As we close the year and look forward to the new one which is about to begin, I thought I’d give you a little overview of 78MPH.com and the most popular posts of 2015.

Of course, 78MPH only just begun, as Karen Carpenter sang, in June, so we only have half a year’s worth of posts to report on. This week we (me and my daughter-cum-editor supremo, Colleen) are celebrating 12,000 visits to the blog. Now, the concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people, so if this blog was a concert, it would take four sold-out performances for people to have seen it.

Other interesting tidbits are the busiest day of the year was July 14th, with 573 views, and my biggest referrals come from Facebook, then Reddit and then Twitter. I also got a lot of help from RiderFans.com and QuiltingBoard.com. My visitors came mostly from Canada and the USA, but we’ve had visits by folks in 54 countries.

As for my top 10 – I don’t know why some of them are more popular than others, or where the visitors came from, but I’m grateful for being able to write stories that people like to read. Here, in reverse order, are my top 10 posts of 2015:

#10 – Under Construction Mickelson National – I spent the afternoon visiting professional golfer and golf course designer Phil Mickelson’s upcoming course being built just outside of Calgary. I can’t wait to golf it.

#9 – Somewhere My Love – a post reflecting on the actor and Bridge strategist, Omar Sharif – and Doc O’Shea, the love of my life.

#8 – Our Great Night’s Sleep at The Wilderness Club – I can’t say enough about how much Ruth and I enjoyed our stay and play at The Wilderness Club in Eureka, Montana. Needless to say, we’ll be back in 2016 when the golf season is in full swing 😉

#7 – Golfing in the Lake Huron Fog – This is when the blog really begins, when I went out to Ontario to help Ruth pack up and get her cottage on the market. The cottage sold, and the two-week break turned into a month-long adventure!

#6 – Next Stop: Tor Hill, Scott Knapp and Regina – our road trip took us through the USA and back through Canada, and we made a stop in my former hometown, Regina, and went to my most favourite golf course, and to see one of my most favourite golf people of all, Tor Hill’s resident Pro, Scott Knapp.

#5 – A Great Day for Golf in Manitoba – The day we played the Grand Pines course just outside of Lake Winnipeg, with Ruth’s friend, Lynn.

#4 – Make Your Own Golf Car Seat Cover – I’ve been making seat covers for golf cars for at least a decade, and I thought I’d share my pattern. Turns out, it was a hit, and continues to get reads every day.

#3 – Day 2 Eau Claire, Wisconsin – This post talks about the second day of Ruth and my road trip back to Calgary where we met two amazing people on a golf course, Renee and Gary Davis. Golf is fun – and so are the people you meet!

#2 – 1956 and the Rider Train to Edmonton – This is a story that retells the train trip that I took with Long, Tall, Drink a Water Mary to watch the Saskatchewan Roughriders play against the Edmonton Eskimos in the 1956 playoffs. I ended up running into the man who became the love of my life on that train, but the story is something you won’t come across these days.

#1 – Positional Vertigo and Golf – I suffer from positional vertigo and found a video from a doctor who found a way to relieve the symptoms…even on the golf course.

Happy New Year, everyone, and I’m looking forward to your continued support in 2016!

Maureen O’Shea