22. Best Startup ‘09

Startup. What's a business that you found this year that you love? Who thought it up? What makes it special?

New businesses are hard to come by in these tough economic times.  Managing-to-survive is the main goal of businesses around here in the south of Spain.  I’ll have to come up with a unique twist on this question…

Best Thing Started 2009

Golf  - I started golfing again after more than 12 years.  The clubs have been in storage all this time so some maintenance is needed; I really ought to get new grips on the clubs; the existing ones are dry and pretty hard.

It’s the only exercise I get and I need it – this desk work is sneaking on the extra kilos - - I don’t take as many long walks on the beach as I did back before this job started.

Around here they play a lot of Stableford scored rounds (instead of Match play).  It is the predominant scoring for groups, teams and non-professional tournaments.  In Stableford once you’re at about a double bogey on any hole you might as well pick up the ball because it won’t affect your score any; in fact you should pick up your ball - - it makes for faster play. Fun fact: with Stableford the higher score is the winner.  It goes something like – - points scored for double bogey=0, bogey=1, par=2, birdie=3, eagle=4, albatross=5 and that should about cover it since 4 under par on a single hole is unlikely, verging on impossible (might as well mention that the next terms are, sequentially, Condor and  Ostrich).  Unhandicapped an all-par round would get 36 points.  Me, I dream of bogey level rounds.