In Bureau County, Illinois, it is not golfing weather. It is winter — it is cold, dark, sometimes icy and sometimes snowy. Yes, folks, I believe that winter is here. It’s not so much that the cold, darkness, ice and snow bother me, it is the mere fact that it is cold, dark, icy and snowy. I know, I know, a ridiculous statement, but it’s the way I feel. Not golfing weather. Golfing needs sunshine, warm temperatures and green grass.

I dream of warm weather; I yearn for warm sunshine; I think I can smell green grass. Yes, folks, I am a golfer. For some of you, that is enough to read of this column. I understand. We golfers can be a different breed.

Golfers are, many of them, obsessed with all parts of the game. Of course, as some of you have heard me say before, “far” is definitely the predominant of those obsessions. How far did my drive go; how far to the pin; how far ... We dream of hitting the ball far, and of course, close. For you non-golfers, the idea is to hit it far off the tee, far in the fairway and close to the pin. See, it is actually a simple game— hit it far and close, and put the ball in the little round hole in the ground by taking as few shots as possible.