CHENANGO FORKS – Most of the golf courses I have played the past 15 to 20 years have not placed a premium on driving accuracy. Adjacent fairways running in the opposite direction welcome my stray drives, and finding a green in regulation is still quite attainable.

In resuming our summer golf tour earlier this week, I learned quickly how unforgiving Chenango Valley State Park Golf Course can be for the wayward driver.

Lesson learned number one at State Park: Find the fairway with your tee shot. Lesson number two: Find the fairway with your tee shot.

Normally a golf statistics junkie, I had no such time for superfluous numbers. Most of the time I was simply trying to find my ball amongst the trees and thickets.

Said my golf partner Rick Ferris about two-thirds through our round, "If you put it in the fairway, you have a chance at a decent score."

A chance was about right for this twosome, just like you have "a chance" at selecting the magic numbers in the Megaball drawing.