From the Editor

Bob Albright

Tennis anyone?

Short of hitting a curveball, it was easily the most frustrating athletic endeavor I had ever attempted.

How could one swing produce such an effortless laser and the next swing produce a ball trajectory rivaling a Phil Mickelson flip shot? Just the same, it was a sport I would inevitably come back to, lured by that one ball that went exactly where I wanted it to, wiping out the memory of all the others that followed my marching orders as precisely as my six-year-old son does these days.

Frustrating? Exasperating was probably the more apt description — until, that is, that day several years ago when I put down my trusty Prince Pro racquet and first wrapped my fingers around a beat-up Wilson driver which set me back a good five bucks at a yard sale. From that moment on tennis became a wonderful, mindless diversion to golf.

For many here on the North Shore and beyond, however, tennis is far more than a diversion, but instead a year-round obsession. From the intense North Shore Tennis League action in the winter months, to the serves and slams outdoors on sun-baked courts in the summer in USTA and club play, this other lifetime sport indeed has a life of its own.

Given that strong local passion and the fact that so many of our local golf clubs offer top rate tennis facilities as well, we here at NSG have often fielded inquiries as to whether or not we were ever going to add a “T” to that acronym. Well, as we enter our eighth year here at the magazine we’re ready to answer that quiet, but constant groundswell with our first tennis section. Admittedly, it is a modest start, but hopefully it will carve out its own identity and become a regular staple in the publication in the months to come.

Just as it was eight years ago when publisher Richard Ayer launched this golf magazine, there is no telling what the section will become. All we do know is that there’s plenty of interest out there and the word needs to get out. Make no mistake about it, NSG&T will always be a golf magazine first and foremost, but we also realize that there are plenty of you out there who play and enjoy both sports – errant tee shots and blown overhead slams notwithstanding. So check it out starting on page 22 with a feature on the Manchester Athletic Club’s premier tennis academy, or just simply dive right into all the local golf news and features from what has been a very eventful off-season and what looks to be a very exciting 2010 season.

I’ll see you out on the fairways – and charging the net.

Bob Albright
editor

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