I heard recently that The Sound of Music turned 50 years old this month.

“Von Trapp” time really flies.

Looking back in the time machine, I remember my grandmother and me getting on a city bus and heading to the Saenger Theater in downtown Mobile, Alabama to watch that movie when it came out.

I was 7 years old at the time, I’m 57 now.  57 minus 7 equals…

Yea, I guess it has been 50 years.

But, the one that hit harder than the ice water in the ALS Bucket Challenge was learning that Golfweek turned 40 years old this month.

That can’t be right, can it?  Has it been 40 years?

A tough pill for us to swallow here in the Redneck Riviera (Florida panhandle) was when we learned that our local Sports Editor, the late great Ron Balicki, was leaving us to go write for Charlie Stine’s “Florida Golfweek.”

“C’mon, Wrong Ron.  Nobody leaves a sports editor’s job for a weekly golf start-up.  I mean, even though we call it the ‘Mullet Wrapper’, you can’t be serious, can you?”

He was, as were other Florida sports writers who were initially paid a few bucks a week back then to write stories for Stine’s weekly magazine, focusing on state and regional tournaments.

Over time, his career with Golfweek took Balicki to many places.  One unexpected stop was to the College Golf Coaches Hall of Fame where “Wrong Ron” was inducted as a college golf journalist.

After having 10 or so years under its belt, “Florida” was dropped from the title, the magazine expanded into Georgia and the Carolinas and it was off to the races.  Golfweek became the cool publication, the one you’d always be looking out to find if you’d been written about in if you were a tournament golfer; professional, collegiate or junior.

Today, it’s the magazine serious golfers look forward to grabbing out of the mailbox each week or downloading as soon as the most recent digital issue is available.

But really, has it been 40 years?

I guess it has if it’s been 50 for Julie Andrews and the Von Trapps.

So next year you’ll probably be telling me it’s been 30 years since Nicklaus won the ’86 Masters.