Summer is officially here and I haven’t played golf once <sigh>. It’s sad, but true. What happened? Not so long ago, I would have played at least six or eight times by this time of year alone.

For all of you parents out there, you might understand my plight. I have two young kids (ages 5 and 3) and this spring we added a puppy to the mix. Ah puppies – you can’t help but to love them, but boy are they a handful (especially if you’re already chasing around a couple of pint-sized humans).

And after a decade of doing the same job, I started in a new position, in a new division at my company. It’s been an adjustment to say the least. The learning curve is steep and my days (for the first time in years) are long again.

And then there’s my golf buddy situation. Stinky Golfer Tom hurt his back in a car accident. He’s been at the chiropractor 3 days a week and his clubs might be dormant till 2017. Stinky Golfer Pete is working on the weekends again, so our schedules just don’t align. Stinky Golfer Chris is also dealing with a new job – a management position that has him working some pretty crazy hours. Coordinating a tee-time with him has been impossible to say the least. He says it should calm down in the summertime…so I’ve got that going for me.

Meanwhile, the kids have baseball most Saturday mornings and a few Sunday’s too. Weekend afternoons are spent either shopping, doing yard work or going to cookouts and needless to say, that leaves very little time for golf.

Not only am I itching to get out on the course because I miss the game, but I’ve also got GolfStinks work to do too! I’m really looking forward to heading out to this new par 3 course near me (and if you’ve read this post, you’ll know I don’t typically play par 3 courses). But I’m looking forward to it for a couple reasons: First, the course is among the top ranked par 3 and executive courses in the state. And second, I’m chomping at the bit to testing out these limited distance balls sent to me by Point Five Golf. I can’t wait to take out my driver on a 190-yard hole!

Sometimes I wonder if I’m just waiting for golf to begin again. I’m biding my time for that point in my life where carving out time for golf is no longer a hard thing to do. Maybe it’s when the kids get older or the job settles down. Or maybe, like so many golfers out there, the time to play comes when I retire. But I’m in my early 40’s – retirement is pretty far off. The thought of sitting around for a quarter century before I can play golf with any type of frequency leaves me with a giant pit in my stomach.

Of course the reality is this is all just a bunch of excuses. The bottom line is I simply haven’t gotten my ass out on the course…period. I could play 9-holes (or even 12 holes). I could head out as a single; pair-up with another single or latch-on with a twosome or threesome. Folks do it all the time and it’s a great way to meet new people. I could even ditch work for the day to play golf. But I haven’t. I’ve gone from weekend hack to a full-fledged member of the Tennis Shoe Crowd. It’s terrible.

So terrible in fact, that I’ve decided right here and now to play some golf over the next month or so. Now I’m not setting the bar too high – one 9-hole round will suffice. But it’s time to get out on that course and flub some shots; miss some putts and shank some drives. Because before I know it, the season will be over and I’ll have squandered an opportunity to do something I truly enjoy (no matter how much I stink at it). I owe it to myself. #operationstinkygolfergregplaysgolf