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I received an e-mail the other day from my friend Joe in Connecticut. He reminded me it was time for us to start planning our occasional Sunday evening outings: nine holes of golf followed by pizza at Joe's (different Joe) in Northampton.

Golf is only one of the reasons we get together. It's a great excuse to gather up a couple of friends we haven't seen in a while and make a social event out of it. We mostly play the Ledges in South Hadley. The course is always very well kept, and it's challenging enough but not overly tough.

Evenings are special on the golf course. The lighting may get a little tricky, but it's quiet and the setting sun over the Mt. Tom Range is beautiful. Plus, early in the season, nine holes are enough.

I don't consider myself a golfer. I have been playing forever but never seem to get much better. Most times I don't even keep score. But there is always that one shot that keeps you coming back. It's most likely to occur toward the end of the round, so you will be sure to remember it.

As with any other sport, if you're not very good, you don't need to play the most challenging courses. Another golf buddy, Fred, bought a dozen golf balls before the start of a round at Mount Snow, Vermont. The course has a gorgeous view of the ski area. It's a magnificent layout, and most times you can't see one fairway from the other.

Fred sprayed his shots everywhere but on the narrow fairways. After the first nine, he needed to go back into the pro shop and pick up another dozen golf balls to get him through the back nine. On another occasion, a friend of mine hit a motel and a church in the same round. The sad thing about it is it wasn't miniature golf.

I grew up playing the two municipal golf courses in Springfield— Veterans' and Franconia. As kids of about ten years old, my friend Jimmy and I would ride our bikes with the golf bags over our backs. We were just regular kids, not schooled on all the rules of the game.

We weren't into etiquette so much. One time we hit our shots into four women who were playing a little too slowly for our liking. One of them turned around and said, "Do that again and we'll hit it back at you." Jimmy offered, "You can't reach us." I've rehabilitated myself and am even allowed on private courses now.

Other town-owned courses in the area, besides the Ledges, are Chicopee Country Club, Westover in Granby, Agawam Municipal and Cherry Hill, a nine-hole golf course in Amherst. They all offer reduced rates for residents. But the golfing experience is right up there with the rest of them.

There are many privately owned courses that are open to the public. These include a few nine-hole courses such as Holyoke Country Club and Beaver Brook in Haydenville. The privately owned courses give preferential tee times to members. Other courses are private and open to members only, and some are very private. We are fortunate to have such a variety and abundance of golf courses in our region. I did a quick count and came up with over forty golf courses up and down the Valley.

Some are long, like Westover and Chicopee. Some are shorter but tricky, like Wycoff in Holyoke and Pine Grove in Northampton. The hilly back nine at Southampton wears you down if you choose to walk it, while Tekoa Country club in Westfield and Southwick Country Club are relatively smooth. East Mountain Country Club in Westfield (dubbed "Easy Mountain" by snobbish types) and Amherst's Cherry Hill have wider fairways, resulting in fewer lost golf balls.

Oak Ridge Golf Club in Feeding Hills hosts a huge number of golf outings. It's amazing the way that course holds up with so much play. The Orchards Golf Club at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley was the venue for the U.S. Women's Open in 2004. It was great to see a local course that you've played getting national TV coverage.

The dress code at the public courses is more relaxed than at the private ones. Usually the only requirement is that you must wear a collared shirt. But at the other extreme, we were invited to play at the very private River Highlands in Cromwell, Connecticut where the Greater Hartford Open is held. A couple of our guys came up from WCBS in New York. The starter told one of them his shorts were too short and he wouldn't be allowed on the course. Fortunately, he had a pair of pants in his car.

Nearly all the golf courses around our area have websites with greens fees posted. Check the local papers, too, for early season specials. There can be golf with cart (and even lunch) packages.

If you're in it for the exercise, you can walk the course and get the price down to nearly a buck a hole. Cherry Hill and Holyoke Country Club both offer eighteen holes for $20.

Here are a few of my favorite holes at our local courses. The fifteenth at the Ledges is a shorter par four that looks longer than it is. Standing on the elevated tee, you might get a nice surprise if the ball lands close to the green. It's a scenic hole, with Mt. Tom as a backdrop.

Holyoke Country Club's seventh hole is another par four. It goes over a gully that could be cause for trouble. Maybe I like it because I got a birdie on it once. The third hole at Tekoa is a picturesque par three with a pond just to the left of the green. The third at Oak Ridge is a par four with water to the right of the green. It looks easy, but it's also easy to mess up.

Mark Twain once described golf as "a good walk ruined." It doesn't have to be that way. Today you can rent a cart.