Aloha and mahalo Golf Nuts!

Aloha Golf Nuts,

Yes, I have been a poor leader over the
past month. I admit it. I have played too much golf and traveled to distant
shores instead of manning up at the Clubhouse of the Golf Nut Society. Now, in
my own defense, I was engaged in Golf Nut related activity, to which the
following LENGTHY blog (with pictures) will attest. I beg your forgiveness for
my transgressions and hope you will find the following both interesting and
entertaining.

APRIL 25, 2008

Dragon Ridge Country Club Spring Invitational
– figured I had this one locked! My
partner was Tom Emanuel ( #4183) and a really solid stick. The format suited us
perfectly, being a 2-man better ball event. Well, day #1 we certainly fought
conventional wisdom for this type of format, which is universally understood as
“Ham & Egg.” In other words, never should we BOTH do poorly on the same
hole. We managed to post two NET bogeys AND a NET DOUBLE BOGEY which put us in
a terrible hole, from which we never recovered. We did, however, charge hard on
the last three holes of play on day #1. Standing on the #7 tee box with only
three holes left, we were an embarrassing -1 to par. A really bad score for us.
We managed to go -4 on the next three holes to post a respectable 67, 5 under
par for the day. Not to brag but the highlight of the day was my hole-out from
the bunker (40 yards left of the green…nice third shot ‘eh?) on #8 for a
birdie, net eagle. The best part was that I called my shot! Well, even a Golf
Nut gets some love from the Golf Gods now and again.

We posted the same 67 the following day to
finish solidly in the middle of the pack. A disappointment but still a great
time!

APRIL 28, 2008

It has been 18 months since my last brain
surgery and I am disappointed that I am not fully recovered. Today, I went into
surgery for a second “procedure” to eliminate (or at least lessen) the muscle
pain under the skull that continues to cause “issues” in my life. The following
description is not for the weak-of-stomach. A needle will be thrust, inserted, pushed,
jammed, whatever, through my skull and into the muscle. A “medicinal cocktail”
of steroids, muscle relaxants, pain killers and antibiotics will be injected
directly into the muscle. Next, my head will swell on the right side and be
numb for about 24 hours, but that won’t really matter because I’ll sleep
through most of that time. Then, over the following two days, I will be a bit “dopey”
and not really feel like myself, although I should have considerably less pain.
After that time, I should be “back to normal” with little to no pain. So, that’s
the plan. This is the second time I’ve undergone this procedure. This time they
are doubling the dosage. If it doesn’t work, I can do it one more time and if
that doesn’t work, it’s my last mulligan and I’ll have to play it as it lies.

May 4, 2008

Today, I’m playing at Silverstone Golf Course
in my second Golf Channel Amatuer event. I haven’t played since my procedure
and I’m feeling pretty out-of-sync. Playing cautiously , I manage to hang
around even par for about six holes. I make a career shot out of a desert area
on #7 but a three-putt from seven feet sends me on a “stupid slide” I finish
with a lackluster score well back in the pack. I’m not sure when I’ll be
playing in my next Golf Channel event but I can tell you that I’ll bring home a
Top-3 finish or better! That’s a promise!

By the way, I have found the Golf Channel Amateur
Tour to be Great competition, run well and fairly, and not overly expensive.
For more information about joining the Golf Channel Amateur Tour visit www.thegolfchannel.com.

MAY 6, 2008

Golf doesn’t seem so important to me today. I
got bad news from the doctor and I have to have the final procedure for my
little brain issue on June 9^th. So, I do what any self respecting
Golf Nut would do… I call up the G-Man (#5004) and we sneak out and play Las
Vegas National in the afternoon.

I love Las Vegas National. It doesn’t get the
press that other Las Vegas courses get but it is steeped in such history and it
is one of the true parkland layouts left in Las Vegas. Besides, I always enjoy
a round of golf with G-man. He always reminds me that for guys like us, loving
the game and playing the game are more important than being great at the game.
That quick round sure made me feel better.

MAY 8, 2008

OK, Golf Nuts… here’s where I really started
to get remiss in my Head Nut duties. Mrs. Head Nut and I boarded a Hawaiian Air
flight to Hawaii this morning. We will be on the Island of Kauai until the 26^th.

Although I brought my clubs and fully intend
to put them to use, more than anything the two of us need some R & R. and
what better place to do it than Kauai, the Garden Island.

This is the house on Poipu Bay that we rented over the next
three weeks.

MAY 9, 2008

I am wound up. Sometimes the long day of flying and getting
settled winds me up more than it wears me out and today is one of those days.
Mrs. Head Nut is knocked out… she won’t even miss me, so I head out to play
Poipu Bay. I just love this course. I’m not sure why they moved the MasterCard
Grand Slam of Golf, where all four Major Championship winners would compete in
a two-day event.

The course is always beautifully maintained and the natural splendor
of the surroundings is a very pleasant distraction. The layout is protected by
constant, but very consistent, trade winds. You never have to “guess” which way
the winds are blowing. When they are blowing, they are blowing exactly as the
course was designed to be played. When you catch the rare windless day, as Phil
Mickelson did a couple of years ago to shoot 59 during the Grand Slam, the
course is much easier to attack.

I was paired with some amazing people on my first day at
Poipu Bay, all of whom will have Nut #s as soon as I get Mainland again.
Alberto Yoguez, Byron Becon and Brad Parsons joined me for a very enjoyable
first day on the Hawaiian links.

Even thought the greens were recently punched they were
unusually fast for Hawaii. It surprised me on the first couple of holes…I guess
there is something to be said about spending time on the practice green before
going out to play.

May 10, 2008

Mrs. Head Nut and I are celebrating our wedding anniversary
today. We were married on Kauai at the CoCo Palms resort back before the
hurricane in 1991 destroyed the property. We still drive by every time we go to
the island in the hopes that it has been rebuilt and restored to its earlier grandeur.
It was here that Elvis Presley starred in Blue Hawaii and at the CoCo Palms
that the wedding scenes took place. I wanted to put Elvis on our wedding album
but Mrs. HN wouldn’t let me.

Proof that at least one of us was “Nuts.”

To celebrate the occasion, I played Poipu Bay AGAIN! This
time I was paired with Dr. David Gilbert and his lovely wife, Bianca Gilbert,
as well as a very good player, Ryan Glick. Of course they ALL became Golf Nuts
immediately! Bianca has a marvelous swing and Ryan hits the ball a TON! It was
my favorite round while on the island.

I will admit that Mrs. Head Nut wasn’t all that thrilled
when I called her to come celebrate our Anniversary at the Clubhouse Grille…I
guess that’s what too many Mai Tais will do.

MAY 11, 2008

Today is Mother’s Day. Forgetting the SIX HOUR time
difference, I call my Mom at 4:30 pm Hawaiian time. It was an interesting
conversation, since my Mother doesn’t swear…

MAY 13, 2008

Mrs. Head Nut’s birthday is approaching quickly. As part of
her birthday present, I flew our youngest daughter from LA to Kauai so they
could spend some quality time together. It was really nice because 30 dolphins
decided to play in our bay on the first morning she was there… talk about an
amazing scene! I wish one of us had the good sense to grab our camera. We were
too caught up in the playful dolphins and the swimmers, surfers and flat-boarders
that played with them for at least an hour.

MAY 14, 2008

I got a chance today to play one of my all-time-favorite
golf courses, Kiahuna Golf Club. Even though the greens were super slow because
they had just been aerated, Kiahuna is a complete hoot to play. Each hole has a
Hawaiian name and then English translation on the hole marker. There are some that
are pretty cool. I really like “Anela” which means “angel,” of course the hole
can be a real Devil if played from the left side where Banyon trees and thick
rough make getting to the green a challenge. I also like the very next hole,
aptly named “Pilikia” meaning “Trouble.” Believe me that little par three is
full of “pilikia.”

Even though prices for “tourists” have gone up a bit since
the last time I played, after your first round you are considered “a local” and
pay the local rate of $45 after that. Nice deal, in my opinion.

Kiahuna is a Robert Trent Jones Jr. design. You can check it
out for more information at www.kiahunagolf.com.

MAY 17, 2008

Another Golf Day! My wife is great. Of course I promised to
lay off the Mai Tais so that helped. I return for my third round to Poipu Bay.
It is the hottest day of our trip. The temperature is up to 87 degrees and
there are NO TRADE WINDS blowing at all! Whew! Poipu Bay has sparkling white
sand in the bunkers and I felt “snow-blind” whenever I’d get into one, not to
mention feeling like a shrimp on the “barbie.” Although the lack of wind helped
on most of the holes at Poipu, the finishing holes 15 through 18 were all
designed to have a helping wind and they play really long without the breeze. A
great example is #18, a superb finishing par 5 that normally plays downwind.
During my first round, with the wind, I made eagle, hitting Driver then 5-Wood
to about 10 feet. Without the wind I hit Driver, 3-Wood, 8-iron, lob wedge…what
a difference!

MAY 18,19, 2008

I lumped these days together because they involved the same
exact things…reading and relaxing on our beautiful lanai and then dinner at two
outstanding restaurants.

Before I talk about food let me talk about reading. Our
lives seem to get so busy that we seldom get the chance to spend a day simply
reading a great book. I read seven books while we were in Hawaii. They varied
from “Marketing Your Dreams” (a biographical and educational book based on the
life and business of Bill Veeck,) to “Wanna Bet?” (true golf stories about gambling
and golf,) to a rambling and hard to follow missive called “Golf Unplugged”
(really, don’t bother.)

I also read a book called “How Great Golfers Think.” I know,
I know, these seem to be a dime a dozen but this one was different enough that
I will be writing a complete review in the very near future AND selling the
book through the Golf Nut Society Pro Shop.

Back to food… there are two restaurants on the south (Poipu)
end of Kauai that must not be missed. The first is one that you’ve heard of
before, since they have franchised to almost every major city in the nation,
Roy’s. You get a different atmosphere in every Roy’s I’ve ever eaten at but the
quality of the food doesn’t change a bit. The second is, to many, the best
restaurant on Kauai, which could explain why the earliest reservation we could
get a week in advance was 7:45 pm. It is the Beach House, located near Spouting
Horn. The exceptional ocean views, even at night (we had a full moon) are
matched by the food quality and especially the warm and gracious service.

So after two nights of over-eating and under-exercising, I
spent a few lazy days doing absolutely NOTHING! Nada. Zip. Zilch.

May 21, 2008

I am very blessed to have friends all over the world. One of
the nicest is Mikey Nii. Mikey worked for me in Henderson, Nevada before
returning home to his native Kauai a bit over two years ago. Today was my last
day of golf while on the Island and I was really lucky to get to enjoy it with
Mikey.

Mikey Nii #5277

Today, we played Puakea Golf Club. This is a Robin Nelson
design and the only Robin Nelson course I’ve ever played. For many, many years
it was a 10 hole layout instead of the 18 it is today. The best feature of
PuaKea is its par 3s. They are both challenging and beautiful. For example, the 176 yard sixth hole drops
about 70 feet from tee to green and makes club correct selection extremely
difficult.

6^th hole at PuaKea

For more information on PuaKea Golf Course go to www.puakeagolf.com.

May 24, 2008

Today my nephew, Jon, flew over to Kauaii for the day (he
was on a business trip on Oahu with an “off” day.) All I can tell you is that
we drove all over the island and wound up with him missing his flight back to
Oahu but because of a benevolent soul, he caught the last flight back to Oahu.

We had a classic Hawaiian day; sunshine, slow pace, good
food, good drink and most of all good company. I always miss the island as soon
as the wheels of the plane leave the ground…

MAY 26, 2008

We returned to Las Vegas at Midnight… more about that later…you
have had to read enough for now!

Aloha,

Head Nut #0001