As another year draws to a close and a new one begins it is time to take stock of where we are and to think a little about where we are going. Improvement in golf is an incremental thing. Those of you who have been in The Dirt for a good while know what I am talking about. It happens when players think wide and are open to a wide range of ideas.

It happens when we experiment with new things and incorporate and build on what is working and discard or at least place on the back burner those things that are paying little in the way of dividends. The key though is to consider and contemplate as much as you can and to be open minded.

All who come to golf come from a different place physically, mentally and experientially (I hope that that is actually a word) so it should make sense that no two people will take or should be expected to take the exact same path to improvement in this game. Time has proven that systems and a cookie cutter approach to this game does not work. The notion that “if I can just hit this position I'm going to be awesome” is a little naive. Don't you think? The game is far too complex and involved for that. I think it takes 48 plus developed motor skills just to back your car out of the driveway and you can miss your target by a yard or two and still end up in the street. Hitting that little white pill seems a tad more complex than that so one would think that it would take a little more practice and attention to master. Yet many seem to think and present that it should be just that simple. Golf is a thinking persons game. It is the experimenters game. It is the game for the curious and the creative. Accept that and embrace that and you will be well on your way to improvement.

Elk and I were speaking a while ago about the need to preserve and cultivate an environment where ideas and the people behind them have a chance to sink or swim but are protected from ridicule as much as possible in the process. We want folks to question for sure but go light on criticism because none of us really have any idea about where the next great thought on golf is going to come from. What we want is for the community to point the way. If someone is putting something forward that is helping golfers get better we want to help shed still more light on that idea and as best as we can we want to support the person behind it.

In 2011 we created videos with Geoff Mangum and Martin Ayers. Elk also put together his Tour Quality Short Game video. We have a new video coming out shortly that we filmed with Craig Foster and another is in the works with Paul Kopp whose understanding of sequencing in golf is unsurpassed. The point is that we are on a quest to uncover the best that is out there to be found in the world of golf and give it a place to shine. Early in the year many of you learned much from Lee Comeaux in the forums and more recently you've had a chance to discover Bradley Hughes and other talents blogging and likewise participating in our forums. In 2012 we know that there will be many new folks for you all to discover. Whether great new things are found in the Forums, Blogs and Groups or whether they comes to our attention in other ways we want to help bring it all forward.

At Secret In The Dirt, above all else, we want to grow the game of golf. We believe that the single most important element in keeping people interested in the game is the prospect of improvement. Improvement requires effort, but it must be purposeful and directed effort. We want to give your practice some purpose. We want the community to support itself and we want golfers to encourage each other through the course of their improvement and to foster in one another their love of the game.

There are so many great sports and games in this world, and I have played and loved many of them, but I can think of none as challenging and varied and enjoyable as golf. Physically, emotionally, socially, developmentally.....and that list goes on, few games can measure up to golf as a microcosm of life itself. And so we love to play it. We love to practice it and we love to share in our reverence for all that is golf with all of our “friends in golf”. That in short is what lies at the heart of a community and as each day goes by and this community of golfers grows so does my own personal feeling of gratification for all this is happening here.

And so to conclude, let's open your minds and “Go Wide!!!” in 2012. The future is limitless. What you can do in golf knows no bounds. Open your eyes and your ears and your minds in 2012 and we will do our very best to keep the channels open and take you where you want to go in this game!

Thank you all so very much for being a part of Secret In The Dirt!!! Best wishes for a safe, happy and productive New Year for you all. Long live The Dirt!!!

Hit 'em Straight,

Sevam1

Now...Let's go back to 2010 when we first announced that we would actually start to build this place!!!