Most of January was spent in my shop creating a piece for the Saskatchewan Wooworkers Guild. Some younger members are breathing new life into the annual ‘Wood Show’ and want to have a Mini Golf section and ‘Club Car’ races at the show to try and attract a younger audience. This seemed like such a good idea I agreed to make a ‘Windmill’ for the mini golf. After solving a number of technical issues in my regular middle of the night aha moments the piece came together. The globe on top is a piece of Ash I have had in my shop for 10+ years. I made it thin enough that the carved letters would glow from the LED bulb inside. The body is regular 2×8 spruce cut on an angle and then decorated with paint and a wood burner to give a ‘brick look’. An old barbecue rotisserie causes the blades to turn at just the right speed. When you get the ball past the turning blades it enters a hole and comes out the back of the windmill. The golf clubs are fashioned from diamond willow. I turned the ‘golf balls’ on my lathe from various woods and one from a plastic resin given to me by a friend.

My friends assure me that I don’t need to panic from an expected rush of golf pros all wanting a ‘Diamond Willow’ golf club.