Sure it’s April 1, but it is essentially New Year’s Day for the blog. So Happy New Year to you as well.

Even with a warm weekend, I still have significant snow in my front yard. I stopped at my golf club yesterday and I’m quite certain that a dude will get a new green jacket long before we are open.

A year ago, I played my first Minnesota round on March 11. March Madness was as much about clubs opening as college basketball. And there was no need for an emergency trip somewhere warm.

Tomorrow will mark four months since I last played a round of golf. It only seems like it was a lot longer ago than that. Needless to say, I’m anxious to get out for the first time since putting out on No. 18 at Corte Bella, a housing development course that isn’t bad.

It was about two weeks ago when I realized an emergency trip was going to be mandatory this year. So I’m off to Phoenix on Thursday morning for a work/golf/family trip. By Thursday afternoon, I will be on the tee for the first of several rounds of golf. I have a couple of things lined up, but will largely see what GolfNow provides. While I have hit balls a few times over the past month, I’m looking forward in playing some actual rounds of golf and knocking off some of the rust.

I also need to get some of the rust off of my blogging. I’m getting settled into a new job and I’m finishing up some of my other writing, so I’m hoping to have more time to blog here.

There are plenty of questions that will be answered in 2013. Among them:

– Will I actually blog on a regular basis? I hope so.

– Will I get new clubs? Which new clubs will I try, like and buy?

– What new courses will I play? I’m hoping for some good spots.

– How many times will I get to a new course and forget my camera at home?

– Will the July golf trip that’s on the books live up to expectations? I very optimistic.

– What will cause me to rant about something? Clearly something will.

– And how many new pairs of golf shoes will I buy? Odds are good that it won’t be zero.

The year is just beginning. Here’s hoping it will be a great one.