Monday: I'm an early riser so, on the road well before daylight was me. A few rain showers along the way (imagine that) but no impediments in the 750 miles traversed to Albuquerque. 

• A "W" for the big guy: Franklin Langham went wire-to-wire in the Nationwide event last week but the big story was the looper on his sack. Our man Jerry Snyder (Skyscraper) had trod the fairways and shared in the glory. 

• Tech talk: A couple of our guys have their computer infected by SpyShedder, which seems impossible to remove, but a fix was discussed on a Leo Laporte podcast I was listening to on the trip. You may read about it here. A removal tool is included.

Also, if you find yourself with an unreadable digital picture card after loading it chock full of memories, you may be able to recover them with Smart Recovery from pcinspector.de. It's free.

One more thing. Has your legitimate version of Widows been flagged by Widows Genuine Advantage (WGA) as being a phony?  You can read about disabling the check here.

Wednesday: Was on the road before seven yesterday and, with plenty of time to spare, took a more circuitous route to Phoenix. Not to long after entering Arizona on I40, I took a left onto Route 191 and headed South to St. Johns. Hooked up to Route 60 taking me through Show Low, Globe and finally to Phoenix. Here's the hybrid version of my last leg using Google Maps. I'll be staying at A. J. Eathorne's domicile till Saturday then it's just a short drive to Palm Springs for the qualifier.

You won't see this in Florida. 

Let's pan to my right.

• Who turned up the heat? It was a bit warm in Arkansas but nothing like here. Descending from the 6000+ foot mountains to the desert valley below, the outside temperature gauge steadily climbed surpassing triple digits.

Eventually made it to 108°!

Friday: Plenty of coverage of The Solheim Cup on The Golf Channel and the, without a doubt, the best hole was the par three sixteenth. The par Laura Davies made may have turned around the momentum in favor of the Euros.

• Never too early: With a bit of clever investigating, I've come upon dates for a few of next season's early events and made (or planning to make) reservations.

Saturday: Met Courtney at the course around noon and played the Dinah eighteen. Hardly a sole was out at that time so plenty of chipping and putting was to be had. The difference in condition between now and when we play Nabisco is startling. Plenty of brown areas on the greens and without over-seeding, everything is Bermuda and little rough.

• Caught between a rock and a prickly place: Part of staying at A. J.'s was earning my keep with some yard work. While trimming an out of control Mesquite tree, one of the branches hooked onto a cactus, broke it in two, which then landed on the back of my leg. A. J. performed an emergency needle-ectomy and applied a tourniquet.

Is an infection far behind? 

• Welcome home: Instead of another humdrum motel room, I managed to finagle a bed in a house "The Nerd" and Steffler rented. Rick's player WD'd due to a back injury which left the slot open. Didn't take long for him to hook up with another player though.

Sunday: Played the Dinah once again but in a foursome this time. Like yesterday, no one pushed us, turning it into a five hour practice but we're on buggies, so who cares?

• Rock pile: That's what we affectionately call the range and it's very evident here. It's populated with your typical spherical brick-like pellets but here's what I don't understand. Everyone seems to also be using them to practice their chipping with but not us. I made sure to pull out some Titleist.

• Long odds: That's what the Q-School finals are going to be. Heard only ten exempt cards will be given out.

Monday: This time it was a trip around the Palmer Course. Done by the early afternoon and a short stint on the range finished the day. 

• Easy rider: At first, the official policy regarding cart riding was either player or caddie may ride but not both. Today, we heard a change was made letting both ride and thank goodness for that. My plan was to fore-caddie most of the round, just to keep up, while jogging in-between shots. Now that would have been a sight!

Tuesday: Finished our last practice round where we'll be starting tomorrow, on the Dinah. We finally start playing for keeps.

• Slummin': Courtney is staying with friends who's house borders on one of the holes at La Quinta Country Club and invited me over for dinner yesterday. We noshed on some superb Mexican food and washed it down with margaritas. I expected a fairly fancy abode but if you take away the multiple flat screen TV's (at least 5), the guest house they turned into a game room, the fire and water lava bed and golf room complete with driving net, putting green and two video cameras, it was just another run of the mill shack.

• Go hogs! A photo-op with a large brass pig was too much for Courtney (remember, she's a Lady Back from Arkansas) to resist. It sits outside Babe's BBQ in Rancho Mirage.

A smooch or Babe. How hot do ya think that pig was?

Wednesday: Snake bit! No birdies but five bogies. We worked on putts in birdie range afterward. We're first out of the hopper on the Palmer mañana.

• Any Scouts in this bunch? With all that's on the line, you would think a little preparedness would be in order this week. For one player, walking to the first tee on the Palmer and asking the starter "How are the yardages out there" doesn't seem the way to do it. Heard she shot the temperature.

• Nice scam: If you use Hotwire for auto rentals here's a little tip. Multiple tries for the same car may give you a message that the lower rate is no longer available but all you have to do is delete the temp. Internet files and cookies and voila, it's back again.

Thursday: Skunked again and will not be paying for those illusive thirty spots. Courtney will give it another go in Venice FL in two weeks and I'll be heading to Oakland on Sunday in preparation for my flight to Prattville AL.

• What time is it? As I arrived on the first tee (about six minutes prior to our time), a player rushed up asking for directions to the tenth tee. It's about an eight minute cart ride and, if she was in the first group, would have had a tough time avoiding the two shot penalty for being late.

• You get what you pay for: Not in this case though. The yardage book for the Palmer is an abomination. Created by a part time LPGA looper, $20 for this piece of dung is a rip off!

• No fond memories here: Having to play in a pressure packed Q-School, you just don't need any more drama during the week. One player arrived this morning with a custom ventilation job to her Lincoln which certainly didn't help calm the nerves. I didn't get the details, but it looked as if someone busted her passenger window for a smash-n-grab.

Not the way to start off the day.

Friday: Met Courtney at the course after everyone teed off and worked on her swing. After a few minutes she was striking it much better. Yesterday, it was a chipping and bunker lesson which transformed her feel altogether. You may wonder why did I wait so long? The explanation is very simple when you think about it. I was Courtney's first looper of any consequence and for me to step in pretending to be some "golf guru" with all the answers would have been quite inappropriate. It was imperative she experience what Q-School is all about and the level of play required to succeed.

• Speaking of... After the completion of the second round, lunch at a nearby eatery was accompanied by a frank evaluation of what I witnessed and suggestions on how to approach such an important step in one's professional golf career. Basically, most qualifiers are not prepared. Whether it be their swing, mental acuity or even their equipment, all the pieces of the puzzle are not in place. This is not just another tournament. It is a stepping stone to what may be a lifelong and lucrative vocation and to arrive here not completely ready is just a sin.

• What do I get for my five grand? Even though a few players who failed to make the cut remained to practice, all those new Titleist were replaced with range balls after the last groups teed off. An inquiry evoked an explanation that having to separate the good pellets from bad just because players who missed the cut wished to practice, didn't make sense. Maybe if they charged a few hundred more...

Saturday: Was on the road by 6:30 in the morn and pulled up to the Days Inn next to the Oakland airport by early afternoon. No muss, no fuss.

• Anybody out there? A few players are still hunting for loopers for the Prattville qualifier or the event itself. With a couple weeks off and a short field in Danville, some caderos may not have bothered going to Alabama.