Keep the golf stories coming, folks

Week two of our 2018 season, and what a treat we were given in week 1! With the exception of Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson’s lack of relevance on the weekend, the Masters certainly didn’t disappoint.

I found myself rooting for Jordan Spieth to birdie 18 on Sunday to become the first man to ever shoot 62 in a major. In the end, the mystical 62 remained elusive and Patrick Reed captured his first major. But the excitement we were all hoping for was certainly there.

Moving on from our first major, I’d like to address the upcoming season in a way I wasn’t able to for Masters week.

Year six. I can’t believe it, but this will be my sixth summer occupying this space. And I’m truly thankful for another opportunity to share my thoughts.

On a national level, I don’t know that the sport has ever been better. We have the resurgence of golf’s two biggest names from the past 25 years — Tiger and Phil. (I’m really hoping to get to write a column this summer about a special major championship victory from at least one of these two legends.)

And as demonstrated at the Masters, the young guys in our sport — Reed, Spieth, Justin Thomas, Rickie Fowler, Rory McIllroy and others — are more than ready to take our sport into the future.

On a local level, I’d really like to do a better job highlighting a lot of the positive stories we have happening right here in our Valley.

From exceptional junior golfers, to exciting signings and progress at Youngstown State to course improvements at Mill Creek and a more in-depth look at the people and positions that help make out sport run well locally, we have a lot to brag about. And if The Vindicator is going to make this space available to me, I need to do a better job at finding and sharing these stories.

So now it’s my time to ask for some help from our readers. Share your ideas, your stories, your knowledge. From an historical fun fact to an invention that can revolutionize the sport. There’s no guarantee it will find its way right here on a Sunday, but I love to hear column ideas from our local golf community.

This past winter I received a special note in the mail. It was old school — hand written in cursive. Pen and paper. Four pages from an anonymous reader who just wanted to sit down and share some thoughts on golf. There were several great column ideas that I hope to touch on this year, including the great job that Brian Tolnar and his team at Mill Creek are doing. And the other an opinion piece on this area’s greatest golfer ever. And while the column ideas were great, just knowing a reader out there wanted to take the time to talk golf with me truly made my day.

And lastly, I’d like to thank all the individuals who took the time, and who take the time regularly, to email me regarding a specific column. I received a number of emails after last week’s Masters column. I read them all. And they all reminded me of the special opportunity I am given with this space each year. I’ll do my best to keep the columns relevant and enjoyable. Please keep the feedback coming.

Jonah Karzmer is a former golf professional who writes a Sunday golf column for The Vindicator. In his spare time he sells commercial insurance and loves getting feedback on his weekly columns via email at Jonah@thekarzmerinsurance.com.