I remember the 2002 golf season. I was really struggling with my weight and I was also really struggling with back issues. The back pain was so severe that I had to stop playing golf for most of that year. I only had 12 games that season.

When I finally resumed playing towards the end of the 2002 season, my handicap really had not changed very much — I was still playing to a 6. I had not lost my swing and that was due to an awful lot of coaching and practice.

Golf cost me. Not just in money but also in time.

I was taking lessons from one of the top teachers in Canada, Bruce McCarrol. During most of my years playing golf, I was working with Bruce on a weekly basis. He helped me bring my handicap down from an 18 to a 6. He helped me develop a strong and repeatable golf swing. And he taught me many things about the game of golf.

I stopped playing golf in 2008. It is a very tough game for a perfectionist like me to play. To keep a low handicap required a lot of hours on the course. Time away from family and from other interests. If I didn’t shoot a strong score, I would get frustrated. Sometimes even angry with myself.

During 2008 I was changing jobs and moving to a new city. I was making a lifestyle change. I closed off my golf membership at King’s Riding Golf Club and I packed up my golf gear.

I did play a round of golf with my son down in Arizona back in 2010. I’m not sure why but I played a surprisingly strong round given that I hadn’t picked up a golf club in a couple of years. I played a rental set of clubs and I had a wonderful time.

I missed golf.

As we have been purging things around the house, I found my golf clubs. My beautiful set of Ben Hogan forged blades and TaylorMade drivers. I brought them out from storage and cleaned them up. The clubs are in great shape.

It may be time to lift sanctions against the game of golf this year. Golf is not a game of perfect and I think I might be in a better place with golf. Young enough to still play reasonably well, old enough not to care if the score is off.