer Robert Trent Jones II it is the best course for the money I've seen in a long time.  Again, great weather on Columbus Day.  I played really well but finished 5 over on the last 3 holes for 82.  Highly recommend!

8.  Rancho Viejo, Brownsville, TX.  As a course 60 miles away, it is not easy to arrange to go, but I always enjoy the day..  Again I played well in good weather, 84.

9.  University Ridge, Verona, WI.  Sarah has moved to Madison WI and works in Verona.  So my vacation this year was to go to Wisconsin and enjoy a week there.  I played 2 times at this course, also a Robert Trent Jones II design.  I enjoyed playing with my new friend Woody from Kentucky who was up with his wife and was playing golf while she was at work at Epic of course.  I plan to return in 2017 for the American Family Champions Tour tournament.  Played fairly well on a tough course both days, 86-86.

10.  Soldiers Memorial Field Golf Course, Rochester, MN.  I drove to Wisconsin to Minnesota in my 50 state quest to the home of the Mayo Clinic.  After checking out the Sports Performance Institute, I had time for 18 holes at this classic track.  This sign cemented it as my favorite course of the year:

And I had a great time, stayed until dark.  Shot 80 to tie the low round of the year.

11.  Odana Hills, Madison, WI.  As you can tell, I was able to play a lot of golf on this trip.  The course is close in town in Madison and was a very  reasonable charge.  I was only able to play 9 but will go back for the back 9.  Shot 42 in great weather.  I have to hand it to the Sconies - when its summer they play a lot outdoors.

12.  Golf ATX.org is the website for the Austin city courses.  I played 3 and am grouping them together.  Lions Municipal is my home course from way back.  It is a historic place but alas is set to be bulldozed in 2019.  So I wanted Travis to see it before he graduated.  He and I played with Clint and Sarah rode in the cart.  Great day.  And shot 86 - not bad.

Hancock.  A ragged old 9 hole muni, barely maintained.  Hard to believe it used to the Austin CC from 1899 (or maybe not).  But 9 holes was what the day allowed and I was able to play with Travis again with his new clubs for his UT graduation.

Jimmy Clay.  The site of my first round of 79 back in 1982.  As you can see, I still am looking for those sub 80 rounds.  I didn't remember the course as well as I thought, but I did enjoy it a lot.  Some holes was been slightly changed over the years due to flood erosion.  Played with my good friend Clint again after the UT graduation.  A good day and a round of 89.


BONUS:

13.  Watters Creek, Plano, TX.  9 holes with my old friend Jeff on the short course 9 holer.  Par 30.  Playing with old clubs, Jeff playing left handed, just kicking around.  A super fun time.  And I beat Jeff (never easy).  It helped that he was playing left when he is normally right handed :)

the Zombies of Winnesheik County

While driving through Northeastern Iowa this summer, I stopped at a convenience store in Ossian.  The town was very quaint with American Flags flying, but at 4:30 pm on a Wednesday was rather quiet.

I walked into the store as an older man was walking out.  There was only 1 car there, a nice Cadillac Escalade, which I assumed was his.  Didn't get a chance to talk.

I and the clerk were were the only ones in there.  We talked for a quick bit.  He was a young white man with a red shirt.

Just then a black man came in.  He had parked his big 18 wheeler out front.  He was asking for directions to a place even the clerk didn't know.  As an outsider in the town, I was already kind of lost.  I wondered why a truck would be driving these tiny back roads of Highway 52.

At that point, a middle aged man in overalls came in.  The truck driver asked him if he knew the place to go.  The middle aged man as he talked, was missing a front tooth and had a strong Upper Midwest/Canada accent.  I thought it unusual that no one knew where the truck driver was trying to go.

As I was walking out, I noticed the license plates showing Winnesheik County, Iowa.  I asked it that was where we were.  He said yes and that he was from Allamakkee County, which is notable for its Effigy burial Mounds of Native American Culture.

Just then a man and woman drove up in a mint condition 80s Mustang.  A young boy got out, they exchanged pleasantries, and the boy left with his presumptive father, back to Allamakkee County.  Obviously this was a convenient drop off spot.

These were the only people I interacted with in Northeastern Iowa that day.

When I returned my friend Paul who had lived in Iowa before said "There are more Zombies per capita in Winnesheik County in the entire USA"

Could I have encountered a few Zombies that afternoon?

The Mondays Off

Funny how you remember the days off better than the days of work.  Looking back this year (in reverse order) I did take today off - Tuesday December 27 - to go hunting at the El Cibolo Ranch.  Very enjoyable and a super nice day.  No deer on the ground but I am planning to return.

Earlier this year, I also went hunting on Presidents Day -a Monday in February.  Another blue sky day.

And I did play golf in Laredo on Monday Columbus Day in October.   Again a perfect day.  Amazing how Mondays off are so good compared to Mondays otherwise.  Of course Monday December 26 was a nice day off as well.

Monday in January I went to Chichen Itza in the Central Yucatan Mexico.  Had I done that on the weekend or during the summer... how crowded and hot it would have been.  But Monday in January was very mild and unhurried.

Monday November 14 was a sick day.  While I was not well that day, it was an important day for healing.

Monday in August I travelled to Madison WI and had dinner that night with Sarah.

Monday in May I played golf with Clint after Sarah's graduation that weekend.  Then I drove to Brenham TX and visited my family friends the Hart Family.  Very enjoyable.  I did get to walk around the town square during the afternoon - very uncrowded.

So I've made the most of Monday this year.  And Monday Jan 2 is coming up!

Looking back over 2016

With only 13 days to go this year, I guess its not too early to go back over the year.  Since I didn't do a Christmas family letter this year, you lucky blog readers get a special extra.  Thanks for being here.

Family wise, it was a year of transition.  Sarah graduated from UT Austin in May and so a lot of things revolved around that and her move to Madison WI.  In January and then June when she had vacation time, we went on 2 family vacations, first to Cancun Mexico and then to Fort Lauderdale, FL.

We had a lot of family come to Austin for the graduation as well and we had a nice celebratory lunch with Travis's family and friends.

I made sure that I didn't have to be involved in any moving to Madison, but I did go visit twice, in August for a week and then October for a weekend.

Susan continues to work hard and getting away is sometimes the only way around work.  Just the two of us, we went to Beaver Creek, CO, to South Padre Island in the summer weekends, and then to Las Vegas to see George Strait (her favorite).

Work for me continues to be of interest, and I'm getting better at it.  As a result I want to be more selective with new cases in 2017.  Larger, more complex matters are what I want to work on.  Smaller fish can go elsewhere.

A highlight was resolving a large Chapter 11 bankruptcy creditor case out of Plano TX  involving multiple liens claims and adversary proceedings in Pleasanton, Cotulla, Big Spring and Midland.

Also a large mediation involved a circumstance I had never experienced.  A case that had a mediation agreement that was not followed.

And preparing for a contested arbitration case that is set for hearing in January had been a lot of work and preparation.  No one but me in the office understands how to prepare a case for a trial.  Like I said I've been at this for 24 years and am getting better at it.  But it is still hard.

I took action to achieve progress toward my goal of visiting all 50 states.  New states I went to this year are:  Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota.

I also took action to play my 12 new golf courses.  That will be the subject of another post.   Good experiences in Austin, Laredo TX and Rochester MN

And 3 signficant actions happened:

My book Hideaway was published by me to good reviews.  "Kindle It!"

My movie Transient played in Los Angeles, New York and McAllen.  As executive producer, I was able to speak on stage after the McAllen premiere.

I have a professional golfer as a client and he has status on the Champions Tour PGA starting May 18, 2017.   We are working on getting sponsor exemptions for 2017, hopefully in Madison WI in June.

* Merry Christmas!

Never too early?

I'm starting on some New Year 2017 resolutions now - why wait?  I'll beat the rush and have a 30+ day head start.

I'm looking to get back into running - have been on hiatus for a long time (too long?).  So signing up for the 2/19/2017 Austin Half Marathon is a good idea.   Mr. John was pretty excited to hear about that one.  Baby I'm Back!  Anybody get the 70s sitcom reference?

I went to Lector training at church today and they fooled me - it was Lector AND Lay Eucharistic Minister training.   So now I am trained.  I'll give it a shot...

I'm planning to join the crowd for handgun shooting on Tuesday - hope they'll have me.   Never easy to break into a new group but it should be something to try out one night a week.

More to come..

Car Under Repair

In for repairs from a rear end collision is my 2011 BMW 535i.  I had told a friend that the repairs were being done by Keith.  I told her that if you had a $200,000 car, he would be the one to do the repair.  That went over her head, but when I was talking to Keith, he pointed out a $180K car, a $150K car, an $80K car and so on.  "Occasionally we work on a boring car, like a BMW" he said.

Now then, I said, this 2011 model is the F10 body style of the 5 series, the first in the 2011-2016 run of that body style.  The new body style, called G30 is out now for 2017.

The 2011 model came in 5 configurations.  I would say the 535i with the 3.0 liter Inline 6 cylinder, twin turbo, giving 300 hp. is the most desirable overall.  It has plenty of power, 0-60 mph in 5.7 seconds, top speed of 140 mph/240 Km/pm.  And 30-31 mpg on the Highway

The 528i has a 2.0 liter twin turbo engine.   Better gas mileage but less power.

The 535i X Drive is all wheel driver, better for cold  and snowy climates (which we don't have)

The larger engines are somewhat of overkill/upsell for those wanting more:  550i with a 4.4 L V-8 engine and the M5, with a V10 engine, 500 hp.

This 535i comes in a very desirable color combo, Black exterior and Cinnamon Dakota Leather interior ( a $1400 option)

The 2011 models didn't come standard equipped with Navigation, heated seats or satellite radio.  Three less things to break.  I like to think it is hot rodded in that respect to lessen the weight.

Very sophisticated crash system with multiple airbags.  It even has a rear crash sensor which activated the headrests forward to reduce whiplash.  I can attest that it worked great.  So did the brakes which I had to put to the test.  It stopped on a dime.

80s concerts

I recently saw Rush-Time Stand Still about the fandom of the Canadian trio. There were many fans who had seen many live shows. But I seemed to either have slept through those opportunities - or maybe I just didn't choose to spend the money. Of course, concerts were not as big of a business back in the 80s.

Here's the major concerts I did see in the 80s:

Van Halen - Austin - 1981 - my first time. Like many first times, it wasn't that great. David Lee Roth was so drunk...he forgot the words to "Running with the Devil"

The Police - Austin - 1983 - The Fixx opened. Outdoors at the Meadows. Synchronicity Tour. Who knew it would be the last for many years.

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - 1984 - Austin. Great show. Southern Accents tour.

Dire Straits - Madrid, Spain, 1985 - right before they blew it up with Money for Nothing.  That time it was me who was so drunk.  Not the best way to enjoy a concert. I was truly on the front row - the show was outdoor and I was right up front.

 Madonna - RFK Stadium 1987 - Level 42 opened. Washington DC - an early stadium show. Who knew she would still be filling stadiums in 2016?  I had two women with me for that show - now that IS the best way to enjoy the show.

In college in Lexington VA in the 80s, we had a lot of music booked into our little town for entertainment.  So I went to nearly all of those shows:

General Public
REM
The Romantics
The Temptations
The Spinners
George Throughgood and the Destroyers
Violet Femmes
Otis Day and the Knights
The Time

I even say the Red Hot Chili Peppers at the college pub.  Can't remember much more specific than that.

I was not that much into Country music then, but I did see a memorable performance by George Strait in 1989 in the rodeo arena in Kingsville, Texas.  Doesn't get much more Texas than that.