By Tiger Woods

Hi everybody. Hope your New Year is off to a great start!

Needless to say, I'm excited about 2007. Finding out that I'm going to become a father this summer feels pretty darn great. Elin and I don't know whether we're going to have a boy or a girl, and we're debating whether to find out. As long as it's healthy, that's the main thing. We're not even close to picking a name.

I had a great time during the holidays and went skiing in Colorado with family and friends. I must admit I'm improving on the slopes. It's like anything: the more repetitions you do, the better you get.

My birthday was pretty quiet. I hung out with some friends and mostly slept.

I got back into golf a couple weeks ago. Hank Haney came to Florida and we worked hard for four or five days. It was just a matter of getting the bugs out. From there, I worked on my own.

My close friend Notah Begay III visited and we spent about a week practicing together and playing little games. It was just like the old days at Stanford, when we would grind and needle each other. Notah qualified for the European Tour this year and I wish him luck. He has a lot of talent, but has battled back injuries and I hope he can stay healthy.

Speaking of Stanford, I was excited to hear that Michelle Wie has been accepted. It's too bad that she won't be able to play on the team, but it will be a great time for her to learn and grow as a person. I hope that she's able to take advantage of what Stanford has to offer.

As I said on my website, I'm going to start the 2007 PGA Tour next week by defending my title at the Buick Invitational. I've loved playing Torrey Pines since my days in the Junior World and look forward to the tournament. Even though they have redesigned the South Course, it's still a wonderful layout and I always enjoy San Diego.

I closed the 2006 PGA Tour season by winning six-straight events, so technically I'm going for seven in a row. That would be nice, but as I said last year, my streak really ended when I lost in the first round of the HSBC World Match Play Championship in England.

After Buick, I'll defend my title in the Dubai Desert Classic and spend a couple days looking at my new golf course design project, Al Ruwaya. I've already worked on the plans and can't wait to get started. This is something I dreamed about doing as a kid and I take it very seriously. My goal is to create the most interesting and challenging course I possibly can.

That's it for now. Talk to you again next month.

Tiger