Sluman blog: Ready to start '10 after golf-free off-season

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Jeff Sluman is excited to kick off his season in Hawaii at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship.

Jeff Sluman, who joined the Champions Tour in 2007, heads into the 2010 season with three career victories on the Champions Tour. The former Florida State golfer captured six titles on the PGA TOUR as well. Sluman talks about his offseason, Coach Bobby Bowden's last game and his plans for 2010.

I'm sitting here looking at the ocean on the eve of the Mitsubishi Electric Championship and thinking about what lies ahead for 2010 and how quickly the holidays went by. This is truly one of the best places I've ever been and every Champions Tour player wants to start the year here at the Mitsubishi.

My off-season was very similar to years past. I live in Chicago and people have always asked me, "What do you do in the off season to stay sharp?" My answer has always been the same for the last 25 years -- essentially, no golf. The reason it works for me is that's what I was use to growing up in Rochester N.Y. We obviously had a short season, so you really had no choice but to take time off. I feel like it gives me time to get the aches and pains out after and long year, plus I can refresh mentally as well. I did play the Shark Shootout again this year, so that was about the only golf I played for seven weeks. I just try and stay loose by working out and swinging a new training club called the orange whip. That has been an amazing way to stay loose; I bought one and warm up everyday with it.

I was in charge of Thanksgiving dinner this year, so that was fun. I must say the food was terrific but I was a little nervous. We didn't do a turkey this year; instead, we did a 10 pound prime rib. If I ruined it there was no fallback plan, so I was very careful about the preparation and timing. My wife and daughter were off serving dinner to the troops at Great Lakes Navel Base, so it was just me and my brother in law. We hit a grand slam -- no one left the table hungry, especially after Emeril sent us a few of his banana cream pies. I felt like heading to the gym right after dessert.

The rest of the time I spent with my wife and daughter. We had a wonderful break and we always found something to do together. This year, I rented a house in South Florida for Christmas and New Year's Day, so we didn't have a white Christmas but it was close. I watched Coach Bobby Bowden's last game on New Year's Day in the Gator Bowl. College football will miss Bobby; he has always been so nice to me and my family when we have crossed paths. I wish him the best in retirement and hope to see him this year at one of our tournaments. The weather in Florida was almost Chicago-like so, although we played some golf, I didn't get to practice as much as I would have liked. Then it was time to head back home and jump on a plane, and here we are again in Hawaii for the Mitsubishi Electric Championship. I wish everyone a great and successful 2010 and all the best.