A place to honor Greatest Valley golf

Hello fellow golfers! After what was actually a not all that unpleasant winter, I’m very happy to say that it looks like we’re officially back in the swing of things for 2012!

After two summers of weekly critiques on vindy.com for Greatest Golf Holes of the Valley, I am now very excited to be able to talk about all things golf right here for the next 20 or so Sundays.

The game plan is simple: Give you insight into some local golf.

Like our shots, we’ll mix up the topics.

One week, a course review … Then maybe, a conversation with a local legend …

Follow that up with a lighthearted “how to properly wager on the course” story …

Throw in a serious topic or two (maybe a roundtable discussion with YSU golf coaches?) … And mix in some behind-the-scenes stuff like “a day in the life of a local PGA Head Pro”…

While there’s no set schedule of topics, the goal is to present a local golf story in a fun, entertaining, informative, thought provoking, or maybe even just feel good way.

If I do all right, you’ll say “OK, what’s next?” If I do well, you’ll know where you can find an interesting perspective on a local golf topic. Either way, I thank you in advance for reading and for being a fan of golf in the Valley.

But why me, you ask. Well personally, I’m 30 years old, live in Poland and recently married my wonderful and beautiful wife, Beth. Professionally, I was a local golf pro for three years, then tried to make it big as an upstart entrepreneur, and as of late last year, joined the insurance industry by starting my own local agency.

I know, at first glance, my bio doesn’t exactly scream, “golf column.”

What that bio doesn’t tell however, is the real story of how, for as long as I can remember, my life has been a beautifully intertwined web of three main threads: an amazing family, unbelievable friends, and the first and longest love of my life, the game of golf.

Over the next 20 weeks, I look forward to sharing my love stories with the game as well as give my perspective on, what will most likely turn out to be, other people’s love stories as well.

Until next week, “Hit ‘em Straight.”

Jonah Karzmer is a former local golf pro and player at YSU now working in insurance. He writes a golf column every Sunday in The Vindicator. Email him at jkarzmer@farmersagent.com.