Dear Golf: I take it back; you're not boring.

I had my first experience with golf today.

No, I didn't pop my collar, and no this wasn't just mini-golfing.

A friend told me that if I am going to LA for the summer to work, I have to know something about golf. So, he was awesome enough to take me and show/ teach me a few things about the game of golf... like the following:

[No laughing at my prior knowledge {or lack thereof} of golf lingo.]

Par: the number of hits you get from the tee to the green.

Green: where the hole is.

There are three areas of grass: the green, the fairway and the rough.

Birdie: one stroke under par [if it is a par 4, and you hit the hole in 3 strokes, you have a "birdie."] If you get two strokes under par, you have a... any guesses? Think birds... you have an eagle. [Go figure... the whole bird thing...]

My swing has improved from swinging the iron like a baseball, to actually swinging it like a golf club. Keep your head down, knees bent, feed shoulder width apart and never take your eyes off the ball. Bam - and there you go.

He also taught me a few names I could drop to sound cooler and that much more "legit":
-Greg "The Shark" Norman [He's an Aussie]
-Jack Nicklaus [not to be confused with the actor, Jack Nicholas.]
-Fred Couples [no, there aren't two of him...] [da da tch- the sound a drummer makes when a comedian makes a joke]
-Sergio Garcias [we dated... or so I was told to say]

My one claim to fame with golf, is that I had Sunday dinner with Billy Casper at his home. He was incredibly kind and gracious. He had a whole room dedicated to showcasing his 51 PGA tour wins, two U.S. Opens and one Masters win. Incredible, huh?

I can totally understand now why golf could get addicting - I totally want to go back.

Thanks, Petey!