Dear Father Paul: My husband has become a hopeless golf addict. Any

suggestions? - Pat,

Fayetteville

Dear Pat: Sorry, I'm afraid I'm not much help. I have been afflicted with

the same malady for nearly 25 years now. I even ended up buying a house on

the golf course. I would say this, however. Tell your husband to keep his golf

within some kind of reasonable bounds while the children are still at home; say,

once a week. Kids really need their dads a lot and just "being there" is

huge. Also, I'd suggest you do what my wife Judy did and take up the game

yourself. She did and we became instant "golf buddies." She became

a pretty good golfer too.I heard he tell a friend one time, "I decided

that I could either sit home and complain about Paul's golf or get out there

and join him in it." Seriously, some of the best times of our marriage

have been spent on golf courses from Scotland to Hawaii.