For some, the thought of spending hours every week trying to knock a little white ball into a not much larger hole from hundreds of yards away might appear a little silly. It may even seem downright mad to insist on going back day after day, chasing that nearly impossible dream of shooting a sub-par

While the above may be true, golf is also the ultimate individual game. The only person who affects the outcome of your round is the one swinging your clubs.

Having a good round of golf comes down to two things: technique and concentration. And sometimes luck.

A person will spend years practicing and honing their swing, taking lessons, getting pointers from others, even working on their stance without a club in hand. The pursuit of perfection (or even par) can become a life-long obsession. As frustrating as a shanked drive or missed tap-in can be, those moments only make that hole-in-one (I have two, by the way) or chip-in from the bunker that much sweeter.

Another beautiful thing about golf is it’s a perfect reason to get to hang out with your buddies for a few hours or even make new friends out on the course.

Golf can double as a business meeting, and for those of us lucky enough to have a significant other who enjoys the game, it also can serve as quality time spent with that special person in your life. Walking an entire 18 holes is more exercise than you might expect, and if you’re not in the market for some exercise, well, who doesn’t love to drive a golf cart?

And if you happen to get thirsty while you’re out there, you won’t be for long, because the drinks come to you!

Also, with the multitude of charity golf tournaments throughout the summer — there’s got to be at least one a week — you can also support your community while swinging the sticks.

So get out to your local driving range and go hit a bucket. You’ll thank me later.

http://www.winnipegsun.com/life/columnists/dave_wheeler/2010/07/01/14582591.html

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The women’s final against Manitoba went to two extra ends, with the 9th end being blanked, and Ontario winning 6-5  with a stolen single in the 1oth. The men’s championship game also went to an extra, where Ontario recorded a triple, for a 7-4 win.

The men’s team, skipped by Robert Stafford, are from the Chatham Granite club, while the women’s rink, with skip Kelly Cochrane, are from the High Park Curling Club, in Toronto.

In the final round robin draw on Saturday, PEI’s women’s team, from the Crapaud Community Curling Club, spoiled Newfoundland and Labrador’s chance to advance to a tiebreaker round, with the Newfoundland team  stealing a single in the eighth to force an extra end. With Newfoundland lying shot rock in the back four-foot with a guard at the top of the twelve, the ninth end came down to a final shot from PEI skip Vanessa Hamming. Her weight was dead-on s her rock came to a stop right on the button, winning the game for PEI, and eliminating the need for a tiebreaker.

The PEI women ended play with a 2-4 win-loss record, while the men’s team, skipped by Louis Walsh of the Silver Fox, were win less in six starts.

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Skipped by Mark Brice, the Ontario rink dropped its opener 8-4 to Dave Boehmer’s Manitoba squad Saturday and has since reeled off four straight wins.

They include a 7-5 win over Quebec’s Simon Hebert Sunday, a 10-4 victory over B. C.’s Jason Montgomery Sunday, an 8-6 win over Yukon/Northwest Territories Wade Scoffin yesterday as well as a 7-4 victory over P. E. I.’s Kyle Stevenson.

Ontario meets Jason Ackerman’s Saskatchewan rink at 9 a. m. and Matt Blandford’s Newfoundland/ Labrador squad at 1:30 p. m.

If no tiebreakers are needed, the semifinals go Friday and the final Saturday.

If there are tiebreakers, they’ll go Friday with the semis Saturday and the final Sunday.

The Ontario rink includes Leslie Bishop at vice, Courtney Davies at lead and Maus at second.

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Todd Fanning seems to be soaking up every minute of a return to the Canadian Amateur for the first time in 16 years.

The 40-year-old, who won the Manitoba Amateur in 1984, 1990 and 1991, turned pro in 1993 and slaved away on the Canadian Tour and, in his last year of 2002, the Nationwide Tour with little gain.

So he got a real job, national sales manager for the golf and turf division with National Leasing, and eventually applied for his amateur reinstatement.

“Three kids, not on the PGA Tour and a hell of a lot of travel,” smiled the member of Manitoba’s Willingdon Cup team and third-place finisher in the recent provincial championship. “To be honest, though, I didn’t see my game really improving the last two years out there so the timing was right.

“And I was 35 already.”

Fanning opened with a wind-blown round of 78 on Monday and fired back with a two-under 69 on Tuesday as he continues to shed considerable competitive rust.

“I’ve played one tournament in five years and that was the provincial championship,” he said of a tie for third at four-under. “So it’s great to be here . . . it’s a beautiful spot.”

Fanning is almost a fossil in this field of young guns and if he didn’t feel like one before, he does now.

“I was playing with a young guy from B.C. and when he told me he was from the Capilano club, I told him I played the World Amateur there in ’92,” said Fanning. “He turned to his dad and said, ‘that’s the year I was born!’

“But the caliber of play from the younger players, and when I say younger I mean the under 20s, is amazing. It’s great to see the young guys playing so well and what the RCGA is doing with its amateur programs.”

Fanning doesn’t know if he’ll be back for another Canadian Amateur or not. He says he’s not going to go at the game seriously.

“I’ll play the provincial amateur and if I make the team, I’ll play this one.”

http://communities.canada.com/calgaryherald/blogs/calgarygolf/archive/2008/08/12/fanning-a-fossil-at-40.aspx

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