I awoke this morning ready to give thanks for a bunch of things. In fact, I’m declaring today – March 12 – to be Early Thanksgiving. Why?
Daylight Savings Time – one of the traditional harbingers of the beginning of the golf season – has already begun. There’s some debate about the potential energy savings touted by the backers of the Congressional bill that rolled DST forward, but I don’t care. It’s good for our business and it’s a much-needed psychological boost for those of us who still have dirty piles of snow at the end of the driveway.
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Speaking of which, the damned stuff is finally mostly melted. I grabbed a wedge the other day and headed out to the backyard which was actually more green than white for the first time in three months. Unfortunately, my joy at swinging a club for the first time since November was tempered by the fact that the snow I hated so much had been hiding three months worth of doggie doo. Ugh!
March Madness has begun. For a craven college basketball junkie like me, it’s as if “Free Crack” season has arrived. How bad is my addiction? I actually watched the Holy Cross—Bucknell game over the weekend. I have absolutely no connection to or interest in either school, but there was a round orange ball and tall people involved, so I didn’t care. And, for the record, go Jayhawks!
The Masters – the real beginning of golf season – is just weeks away. The dulcet tones of Jim Nance will soon be filling my ears with his adoration of Augusta National (okay, I could do without Jim Nance) and perfection will fill my TV screen. Some people rush out to buy plasma televisions for the Super Bowl. I’m budgeting to pick one up the first week of April just in time for the event unlike any other.
Conference season is pretty much over. For those of us who do a lot of speaking at industry events, the period between October and mid-March is known as “trade show hell” season. I counted and I’ve been in 28 different cities and 21 different hotels in 12 states and several countries in the past four months. Enough already.
St. Patrick’s Week is here! Notice I didn’t say “St. Patrick’s Day.” I live in Cleveland, which is home to more Irish than Ireland, so the party actually started last Saturday and will pretty much continue until Easter.
So, let’s raise a mug of green beer to Early Thanksgiving…and feel free to click over to the Golf Course Industry Message Board to let us know what you’re thankful for today. Cheers!
Pat Jones is president of Flagstick, LLC.