About Me

Like you, I'm an avid golfer. I play about 80 - 100 rounds per year.

I live on Vancouver Island where courses stay open year round -- rare in Canada. But my season is mostly between March and mid-November.

I retired in 2008 from my job in Ottawa Ontario. Though born and raised on Vancouver Island, I moved to Ottawa in 1985 for my career and that is where I began golfing in 1997.

I started right away with formal lessons. Best move I ever made. I fell insanely passionate for the game immediately. Ottawa is great golf country. Lots of great public courses that are relatively inexpensive to play. There are lots of golfers and great facilities to both play and practice.

My first coach was (and still is) Jeff Buder. A former tour player, Jeff had a keen sense of the history of the game. He was great at sharing stories about golf's history, its traditions and, of course its techniques. Jeff ran a 3-day golf school at my favourite course in Ottawa. It still is what I'd consider my most intense golf experience. We went over every facet of the game. I had my swing video-analyzed for the first time - a shocking experience -- but a fantastic learning tool. By the time the course was over, Jeff had me so fired up I could hardly sleep. I became obsessed with improving.

My obsession continues. On retirement, I was reluctant to leave Ottawa, but a life force was driving me to return to my roots. I planned to travel west by car, hitting as many courses as I could along the way. I called it my Great Western Golf Tour. Starting in August, 2008 I intentionally left planning fairly casual. There was no rush -- I was retired after all -- and I figured maybe three weeks and about 15 courses and I would be done. Not quite. By the time I reached Toronto, I had played 7 courses already. I was loving my Tour! I met great people with suggestions to play, "you gotta play...." fantastic courses all along my route. Who was I to resist? So, my loose plan went up in smoke. My Tour took me 12,500 km and seven weeks. I played 31 courses (about 6 in every province) and I had a fantastic time.

I'm still talking about my Tour. You'll see some pictures and stories on this site. I took over 3,500 photos.

I also make golf clubs. I do custom fitting and video swing analysis as well. Ottawa is home to the Canadian head office of Golfworks Inc. a leading club component and design firm based in Newark, Ohio by Ralph Maltby. I attended their courses and was a frequent visitor to their offices and sales facility there. Though I specialize in clubs for Juniors and Women, I fit, assemble and repair clubs for all golfers.

I love to practice as much as I love to play. I've taken lots of lessons, tried lots of swing gizmos, teaching aids, learning methods, videos and books. I'm always looking for new ways to make practice more interesting or more effective. From 1997 my handicap has dropped to its current level of 9, but I was a 12 forever. In fact its only since retirement that I went from 12 to 9 -- you can see that my career seriously messed with my game. Retirement is the best thing that's happened to me and my passion for golf.

Now I can put golf into proper prospective. I look forward to sharing my passion, my knowledge and my ideas with you.

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