It is officially warm enough to hit the links. Of course, if you read about my alter ego, Average Joe, it might have given you new hope in the sport.

Part of my job this spring and summer is to play the signature hole on several public courses in the state. I have already done two, the 14th at Laurel View CC in Hamden and the 15th at Orange Hills CC. My combined score already is 3-over-par.

Still, it's a good gig if you can get it: playing golf for a living, even for a hacker like myself. Courses to come include Grassy Hill CC in Orange, Gillette Ridge GC in Bloomfield, Lyman Orchards GC, both courses in Middlefield, and Great River GC in Milford.

If you haven't seen it, our new golf pages are in Thursday's edition of the New Haven Register. You can buy ads for those pages or you can suggest holes for Average Joe to come hack up, er, play.