Happy Birthday: 90 holes at The Cradle!

I wore my birthday hat for 90 holes at The Cradle,
Pinehurst Country Club's short course

What started out as a different way to celebrate my 68th birthday (May 26) turned into a golf marathon, of sorts, and a fund-raiser for a very worthy cause.

The thought of playing 68 holes of golf this birthday was a re-creation of playing 58 holes on my birthday 10 years ago, but different. In 2010, it was a lark developed when I arrived at the recently opened Lonnie Poole Golf Course on the N.C. State University campus. The golf pro and the general manager gave me the okay so I grabbed a golf cart headed to the first tee and many hours later, playing by myself and with and through various others, completed the 58 holes, three 18 hole rounds plus four additional holes.

View of the Pinehurst Country Club
with the 2nd hole of The Cradle
in the foreground

Three weeks before this year's birthday, with the coronavirus firmly in my thoughts, the idea of playing 68 holes popped up. This time, after conversations with several golfing friends, I decided to play the Pinehurst Country Club's short course, The Cradle, a nine hole loop carved out of the first holes of Pinehurst's Nos. 3 and 5 courses which were used as the warm-up/practice range for three U.S. Open golf tournaments.

At the same time, while contemplating playing at The Cradle, a layout I had heard much about but had never played, I decided my effort would also be used as a fund-raiser for the Feed The Pack Food Pantry at N.C. State University, a cause to which a breakfast group of retired Methodist men has contributed about $400 over two years. With as few as three attendees and no more than a dozen every other week, we asked for $1.00 donations for the Food Pantry, small donations yielding big results.

Watching from The Cradle's 9th tee
as an 8-some putts out on the 9th hole.
It's all about having fun at The Cradle!

Combining the two ideas - golf and charity - I sent emails to friends and family to ask for donations based on playing 68 holes on May 26. The staff at Pinehurst gave me the go ahead. More than 30 responses and pledges followed with some making set contributions, others offering a dollar or two per hole played, and others a combination of both plus additional money for birdies made. One pledger challenged me to meet a total strokes goal and, if I did, he would double his pledge. Three of the pledgers offered to join me. Two did, one for all 68 holes and then some.

Knowing I was on a mission of sorts, Pinehurst allowed me to skirt the first starting time of the day, by a few minutes. I carried four wedges of different lofts (46, 50, 54 and 58) and my putter in my carry bag along with water bottles and snacks. The 9-hole course measures only 789 yards; no carts allowed, just walking with some interesting elevation changes.

John McCallie of Durham was with me on those 68 holes plus four more to complete the last 9-hole loop. My brother Brooks, who lives in nearby Aberdeen, made it for two and a half loops. What I thought would require golf all day didn't. The starter informed others playing The Cradle of my quest, suggesting they let me pass through. After 72 holes, I felt the urge to play more, so I played another 18 holes, completing 90 holes in about five and a half hours.

I could have played more. It was more fun than it was tiring, playing at a fast pace, hitting tee shots from artificial turf mats, meeting many of other friendly golfers along the way, all encouraging me to meet my goal and wishing me a happy birthday. (My hat gave me away!) I would do this again, for fun and for worthy causes.

As a golfer, I found playing The Cradle better practice for my short game than working out on the practice tee at my home course, Lonnie Poole. At The Cradle, there were up-hill blind shots and down-hill long shots. There were short pitch and roll plays that included hitting the right side of greens to get to the pin on the left side and hitting beyond the flag to use a backstop and allow the ball to flow back towards the hole. A few facts:

• Par for 9 holes is 27; for 90 holes (10 times around) is 270. I scored 276, six over par with nine birdies (holes 1, 2, 3 [twice], 4, 6, 7 [twice], and 9), 15 bogeys, and 66 pars.
• My nine hole scores were: 30, 25, 28, 29, 28, 26, 28, 26, 28, 28.
• I never used the 46 degree wedge and never chipped from off the greens, always putting, even with tall elevation changes.
• Longest hole at The Cradle: #4, 127 yards; shortest: #5, 56 yards.
• The greens are Champion Bermuda grass, easy to read but tough to roll with or against the grain.
• The Health app on my iPhone says I walked 20,476 steps (8.2 miles) and climbed 17 floors, elevation changes of 10' each.
• For more facts about and a look at the layout, go to The Cradle.

Best fact of all: More than $2,500 was raised for the Feed The Pack Food Pantry at N.C. State University. If you feel the urge to make a donation, here's the link: Donate. To keep up with donations, please enter my name in the honoree line. And thanks to all who contributed to the success of the day ... my 68th birthday!

To fix ECU athletics, just win at football

ECU's Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium always needs to be
at full capacity to balance the Pirate's athletics budget

The News & Observer columnist Luke DeCock’s analysis—Cutting tennis, swimming could cost East Carolina more money than it will save (N&O, May 21)—of East Carolina’s damned-if-you-do and damned-if-you-don’t dismissal of four intercollegiate teams—men’s and women’s swimming and tennis—as a start to bring its athletics budget into balance hit several nails on the head of what’s wrong with college athletics today. DeCock told us without really telling us.

On one hand, intercollegiate athletics everywhere are just too big, even at East Carolina and even at my alma mater, N.C. State University, where there are more than 30 deputy, senior associate, associate and assistant athletics directors to support 21 varsity sports teams. (I'm not playing favorites here.) There are too many sports teams, too many student-athletes, too many over-built monuments (playing facilities), too many inflated salaries of overpaid coaches, and too many athletics administrators with inflated salaries, to say the least. Those examples fit into one way of what’s wrong with intercollegiate athletics.

On the other hand, colleges and universities, for the most part, must have big-time intercollegiate athletics to help balance the overall institutional budget because athletics booster club donations pay the educational freight at full price. There are no price reductions for tuition and fees of athletes. It's not a case of robbing Peter to pay Paul. Paying athletics scholarships is an essential form of making up for university financial short-falls because of over-spending on the academic "side of the tracks." Nary a university can say it could do away with athletics and be okay with its entire budget. When the non-athletic aspect of a university depends on athletics to balance its budget, that’s another way of what’s wrong with intercollegiate athletics. It is the tail wagging the dog.

Specifically, at ECU, it’s doubtful swimming makes money, a positive revenue stream, as suggested by sports economist Andy Schwarz, in DeCock’s analysis. Take the overall expense of the men’s and women’s swimming teams, including salaries, operation of and upkeep of facilities, scholarship expenses et al and compare it against total ticket and television income for swimming (probably zero, if not close to zero) and you’ll find deficit spending at its best. Same is true for the two tennis programs at ECU. But this is not unique to ECU where football, when it's not bleeding dollars, pays the tab for all other sports.

At this very moment, it’s doubtful any of the athletics teams at East Carolina have a positive cash flow including football, the holy grail of Pirates sports, and baseball, probably the second most "profitable" sport there. That’s why there are athletics cost-cutting measures underway at ECU and at many other colleges and universities, including the Power 5 conference programs.

Over several years, there has been ample discussion of the Power 5 conferences—Atlantic Coast, Southeastern, Big Ten, Big 12 and Pac-12—along with Notre Dame breaking away from the NCAA because of finances and regulations. A limit of 12 competing sports (six men and six women) teams has been part of the talks, so the schools involved could sustain their athletics programs without infringing on university budgets. Imagine the sports cut out and, in many cases, returning 10 or 12 teams to the club level, away from the athletics department control and into the hands of the academics who will then have to decide on financial support, or not.

The coronavirus pandemic is causing financial problems on university campuses as a whole and specifically in their athletics departments. And, it's not going to get any easier any time soon, even after the miraculous solution of doing away with COVID-19. The example of East Carolina is front and center because ECU athletics just so happens to have a negative financial situation that’s been brewing for several years, mostly because of a down-trodden football program, a result of bad athletics management. The solution to ECU's problems is two-fold: academics and athletics.

East Carolina should have full academic enrollment and not rely on its intercollegiate athletics program to fill space in the classroom, thereby not relying on the Pirate Club to foot the education bill. For some reason, having full enrollment in Greenville has not been attainable. The UNC system Board of Governors and the ECU Board of Trustees need to figure out why. Maybe, just maybe, ECU is living beyond its means, offering more academic programs than it should just to make name for itself. That is probably true all across the UNC system.

The other solution for ECU's woes is simple but complex: just win more football games. In doing so, ticket sales will increase; donations to the Pirate Cub will rise to better levels. The Olympic sports such as swimming and tennis will get the financial support needed to operate at smaller deficits, and all will be good in Greenville. In reality, the fate of East Carolina athletics rests squarely with its football program. Just win, baby! But even that, without a major television package to drive the program, winning in football may not be enough for ECU.

Our new home addition: Schwinn 270

Schwinn 270 Recumbent Bicycle

We have a new addition at our home. It's a Schwinn 270 recumbent exercise bicycle. It consistently ranks at or near the top of recumbent exercise bikes for seniors. We bought ours at Dick's Sporting Goods. The Schwinn 270 was listed for $799 but reduced to $599 everywhere we checked. Using a coupon, we received an additional $20 off the price. So we are sure we bought a reliable piece of equipment at a fair price.

We need it. In a previous post, I discussed the amount of walking my wife and I have been doing since the coronavirus ran us away from our gym, 24/7 Workout Anytime Cary. We were regulars there, using the treadmills, the recumbent bicycles, the ellipticals, the free weights, the weight machines, and everything else offered.

As seniors, we took advantage of the Silver Sneakers program through our health insurance policies and paid nothing; not a joining fee, not monthly dues. 24/7 invoiced the health insurance companies once a month for the number of days we visited. My wife went more than I because I play golf two or three days a week and walk the golf course, about 8,000 yards at Lonnie Poole Golf Course on the N.C. State University campus. At 24/7, we were regulars.

Schwinn 270 Control Panel

Until COVID-19 hit and the gym closed. It's still closed as of this writing even though part of Phase 2 in North Carolina is underway. The biggest news from that is about restaurants re-opening at 50 percent capacity with adequate table spacing. Gyms remain closed, but I doubt we would return anytime soon. I can't imagine adequate spacing of the equipment and for adequate aisle space to move about. And then there's all that airborne sweat.

We had pretty much dedicated our exercise to walking about five miles a day, but then came temporary foot issues which made it harder to keep up the daily jaunt around the neighborhood. We started searching the internet for an alternative and focused on recumbent bicycles which led us to the Schwinn 270 with lots of bells and whistles. And, that led us to Dick's Sporting Goods and the Schwinn 270.

The Schwinn 270 is very quiet. It has a built-in fan, the ability to increase resistance, and several built in programs. I prefer to set it on the second level of resistance and pedal away. It also has a heart monitor. We set it up in our office/bonus room. I had to put it together but the directions were clear, and I accomplished it in about two hours without saying one bad word. It's in front of the television. Watching anything on TV helps pass the time which for me is about 55 minutes, about 12 miles on the Schwinn 270.

We might return to street walking one day. We enjoy being outside. Or we might just stick to the recumbent bike, especially in the colder months, but it'll be a long time before we return to 24/7 Workout Anytime Cary. We like the management, the equipment and the nearby location, but, besides it not being open right now, we're just not sure our comfort level will allow us back. Maybe one day...maybe.

Will Peter Hans be UNC's next President & Tim Moore be ECU's next Chancellor?

Peter Hans
Will he be the next UNC President?

It's no secret Peter Hans, currently the President of the North Carolina Community College system, would like to be President of the University of North Carolina system. His desire to be mentioned along with noted past presidents William Friday, C.D. Spangler, Jr., Erskine Bowles, and others goes back several former UNC Presidents ago.

It's no secret Tim Moore, the Kings Mountain Republican and lawyer who is currently the Speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives, wants to be the next chancellor at East Carolina University. His public campaign for that job has been short but his behind the scene effort has been long and intense. However, it is doubtful Moore is looking for a long-term stay in Greenville, but at least four years.

The searches for those two educational posts--UNC President and ECU Chancellor--have pretty much paralleled each other in time. And it's probable and possible that decisions on both are being held up purposely, waiting for the other to be completed. Reasoning for the delays is strictly the opposite of and for each other. Of course, search committees for both will deny one is lagging for the other, waiting for the other shoe to drop first.

Tim Moore
Will he be the next ECU Chancellor?

Moore is in an interesting position. He's basically a small-town lawyer with a good practice who is paid about $40,000 a year as Speaker and therefore has a small, state pension when he decides he's had enough of the General Assembly which could come sooner than later if the House flips from Republican to Democratic this year. Several years ago, Joe Hackney, who was Speaker when the House had a Democratic majority, retired because being in a Republican controlled legislative body "just wasn't fun anymore." 

Speaker Moore might feel the same way. His power in the NC House is his best asset, along with his calm demeanor, masking his demand for control. He is not really seeking to be mentioned with Leo Jenkins, Richard Eakin and Steve Ballard, three ECU Chancellors who served extended terms. And, he does not want to be "shown the door" as the ECU Board of Trustees did a year ago to Cecil Staton.  Part of Moore's power has been his influence appointing members of the ECU Board of Trustees, the UNC Board of Governors, and the NC Community College System. At East Carolina, Moore could get a starting salary of $450,000, which, after three or four years, equates to about $350,000 in annual retirement, far above what he would get as a retired legislator, though he could continue to practice law with either pension.

Getting the ECU job is no easy task for Moore, or is it? He must get approval from the the ECU BOT which is easier now than it was several months ago. That's when there was a change in two seats on the ECU BOT because of a circumstance so weird it has to be filed under "you can't make this stuff up." For more, read these two stories in The News & Observer: 

·         ECU trustees accused of offering money for student campaign to gain a voting ally, and 

·         ECU trustee resigns and suggests NC House Speaker Tim Moore wants ECU chancellor job. 

The replacements are likely to support Moore's candidacy for Chancellor.

The ECU BOT is supposed to send the names and resumes of two potential candidates to the President of the UNC System who then makes a selection and gets approval from the UNC Board of Governors. Bill Roper is the interim President of the UNC System, and word is that Roper seeks an educator not a politician for the ECU post just as Roper and past Presidents have done with other Chancellor vacancies on UNC campuses. It is rare, and probably unheard of, that a politician beats out an educator to lead any UNC system campus. However, Moore could be good for ECU, who knows?

The ECU Trustees might be dragging their feet with the chancellor recommendations until Roper is replaced with a "permanent President," which means nothing to the current UNC Board of Governors. The previous two, Tom Ross and Margaret Spellings, "got into it" with an aggressive BOG that preferred to give Presidents daily cues instead of hiring a President who goes to the BOG with issues to solve, programs to be confirmed, Chancellors to be selected. In other words, the UNC BOG seems to want to operate the UNC system by committee, at least some BOGers do.

To be fair, Ross was shown the door because he was a Democrat trying to tell a Republican board what to do. Spellings left on her own because she wanted to be more of a public relations President, representing the UNC system on a national level and on corporate and non-profit Boards. Fundamentally, the BOG wanted her to concentrate on UNC. Finally, Spellings had enough of the daily meddling and asked the BOG to buy out her contract. Roper has been her temporary replacement.

As ECU's chancellor selection process drags along, the UNC President search seems to have slowed as well, maybe because of the coronavirus or maybe because of disagreement among the BOG members. What is known to the BOG search committee is that a faster process in Chapel Hill would quickly resolve the East Carolina situation. That is where Hans comes in.

Hans has an impressive resume which includes his two years running the Community College system. He's a longtime lobbyist but he has channeled his desire to be UNC President through his efforts on boards and committees. As a lobbyist, Hans has figured out how to play both sides of the aisle. He has a considerable amount of influence with the legislature, Democrats and Republicans, and he understands how to serve Governors of both parties. His hardest job would be pleasing the BOG.

Hans is more of a moderate in a highly charged political world. He might not be as conservative as the current leaders of the General Assembly desire, but he might be the best option for the string-pullers in Raleigh. One wonders why Hans would like to leave his current post. Serving the Community College Board is a piece of cake as compared to the pitfalls of working for the UNC Board of Governors because of its ties back to the General Assembly. All that could change (or not) if the entire General Assembly flips to a Democratic majority this year or in two years or whenever. Who really knows how a Democratic dominated Board of Governors would act?

Hans is Republican with strong ties to Moore as well as other GOPers in the General Assembly. Right this minute, Moore could be communicating with UNC BOG members about Hans who in turn would appoint Moore to the ECU job if Hans gets the UNC job. Sort of a "you pat my back; I'll pat yours."

Since 1956, the best UNC Presidents by far have not been pure educators, coming from other educator jobs to UNC. Those three were Friday, Spangler, and Bowles, much to the dismay of the Republican leaders in the General Assembly. What made those three so good was their ability to navigate the Board of Governors and the General Assembly to promote the UNC system and to get the financial support required to make it the best public system of higher education in the country. Unlike Spellings, no doubt, Hans doesn't aspire to the national stage for himself; he wants the UNC system to remain a nationally, if not internationally, admired state-supported system for higher education.

Currently, Hans works for Moore, sort of. If both get their desired job, Moore will be working for Hans. It is somewhat of a twisted tale which is very likely to happen. Maybe sooner; maybe later. It depends on which group--UNC BOG or ECU BOT--blinks first. Stay tuned.

-----------------------

In an earlier post, 2020 Presidential Election Survey, readers we asked to complete a quick 10-question survey about this year's Presidential election. To get to the survey, click this link:
Jim's COVIDiary Survey #1 -- 2020 Presidential Election. The survey closes at midnight, May 31.

Notre Dame should join ACC football!

As we approach the point where the 2020 college football season needs to either fade into the sunset or be part of a reasonable solution to play the games and determine a national champion, the coronavirus may have just solved the Atlantic Coast Conference-Notre Dame football question:

Should and will the Fighting Irish give up the gauntlet and join the ACC as a full member, competing for the football championship as it does in most every other intercollegiate sport or will Notre Dame be shut out of post-season play this year, if games are played.

When the ACC agreed to take ND into the conference for every sport except football (which is what Notre Dame wanted, not what the ACC wanted), the Irish had demanded its football program not be part of the ACC, allowing it to keep its mega-dollars contract with NBC Sports to televise home football games.

The ACC wanted Notre Dame and its national appeal so the league and the school compromised. Notre Dame agreed to play five football games (minimum) a year but not compete for the ACC title. And, Notre Dame would figure into a complicated post-season bowl alignment. So the ACC got ND in the lucrative ACC basketball schedule and other sports but ND kept its football independence.

Now, the Power-5 conference commissioners and the Irish's athletic director have had discussions about how to move ahead with college football. In the discussions is a limited schedule which would be comprised of conference games alone. Oops, said Notre Dame!

For the members of the ACC and Southeastern, Big 10, Big 12, and PAC 10, that's a good solution. For Notre Dame, that's an issue. ND belongs not to a conference, though it has six games scheduled with ACC teams: Clemson, Duke, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Pitt, and Wake Forest.

The ACC could tell ND those six games will not be played, keeping with playing conference games only, or the ACC could extend permanent and full football membership to Notre Dame which would become the ACC's 15th member. If so, Notre Dame should accept without delay.

Each ACC team currently has eight conference games scheduled. Where there's a will, there's a way to adjust schedules to give ND two more ACC opponents without short-changing other ACC team schedules. For instance, N.C. State has a game with Boston College; neither play Notre Dame. So cancel the N.C. State-BC game and have each play the Irish, giving all three eight ACC games.

To throw ND a bone, let ND choose either to keep its contract with NBC to show four home ACC games (and other non-conference home games in subsequent years) or offer to include ND in a renegotiated ESPN football contract that includes Notre Dame. Either/or but not both.

Speculation is one day Notre Dame would join the ACC in football, but not for the foreseeable future. The coronavirus may have pushed that date forward by many years.

2020 Presidential Election Survey

Who will be elected President this year?

In my quest for things to do while staying at home most of the time during this coronavirus pandemic, I've enrolled at SurveyMonkey and will be offering several surveys. First up is about the 2020 Presidential Election, a 10-question multiple choice effort that will take you less than two minutes to complete. The questions are easy.

1. Who is your choice for President: Donald Trump or Joe Biden?
2. Who did you vote for in 2016, Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump?
3. What's your party affiliation?
4. Should Vice President Mike Pence be replaced on the Republican ticket?
5. Who should Biden select as his vice presidential running mate?
6. Are you liberal, moderate or conservative?
7. Are you for or against Vote by Mail?
8. What is your primary source for political/government news?
9. Are you female or male?
10. What is your age bracket?

Again, each question is multiple choice. You can complete the survey just once. We do not collect any information from you other than your answers. And, you have until May 31 at 11:45 pm to participate. The results will be revealed in another Jim's COVIDiary post shortly after closing.

To get to the survey, click this link:
Jim's COVIDiary Survey #1 -- 2020 Presidential Election.

Fill'er up! Gas at just 49.9-cents a gallon

When was the last time you bought gas for less than 50-cents a gallon? How about May 7, 2020? Yep, sure did, just a few days ago at the Harris Teeter #496 gas station in the Lake Pine Plaza shopping strip on U.S. Highway 64 between Lake Pine Dr., and Shepherds Vineyard Dr., in Apex, N.C.

Here's the receipt to prove it: $0.499/gallon. Unleaded, regular. Purchased nearly 26 gallons. Just $12.93. Brought back memories of the mid-1970s when I managed a self-service gas station between Raleigh and Garner on U.S. Highway 70.

It was 1976, my last summer as a student at N.C. State University. I had six years of being educated in Political Science under my belt and was headed into my seventh and final year eventually graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in the spring of 1977. I never let my academic work interfere with my education, thus seven years to get that B.A. My education was from writing, editing and learning to put out a newspaper. I worked for the Technician, the student run newspaper, for four of my seven years there. But, I digress.

Needing to earn cash that summer, I answered a newspaper ad for a job with ABC Petroleum, an oil jobber (gasoline broker) for Phillips 66 in Raleigh. Turns out the job was to turn an old gas station with three work bays into a mundane self-service gas station. Location was actually in Garner and on the Raleigh-inward-bound-going-to-work side of the highway. Diagonally across the street was a competitor which caught the going-home traffic.

We cleaned up the building, got the pumps working, displayed our prices, and the customers started coming. Eventually we operated 24-hours a day, until we had to drop back to 18 hours, 6:00 a.m. until midnight. We even had price wars with the competitor. We handled lots of cash; we also accepted credit cards. Since this was owned by ABC Petroleum, we were never out of gas while that competitor sometimes ran dry. I remember starting our prices under 40-cents a gallon but never going over 50-cents before we closed the business because of a robbery after closing one night. I suspected it was an employee, one that closed. No one was ever charged.

So, what about the 49.9-cents a gallon gas at Harris Teeter #496? The displayed price was $1.49.9 per gallon but because of more than 1,000 earned fuel points in April at the HT grocery store there, the price was reduced by one dollar a gallon. Thus the 49.9-cents price. You can buy up to 35 gallons using the points; we timed our purchase to fill up both of cars.

You ask: why so many points at HT? Blame it on the coronavirus. Before COVID-19, we shopped at Harris Teeter, Fresh Market, Publix, Trader Joe's, Aldi, and sometimes Food Lion, Lowe's, Whole Foods, and Lidl, depending on what we want and senior day. Now, we buy 97% of our groceries at nearby HT #496, accumulating one point for every $1 spent at HT. We purchase gift cards, such as Chick-fil-A, Amazon, and other places we shop. HT gives double points on gift cards and sometimes 4x points. Purchase 10 Chick-fil-A $10 cards ($100 spent) and get 400 points; $10 at Chick-fil-A buys two sandwiches and a large waffle fry; the food is good and hot.

April, as it turned out, was a pretty good month for us and HT #496. We might have saved $26 buying groceries elsewhere but HT #496 is close. And paying just 49.9-cents per gallon for gas is self-satisfying and offers interesting memories of my college days.

Golf helps me escape coronavirus

Golf was on the schedule for and completed on Monday and Wednesday this week. A game Friday is also on tap. My early week results were not very good for some who's supposed to be a 6.8 handicap index. No need to bore you with the small details and the numbers except I've been playing the Red tees 6500-yard course (70.8 course rating/132 slope) while the others play at Wolfpack tees 6000 (68.6/123) and Gray tees 5500 (66.4/111) yards. I get two additional handicap strokes for the extra 500 yards Red vs. Wolfpack.

Congregation of players on first tee
at Lonnie Poole Golf Course

Back in the 1960s, my Dad bought a vacation beach house near the middle of Ocean Drive Beach, S.C. (North Myrtle Beach), and joined the Surf Golf and Beach Club just a few miles away. Hard to believe there were only three golf courses calling Myrtle Beach home at that time. In addition to the Surf, there were Pine Lakes International and the Dunes Club.

We (six children and our parents) took a two-week vacation there in late June and early July, in addition to going to O.D. many other weekends during the year. During those two weeks, Dad, my brothers Rob and Brooks, and I played golf every morning. We had a standing 8:36 a.m. tee time. Instead of riding carts, we walked and were fortunate to have two caddies, each carrying double.

My brothers and I were relatively long hitters back then so we enjoyed playing the championship tees. I recall Dad's regular looper (caddy for those who don't know the term) asking Dad one day, "Mr. Pomeranz, are you going to play back there with your boys or use the tees a little closer to the greens?" Dad's answer, "Well, I'll play back there with them because I can shoot 120 from those tees just was easily as I can from the front tees!"

Right now, I feel the same playing Lonnie Poole Golf Course's (LPGC) Red tees instead of the Wolfpack tees. I can shoot 85 from the Red tees just as easily as I can from the Wolfpack tees. So, getting the extra two shots is worth it as we play a simple game of total Net score. Besides, I like the longer stroll on these days of trying to avoid the coronavirus. I'm social distancing more than six feet from the others in the group, and I'm playing longer shots to the greens, changing up the challenge of the course. Playing the same tees day after day can be boring, probably as boring as this post of Jim's COVIDiary. (You decide; use the comment section below.)

LPGC has a detailed list of rules for play there. The course management is trying to keep everyone safe. Unfortunately there are players in each day's opening five or six groups who just can't seem to get a grasp of what to do. Some congregate on the first tee as if nothing is wrong. They approach you for conversation instead of talking from a safe distance. There's a regular who has such bad eye-sight that he has to pick up golf balls to identify and make sure he's hitting his ball, which sometimes doesn't stop him from hitting someone else's ball. I've asked him not to pick up golf balls that aren't his. One competitor told me COVID-19 is not as bad as we're told. He even suggested that he wish he could get it  and "get it over with." Amazing!

I checked the Pinehurst Country Club website for some of their rules and I'm impressed with two in particular. Please practice continuous putting to limit gathering on the green. So, once you start putting, complete putting and leave the green to allow the others to do the same. Do not putt and mark your ball and wait until others do the same, bringing everyone to the hole at the same time. And...We feel the best way to experience golf at Pinehurst is through your feet. If possible, please consider walking instead of using a cart. I walk Lonnie Poole with a push cart. It's about a five mile walk, up and down hills. Good exercise.

At age 68 later this month, I can still hit the ball relatively far, drives of 225 to 270 depending on the wind and 54-degree wedges of 100 yards. One of these days, I'm moving up to the Green tees, a 4700-yard layout with a 63.1 course rating and a 99 slope and where I'll get no handicap strokes, relying on my gross score to make it into the money.I can shoot 85 from there as easily as I can from the other sets of tees. I think my issue is putting.

A Good Time To Stain The Deck

Testing Woodrich Brand Timber Oil on treated pine

It was July 2019 when Matt Brush and his Holly Springs Builders rebuilt our 25+ year-old deck. He did a terrific job, not just replacing well-worn planks but increasing support and giving us an altered and more functional design in the same space. Matt and one assistant did all the work. From tear down to completion, the project took about three days.

Last thing Matt told us as we signed off on the rebuild, "Wait six to nine months before staining it." With being told to "stay at home" because of COVID-19, we have the time, the urge and need something to do.

Matt suggested using Sherwin-Williams oil-based stain, but right now it's a pain to decide on the color and to get samples. We saved a board from last summer and let it weather as the deck did the same. We've made mistakes in paint colors before and didn't want that to be the case this time. A few weeks ago, we could only call the Sherwin-Williams store and place an order for curbside pickup, juts as we do with several restaurants. Offered to us was a brochure with various color selections. So off to the internet.

While "Googling" for "best deck stains," we discovered Woodrich Brand. Its simple website was easy to navigate. Best of all, not knowing anything about the company and its products, we found a four-color (stain) sample kit. The colors are Warm Honey Gold, Brown Sugar, Amaretto, and Western Cedar, names that meant nothing. For $10, which included shipping, buying the samples was well worth it. Using four sponge-type applicators, the colors have been tested on the saved board. It remains outside, in the sun. Another coat may be applicable if the timber oil will allow.

No decision yet on the final selection of stain color but, if we use Woodrich, we've ruled out Western Cedar and, probably, Amaretto. We like the other two and are leaning to Brown Sugar. A gallon ($49 with free shipping) covers about 150 square feet. Our deck is 10'x12' but with two benches and the stairs, a gallon may not be enough. We'll see.

President Trump's letter & more drinking

English version of Trump letter

TRUMP'S LETTER:
Did you get your letter from President Trump? You know, the one he sent using taxpayer money to tell you something you already knew, that you were receiving or had received a stimulus check for $1,200 or $2,400 or some other amount. The letter is a campaign gimmick, no more, no less.

Spanish version of Trump letter

Trump offered a little credit to Congress, but this was a stunt to put his name front and center as the savior of the economy as if this will cover lost wages, investments, and other forms of income, asking us to go out into the world and spend, spend, spend just as his administration has done since he took office in 2017.

For someone who ran as a small government Republican but who was actually a wolf in sheep's clothing, he has driven the deficit and debt of the United States government to heights that are completely unmanageable.

Interestingly, on one side of the single sheet of paper the letter was written in English. On the other side it was in Spanish. For someone who doesn't like the Spanish speaking population to the south of the United States, why would he include a Spanish version? You decide. Hopefully everyone can see through this campaign effort.
------------------------

Take The Drinking Quiz

MORE ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION
No doubt, the COVID-19 pandemic is getting a lot of people down in the dumps. I understand alcohol consumption is up as the woes of being asked to stay home is causing this increase. Of course, just driving to the grocery store for more beer and wine and to the ABC store for restocking of liquor is also a relief from staying home.

With alcohol consumption increasing, a friend offers this: "When I read about the evils of drinking during this time of a major health and economic crisis, I made an important decision. I gave up reading."