CRANFORD -- On Sunday, Mike Yotnakparian and seven of his buddies will be playing a round of golf at Hyatt Hills in Clark. That's not such a big deal since the weather has been good enough this past week for many golfers across the state to get in a round or two.

But, in fact, it's a very big deal because the round will commemorate the 300th consecutive month Yotnakparian has played 18 holes of golf somewhere in New Jersey. That's 25 years.



His streak goes back to April 17, 1991, and the 54-year-old Cranford resident, a 15 handicap, has dealt with all kinds of issues to keep it alive.

"Playing softball I broke my left hand sliding in second base. I actually played one-handed at Galloping Hill (in Kenilworth) to keep the streak alive," Yotnakparian told NJ Advance Media.

"Another time I was supposed to have a hernia operation. I hadn't played yet that month, so I rescheduled it. I didn't tell the doctor why. I played Oct. 1, had the surgery the next week and had four weeks of recovery and was able to play Nov. 15 or 20."

Without looking back at all his score cards, Yotnakparian says his best round during the streak was probably an 85. His worst was a 134 with the broken hand at Galloping Hill.

"Even though I'm a righty, it almost would have been better if it had been my right hand because your left arm leads your swing," Yotnakparian noted. "I practiced and got to the point were I could hit it 100 or 120 yards with a 5-wood and then practiced my short game.

"I got to the first tee and a couple of people were looking: "Look at this guy.' But I ended up having a halfway decent shot off the tee and I shot a 59 on the front. Then I shot about a 75 on the back. My arm was ready to fall off. But I did complete it."

The closest Yotnakparian has come to seeing his streak end was last February when temperatures averaged 22 degrees in New Jersey and there were several snowstorms.

In previous years he played with friend Ken Shelly at The Links at Brigantine Beach near Atlantic City, a course which is right on the water. In fact, that's where Yotnakparian played his coldest round. It was 15 degrees with a howling wind that made the wind chill factor almost unbearable.

Almost.

"We had to use a screwdriver to get the tee in the ground. It was frozen solid. That was, by far, the coldest round I ever played," Yotnakparian remembered. Shelly shot 92, Yotnakparian 101.

But Brigantine was closed as February of 2015 near its end. So Yotnakparian called Cape May National, a course which had bailed him out before.

"There was no other course open in the entire state. You couldn't go any further south. I called and they said, 'We're open,' " Yotnakparian said. "The first time I played there was six or seven years ago and it was just cold. There wasn't any snow on the ground. But last year was the closest I came to losing the streak because of the crazy winter up here. And South Jersey got hit pretty hard, too.

"It was Feb. 25, a Wednesday, and they actually opened. So I said I'd come down on Saturday, which was the last day of the month. But they had a 2-3 inch snowfall the day after I called."

Yotnakparian and Shelly, drove down anyway.

"Sure enough, it was completely covered with snow. No one was there, so he and I walked and played nine holes," Yotnakparian said. "I had yellow balls and my GPS watch, so I had a rough idea how far I hit it. Since it was into snow, you would see the explosion of the ball. I'd dig it out, put it on top of the snow and hit my next shot. Actually, I only lost two balls.

"We finished nine holes and saw lights in the clubhouse. The owner's son, Zach, was there. He said, 'I'm not going to even charge you.' They (the Mullocks) probably saved the streak five or six times. But that was the closest I came to seeing it end."

Yotnakparian isn't a member at any golf club. His favorite courses during streak are Cape May National and Brigantine, but most of his golf is played at Hyatt Hills. It's nine holes, so he goes around twice.

"Mike's pursuit of this streak is tantamount to the definition of golf persistence," said John Klug, who trained Yotnakparian at 3M some 33 years ago and was part of the first round of the streak on April 17, 1991, at Flanders Valley.

"John actually was instrumental in getting me started, not only with 3M but with golf, too," Yotnakparian said. "We have an outing every year the day before Thanksgiving. John joins us most of the time. We've probably played that day 18 out of the last 20 years.

"I begrudgingly started playing golf because my boss said, 'Hey, you're 22 and just started with 3M. You might want to play golf. It could help business.' I was still playing softball and basketball and I kind of ignored him. I finally tried it and enjoyed it."

At one point he realized he'd played golf for 14 straight months.

"I'm an Excel spreadsheet kind of guy. I like to keep track of a lot of different things," Yotnakparian explained. "Many times I played solo or I just met some other crazy guy at the golf course.

"I've played 25 years. If I average 20 rounds a year, that's 500 rounds and I still have not gotten a hole in one. That's one of my goals."

Another goal is to play in all 50 states. He's played in 20 so far, including Alaska and Hawaii.

Yotnakparian has played about 200 courses in New Jersey, including Metedeconk National GC in Jackson, White Beeches in Haworth, Upper Montclair, Ridgewood CC in Paramus and Knickerbocker CC in Tenafly.

He has only two rules: "It's got to be in New Jersey and it has to be 18 holes. Self-imposed."

Most of his 300 rounds have been played with longtime pal Jim Evans.

As for family matters, Yotnakparian doesn't let golf get in the way. He took his wife, Joanne, on a romantic Valentine's Day weekend this year at a resort near Atlantic City.

And, yes, although it was 35 degrees, they played 18 holes of golf.

Rich Chere may be reached at rchere@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @Ledger_NJDevils. Find NJ.com on Facebook