'The future looks bright for golf'

Can you believe that The Masters is already next week?! A sure sign of better weather to come. But before we get there, a lucky group of young people will have their moment in the sun at Augusta National. The Drive, Chip & Putt national finals are this Sunday and our fair state is well-represented with THREE participants!

Here are some fun facts about our DCP participants:

-The best piece of golf advice Joey Lenane ever received was: 'Have fun!'
-Joey would serve the following at his Masters Champions Dinner: 'Steak, lobster, and pasta'

Also, if you want a good cry, check out this short profile that The Golf Channel put together on Joey: http://www.golfchannel.com/media/drive-chip-and-putt-meet-joey-lenane/

-Conner Willett thinks that the hardest part about golf is: 'To come back after a bad hole'
-Conner said the best club in his bag is his putter and he always plays ProV1's
-Conner would serve the following at his Masters Champions Dinner: 'Steak and creme brulee'

-Molly Smith would serve the following at her Masters Champions Dinner: 'I would start by serving RobinTales with Pigs in a Blanket and spinach and artichoke dip for our appetizers. Prime rib with baby back ribs and mashed potato. Dessert would be cookie cake or grasshopper pie ice cream from Sullivan Farms ice cream parlor.'
-Molly's favorite part about golf is 'Seeing how much better I'm getting'
-Molly (along with her dad, Phil) is a defending MGA Champion! They won the 2014 Father & Daughter Championship - Forward Division at Wellesley Country Club last August.

Meet all the Drive Chip & Putt finalists

Be sure to catch these three talented junior golfers compete in the national finals on Easter Sunday at 8:00am on The Golf Channel! And follow all the action on Twitter:

Tweets by @DriveChipPutt

And so it begins...kinda

This is not an April Fools gag - it's the 'official' start of the golf season here in Massachusetts! So why does it look like this outside...

The 9th fairway at TPC Boston

Although, to be fair, this is about a billion times better than it was just a couple weeks ago!

So what does April 1st mean for golfers? Simply put, you can start posting scores for rounds played in Massachusetts now, and they will count toward your Handicap Index.

And in an exciting development, we will soon be rolling out MGA MembersNow! - a program that allows golfers to sign up for and renew their GHIN number online (with participating MGA Member Clubs). Up until now, renewing your GHIN number for the season meant making a special trip to the Pro Shop to pay your fee in person. But now, you'll be able to do it online! We hope to have this program up and running within the next week or two, so stay tuned!

In the meantime, who is open for public play today??