And 2015 Ends...And Happy New Year!

The Best Year Ever? Who is to say?

Actually, Cameron Morfit did at Golf.com. While it's a good read and I agree with his take and that of Iain Carter, who wrote that we witnessed a professional golf season for the ages, the declarations of 2015 as best golf year ever speaks as much to the historic performances as golf's desperation to be as loved.

After several post-recession years amidst Tiger's downfall, the prospects were dimming. Yet the emergence of star players and some better economic news should have folks bullish. But there are too many worrying signs, too much hostility toward the sport and too many societal pressures that even eternal optimists must know dim the prospects for "growth." These doubts undoubtedly prompt the occasional Buzzfeed-style headlines designed to assure us that we're fans of something loved and popular. Golf, as a pasttime or as entertainment, finds itself right about where it has always been and always will be on the international radar.

Which is why the focus of this site will continue to be on the best stories, the most critical news worth analyzing and on all things design. Visiting and soaking up the St. Andrews scene this year reinforced just how important all elements of design were vital to the growth of golf and how enjoyable those elements--courses, clubs, clubhouses, clothes, etc...--are to scrutinize.

After a decade of a pretty straightforward blog format, I hope to gradually make a few significant changes to the appearance and energy of the site in 2016, keeping the general sense of a blog only with more short posts guiding you to great reads, more imagery, increased audio listening and video content. And of course, finally making it all mobile friendly without a sense that reading the site on a mobile device is less fulfilling than on a desktop (a sense I get with too many websites). I'm finishing up a survey to help crystalize a few ideas and hope to post it soon. Your input will be much appreciated.

These refinements will hopefully allow me to continue to enlighten and entertain the incredibly loyal reader of this site--78% of visits this year are from bookmarks and direct visits. In the mean time, my favorite time of year arrives with the west coast swing and Masters run-up, so as the site refinements get ironed out, we should be in for a continuation of 2015's theatrics. The best year ever? Who knows. But it was a very special one.

My continued gratitude for reading the site and contributing your thoughts, for clicking on the links posted and for supporting the efforts of my media partners to cover the sport.

Happy New Year!