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So, 2009 has finally arrived, amidst economic calamity and uncertainty, but what will it bring to the golfing world?

Here are some thoughts for you to consider.

Tiger will re-emerge towards the end of the first quarter and will play in one or two tournaments before the Masters, possibly winning one - maybe Arnie's tournament at Bay Hill.

One thing is for sure, though, Tiger will win the Masters and go on to dominate golf just as he did previously.

Sergio will continue as Europe's best hope for a superstar, despite Harrington's successes, simply because he looks like he should.

However, until he gets a major under his belt, he will continue to be a day late and a dollar short of superstardom. I don't see a major for him until he reaches his 30s, which isn't so far away now.

Ernie is a bit like Greg Norman, an almost-man. I see Ernie continuing to be the almost-man from the rest of the world, with KJ (The Tank) Choi and Vijay being the men to bet on from that chunk of the globe.

Lorena Ochoa will continue to be the most effective player on the LPGA Tour but will begin to feel the re-emerging presence of Michelle Wie who recently earned full playing rights through the LPGA Q-school.

Closer to home, Michael Sims will continue to struggle to make any real impact at the highest levels of golf, partly because he only has conditional status on the Nationwide Tour and partly because his peers are so amazingly good.

Eric West will struggle even more to make any real impact, since he is plying his trade on the South American tour and periodic mini-tour events.

However, full marks to them both for sticking in there and living their dream - I hope I'm way off on this one.

Low participation

The Bermuda Golf Association will finally get its act together and start to generate interest in amateur golf in Bermuda once more.

Whoa, wait a minute, what am I saying with that last one, and do I really think that anyway? Actually, it is one of my hopes for 2009 as opposed to one of my expectations.

I don't mean to sound unfair to the BGA but all we have to do is look at past participation quotas in local tournaments and see that something is slightly amiss.

For instance, each month, the BGA holds a Monthly Medal, usually on the last weekend of each month. The purpose of these Monthly Medals is, in part, to provide a competitive environment to put players to a test to see whether they can bring their 'A game' to the course on the day of the exam.

Historically, participation in the Medals has been low with many of the lower handicap players in Bermuda consistently skipping these events.

While the BGA cannot force players to participate - it can and should, in my opinion - take steps to ensure that their members are actually fully aware of the Monthly Medal programme and encourage them to play.

However, given the low level of promotion, well, actually, the non-existent level of promotion, by the BGA of its Monthly Medal programme, it is entirely possible that golfers may be skipping them and not playing due to a lack of knowledge rather than a lack of interest.

It is a shame that these events are not being supported by Bermuda's better players, and maybe the BGA can set a goal to improve upon this for its 2009 Monthly Medal programme.

So, to rephrase my last thought for 2009, the BGA will once again begin providing effective leadership in the management and development of amateur golf in Bermuda. We live in hope.[[In-content Ad]]

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