My Day Tomorrow

If there's one sport I'll never find myself playing at any point in the future, it's golf. It's not that the sport is bad or anything, but I simply don't have the passion for it like I once did many moons ago when I worked at a golf course. Golfing daily made me a decent player on the links - I had solid distance on drives, and my short game and putting were worked on regularly so that championships could be won. Drive for show and putt for dough, right? The only catch was that I never played for any championships, and my decade of golfing excellence (purely subjective) was erased by other activities in the summer months such as baseball and basketball where I could be part of a team with my friends.

The kid in the picture above? That likely would be me today. Even with the target being ten times the size it should be, I'd still struggle to hit the bottom of the cup. Thankfully, I won't have to worry about that tomorrow.

As the season nears for Canada West team, so do the fundraising opportunities as all teams across the Canada West landscape look to return to the ice without any financial barriers holding them back. Tomorrow will be the first big fundraiser of the year for the Manitoba Bisons women's hockey team, and I've been invited to do a little emceeing and to have some fun on the course with a sold-out field of teams as the First Annual Bisons Women's Hockey Golf Tournament takes place!

Bridges Golf Course is where this event will be taking place, and I'm excited to get out there. Again, not to golf because I wrote that sport off long ago, but rather to see everyone - players, parents, sponsors, staff, coaches - because it feels like it's been about a thousand years since I've seen any of these people. As the old saying goes, you never know what you've got until it's gone, but I think it has such greater meaning after having a season cancelled and being unable to get into rinks to watch high-level hockey.

As for what I'll be doing specifically, I'll be emceeing the event after the final putts are made and that should be a good time as we hand out prizes and recognize some of greatest golfers to enter the field tomorrow. I'll also be taking a few photos as a secondary cameraman alongside Bisons Sports' illustrious photo-documentarian John, and I'll be handing out some freebies to people who need a few golf tees compliments of UMFM and The Hockey Show.

More than anything, though, I want to get out and meet everyone. I want to talk to everyone. I want to feel the lush grass below my feet as I walk along a fairway or two. I want to watch clouds of sand go up as amazing bunker shots turn into phenomenal approaches. I want to see smiles and laughs as friends needle each other over duffed shots and terrible putts. More than anything, though, I just miss these amazing people and I can't wait to see everyone again!

In saying that, I'll be off the grid most of the day as I work the event and attempt to make people laugh and smile through free golf tees and some jokes. While I doubt that there will be any monstrous hockey news about which anyone will contact me, just know that I'm not going to answer as I spend a day in a beautifully-manicured park that sees people chase little white balls.

And I'll love every single second of it because I miss the interaction. Golf may not be a team game very often, but I've missed being around the Bisons as we inch towards this season and the team begins to take shape. This will finally restore a little sense of normalcy in meeting everyone at the golf tournament tomorrow in anticipation of the October 15 season-opening and home-opening game at Wayne Fleming Arena against the Calgary Dinos as I know that there are a lot of people who have been waiting for hockey to return.

It's going to be a good day on the golf course tomorrow among friends on a team I've missed so much!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!