The Masters is Here, What a Great Time of Year!

this years masters will probably be one of the most watched golf tournaments in the last several years. the golf channel and cbs are relishing in the fact that tiger woods will again be the favorite and that it will be his first major since one of the most exciting us opens ever. last weeks dramatic win at the arnold palmer invitational at bay hill has upped the anticipation even more (as if it needed it) leading into the week before the masters. the dream matchup for the networks will be a sunday finish between phil and tiger. phil is coming off of a win of his own at doral in the world golf championship. phil looks to be hitting the ball better and tiger is just about warmed up. the question is whether or not one of these dark horse young men will steal the spotlight and clinch a win underneath these two golf giants. names that come to mind are camilo villegas, nick watney, shaun o'hair, jeff ogilve, and padraig harrington to name a few. after all, padraig has one the last two majors he has played in not to mention that he is coming off of winning pga player of the year honors. however, he has had a lackluster start to '09. lots of exciting golf coming up for golf fans. i'll be watching.

Lucky Penny, Lucky Day

well, the day finally came. i had come close several times and even hold out from the fairway for a few 2's but had never made the coveted "hole in one" until friday. the day started off good. though we had had a lot of rain the night before, it was still suspect whether or not the conditions would be good enough to play. andrew and i got up early to pick my dad up at the kia place to have his car worked on. we then proceeded to ward's (andrew's restaurant of choice) to have a breakfast meal payed for by dad. when we got through, i happened to see a penny, lincoln side up, in the parking lot. i occasionally will pick up a penny for good luck though i have never been one to be guilty of superstition. we got in our vehicle and headed to andrew's school and dropped him off and then left for the golf course. we considered the wet conditions, but other than being wet it was a beautiful day. we played the first couple of holes and then were joined by one of dad's neighbor's.....ron panda. ron joined play on hole 3 and then we approached what is now my favorite hole. shadow ridge #4 par 3. my yardage device pinseeker measured the pin at 147. there was no wind and i knew i could hit my 9 iron off the tee about 150 yds. off the ground its usually a solid 145. i hit the tee shot and knew it was pretty good but i didn't know if it was far enough. the pin was tucked front left. i played a little right to left draw and it bounced a couple of times finally biting until it rolled and disappeared. what a lucky shot! my first hole in one came off of a great shot witnessed by scooter day and ron panda. i had always hoped that if i made one that my dad would be there. who knew that penny would pay off?

Andrew's Blurb of the Day

i just got a tetanus shot at the doctor. andrew was with me and exclaimed, "If he's getting a shot then I want a sucker."

Notre 'Bama

there is a little uproar going on regarding the the may 17 commencement speech by the president at notre dame. the catholic university has

received criticism for having the president of the united states come and give this speech due to the fact that there are fundamental differences in philosophy when it comes to abortion and stem cell research. basically, these nay sayers believe that our president is disqualified to speak at a university. though i differ with the presidents philosophy, i believe that these for instances are what continue to polarize our nation. it was probably poor judgement on behalf of the leadership at notre dame, but i highly doubt he will be giving a speech on pro-choice stances or the benefits of stem cell research. everyone is probably wondering why we christians don't get on board and pounce on notre dame for this. i don't think he is going to spew his liberalism all over the place. he will probably give a very motivating speech on achievement and success that will motivate these graduates to accomplish their goals. after all, he knows a little bit about that subject doesn't he?

It's OK to Play

i read an interesting article this morning in USA today about the importance of "playing" during these difficult, economic times. http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2009-03-23-play-stress_N.htm its interesting to me, and confirmation, that a lot of depression creeps up on people when they do not have an "out" from their everyday way of life. now don't get me wrong, but some people are wired in such a way that they do not need extracurricular activities outside their job and family. one reason this is the case, i believe, is that they get their fulfillment from those things. they love their job and they look forward to being with their family. in a perfect world this would be the case. however, how many people get little to no satisfaction from their job? their job is exactly what it is....a job. it's also sad to say that there are a lot of people who dread going home every day. though it is certainly a shame, it still is a reality. people don't get along with their spouses and their children drive them up the wall.
so....with all that being said, i think that for some people, play time is important. it relieves the stress from their lives and takes them away from reality for just a moment. possibly the very moment that relieves hypertension, depression, and the every day stress that life has to offer. even though this might be of a more adult piece of conversation, the report (article) also says that sex (more importantly romance) can be a refuge to help couples combat stress and depression. it goes on to say that couples are essentially freeing themselves and relaxing when they allow for sexual intimacy in their lives.
nevertheless, i hope that we never get caught up in the every day stress of life to the point that it takes us away from the playful things that get our endorphins going. most of us still forget that Jesus said, "i have come to give you life, and give to you more abundantly." that essentially means life to the fullest. i hope to not be one dimensional in my life. i believe that god has given us these good pleasures for a reason and that they are meant to be rehabilitating if you will. they are definitely not meant to take the place of god and what he himself has to offer. he is the one that gives the abundant life. however, i do believe that the wonderful things of life are a bi product of his grace and love for us to enjoy. not to take the place of, but to remind us of the generosity that he gives to each of us.

By The Skin of My Teeth

the match play tournament began this past weekend at shadow ridge. this event kind of sets up like an ncaa tournament bracket. the people with the lower handicaps are the lower seeds and the ones with the higher handicaps are the higher. the great equalizer (if you want to call it that) is that the lower handicap golfers have to give the higher ones strokes on the hardest holes. the formula for figuring out how many is you take the higher handicap and subtract it from the lower handicap and there is your number. for example, i had to play bill ivey who is a 16 handicap. i am currently an 8. if you subtract 8 from 16 then you have the number of strokes on the hardest holes that i would have to give him (8). there is only one amendment to that formula. if one opponent plays another opponent from a more difficult tee location, then he can subtract 3 strokes from the higher handicap. the higher handicap golfers play from the shorter tee location (whites). the lower handicap golfer have an option to play from the longer tee location (blues) and subtract 3 strokes from the higher handicap. now that we are all straight, i chose to play from the blues which made the final stroke total a 5 stroke advantage for mr. ivey on the 5 hardest holes.

so here is how it went. i had to give him stroke on holes 5, 7, 9, 10, & 15. by the time we got to hole 5 we were even. i won hole 1, tied holes 2 & 3, and lost 4 on a 4 ft putt (makes me mad). i lost holes 5, 6, 7 (seven he had a stroke) which put me 3 down. i proceeded to win hole 8 but gave it back by losing 9 which was a stroke hole. i am down 3 at the turn. i then lost 10, giving up a stroke, and when into hole 11 down 4. if you are not familiar with golf, being 4 down is horrible. but, going into 11 i turned it around. i won 11, 12, 13 (he double hit which is a 2 stroke penalty on that hole) 14 and went into 15 with it back at all square (which means we are even or tied). 15 was his last stroke hole. he bogeyed leaving me with a 10 footer for par to tie since he had a stroke. i drained in which kept it at all square going into 16. i birdied 16 to go 1 up and we tied 17 with pars. the match was dorme for me (which means that i am 1 up with 1 hole to play). if we tie i win, if he wins we go to extra holes. to make a long story longer (just kidding.....not really) i birdied 18 to win the match 2 up. a miraculous turn around that almost got the best of me. if i play like i did this past saturday against anyone else, i will definitely lose. i just got the late breaks and he got the early ones. well, better late than never.

To Be, or Not to Be

rick reilly, of espn, just posted an article questioning whether tiger woods would really go down as the best golfer of all time. an early entrance at the accenture match play and a lackluster performance at doral seems to have got people stirred up about whether tiger has it any more. are you kidding? after two performances with a long lay-off and surgery and these things already come to mind? can't we at least wait till the majors to assess things like this. tiger doesn't even warm up till the majors get here. besides, the one thing that he didn't do last week is putt. that'll come back easy.

reilly seemed to elude to the fact that jack was sitting a little more easy about his place in history and that his major record might still be intact. upon asked whether the nicklaus speed bump is growing, nicklaus replied, "i really don't know." "tiger's got an unbelievable work ethic, and he's so fit. but that knee makes it a little less certain." we all know that jack doesn't want his records broken. he even willingly admits it. he has stated that he wants tiger to be healthy so the injury will not be an issue of whether or not he can achieve "major" greatness. what jack is saying is after all this is said and done, i want to come out ahead of a healthy tiger so the discussion will be over. jack even went on to say that he had a lot more competition than tiger does. arnold, gary player, trevino, watson (all who have 6 or more majors each) provided jack with a lot of competition. today's contenders (phil, vijay, ernie) have 3 majors each. jack eludes to the fact that tigers contenders didn't have what his contenders did back in the day. however, i believe that if you are good enough then you force people out of contention. how many times would these guys had won if tiger hadn't been out there. so it's a matter of perspective. jack was nervous when the tiger of 2000 was coming along. the 2009 tiger is giving him some hope. what's ridiculous is that tiger hasn't played in a major since the last one he played in. by the way, he won it with a broke leg JACK!

Sad Day, Good Memory

it saddens me upon hearing the news that crystal pace passed away yesterday after sustaining injuries from a hit and run accident in collins. crystal was the mother of a 5, 3, and 1 yr old. i heard through an email that her husband is david mcclland and that her family lived on the coast and lost everything in katrina. they had since put their lives back together and were living in the collins area. the email also said that they had been involved in church and that people had wrapped their arms around them after the hurricane. this person even mentioned that crystal stated at a christmas party last year that it was evidenced in the people at church that people really do care exist. please pray for her husband david and the children.
the good memory is that crystal was one of my students at improve when i was youth minsiter there '98-'01. i had the great honor of leading crystal to christ. though this is a comfort, i find my heart still heavy as i type this message. she was one of the nicest kids i had ever come across and i find it easy to believe that she was a great wife and a loving mother. god be with this family.

What a Big Tatoo!

good grief is all i can say! megan corkrey (though quirky) is one of my favorites. even with the huge tatoo, single mom, and quirky as can be, this beautiful girl lights it up every time she gets on stage. does she have the best voice? no. the most awesome stage presence? definitely not. she' s just got it. what's it? not really sure. however, she resonates with people. she has this ridiculous dance that she does standing in place that almost seems a little awkward, but i keep thinking, "that's pretty cool." it's become her little trademark. what's also sweet is that she has this natasha bettingfield kind of sound. i don't think that she has natasha's outstanding pipes but its the definitely the same kind of timbre (musical sound, tone, etc.) if this girl is managed right with the right song, she will do things past idol. more than likely, because she's not a pure singer, she won't last more than a few rounds.

Spring Break Worship

the sunday worship of spring break is always interesting. though we had a decent turnout, i do believe it might be one of the least attended services of the year. there could be several reasons for this, however i believe that no matter what the economic situation may be that people will still do what they want to do. i'm all for it if that's the week people want to get out of dodge. it's just amazing how it seems to be a general consensus "get out of town week" for mostly everyone. i've never viewed that week as such, however my mentality might change when andrew gets older. several of our staff were out of town (pastor, edu. min, music associate, college min). it was still a great sunday even though sunday night was low, low. it was really great to have hope drummond (former music associate) filling in for pamela. it had been a long time since she had been back. next week should be back to normal. is normal good?

Andrew's Blurb of the Day

i asked andrew if he wanted to work one day. he said he already works. i said, "Really?" "What is it that you do?" He said, "I work on cleaning my toys to play with."

Manny Paquio vs. Ricky Hatton

manny paquio and ricky hatton will be fighting in may. this is definitely a fight that i will NOT be buying. manny is coming off of an easy win against washed up media darling oscar de lahoya. ricky has had some great fights, but got knocked out by boxings former pound for pound best floyd mayweather jr. (the only reason he is former is because he is currently retired). the next fight i will buy that manny paquio fights is when floyd comes out of retirement. it is reported that he is training right now. manny will knock out ricky hatton and the only reason that ricky has the privilege of fighting boxing's current pound for pound best is because london's own (hatton) will bring in a lot of money. the results of this fight will be no different from when he fought the last pound for pound great.

American Idol Wild Card Show

i am one of the few people who watch idol who hasn't watched the wild card show yet. i have it dvr'd and so i will probably watch it today. one of the best contestants so far that i have enjoyed hearing is ricky braddy. america did not vote him into the top nine but i am hoping they vote him in after the wild card showing. (by the way, its already happened so don't tell me anything)

the girl from starkville didn't impress me much, however the judges liked her marketability. all that means is that she is pretty and can relate to young people. i also liked the girl with the tatoo that looks like jamie from "charles in charge" but i think that she is probably one dimensional. (however, i loved jamie from "charles in charge"!) it should be a good season and i am looking forward to watching this particular show.

Time to BLOG Again! Spring is Here and So Is Tour Golf!

The new tour year was brought in successfully at Bay Pointe Golf Club in Brandon, MS. The Amateur Golf Tour had it's largest turnout ever which leads me to believe that it will be a very successful season. I made my debut in A Flight after clinching a season win in B Flight last year. I had my work cut out for me with some great players in the field this past Saturday. Let me offer the disclaimer that this course was playing the most difficult of all courses for this time of year. Bay Pointe is only 6,000 yards, however it is a shot makers course in which you can't over power. You have to manage your game to the tee (no pun intended). With that being said, I was very fortunate to win my debut in the A Flight with a score of 83. You can find all the score totals here in order to get a picture of how difficult the course played in a great field of golfers http://www.amateurgolftour.net/mississippi_tour_pages/results.asp My good friends Troy Norton and Randy Bradford (seen in this pic) both shot 87 respectively finishing 2nd and 3rd in B flight on a scorecard playoff. It was a great time and I will probably be limiting my play to one tournament a month this year. Next up......Wolf Hollow!