It’s a little after noon on a wintry Wednesday, and Alex’s Place is hopping. The YMCA teen center, made possible by a gift from the Gagnon Foundation, is a growing hub for Island adolescents.

We are the visited, the indigenous Islanders. We own mansions, castles, thatched huts (there must be at least one somewhere up-Island), garage apartments, condos, converted barns, Spider Shacks (maybe just me), bungalows and bodegas. And they know it. And they are coming.

As the sole groundskeeper for The Royal & Ancient Chappaquiddick Links (yes that is a real place), allow me to offer the following tips on how to best prepare your golf course for the coming season.

The last stretch, that last tenth of a 3.1-mile race, can be the best part. At Katama it’s when you make the turn down the dirt road back to the Farm Institute. With any luck you’ve got a killer song with a strong beat helping to propel you to the finish line.

The one-story building stands at the corner of County Road and Vineyard avenue in Oak Bluffs. An American flag flaps in the breeze. Beneath it is the Portuguese flag.