Honey bees and golf don't mix

I’m concerned about the disappearance of the nation’s honey bees. Here in Ohio, I started seeing reports a few months ago when winter was beginning to release its hold on the area and bee keepers went to check on their hives. What they found was alarming. A huge portion of the bees were simply gone. They weren’t even dead, just missing. Maybe someone with expertise in this field can explain to me what’s happening.

Having posted this concern, I harken back to a time a few years ago when I was covering the href="http://www.ohiogolf.org/">Columbus District Golf Association’s Senior Championship at the Country Club at Muirfield.

The tournament was won by Chuck Smith, a local, self-taught player who once was the top-rated senior amateur in the country. Chuck is a quiet, unassuming man who works hard on his game and has a background as a boxer. He is tenacious, and never was that characteristic put on display than during this tournament. With only a few holes left to play, Chuck took a drink of a can of soda he had with him, unaware there was a bee inside the can. The bee got in his mouth and stung him, causing him to swell immediately. I’m not sure if it was a honey bee. Do honey bees hang around golf course garbage cans and get in sugary drinks? If so, then what stung him was one of the bees I’m wondering about.

Chuck didn’t complain or bat an eye, just got a bag of ice to put on the swelling and continued playing. His win was impressive, and in typical Chuck Smith fashion, he went to the range immediately after winning to work on what he perceived to be flaws in his game.