A lot of folks do not know this and some multiple of that number do not care, but despite my well-earned reputation that was decades in the making for having an insatiable appetite for the game of golf, my best guess is that from 2010 to 2020 I did not play more than 50 rounds.

2020, when I traded a full-time job for a part-time gig at a golf course, got me back into the swing of things.

My reluctance to tee it up during that time was a product of two things – a bad back that made golf more of a chore than a party, but also, if I am honest here, a lack of want to that was hitched to diminishing skills. That changed in March 2020 when I suddenly found myself with nothing to do and all day to do it.

I purchased a new set of clubs and while practicing, found something in the dirt: Armed with modern technology, I was able to hit the ball just as far as I could as a 28-year-old and much straighter. I also realized that an aching back is much more tolerable if the golf shot that caused it lands on the green and not in the pond.

I do not want to suggest I play as well as I once did, because I have been unable to recapture the essential element of playing golf well – and that is getting the ball into the hole in the fewest number of strokes. It is called scoring, and I am still trying to figure that part out.

Weekend hackers are the biggest beneficiaries of the advanced technology, making the hardest game there is to play well a wee bit easier. But the guys who tee it up for a living are also enjoying the benefit as we saw this past weekend when three golfers, champion Cameron Smith, Jon Rahm and Matt Jones bested Ernie Els’ PGA record of 30-under par for a 72-hole event. Smith’s winning total of 34 under – almost a birdie every other hole — won the Sentry Tournament of Champions.

Watching that display, I had this thought: Golf is becoming too easy. I wonder if anyone else has ever assembled those five words in that order and memorialized them on the internet.

All of that is a long prologue in advance of the real reason for today’s column, which is for the golfers out there to save a date, specifically March 26, which is a Saturday. As previously mentioned, I am on the board for the Robeson County Humane Society, which holds an annual golf tournament to raise money to better the plight of the many homeless cats and dogs in this county.

March 26 is the day the 19th annual John P. Williamson Memorial Golf Tournament will be played at Pinecrest Country Club, and to attract a larger field the format has been tweaked. It now calls for three-person superball teams, with each team having a minimum of 15 handicap shots that will be used only for pre-flighting the field. We have also made winning the tournament a bit more lucrative, with the winners in flights A and B each receiving a $200 gift certificate and the runners-up each receiving a $100 gift certificate.

The addition of a B flight should make winning more of a possibility for the many people who support the charity event but do not play much golf and therefore consider themselves unlikely to win.

The entry fee is $75 per person, $225 for a team, and includes pretty much everything, including lunch, on-course beverage and mulligans, so it is a great deal and a great deal of fun. The shotgun start is at 1 p.m. and the field is limited to 36 teams, so if you want to play, do not delay. There are multiple levels of sponsorships available for those who want to support the effort but do not play golf.

There are entry forms at Pinecrest Country Club. If you need additional information, just give me a call at 910-374-9317.

I just checked the weather forecast for March 26 and it is mostly sunny with a high of even-par 72. In other words, perfect. Come join us.