Golf.

Golf has always been my dad's thing. For as long as I can remember he's played it, watched it, read about it, spent time and money on it. Growing up I knew all about life with golf in the background, if I called his office during the day and he wasn't in, I knew he was at the golf course and it would be pointless to try his cell. I knew the sounds of a tournament from television, the silence behind the announcer's voice (as oppose to other sports where there is always, always noise) and silence up until the ball went in the hole, then the smattering of applause. My mom was always mad because he would leave his golf clubs in the trunk, taking up too much space. But I never really considered taking an actual interest in the sport. Like I said, it was my dad and his friend's thing. Besides, the aesthetic of the game always seemed like something that would go against my soul. Golf seemed deliberate, thoughtful, meticulous... I am none of these things. I never thought of golf as boring, I never really thought anything of it. It was just a sport that flew under my radar. If six months ago you told me that now I would be obsessed with the game I wouldn't have believed you. So how did I get here?

About a year ago I was looking for a job. I'd just quit my high stress job and moved home from the city broken spirited. I was looking for something that would be easy and fun, where I could walk away from work and leave my stress at the door. I started working at a little cafe in town owned by Jessica. Jessica is going to be a recurring character here, so I'll explain her. First of all, she is beautiful. I say this first because it's what you notice right off the bat, she literally looks like Barbie. But after you get to know her you forget that she is intimidatingly blond, thin and tan because she has the most awesome personality. She is a mom, wife, life-liver and business owner, I believe in that order, and we became fast friends. Last August she invited me to come with her to Vegas in October for a golf tournament. Her cousin lived in Vegas and we would stay with her, so all I would need to purchase was my plane ticket. I'd never been to Vegas and I tend to be down for anything, so I said yes. It was only a few weeks before we left I found out it was a Justin Timberlake celebrity tournament! I figured I'd go for sure on the first day, stalk JT a bit (I love him. Love him love him love him), check out the other celebs and maybe go back to the regular tournament a few of the days.

Well, Vegas hooked me. It was the Justin Timberlake Shriner's Hospital for Children Open and at some point that weekend I got a crush on golf. I knew nothing about the game, nothing. I recognized a few names, I grasped the basic concept, but when Luke Wilson asked me if I thought a hole was a Par 3 or 4 I smiled and said "oh 4 for sure" without having a clue what I was saying, which I'm pretty sure he was well aware of. We made some friends with a couple golfers on the first day, and when I called my dad to tell him I'd met This Golfer or That Golfer he knew all about them. "Oh sure, he won the blah blah blah in 1998 and his blah blah blah", etc. I'm a pretty fast learner and by the end of the weekend I could make heads and tails of the game. At one point Jessica asked me where a ball had gone, and I shocked us both by (accurately) replying "it rolled off the back of the green." My first tournament and first time in Vegas was a whirlwind, we didn't sleep or eat enough, we drank too much, we spent days walking around in the sun and nights dancing. And in this public forum, my lips are sealed. After all, say it with me, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. And this blog is about the golf.

The whole tournament experience is a topic unto itself, to be delved into later. That weekend though, I was hooked. In between the friends we made, the closeness to nature, Ryan Moore's headband and being a part of the collective gasp and polite applause, I became a fan. It's only intensified sense then. PGATour.com is visited daily, I've started stealing my Dad's golf magazines and Jessica and I went to another tournament, the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic in January, where I would say my little crush on golf turned into a flow blown love affair. I can't get enough of it and I can't stop talking about it, which is why I'm starting this blog. I've found myself starting sentences with "I know you don't care about this but I'm going to tell you anyway" and then rambling on about who scored what, how much of a kick I get out of Charlie Hoffman, whatever. I'm a compulsive journal keeper anyway, and I want to chronicle my foray into trying to actually play this game. I honestly don't know if I'm mentally up to the challenge. We shall see.

Meeting Luke Wilson at the Shriner's in October. I had a broken hand from an ATV accident a few weeks before and this picture is right after he signed my cast.

Coming Up: The Tournament Experience From a Girl's Perspective, My Favorite Golfers, Hitting Balls for the First Time, and My Thoughts on the Season Thus Far.