FORE!

It's March 1st and I have officially had enough of winter at this point. I recently tried to embrace winter, went skiing and actually enjoyed my time on the hill even if I was a bit rusty after a 25 year hiatus. Still, with February behind me and Daylight Savings Time on my doorstep next weekend it is only natural that my attention has fully shifted to my golf game.

More than any other year I am eager to get out on a course (any course) and hit the little white ball around. I played more golf last year than I ever have before and was able to lower my handicap to 16, which is just a bit higher than my goal was. I played on more courses in Atlantic Canada than I have, some for the first time.

2014 will be my best year ever on the golf course, in fact it will be a great year all round for golf in Atlantic Canada. While my personal goal is to shave at least 5 strokes off my handicap, I also want to experience a few more courses this year.

Northumberland Links in Pugwash NS is truly a gem and it has been a few years since I have experienced the fast greens there, I highly recommend this public course to all golfers as it is one of my favourites. I'd also like to play the friendly course at the Truro Golf Club in 2014, the changes there over the past few years have made the course even more friendly.

No doubt I will play my share of rounds in my home province of New Brunswick. With my membership at Lakeside Golf Club I will see the lions share of my rounds there, but also at Fox Creek in Dieppe and Royal Oaks in Moncton. Consistent play with scores in the 80's will be my goal.

In early July the new course at Ashburn Golf Club in Halifax Nova Scotia will be hosting the first ever Canada Cup and the Nova Scotia Open, a Web.com Tour event. I am already making my plans to be there. Not as a player mind you, as a spectator only.

Yes, Spring is still three weeks away and there is way too much snow on the fairways here in Moncton to actually play the game, but I can see the warmer weather coming. I bet I will even be able to get a cold weather round in this month at a course in Nova Scotia... Stay tuned for updates to the best year for golf in Atlantic Canada, and the year I play the best golf of my life!

A Different Year Means A Different City…

I don’t mean to alarm anyone with the title of this post, it is all about the past and has very little to do with the future. Not that I need to have a safe harbor statement here however for any of you reading this be assured that the following is in no way indicative of future events and any decisions you make should not be made on the basis of any forward looking statements…

Previous posts of mine have alluded to the fact that I have lived in a few different cities over the past few years and that my mobility is a facet of my life that I consider a bit unique. Couple this with the fact that yet another year is winding down to a close it has started me thinking about what 2012 will bring and reflecting on what 2011 has meant to me.

When I looked back at 2011 it was clear that it was not only interesting but was also a year of much learning and growth. With this gratitude I thought about years further back and a pattern started to emerge, I have been in a different city for New Years each of the past four years. Not just “in” different cities but actually “living in” different cities!

In 2008 I was living in Lower Onslow Nova Scotia, which is where I had called home for the previous 11 years. It might not be a good idea to look it up on a map since it is a small community located less than 10km outside of Truro (which can be found on most maps).

The following year saw me ring in the New Year in our nation’s capital, Ottawa Ontario. My journey to Ottawa happened with a promotion in the summer prior and I really thought I was going to be there for the long haul. Given the title of this post provides a hint that this was not to be, as 2009 was the only New Year that I rang in there.

Late 2009 was when I took a huge leap of faith and relocated to Halifax Nova Scotia. I changed jobs, companies, industries and cities just in time to celebrate the new year at the Grand Parade in Halifax. It was definitely a bit of a homecoming, my alma mater (Dalhousie University) is in Halifax and I still had many friends there. Once again I believed I was going to be there for a while, I had a great apartment in the heart of downtown. I lived there for only 5 months.

As this year ends and the next year begins I will be in Saint John New Brunswick. It is my fourth city in four years. My intention is the same as in the past three years so I will be here again next year at this time. Saint John is a port city and has very a busy harbor, I haven’t heard of any issues so I assume it is also a safe harbor :)