When Nicole and I moved to Georgia, one of the things that excited me the most about our new community was that it was designed around a golf course.

[caption id="attachment_1600" align="alignright" width="300" caption="My favorite Par 5 -- No. 8"]<a href="http://mikerappaport.net/onevoice/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/20101210_19.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-1600" title="20101210_19" src="http://mikerappaport.net/onevoice/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/20101210_19-300x199.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="199" /></a>[/caption]

Instead of driving 45 miles as I did in Southern California to play at the lovely Empire Lakes course in Rancho Cucamonga, all I have to do now is walk about a quarter mile to the first tee. Last winter I played 18 holes in 28-degree weather -- I was the only person on the course -- and in May I played maybe 20 times.

But when we came back from Europe in July and Nicole was having health problems, I didn't find myself making the effort to get onto the course as often. I played a couple of times in September and October, and then went out for nine holes on November 2nd.

I didn't play again for more than four months.

Then today, on a windy late-winter day, I got my clubs out of the garage, went down to the clubhouse and paid to play 18 holes. I hadn't swung any of my clubs in longer than I cared to remember, although I had played 18 holes -- sort of -- indoors in Seattle with my son-in-law on a wonderful simulator.

We played St. Andrew's. My score was somewhere in the 120s. I was out of shape and I couldn't get accustomed to hitting a ball into a screen.

My first swing today was nothing special. A drive that went maybe 130 yards. In fact, I double-bogeyed the first hole, but heck, I did that maybe a third of the time when I played regularly. It's one of the two or three toughest holes on the course.

What surprised me the most was that things got better after that. I put my tee shot on the fringe on the second hole and two-putted for a par. I parred the fourth hole as well, and after a second double bogey on No. 6, I parred the seventh hole and bogeyed the eighth.

On the par three ninth hole, I hit a bad shot -- topped it -- but got a good result as the ball wound up on the green, 42 feet away from the hole.

I have a tendency to three-putt in those situations, but I hit this one as well as I possibly could. The ball came to a stop about 10 inches to the left of the hole. I tapped in for par and a quite respectable 43 for nine holes.

I called it quits at that point and walked off feeling pretty good.

Today was the fifth day of my diet-and-exercise regimen, and it was the first day I substituted golf for walking. It worked pretty well, and things are fine in general -- down 11 pounds the first four days. I still have a helluva long way to go, but after five days, I'm into my routine.

That's half the battle at this point.

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