Publisher's Note

Rafael Martinez

It’s that time of the year again. No, I’m not talking about figuring out your gift list or deciding which holiday parties you plan to attend. I’m talking about having to hang up your clubs for the winter if you live in the northern part of the country like I do. Of course, the occasional trip to a sub-tropical golf resort can still give you a charge and keep you sane until spring.

What’s funny is that when I started playing, I don’t recall ever putting my clubs away. I played in anything but gales, thunderstorms and below 40 degree weather. As long as I had a tee time, I was out there. We won’t talk about the 4 am drive to the municipal golf course to put your name on the board, then catching another three hours of sleep in the car. Ah, to be a green (no pun intended) golf junkie and not know any better.

For this issue we had the pleasure of introducing Mr. Smith aka Ne-Yo to the game of golf and spending some time getting to know the chart-topping sensation. I have to tell you that Ne-Yo was an enormous delight and extremely generous with his time. I was a fan before but I have an even higher level of respect for the man after the four plus hours at the shoot. We also profiled lpga golfer, Jennifer Rosales and collegiate golfing sensation, Jerel Whiting. As usual we provided you some instructional tips to keep your game sharp during the winter. And no issue of The Green would be complete without showcasing the good life abroad, so enjoy our features on Australia and Hawaii.

At this time of year there are always more reasons to be thankful than I can count. First, and foremost, I have to give thanks to my creator, Jesus Christ, for a wonderful life. I’m going on 20 years of marriage. I have two wonderful daughters (Lord, please let them mature as slowly as possible) and a remarkable team at the office that keeps me in line. These blessings and many more are embodied by a paragraph I place at the bottom of each my emails. May it bring you comfort and inspiration.

It reads as follows:
The mountaintop is glorious, but it is in the valley that I will grow! Always remember, god gives you...enough happiness to keep you sweet, enough trials to keep you strong, enough sorrows to keep you human, enough hope to keep you happy, enough failure to keep you humble, enough success to keep you eager, enough friends to give you comfort, enough wealth to meet your needs, enough enthusiasm to make you look forward, enough faith to banish depression and enough determination to make each day better than the last.

Have a great holiday and know that life will get better, but it could always be worse!