Superstar hockey agent Don Meehan loves to golf, he just wishes he had more time to do it. As the pre-eminent representative for many of the National Hockey League star players, including Steven Stamkos, P.K. Subban, Drew Doughty, Erik Karlsson, Phil Kessel, Zach Parise and Corey Perry, to name a few of them, the Canadian-based agent who frequently travels to various parts of the world to do business is simply too busy to regularly get out on the course.

A funny thing happened to me on the way to a golf game a few days ago – it had to be called off because of rain. In one of the hottest and driest summers on record, I just happened to pick a day in which it rained. On the one hand, I felt disappointed because if you’re a golfer there’s nothing worse than getting excited about getting out on the course, only to find out rain ruins it. As bad as I felt about having to take a rain check, I also felt good because I have to believe it has been a trying season for golf course operators, who have probably had to work extra hard to prevent their courses from drying up. There’s only so much sprinkling you can do.

You can say Inbee Park won the gold medal in the 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil, but really the biggest winner was women’s golf. On the biggest and most important stage in the world, the women aced it – literally and metaphorically. Park, the 28-year-old from South Korea who earlier this year met the criteria for the World Golf Hall of Fame, was a well-deserving winner, trouncing the field by five strokes and a score of 16-under-par.

For the all the hubbub controversy about problems heading into the 2016 Olympic Games, the return of golf turned out to be fantastic. It came down to a thrilling finale in the 72-hole tournament that, in the end, proved to be memorable for the players, some of whom declared after it was over about how much the experience meant to them personally and professionally.

Many famous musicians also happen to be avid golfers. Probably the most famous one of all is Alice Cooper, who wrote about it in his book: Alice Cooper, Golf Monster: A Rock 'n' Roller's Life and 12 Steps to Becoming a Golf Addict. Some other high-profile musicians include: Kenny G., Justin Timberlake, Snoop Dogg and Adam Levine. To try to understand what it is about the game of golf that attracts musicians, I asked Gil Moore, who was the drummer for Triumph, a Canadian-based rock and roll band that hit it big in the U.S., beginning in Texas in the mid-70s and went on to play in some major international gigs, including the US Festival in California in 1983. Triumph was part of Heavy Metal Day that included acts such as Judas Priest, Quiet Riot, Ozzy Osbourne, Scorpion, Van Halen and Motley Crue.

Who could have ever guessed an island in Northern Michigan could have two golf courses, one of them associated with a historic building? I found that out while visiting Mackinac Island, specifically to see the 129-year-old Grand Hotel, which has lodged presidents and movie stars and was the site of the film Somewhere In Time. My wife, Jane, saw the film and said at some point in her life she wanted to see The Grand Hotel. So off we went from our home just west of Toronto in Mississauga. It took us about 10 hours.

You can blame the Zika virus and other issues as the reasons some of the best male golfers in the world are passing up the chance to play in the 2016 Summer Olympics, but the reality is the International Olympic Committee created the potential for a problem by including golf in its roster of sports for the first time in more than a century and opening it up to professionals.

Of all the four men’s Professional Golf Association Major championships, the Open, or British Open as some prefer to call it because of its history, is the best of all because of its unpredictability. If the golfers aren’t battling the course with the bunkers the size of craters and the deep rough that look like pastures, they are usually fighting the elements. This year’s version at Royal Troon in Scotland was no different. It had a little bit of everything to challenge the golfers, yet allow for a final day that offered ideal conditions and a round for the ages.

The name Hawerchuk is synonymous with greatness in the National Hockey League, but it is building up a following in golf. Eric Hawerchuk, whose father Dale played 16 years in the NHL and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2001, is in his fourth year as a professional golfer. The 27-year-old plays on the Great Lakes Circuit Canada Pro Tour, and recently won the Desjardins Insurance Challenge. While he followed his father in hockey, Hawerchuk knew he’d never be good enough to be drafted into major junior, so he focused full-time on golf, playing competitively starting at the age of 12.