That’s right! Not only can you read my blog posts here, you can also get my updates via Twitter. Follow @ChicagoGolfNoob on Twitter, and you’ll get updates on my upcoming rounds, notifications of my blog posts, miscellaneous thoughts, and other random links. I’m also looking for other Chicago golfers on Twitter, so if you follow me, shoot me a message and let me know you live in the Chicagoland area.

I just wanted to write a quick post to thank all of those who gave me golf-related gifts for my birthday this year:

• Beth’s Family – Titleist/Louisville Cardinals personalized ball marker hat (I’ve been wanting this for a while)
• Barb & Dawn – 30 Noodle+ golf balls (I found this funny, because 3 days prior, I bought 24 Noodle+ golf balls)
• The Maloneys – ball marking kit and a golf swing training aid

These are the same folks who gathered together last year for my birthday and gave me my first set of golf clubs, which eventually gave me the idea to start this project.

Thanks again!

Woohoo! It’s now 2009, which means I can start looking forward to the new golfing season. I figured the best way to improve my golf game (and to work toward the goal) are to make some 2009 resolutions and goals.

But first, I just wanted to say “thanks” to all my friends and family who gave me some golf gear for Christmas. From Beth, I got a 6-pack of SpongeBob SquarePants golf balls, which will be used in the apartment for putting practice. From Sarah and the Maloney’s, I got golf ball finder glasses (yup, I got two different pairs, and I’ll keep both). And from Denise, I got a ‘Putt Straight’ putting practice aid. I already tried it out, and I realized that I need to practice putting a little more.

So, onto the 2009 resolutions and goals, in no particular order:

• Average 3 rounds of golf each month for every month between April and October
• Complete 25 rounds of golf on at least 20 new courses
• Break 100 (at least once) and consistently score better than 115
• Play a full round of golf without losing more than 5 golf balls
• Get a birdie on a par 4
• Play in a golf scramble
• Finish the course list in the ChicagoGolfNoob.com Golf Tracker
  

Those seem like some reasonable, attainable goals (although, some of them might involve a lot of luck). Now, I just need to wait until some warmer weather, then let the 2009 season begin!

Since the golf season is starting to slow down (I kind of came in late in the season anyway), I took some time to build the ChicagoGolfNoob.com Golf Tracker. I’ll be using this web application to store all the Chicagoland golf courses that are necessary to complete the goal. I’ll also be using it to keep track of my scores, as well as storing information about the people who play rounds with me and their scores. This application also feeds the Google Maps points for the ‘Map of Courses‘ page.

Over the next couple of weeks, I’ll be working to add all of the courses. It’s kind of a slow process because I have to find each course on the map, as well as get some general information about the course (number of holes, par count, total length, etc). Plus, my initial estimate of 75 courses is way off. I’m now thinking there may be close to 150, but we’ll see.

After talking to various people about this project, I’ve come to the realization that I need to add some clarifications and stipulations on which golf courses count and which don’t count toward the goal. Also, to go along with the goal, I will be maintaining two approximate handicaps throughout this project; one handicap for 18-hole full rounds and one handicap for 9-hole half rounds.

These are the clarifications and stipulations:

1. All courses within a 35 mile radius “as the crow flies” will be considered for the goal. In order to determine if a course is within that 35 miles radius, I’ve created a Google map that has the full circle drawn on it. The map can be seen on the “Map of Courses” page. If the tee box for the 1st or 10th hole is inside the circle, then it counts toward the goal.
2. Private golf courses within the 35 mile radius will not count toward the goal, but any rounds played at a private golf course will be included in the approximate handicaps.
3. Golf courses outside the 35 mile radius will not count toward the goal, but any rounds played at an outside golf course will be included in the approximate handicaps.
4. If a golf club has more than one course, then each course will be counted separately. For instance, Cog Hill Golf Club has four courses. Each courses will count as one course that needs to be played.
5. Short courses (under 3,000 yards for 18 holes and under 1,500 yards for 9 holes) will not be counted toward the goal. Any rounds played at these courses will not be counted toward the approximate handicaps.

Not only will these clarifications and stipulations help me determine which courses to play, they will also decrease the total number of courses that need to be played, which makes the goal more obtainable.