Welcome Back!

After a hiatus during a hectic (almost) two months of Golf Guide and prep football work, the Golf Coast is back to updating more regularly.

It's been a wild time locally with Hunter Sagar capturing the City of Bradenton Men's Amateur title, after helping his high school teammates etch their collective names into the record book following an unbeaten season that ended in a state championship.

Yours truly played in the City tournament for the first time, and despite playing the two worst rounds in the last five years, I still somehow managed to win my flight.

There's several new faces at local golf clubs, too, with various clubs letting employees go or watching employees leave. For instance, longtime employee at Sara Bay Country Club, Gavin Darbyshire, accepted a position as the new head pro at Jacaranda West Country Club in Venice.

Speaking of Sara Bay, the tradition-rich golf course was announced as the host for the LPGA's Symetra Tour in 2012. The tour is a developmental tour that's been a stepping stone for several former and current stars on the LPGA Tour. It was previously known as the Futures Tour.

Happy New Year! May your slices and snap-hooks straighten out and may all your lip outs become holed putts in 2012!