Even the worst day on the golf course ...

I didn't really start playing golf until I was in my forties.

Oh, I had gone out a few times when I was younger, but I never really took up the game until my knee was too bad for basketball, my shoulder was too bad for football and my eyes were too bad to see a baseball.

It's a shame I didn't start sooner. During the years I was working in St. Louis and in Reno covering sports, there were often outings for sportswriters connected with tournaments. I missed out on those.

When I first started playing full-length courses around 1996, I was horrible. I'd score something like 130 for 18 holes, and learning that only about 10 percent of golfers ever break 90 didn't make me feel any better. I was about as far from breaking 90 as Sarah Palin is from being president.

Actually farther.

But my game started getting better, and about eight or nine years ago I broke 100 for the first time. That was a big deal to me, and it was an even bigger deal a year or so ago when I finally managed to get my score under 90.

I'm not consistent. I played 36 holes today with my friends Chuck and Mick out at the lovely and challenging Empire Lakes Golf Course in Rancho Cucamonga, California. My first round was my worst in years. I was breaking in a couple of new clubs and I shot 111.

But after we broke for lunch, I came back and shot 91 in the afternoon.

Not a great day, golf-wise, but a wonderful day overall. Golf courses are so beautiful, and I'm a firm believer in the old saying that even the worst day on the golf course is better than the best day at work.

I'm already looking forward to our next time out.