That’s me in the picture below playing indoor golf at my bar, Ironwood. I think I was forced to take this picture for some marketing purpose or other so I picked a course that I thought looked great on the screen and tried my best to keep my score respectful. I think I am smiling because I managed to sort of pull of both of these elements – Muirfield Village looks great on our screens and +1 through 5 holes is pretty good for me. I am also smiling because I think that hitting a golf ball into a screen and watching it take flight is about the most fun that you can have in the winter where we live (apologies to my skiing friends). Everything from the ball flight to the trees swaying in the breeze to the waves lapping up on the shores of the water hazards, I love it all.

Even more than the game, I love being around the people that love the game as much as I do. We have had so much fun in here these last five months celebrating our great shots, cursing our bad ones, and ribbing each other (there has been a lot of ribbing) as we all try to put the little digital white golf ball into the little white digital hole. It is in these moments when I am reminded why I opened this place: I want to spend as much time in and allow as many others into that communal space as possible. Friendships have been made in here and lives have become intertwined all in the name of a silly game that might mean more than we give it credit for. So welcome to Ironwood, please make yourself comfortable. You have value here, you are seen here and we are so glad that you are here.