Perhaps it is the weather, the biblical September and October (you know, rain for 40 days and 40 nights … stay with me here folks) or maybe it is just as simple as course preservation.

But an email rolled into The Telegraph’s sports inbox this week that certainly caught my eye and got me thinking about golf, even in the chill of early December.

It seems the folks at Amherst Country Club are running a winter special, 14 holes of golf for $21 walking and $35 with a cart.

Now, it’s not the price or even the fact that you people are insane enough to golf at this time of year.

Let’s be truthful. The temp drops below 55 and this guy jams the clubs into the garage, wedged somewhere between my old Nintendo NES and my tomato cages.

It’s the 14-hole thing that got me. Not 18 but 14.

And then it hit me. The Amherst CC folks have stumbled on to

greatness.

Talk about genius. This is like that Navy guy trying to incorporate springs into equipment on ships and coming up with the “Slinky.”

Golf, at 18 holes even in the heat of summer, is simply too long.

The late President Bush knew it.

He was a legendary proponent of “ready golf,” trying to get in and get out as quickly as possible when on course.

Four-hour, 18-hole rounds are simply a thing of the past, gone the way of the 2:30 baseball game.

And therein lies the need to go to playing 14.

Look it up. The 18-hole round of golf is a top cause for the spike in divorce. Admit it, playing 18 is simply abandoning your family for the day.

But 14? Think about that for a minute. All of a sudden, your round is hacked to three hours.

I flat-out love this idea.

I have never played at Amherst CC, and I admit, those folks won’t be seeing me until well after the spring thaw.

But I beg you to try making 14-hole golf a year-round reality.

Nine is too few, and 18 is too many.

But 14? You’re talking just right.