Golf Links

Hi all,
As you may or may not know, I have a side gig in the summer teaching golf. I received my certification from the Canadian Golf Teacher's Federation in 2006. My experiences have been with the Dryden and Sioux Lookout golf courses where I taught a junior program and individual lessons. I've kind of slacked off a little bit in the last couple of summers, but this year I'm feeling like I want to get back into it so if you read this and want a lesson, get in touch with me!

Here's a free golf tip. When buying golf clubs, keep your height in mind before you select any new clubs. Guys up to 5'10" should fit a standard set of clubs. Women up to 5'8" should fit a standard women's set. If you are taller, (or very short) you should consider getting "fit" for a new set of clubs by a golf professional. Trust me, fitted clubs will improve your game. And don't ignore what shaft your golf clubs come with. You have a choice between metal or graphite shafts. I would suggest graphite if you are a beginner, as they are light and easy to swing. Metal shafts are a little heavier and stiffer, but are more accurate, so they best suit an experienced golfer.

I also promote a few golf companies on the web, so here they are........

Golf Outlets is the best site I could find for clubs as far as quality and prices go.
They have a great variety of clubs and price ranges. I suggest checking them out, especially if you are a golfer who's been playing for awhile and in the market for some new gear...




The world's best golf teaching aid.........




Surprisingly to me, Sears has some good clubs at decent prices. An excellent
place to shop for clubs if you are a beginner in my opinion.

Sears Link

Hi all, In case you're here because you saw my latest Facebook status; here's the link to Sears that I was talking about.

Cheers!

Sears Days - Save Up to 45%

Travel Deals

Hey there. Some of you may be visiting because you saw my ads in Kijiji. First of all just let me say thanks for visiting. Second, your stop here to check out these sites can save you a lot of money! You see, the prices in these links can only be found through an "affiliate" of the company(me) and are a lot cheaper than if you googled the website on your own. If you don't want to spend the time researching vacations on your own, email me at rickmckenzie_69@hotmail.com and let me know where you want to go. I'll research the trip for you and get back to you with the details (pricing, etc.) I'm providing this service free of charge as I get paid from the company if you book something. Happy travels!

Spring Break

Happy Spring Break everybody. Tomorrow we are heading to Duluth for a mini holiday. We are all very much looking forward to it. If I can get to a computer, I'll blog our shenanigans here for those who want to see what we're up to!

See ya!

Ode To My Mom (not a happy post)

Seven years ago today was the worst day of my life. I got home from work that day and got a call from my dad. A call I almost didn't answer because the call display was a long distance number I didn't recognize, but I answered it anyway, maybe because I was in a super good mood at the time.

It was my dad calling from my uncle's in Minneapolis. He said he and mom were in a car accident on their way home, and when I asked him where mom was he had to tell me she was gone.

What made this especially hard was our son Andrew was 17 months old at the time. He was mom's only grandchild and she absolutely adored him. She would come and visit us for weeks at a time and spend it all with Andrew; taking him for walks and playing with him around the house. What particularly bothers me is he was too young to form any memories of her.

The next day me, Jennifer and Andrew raced home to Selkirk to be with family and friends and prepare for mom's funeral. Dad's house was packed with people for days, the support was appreciated. Mom passed away on a Monday and yet by Friday they were able to get her back to Selkirk and we had her funeral then. About 250 people attended mom's service. I had no idea she was so popular!

Mom's passing caused an interesting situation for our family in that we decided to sue the driver that caused the accident. Our lawyer was a really nice guy and made trips to visit us in Selkirk and here in Sioux Lookout. It took months and even though the other driver had 2 miilion dollars in third party liability, and dad was found to be at 0% fault; we had to settle in court for considerably less. That is why I'm not a fan of insurance companies. They make billions in revenue from premiums, but when there's a claim, you have to fight them for every little penny, they make me sick. (Sorry for you folks reading this that may be employees of insurance companies; I'm not mad at you.)

I'd have to say that the support of my family, especially my wife Jennifer and our son Andrew, as well as my dad and my sister, helped me get through that traumatic time. Even though it was seven years ago, I still think about my mom often, and what would my life be like if she were still here.

I've actually been asked by people if I could talk to my mom again, would I? My answer would be no. Becasue then I'd have to say goodbye to her again, and once was enough.

For My Wife......

Andrew's First Away Hockey Tournament

Last Friday, Saturday, and Sunday we all piled into our Kia and headed to Kenora for Andrew's first out of town hockey tournament. His team played four games; two on Friday and two on Saturday; and his team finished with a record of one win, one tie, and two losses. Andrew actually scored a goal in their first game, but his shot went in off of a team mate's stick so the other kid got credit for it.

The tournament had sixteen teams in it and for the most part was organized and ran very well. If I had to make one complaint, it would have to be about the referees. No, the refereeing did not cost us any games, but a lot of penalties that should have been called were not; and I was terrified someone was going to get hurt.

Anyways....... We stayed at the Best Western Lakeside Inn in Kenora; which was nice because it had a pool and it was right next to one of the arenas Andrew played in.

In between games we killed time mostly by letting the kids go swimming. There was a pool in our hotel but there was also a REALLY NICE pool in the arena, so needless to say the kids were pretty waterlogged by Sunday morning!




In the evenings most of the parents got together for a drink while the kids all played with each other, or we were all up visiting by the pool while the kids went swimming. It was a lot of fun. Jennifer and I planned to use some downtime to visit some stores and maybe shop a little, but surprisingly, there wasn't much time for that.

If any parents are reading this and thinking about putting their kids in hockey, I would say if your kid wants to play hockey, then go for it, but don't encourage them to play if they don't want to. Hockey is alot of fun, but at the same time it's expensive, and even a little dangerous too, so kids have to learn to be careful. And it's a real hassle to get kids into all that equipment!


To go to Andrew's hockey team's website; click here.