British Open Golf

There are 2 interesting stories this year. First is Tom Watson, who is 59 years old, is at the top of the leaderboard. Tom has won this event 5 times in the past and is very much an adopted son in the old sod.

Secondly, and perhaps even more surprising is that Tiger Woods missed the cut on Friday by one shot finishing 5 over par. Tiger who has also won the British Open in the past has only missed one other major cut in his career and that was the 2006 U.S. Open.

Phil Michelson did not attend this year’s Open Championship as both his wife and mother are battling breast cancer.

Retief Goosen is the only other usual suspect in the mix.

The first day the conditions were marvelous with very good weather but today the conditions are cold and windy not at all unusual for Scotland. The course at Turnberry is very beautiful and the newly refurbished club house is magnificent.

This tournament is very important to all golfers for a few reasons. It is one of the four major tournaments of the year. It is the oldest golf tournament and it is under the rules of the R& A (Royal and Ancient Golf Association). A win at the Open Championship is, therefore, highly coveted and extremely prestigious.

The complexion of a golf tournament always changes dramatically when Tiger Woods is not in the mix. All the life seems to be sucked out of the event except, of course for the other players who are thrilled at his exit giving them a better chance at the win. There is nothing as exciting as Tiger either being in the lead or making a charge on Sunday. The magic of his game is a wonder to behold and watching him come up with creative and wonderfully executed impossible golf shots never fails to thrill audiences around the world.

The sponsors are always crestfallen when Tiger is not at their event or has rarely missed the cut as they know this means immediate loss of revenue.

There are many “young guns’ coming up like Anthony Kim, Camilo, Villegas, Rory McIlroy and we always watch the energetic Sergia Garcia with great interest and our very own Mike Weir who did win the Masters in 2003..

Watching golf on TV has always been a tradition in our home and I remember the excitement of Sundays dating back to watching Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino and Gary Player with my parents in Toronto.

Many people here in Ajijic, Lake Chapala are avid golfers and enjoy the year round option to play. We also have many golf courses for all level of handicaps in Ajijic, Chapala and Guadalajara.

So enjoy tomorrow’s final round. We will be even without Tiger Woods.

Retiring to Ajijic, Lake Chapala, Mexico

I have blogged about the wonderful retirement opportunity in Ajijic, Lake Chapala but I thought it is well worth blogging about again.

There have been three things that lately have, to some, put a damper on travel and retirement in Mexico and I would like to address those three issues.

First, there was the global economic crisis that hit in September 2008. We opened Collins Real Estate in July 2008 and have received lots of comments about our brilliant timing. I am happy to say, however, that we have had a steady stream of clients and sales since opening albeit perhaps not as many as we might have had without the economic crunch.

People are still retiring in droves as the Baby Boomers move through the market. Good deals are available and people are still buying here even though there are some cheap deals in Arizona and Nevada it is still not Mexico and when the economy recovers even slightly as it already has our weather and cost of living will remain very attractive for those seeking ideal retirement locations.

Second, there was a lot of buzz about the “drug wars” on the border of Mexico and the U.S. Both Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and President Obama have visited our Mexican President Filipe Calderon and have agreed that this problem is a shared responsibility. The fact that 95% of the guns in Mexico are imported from the U.S. and the voracious appetite of the Americans for drug consumption are both fuelling these drug wars. Ajijic, Lake Chapala is largely an expat community and here the only drug of choice is Viagra so we have been largely untouched by the violence reported in the papers. Both Mexico and the U.S. are committed to eradicating this scourge on humanity and as a result instances of violence are markedly reduced. The legalization of Marijuana would go a long way in easing the problem as well.

Thirdly, H1N1 (Swine Flu) caused many to change their plans to come to Mexico as they thought instant death awaited for them as soon as they set foot here. This was not quite the case, as it turned out. Although the number of H1N1 cases did reach 30,000 worldwide the scare was blown completely out of proportion causing unnecessary financial stress to many in Mexico City. H1N1 is not as serious a strain as the normal seasonal flu and can be easily managed with the proper medication – Tamiflu.

The upshot of all this is Ajijic, Lake Chapala is still a wonderful and safe place to retire. Our weather is the best in the world and right now we are enjoying the rainy season which the best season of the year. (Not that any of our seasons are bad.) Lake Chapala is high and the Sierra Madre Mountains are green and the colors of the flowers and flowing trees and shrubs are magnificent. The mangoes are heavy on the trees and the aromas are wonderful.

To get up every morning to have ones coffee (or morning drink of choice) on your terraza while watching the sun sparkle on Lake Chapala is truly great for the soul.

So if you were considering retirement in Ajijic, Lake Chapala but because of the above reasons became reticent worry no more. Retirement in Ajijic, Lake Chapala still is everything you want it to be and so much more.