In Play Summer 2013

MORE THAN A GAME

GOLF IN SCOTLAND

Stunning New Tracks on the Auld Sod p.42

LPGA STANDOUT Stacy Lewis Makes Her Mark p.56

KEN VENTURI A Life in Golf

NIKE TW ’14

NIKE FREE-INSPIRED OUTSOLE OFFERS INCREASED FLEXIBILITY AND FULL ATHLETIC MOTION. TIGER WOODS Nike Golf Staff Athlete

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CEO LETTER

CONTENTS F E AT U R E S

HEDLINE TKIPSUM CEO’s LETTER

L

ike many of you, I’ve been playing in a regular game for years. I love the camaraderie and the well-grooved competition with our gang, and I wouldn’t trade it for the world. On the course and in the clubhouse we’ve enjoyed the creative characterization of our milestones, our triumphs and our disappointment. And, of course, we’ve ribbed each other mercilessly. There’s no other game I know where that level of fellowship is maintained over such an extended period of time.

As much as we love playing together, we see it as our obligation— and our opportunity—to get out there and introduce young players to the game. The benefits of teaching golf to a young person are immeasurable. It encourages physical activity and health, it gets them outside in the fresh air in an age increasingly defined by indoor activities and computer screens, and it teaches them a valuable skill that they’ll have for the rest of their life.

Getting kids involved in golf is an investment in their health, their happiness, their futures and even their careers, as they form relationships on the golf course. It’s not just a hobby; it’s a lifestyle that will continue to provide benefits throughout that young person’s life. I like to think that all paths in recreational life lead back to golf but only if one learns to play the game and get to the ball before adolescence.

And that brings me to my dear friend and mentor Franci Betancourt. He is an inspiration to me personally and hundreds of others. This mission of instilling a love of golf in the hearts of kids is something that Franci does better than anyone I know. Just ask the kids and parents at The Woodlands Country Club and Canongate at the Woodlands. Just ask Kevin Kirk, one of the many people Franci worked with at an early age, today Kevin is one of the Top 100 instructors in the country. To this day, Franci and Kevin share a friendship borne on the course that long ago transcended the game. (See Franci’s story on page tk.) Franci reminds all of us that golf connects us to many of the things we enjoyed as a child and that is a good thing in my estimation.

With the beautiful summer golf season upon us, I hope you enjoy this issue of In Play. Why not grab a young golfer, book a tee time and get out there and play golf.

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Stacy Lewis has overcome a lot to become the LPGA’s top American, She’s also first in line to to be the game’s next great ambassador. xxxxxx.

Five Woodlands members and one beloved father in law attempt Base Camp at Mt. Everest.

An architectural journey through Scotland’s stunning new must-play destinations.

THE BACK STORY

JOE GUERRA President & CEO The Sequoia Golf Group

SIX MEN AND A MOUNTAIN

Ken Venturi driving from the 14th during the final round of the 1956 Masters.

NEW KIDS ON THE LOCH

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KEN VENTURI: A LIFE IN GOLF

Sports Illustrated’s Gary Van Sickle remembers the man, the voice and the game he gave us.

SUMMER 2013, IN PLAY

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D E PA R T M E N T S

FRONT SIDE 15 GREAT QUOTES Words to remember 16 GALLERY Spotlight on member Mike Plant

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18 GALLERY Spotlight on golf instructor Franci Betancourt 20 GEAR Headcovers from cool too classic

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22 PGA Q&A Tommy “Two Gloves” Gainey 24 HOOCH Three tasy summer sours

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26 CHOW An Everything Guide to cooking on the grill

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29 GOLF SCHOOL Kevin Kirk instructs Tennis Channel’s Ken Solomon 32 CHAMPIONS Club standouts share their golf secrets 36 GREAT READS Summer’s worthy stock

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IF PEOPLE TELL ME I CAN’T DO SOMETHING, I GO ‘WATCH ME!’ I’VE ALWAYS BEEN THAT WAY. ” p.38

BACK NINE 62 SHOP TALK Making an on course fashion upgrade 64 THE PROFILE The Woodlands’ Beloved Jim Dickson 66 WHEELS The sleek, chic Tesla

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68 INDULGE The right stuff for travel 71 ON COURSE The Tournament Course

62 Perdido Key Navarre Beach Fort Walton Beach Destin Beaches of South Walton Panama City Beach Alabama Gulf Coast Pensacola Beach Orlando *Destinations and travel times are subject to availability and confirmed on a first come, first served basis. All prices are in USD. Offer includes accommodations only and specifically excludes travel costs and other expenses that may be incurred. Taxes additional fees and charges may apply. Promotional discounts and offers may not apply to all properties. Cannot be combined with other offers and is valid on new reservations only. This promotional offer may be discontinued at the discretion of Wyndham Vacation Rentals. Other restrictions may apply. Offer void where prohibited by law.

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74 PLAY AWAY More fabulous tracks you can play 81 PLAYERS Sequoia’s success stories 82 OFF COURSE Club happenings from everywhere

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86 GOLF IS MY GAME Georgia grandad, Bobby Stephenson

SUMMER 2013, IN PLAY

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BUICK

THE MOST LUXURIOUS RIDE FOR YOUR DRIVER.

EDITOR’S LETTER

CONTRIBUTORS Ann Taylor Pittman is a two-time James Beard Award winner and executive editor of food at Cooking Light magazine, where she oversees the test kitchen and obsesses over recipes.

PLAY FOR ME = The weeknight satisfaction of cooking for my hubby and twin boys, as well as the joys of an elaborate, all-day cooking spree for a cocktailsoaked dinner party.

Gary Van Sickle has covered golf for more

FORE PLAY

I don’t know exactly what a prayer is I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass, how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields, which is what I have been doing all day.

Tell me, what else should I have done?

Doesn’t everything die at last, and too soon?

Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?

Karen Holt has been the deputy editor of

– Mary Oliver, from “The Summer Day”

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I

love Mary Oliver’s poetry. It constantly reminds me that there is beauty all around, if only I allow myself to stop for a moment and take it in. Summer is the season when I am most in tune with nature and when I often feel like whatever I am doing—laughing on the range with a friend, sitting on the deck of my local course in the late afternoon light, or walking on the beach with my daughters—is EXACTLY what I should be doing with my “one wild and precious life.”

In this issue, we hope you’ll find many things to enhance these long and beautiful summer days, from a perfect cocktail and a fabulous meal to a great read … to just daydreaming about that someday trip to experience the magical links of Scotland. Plus, as always, a plentiful batch of courses on our home soil to play and savor right now.

These long hours of daylight offer us a little more time to get in a post-work round and exhale out-of-doors … or notice the magnificent colors of a changing sky … or just simply recapture our balance in this fast-moving world. Truth be told, I don’t know anyone who couldn’t use a little summer Zen now and then. Enjoy!

VP, BRANDED MEDIA Emily S. Baker A Publication of Sequoia Golf 1955 Highway 34 East Newnan, GA 30265

For advertising & editorial inquiries, info@inplaymedia.com

ART DIRECTOR Angela Akers

than 30 years at several news outlets, from The Milwaukee Journal to Golf World and, since 1996, for Sports Illustrated.

That includes 105 major championships and counting. He lives in suburban Pittsburgh, plays even more golf than his boss thinks, has made seven aces, is a scratch golfer and, no, he’s not going to give you any strokes.

PLAY FOR ME = Golf in the early evening, a setting sun, an empty course.

WRITERS

Publishers Weekly and books editor of O, the Oprah Magazine. Her book reviews, author profiles and stories about the publishing industry have appeared frequently in Parade, Essence, Barnes & Noble Review, The New York Post, Booklist, Folio and other publications.

PLAY FOR ME = Running, tennis, scuba diving, travel and reading (which still counts, even though I get paid to do it).

John Voelcker is an industry analyst and writer who specializes in advanced and fuel-saving automotive technology. He drives 50 or 60 new cars a year and edits GreenCarReports.com, splitting his time among New York City, the Catskill Mountains and the San Francisco Bay Area. John presently drives an aging Subaru Outback.

PLAY FOR ME = Working on the 1961 Morris Minor Traveller woody wagon that’s been in my family since new. The owner’s manual advises sanding and varnishing all the structural wood every other year, so there’s always something to do on the car.

PHOTOGRAPHERS

Rakhee Bhatt

Randi Curby

Jennifer Drawbridge

Colleen Duffley

Karen Holt

Jeremy Keas

EDITOR

Scott Mowbray

Patricia Lyons

Kate Meyers

Ann Taylor Pittman

COPY EDITOR Laura Watts

Chris Martin Brett May

Gary Van Sickle

Alan Shipnuck John Voelcker

58 11th Street, Hermosa Beach, CA 90254 Tel 310-376-7800 | moontidemedia.com

PRESIDENT & CEO Charles C. Koones CHAIRMAN & FOUNDER Todd Klawin SUMMER 2013, IN PLAY

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SUMMER 2013

FRONT SIDE

AD

IT HAS BEEN SAID BY MANY THAT A GOLFER HASN’T PLAYED THE GAME UNTIL HE HAS GONE BACK TO WHERE IT ALL IS, AND WHERE IT ALL WAS. IT IS A SPECIAL FEELING, I THINK, THAT CALLS THE GOLFER BACK TO SCOTLAND, AS THE SAILOR IS CALLED BY THE SEA.” Dan Jenkins, The Dogged Victims of Inexorable Fate

The home hole at Muirfield, site of the 2013 British Open Championship.

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IN PLAY, SUMMER 2013

GALLERY

MIKE PLANT LONG-BALL HITTER FLAT CREEK COUNTRY CLUB

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IN PLAY, SUMMER 2013

THE THING THAT PEOPLE COMPLAIN ABOUT WITH GOLF—THE TIME—IS WHAT I LOVE MOST. GOLF GIVES ME FOUR OR FIVE HOURS WITH THE PEOPLE I REALLY CARE ABOUT.”

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ike Plant’s life and business resume read like a sports highlight reel. But when you ask him about an early memory on this chock-full timeline, he is crystal clear with the play-by-play.

“I was 11 years old, and my dad paid $25 for a set of used MacGregor Tommy Armour clubs. He also bought me a cart, and I tied the whole thing to my 20” Schwinn bike with the big handlebars. I would ride the mile and a half to Greenville Park Golf Course with my two neighbors, Ricky Letto and Carl Range, at about 5:45 in the morning in summer, and we’d play 18 holes for $1.”

Mike grew up in Wisconsin, a state known for its speed skaters. He strapped on the blades at 12, which is late for speed skating, but that didn’t seem to harm his progress. He made the U.S. World Champion speed skating team six times, and in 1980, Mike became an Olympian.

Golf, however, has always been a constant theme. “I bought my first house in my early 20s, and it was right outside the gates of that first golf club. At dusk I’d ride my bike over with my 9-iron, pitching wedge and putter and just practice until there was no light.”

The road since has been a busy one. He and his wife, Mary, have three children, and Mike’s resume includes numerous Olympic committees, including international speed skating and U.S. cycling, as well as a stint as director of the U.S. Olympic Committee. He was executive director for TunerSports before making his way to the Braves front office, where he’s been an executive vice president for the last decade.

Though time, age and realism have mellowed the 54-year-old’s expectations on the course, his love for the game is still that of the 11-year-old kid with his clubs tied to the Schwinn. “The thing that people complain about with golf—the time—is what I love most. Golf gives me four or five hours with the people I really care about: family and friends. I smoke a couple of cigars. We have a lot of laughs. And if I hit one O.B., that’s the way it is.”

Mike powerful speed skater’s legs are still useful off the tee, where he regularly drives it 275. But his takeaway from the game has nothing to do with statistics.

“Golf taught me how to deal with adversity and how to be smart when you have a few hurdles thrown in front of you.”

And while baseball offers its share of hurdles and occupies his day-to-day world, golf is never too far away. Case in point: the 56-degree wedge in his office that he’s known to pull out during the workday. That club has also become the stuff of tradition.

He won’t name names, but it’s rumored that on the last day of baseball season, in the wee hours of the morning, a group of well-oiled guys take turns trying to execute a heroic shot with Mike’s wedge from home plate over the center field wall. “It’s a good poke,” says Mike, whose joy over the ability to succeed with that shot seems to override the annual scolding he receives from the Turner Field groundskeeper.

SUMMER 2013, IN PLAY

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GALLERY

FRANCI BETANCOURT GOLF INSTRUCTOR AT CANONGATE THE WOODLANDS COUNTRY CLUB

I BELIEVE WE SHOULD NOT ONLY CARE FOR OUR STUDENTS, WE SHOULD LOVE OUR STUDENTS AND REALLY ENJOY THE MOMENT AND LIVE THE JOURNEY THAT THE GAME OFFERS TO US.”

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IN PLAY, SUMMER 2013

M

agic. That’s the word that comes to mind when attempting to describe the way Franci Betancourt lures the uninitiated into the world of golf.

Purchasing a putter for a little girl who arrived on the course with her dad armed with only a plastic one. Producing a kind word of encouragement at just the right moment. Making sure young boys have their shirts tucked in and their nails cleaned and trimmed. It is all part of the life message he weaves in while teaching golf.

Another word might be love. Because golf is how this seasoned player and teacher passes that commodity on as well.

The story of how Franci got into golf begins in Venezuela when, as a 13-year-old boy, he needed to find work to help his mom and five siblings. (Franci’s dad, a sailor who may have been prolific at other things and is said to have fathered 33, is another story altogether.)

Franci applied for work at the Hotel Maracay in Aragua, thinking he was to be hired as a bellman. Instead, he was sent to work on the golf course. “I didn’t even know what a caddie was,” says the now 68-year-old. Thankfully for Franci and for golf, a love affair was born.

He began training to be a club pro in high school. By 17 he was a professional golfer and instructor. His playing days included three World Cups with the likes of Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Julius Boros, Lee Trevino and Johnny Miller. His 51-year span of teaching includes many courses in Venezuela as well as a few in the States.

“I always thought that, first, I wanted to help others. I had that inclination. I wanted to be among the good teachers,” he says. “For me, teaching is a passion. I believe that golf can be a family sport. If the dad is always going out to play, I want to help the son, the wife learn so that the golf course can be a place they go as a family. I’ve been doing that throughout my career, and it’s been a success.”

Franci particularly loves teaching children the game. “They give me their juice,” he says. “Why would I give that up?!” Among the multitudes of wee ones he helped along was The Woodlands pro (and Golf Magazine Top 100 instructor) Kevin Kirk.

But his most meaningful encounter on the golf course happened while Franci was competing at Kevin’s home course in Tia Juana, Venezuela. “I was playing a tournament, and I shot 33 on the front nine. At the turn, I saw this beautiful woman with long, blond hair, and I asked her to walk with me along the back nine.”

The woman’s name was Alba Marina, and she agreed to keep Franci company. “We are still walking,” he says cheerfully, alluding to his 38 years of marriage. The couple has “two very handsome sons and two very handsome grandsons.”

As with many of the connections he’s made on the golf course, the friendship between Franci and Kevin is lifelong. The two now work together at The Woodlands.

Franci, who can be found teaching on the golf course almost every day, continues to sprinkle his charm upon the gifted. He and Kevin have worked with a long roster of serious players, most notably the LPGA’s Maria Martinez and the PGA’s Jhonattan Vegas—as well as regular folks who want to learn the game.

Franci doesn’t play that much any more, but when he does go out, he can still break 70. As for retirement: “When the Lord tells me to come and visit with him, I’ll retire,” he says. Meanwhile he continues to spend his days teaching way more than golf under Texas skies.

When it’s mentioned that he seems to be a very happy man, he laughs. “What can I say? I have a good-looking girl next to me right now,” referring to Marina, the most important of the many gifts the game of golf has bestowed upon him.

SUMMER 2013, IN PLAY

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GEAR

Put a Lid On It

Fun, funky, classic—there’s more than one way to dress your weapons.

Got a cool or much-beloved cover in your bag? Send us a photo at info@inplaymedia.com

By Scott Kramer

1 Club Glove Driver

2 Seamus Golf’s tartan

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$55 SEAMUSGOLF.COM

From the maker of travel bags for most PGA Tour pros, the Club Glove Driver headcover is both durable and plush.

Blue Spruce Stewart offers a bit of Scottish panache as well as a red fleece lining.

3 Stitch Golf’s

4 Daphne’s

5 Iliac Golf’s Argyle

$55 STITCHGOLF.COM

$30 DAPHNESHEADCOVERS.COM

$68 ILIACGOLF.COM

Lee Westwood, Martin Kaymer and Keegan Bradley all use Stitch Golf’s headcovers, like this Baseball Leather with Victory Stripe.

The Canteen from Daphne’s Headcovers is made from an Army Surplus canteen cover and sock.

Bearing a classic look, iliac Golf’s Argyle is handmade from top-quality leather.

6 Belding longneck

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$89/SET OF THREE BELDINGGOLFBAGS.COM

Known best for its customized leather golf bags, Belding also makes personalized longneck headcovers.

7 Links & Kings $75 LINKSANDKINGS.COM

Handcrafted from premium leather, Links & Kings headcovers are welllined and feature contrast stitching.

8 Glove It’s Lime Tile club cover $70 GLOVEIT.COM

Glove It’s Lime Tile polyester club cover for women sports a pull-over knit.

9 Mackenzie Bag’s

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Mackenzie Bag’s leather headcovers can be customized to match your golf bag.

10 Back 9’s LG Lucky $38 BACK9USA.COM

The side stretch of Back 9’s LG Lucky allows it to slide easily onto your driver while holding its shape.

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IN PLAY, SUMMER 2013

SUMMER 2013, IN PLAY

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ON TOUR

PGA Q&A: TOMMY “TWO GLOVES” GAINEY The Big Break VII winner shares his favorite golf move, his unique skill and his undying love for Hootie & the Blowfish.

Q: What is your first golf memory?

A: Jack Nicklaus winning the Masters in ’86. Especially that putt on 17, when he raised his putter up in the air. You know, the “Yesss, sir!” putt. I used to practice that move. I was at the golf course with friends watching that Masters on TV, and a bunch of us were going flat crazy.

Q: Who is your ultimate sports hero?

A: I’d have to say Michael Jordan. He was great for basketball; he brought in so many fans. He was a great athlete, obviously, but what I admired was his passion. He played every game like it was his last, and I loved that. Plus he loves golf, which is pretty cool.

Q: Who is your favorite playing partner?

A: Darius Rucker [lead singer of Hootie & the Blowfish], my partner at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am. We’ve known each other a long time. He’s such a class act—just a great person. The way he treats people has been a lesson for me. To be as successful as he is, it’s unbelievable all the time he gives to charity. I love the guy.

Q: What is your favorite 19th-hole beverage?

A: Michelob Ultra. Ask me a hard one!

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IN PLAY, SUMMER 2013

IT MEANS HARD WORK PAYS OFF. IT MEANS DREAMS DO COME TRUE. THAT PLACE MEANS EVERYTHING TO ME.

Q: What does your hometown of Darlington, South Carolina (pop. 6,254) say about you?

A: It means hard work pays off. It means dreams do come true.

That place means everything to me.

Q: What book has affected you the most?

A: I wasn’t really big on books.

Q: What was your first job?

A: Working at Bishopville Country Club when I was 16, making $7 an hour. It wasn’t glamorous—I cleaned golf carts, picked the range, charged batteries in the golf carts—stuff like that. I made a few tips.

Very few.

Q: What is your most prized possession?

A: My son, Thomas Dale Gainey III. Q: What is one surprising fact about you?

A: I guess I would have to say that I’m married. [Wife Erin hits him on the arm.] I meant to say, it’s a surprise that she married me. Actually, you know what, I can eat two boxes of Red Hots candy in one sitting.

Not many guys can say that.

SUMMER 2013, IN PLAY

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HOOCH

SUMMER SOURS

By Scott Mowbray

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A little tang, a little fizz ... and ahhhhhhh!

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’m a sucker for two things when it comes to a hot-weather cocktail. First, tang. My favorite cocktail on a summer day is a sour of some kind (the sour being one of the basic cocktail genres—consider the margarita, the gimlet, the daiquiri, the whiskey sour, the sidecar). Second, fizz. Carbonation in a sour cocktail adds a quenching factor ideal for hot afternoons.

It’s true that adding something fizzy moves a drink away from the intense, balanced perfection of the quintessential sipping sour. It makes the drink longer, though, meaning you can drink more of it without falling over. I’ll trade a bit of dilution for that quench at the height of summer.

Sours aren’t hard to make but require attention to the balance of tang and sweet. I often test a bar by asking for a gin gimlet, which is commonly made from gin, fresh lime and sugar syrup. Some come back so tart they strip the throat. Others are sugary like candy. A few are horridly made with that bottled lime cordial which tastes boiled and fake.

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SPICY GINGER & GIN

I really like Pisco, the clear spirit of Peru and Chile. It’s a grape brandy, like a very gentle, slightly sweet vodka with pleasant grappa notes. I like Kappa from Chile, in a gorgeous bottle. Here I’ve paired it with fresh grape juice. If you can find white grape juice at a farmer’s market, that’s ideal. If you have a juicer, good too. But you can make the juice in a blender in a pinch, then strain it, let it rest and spoon off any foam. For the dry sparkling wine, use a good-value one made with the Champagne method, such as Domaine Ste. Michelle Brut from Washington.

Fresh ginger juice is bracingly spicy and very easy to make—just shred the ginger on the finest part of a box grater or on a fine Microplane until you have a pile of ginger fluff. Then squeeze it hard. If you don’t have cheesecloth, try squeezing the ginger with your hands over a strainer set over a bowl. For the gin, you can go for very aromatic, like Aviation from Portland—or milder, such as Caorunn, a finely balanced Scottish gin that’s perfect for gin-o-phobes.

Juice the grapes. Add lime juice to taste; the amount will vary depending on the tartness of the grapes. You want an intense, balanced juice mix. Add Pisco, then shake in a shaker with ice until very cold. Pour 3–4 ounces into a 6-ounce glass and top with sparkling wine. Garnish with some thin slices of grape or a bit of fresh mint.

Serves 4.

IN PLAY, SUMMER 2013

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GRAPEY PISCO FIZZ

2 cups plump green grapes 1–2 tablespoons fresh lime juice 8 ounces Pisco 1 bottle sparkling white wine

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Purists argue that a real lime cordial (basically, a fresh lime-infused syrup) is what you need for a perfect gimlet. Others argue that lime juice and superfine sugar (which dissolves in cold liquids) yield a better sour straight from the shaker. These are the pleasant disputes of purists.

I do believe a cocktail benefits from the effort of making simple syrup and from working with fresh fruit—and even making a ginger juice. But I’m fine with basic simple syrup added to fruit at the time of shaking or stirring.

These three recipes earn extra complexity from the combination of fruit and spirits and flavorings, one containing Pisco and grapes … another pineapple, bourbon and Spanish cava. All three quench really well.

Before you get started, make some simple syrup: heat 1 cup white sugar and 1 cup water on stove until it is clear, then cool the syrup.

Store in fridge.

¾ cup finely shredded peeled ginger (not grated) 8 ounces gin ½ cup simple syrup 6 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 1 cup chilled, lemon-flavored (but not sweetened) seltzer Place ginger in a double layer of damp cheesecloth; gather edges of cheesecloth and twist firmly. Squeeze cheesecloth bag over a small bowl. You should get about 1/4 cup ginger juice. Combine 3 tablespoons ginger juice (discard remaining juice), gin, simple syrup and lemon juice in a pitcher; stir well to combine. Pour a nice glug of it into a tall glass containing ice cubes. Pour seltzer over the ice and gently stir. Garnish with a slice of lemon.

Serves 4.

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PINEAPPLE WHISKEY SOUR FIZZ Make the basic bourbon-and-sour mix ahead, then top with the sparkling wine just as you serve for a nice, foamy “mousse” in the glass. You can use canned pineapple juice, but fresh is better if you have a juicer or can buy it.

1 cup unsweetened pineapple juice Juice of 4 plump lemons 2 ounces simple syrup 8 ounces good but not overly wooded/aged bourbon; Bulleit is nice 1 bottle dry Spanish sparkling wine (cava) Combine the pineapple juice, lemon juice and simple syrup in a pitcher; stir. Add bourbon and stir again. Taste; it should be intense but not too sour. Pour some into a cocktail shaker with ice and shake until mixture is cold. Pour 3–4 ounces into an 8-ounce glass and top with cold cava.

Stir a wee bit to encourage a foamy “mousse” in the glass.

Garnish with a slice of lemon or a small slice of pineapple.

Serves 4 with refills.

SUMMER 2013, IN PLAY

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CHOW

ROCKIN’ THE GRILL Two-time James Beard Award-winner Ann Taylor Pittman offers a go-to manual for firing up the barbie.

Maybe it’s the magic of a back deck at dusk. Maybe it’s the hunger that comes from an afternoon spent outside. Maybe it’s that immediate lust in your stomach when you smell something cooking on a fire. During the summer, everything points to the grill. It’s easy to master, the results are delicious and the cleanup minimal. The only thing between you and the “tong-wielding hero” designation is a wee bit of know-how.

CHOOSE YOUR WEAPON The first decision when it comes to grilling outside is charcoal or gas. I’m a charcoal snob, because I find that food is more intensely layered in char and smoke, more soulfully robust, and it simply tastes more grilled. I highly recommend picking up an inexpensive kettle grill and playing around with it; it’s worth it. That said, I can’t argue with the ease and convenience of a gas grill. Either method adds boatloads of flavor in a healthy way, without a lot of extra salt or fat.

Pork tenderloin and pork chops (bone-in and boneless) are fantastic, as are lamb chops. The ubiquitous skinless, boneless chicken breast is tasty, too, though I’d suggest also trying meatier, juicier chicken thighs. Firm fish like salmon and halibut hold up well, especially when you leave the skin on.

FIRE IT UP

KNOW YOUR CUTS Because we’re focusing on grilling (fast cooking over hot fire—as opposed to the long, slow barbecuing that’s more for hobbyist weekend cooks with lots of time), you need food that’s naturally tender and does best when cooked quickly. For beef, that means most steaks, including skirt steak and flank steak (the last two are particularly awesome—just remember to slice them thinly across the grain for tender bites).

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IN PLAY, SUMMER 2013

EXPERIMENT Don’t stop with meat, though; almost anything goes well on the grill. Halved romaine hearts brushed with olive oil get insanely delicious with a little char, and it’s a great summer salad alternative.

Serving peaches on your ice cream? Halve them, brush with honey and butter and sear on some grill marks—delicious. Even cherries get more interesting when you pit them, skewer and briefly grill; slather on butter imbued with vanilla bean, and you’ll be in heaven.

MARINADES AND RUBS PHOTOS COURTESY OF COOKING LIGHT MAGAZINE / RANDY MAYOR

The key to delicious success is preheating. Get that grill super-hot. For charcoal grillers, forego those chemical-soaked briquettes that leave your food tasting of gasoline and use real hardwood charcoal.

It’s ready to cook on in about 15 minutes, when it reaches that sweet spot of white ash covering glowing embers, and it burns super-hot. (I get Royal Oak at Walmart, and it’s usually the cheapest option.)

For a gas grill: Preheat at high and turn down, if you wish, later. Most importantly, make sure the grill rack preheats. This is the surface that comes in contact with your food. If it’s not hot, it’s the same as placing a steak in a cold skillet—no sizzle, no sear. Once the rack is hot, scrub it clean with a good brush and dab it with paper towels soaked with oil (held in long tongs) to create a nonstick surface.

The thing to know about marinades is that they offer flavor but don’t necessarily tenderize, because they barely penetrate the surface.

Acidic marinades can actually damage the texture if meat soaks in it too long—turning it mealy and grainy. A quick bath (30 minutes to an hour) in a high-flavor mixture is enough for most quick-cooking cuts.

Try my go-to, BASIC MARINADE FOR A POUND OF MEAT: 2 tablespoons roasted sesame oil, 2 tablespoons fish sauce or soy sauce, 1 tablespoon minced garlic and 2 teaspoons brown sugar. Though some of the ingredients are Asian, the flavor overall is just meaty and savory. You can change things up by swapping olive oil for sesame or Dijon mustard for fish sauce.

Rubs are instant flavor boosters—massage onto the meat and you’re good to go. Here’s a NO-FAIL RUB for a pound of beef, pork, salmon fillets or chicken: 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon brown sugar, ½ teaspoon ground cumin, ½ teaspoon smoked paprika, and ¼ teaspoon black pepper (or cayenne if you like heat).

SAUCE If you’re cooking with classic, sticky-finger barbecue sauce, brush it on in the last few minutes of grilling. These sauces have so much sugar, they’ll burn if they’re on the meat the whole time. Or try something lighter and fresher after the meat comes off the grill: a drizzle of homemade herb vinaigrette or a fresh tomato or fruit salsa.

RECIPES, INSPIRATION AND MORE • Whether you’re a casual dabbler or a serious firestarter, Steven Raichlen’s cookbook The Barbecue! Bible is a fantastic resource: more than 500 recipes, plus everything you’d ever want to know about cooking on a grill. ($22.95) • If you go to your mobile for inspiration, download the easyto-navigate Weber’s On the Grill app—with more than 300 recipes, including lots of marinades and rubs, plus handy instructional videos, built-in timers and shopping list functionality. ($4.99 on iTunes app store) • For sizzling inspiration, visit adamperrylang.com. This grill guru uses some radical techniques for extreme flavor so you can step up your repertoire.

• Invaluable barbie-tool: Because I’m a charcoal girl, I love my Weber Rapidfire Chimney Starter. Takes out all the fuss and guesswork. No need to stack a pyramid of coals in the grill. Just wad up paper in the bottom, load in coals, light the paper, and you’re ready to grill lickety-split. ($19.99 on amazon.com).

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GOLF SCHOOL

PRIVATE LESSON

In session with Kevin Kirk, director of golf instruction at The Woodlands Country Club, Golf Magazine Top 100 instructor and four-time South Texas PGA Teacher of the Year.

STUDENT: KEN SOLOMON | Chairman and CEO, Tennis Channel Golf/Life Bio: Ken Solomon’s day job may be tennis, but get him on the subject of golf and the conversation will be long and colorful. Love for the game is the only way to explain how the father of three, who also runs the art-and culture network Ovation, is on the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities as well as several business and charitable boards, finds time to get in 40 to 50 rounds a year.

Just back from the French Open, the always-traveling CEO tries to fit in golf wherever he goes. “I played in a tournament in Paris given by the French Federation of Tennis. Guy Forget was my partner,” he says excitedly. The result: a second place finish, a closest-to-the-pin win and a new set of RocketBladez.

The 12.9 handicapper has proven to be tough in the clutch. He counts his dramatic 22-foot putt to win the Member Member Tournament at Bel-Air Country Club as “maybe my best moment in life other than my children being born and getting married.”

Ken grew up playing tennis and dabbled with golf. That changed in college when he started working in television at Paramount. “I realized that golf was part of the culture there, and that was the impetus for me getting more serious. I loved it, and from then on it became a part of who I am,” he says. “I think it is the best single way to clear your mind and escape the pressures and the rigors of modern life.”

Ken’s resumé includes top posts at Universal Television, DreamWorks, Disney and New Corp. He admits that golf is the tougher game but thinks the two have much in common: “The concept of the stroke: You are not hitting the ball; you are swinging through the ball. The notion of tempo and timing is so important.”

That so many tennis greats have game on the links serves his point.

(At his club alone the list includes Pete Sampras, Mardy Fish, Andy Roddick, Paul Annacone and Bill Scanlon.) When asked the most important life lesson golf has given him, he says, “You can’t expect something you haven’t earned in golf. And once you earn it, you have to stay with it and trust it and know you are going to have good shots and bad shots. You are going to have setbacks. And you have to learn how to succeed when things aren’t going your way. You have to find it within you.”

HOLDING COURT Top: Ken at play in Palm Springs. Bottom: On the job with Bill Macatee (left) and flanked by tennis legends Roger Federer and Martina Navratilova.

What’s His Problem?: Two years ago, Ken’s sand game went into a steady, inexplicable decline. He’s been working on its resurrection but would love to galvanize that fix. “It’s the No. 1 place where I’m at risk of turning a hole into a double bogey situation or, God forbid, worse,” he says. “I’d like to get to the place where I can think of it more as a weapon as opposed to something I’m defensive about.”

KEVINS’ RX >> SUMMER 2013, IN PLAY

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GOLF SCHOOL

KEVIN’S RX

1a

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1

Because tennis commitments make the next 90 days crazy for Ken, I’ve asked him to block off 15 to 20 minutes each time he goes to the golf course to work on solidifying his greenside bunker game. I’ve created some drills to make sure Ken is clear on the fundamentals of the greenside bunker shot.

I’ve asked him to work this line drill in a progression that begins without a ball for five minutes, then five minutes with a ball, and then five to 10 minutes more. During that time, he should introduce the target into the equation and work on distance control through one or more of the following: aiming at targets of 10, 20, 30 and 40 yards; experimenting with various wedges in his bag; adjusting back swing length (1/2 and 3/4); and finally practicing with poor or awkward lies.

KEEP THE PATH NEUTRAL—STARTING POSITION

Like every golf shot, the set-up is paramount. First, aim parallel to the target line (1A—slightly left would be okay but no more than five degrees), and have your weight centered and balanced. Set up your shaft so that it’s perpendicular to the target line (1B), and make sure your clubface is slightly open.

1b

2

2

CONTROL THE STRIKE POINT & ANGLE OF ATTACK Use your club to draw a line in the sand through the ball to the target. Draw a second line perpendicular to the target line to form a “T” in the sand. Make a few practice swings with no ball. The goal is to hit the strike point (the perpendicular line in the sand). Make sure when you strike the line that the shaft returns to perpendicular at impact. (A forward-leaning shaft can lead to a multitude of problems.)

Keeping the shaft perpindicular assures a shallow angle of attack at impact.

3a

3

ZERO IT OUT AT IMPACT Once you have gotten control of your strike point using the line drill, you are ready to introduce the ball and hit some shots. Simply put the ball on the target side of the line and make your swing. Striking the line with the ball on the target side of the perpendicular line assures us that the club head will strike the sand slightly behind the ball, allowing the ball to ride out of the bunker on a cushion of sand. Do your practices set up, then take some 1/2 to 3/4 backswing shots, making sure you strike the line with the shaft perependicular to the target line (3B) and swing through to a full finish (3C).

3b

3c

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CHAMPIONS

CHAMPIONS

JEAN FRANKS BEYOND THE SAND WEDGE CLUB CHAMPION, FLAT CREEK COUNTRY CLUB PEACHTREE CITY, GA HANDICAP: 8.4 RETIRED

BEST GOLF ADVICE YOU’VE EVER BEEN GIVEN: “I’ve played for a long, long time, and I took a lot of lessons and I worked on my game and everything. But I didn’t really consider how important the short game was to scoring until about two years ago. That was the year before I won the club championship. I had been runner-up many times.

And then I started working with Matt Renner, the assistant pro at Planterra, and he taught me how important it was to rethink what I was doing around the green. I always thought you just walk up near the green and you take out

a sand wedge. He taught me a variety of chips, pitches and putts from off the green, and it really started to help me cut strokes off my game. He would have me run in a 9-iron or use a different type of chip with my wedge. With all of that short game information, I really started scoring.”

FAVORITE GOLF BOOK: “That year I told my husband I was really going to work on my short game, and he gave me Phil Mickelson’s Secrets of The Short Game as a gift. Phil’s advice is great, and I read and took notes and watched the videos at the same time. It was so helpful.”

GARY STROUP OVERLAPPING GRIPPER CLUB CHAMPION, REGATTA BAY COUNTRY CLUB DESTIN, FL HANDICAP: 3 RETIRED ENTREPRENEUR

BEST GOLF ADVICE YOU’VE EVER BEEN GIVEN: “About 25 years ago, I was living in Utah at the time, and my younger brother had come out. We were getting ready to play, and we were out on the driving range. After I hit a few balls, he looked over and he said, ‘You know, Gary, if you want to elevate your game or continue to improve, you need to change your grip.’ At that time I had an interlocking grip, and he made me go to an overlap. I noticed immediately that I went from hitting a kind of controlled fade to a draw. It also increased my distance and my consistency with ball striking. It just made my game that much better.”

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FAVORITE GOLF BOOK: “I would say my discovering Bob Rotella and reading his books over the last two years, especially Your 15th Club. In essence, your 15th club is your mind, and reading that has probably had the biggest impact as far as elevating my game and giving me the ability to handle situations on the golf course, evaluate them and keep a good, positive mental aspect to the whole game.”

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CHAMPIONS

CHAMPIONS

RUSTY BREEDEN SLOW GO-ER CLUB CHAMPION, JEFFERSON LAKESIDE COUNTRY CLUB RICHMOND, VA HANDICAP: 3 VICE PRESIDENT AT SLAIT CONSULTING, AN IT SOLUTIONS COMPANY

BEST ADVICE YOU’VE EVER BEEN GIVEN: “I was out at a driving range about 16 or 17 years ago, and an older gentleman came over and we started chatting. I was hitting ball after ball with my driver and he asked, ‘How often do you practice with your other clubs?’ I said, ‘Oh I just dabble …’ He said, ‘I think you’ve got it backwards. I think it’s the other way around. Think about how many times you hit your driver in a round and how many times you hit your other clubs.’ And he was right. So I always practice from the green backwards, starting with my putting and my short game. That summer, I think I dropped five strokes. Also, whenever I play golf, I tell myself, ‘Slow and go.’ And that’s what I think about when I get over the ball. It doesn’t mean be slow; it means take the club back slowly, and when you’re coiled … go.”

FAVORITE GOLF BOOK: “I really liked Harvey Penick’s And If You Play Golf, You’re My Friend. I prefer reading enjoyable stories with a little meaning behind them more than I like reading how-to’s. Life’s too short, and I think you need to enjoy it. I’m inspired when I read about people overcoming obstacles.”

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IN PLAY, SUMMER 2013

BEST GOLF ADVICE YOU’VE EVER BEEN GIVEN: “This goes back to my early teens. Sammy Craig was one of my golf mentors. He’s still a great golfer—he’s been the Senior Club Champion at Georgia National before, and back then I watched him carefully and tried to mimic him a bit. I couldn’t mimic his 6’3” frame from my 5’7” frame, but the two things that stuck with me from Sammy were: ‘Just play one shot at a time’ and ‘Try to forget your bad shots.’ I know they’re cliché-type phrases, but they do come into play. It’s just a never-ending battle. I play a lot of tournament golf, and my last tournament, which was the state Mid-Am, I didn’t do that very well.”

FAVORITE GOLF BOOK: “I think Bob Rotella’s Golf Is Not A Game of Perfect is one of the best books that’s ever been written about the game. I reread it all the time. When I have an upcoming tournament, I just grab it and re-read a chapter out of it. It’s not a traditional how-to book; it’s a golf how-to book from the standpoint of your mental approach to the game. Once you have learned to swing and hit the golf ball relatively consistently, it becomes a mental game after that. You have to learn how to control your mind, not let it wander and stay positive. It’s something I consistently work on and need to be reminded about.”

MICHAEL STANDARD ROTELLA DISCIPLE FIVE-TIME CLUB CHAMPION, GEORGIA NATIONAL GOLF CLUB MCDONOUGH, GA HANDICAP: +2 CO-OWNER, MCGARITY INSURANCE

SUMMER 2013, IN PLAY

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GREAT READS

PASSION PLAYS & PAGE TURNERS THE ESSENTIALS OF LIFE—FOOD, WINE AND GOLF—DRIVE THESE THREE ENGROSSING NEW MEMOIRS. PLUS, SUMMER THRILLERS FROM TWO OF THE MOST COMPELLING HEROES IN CONTEMPORARY CRIME FICTION.

BLUE PLATE SPECIAL: AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF MY APPETITES

THE ROAD TO BURGUNDY: THE UNLIKELY STORY OF AN AMERICAN MAKING WINE AND A NEW LIFE IN FRANCE

By Kate Christensen

◗ For award-winning novelist Kate Christensen, writing and eating are the two great loves that never fail. Through a life marked by heartache and failure, joy and success, she relishes food’s ability to soothe the ache of loneliness, heighten the pleasure of relationships and evoke memories. Christensen writes with an omnivore’s openness (no pious dissertations on trans fats or pesticides) and an emphatic preference for classic over trendy (her specialties include bacon-cheddar biscuits and Yorkshire pudding). “To taste fully is to live fully,” she writes.

Delicious.

By Karen Holt

By Ray Walker

◗ Despite growing up in the San Francisco Bay area with Napa and Sonoma practically in his backyard, Ray Walker considers wine a pretentious, sour-tasting version of grape juice. That is, until a trip to Italy ignites an appreciation for wine that quickly turns into an obsession. At 26, with a wife and a baby on the way, he leaves the security of his finance career, risking everything to break into the tradition-steeped world of winemaking in Burgundy. Uncork something good to savor along with this celebration of wine, French culture and dreams that are just crazy enough to work.

PAGE TURNERS THE BROKEN PLACES

By Ace Atkins

18 IN AMERICA: A YOUNG GOLFER’S EPIC JOURNEY TO FIND THE ESSENCE OF THE GAME

◗ The setting may be homespun, but the suspense is no less pulse-pounding in The Broken Places, Atkins’ third Quinn Colson novel. Colson, a war veteran who returned to his Mississippi hometown to become sheriff, is pursued by two violent convicts convinced he’s taken something of theirs. Meanwhile, a major storm threatens to throw the town into chaos, sending the tension racing into top gear.

THE KILL ROOM

By Jeffery Deaver

◗ In the latest installment of the blockbuster series featuring forensic expert Lincoln Rhyme, Deaver weaves a story of treachery at the highest levels. When a U.S. citizen with antiAmerican views is killed by a sniper, Rhyme’s determination to prove who ordered the hit makes him a target. An assassination conspiracy, a creepy knife-wielding villain and a brilliant investigator add up to an irresistible read.

By Dylan Dethier

◗ Road trip anyone? Fresh out of high school, Dylan Dethier packs up his Subaru station wagon and sets out to play a round of golf at each of the lower 48 states. Getting by on his $4,720 life savings and a sense of adventure, he sleeps in his car, plays on cheap municipal courses and talks his way into free rounds at some of the country’s most elite courses. It’s not the brushes with greatness (including caddying in a pro-am with Phil Mickelson) but the goodness of ordinary people that make his journey so memorable—for him and for us.

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KEN VENTURI: A

LIFE IN

GOLF

Sports Illustrated Senior Writer Gary Van Sickle remembers the man, the competitor and the voice.

VENTURI VICTORIOUS The winning smile of Major champion. Venturi post-round at 1964 U.S. Open golf championship at the Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md.

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K

en Venturi is gone, but I can still hear him. He was the voice of golf for 35 years on CBS golf telecasts and that voice, his voice, is still in my head. It always will be, I think.

“He’d like to have that one over again … You couldn’t walk it out there and place it any better than that, Jimmy … He’ll take his par and walk away quietly … He’s got to take six out of the equation … Don’t give the hole away … You won’t find a nicer young man … That’s class ...”

There may be no finer legacy for Venturi, who passed away at 83 in May. Oh there have probably been better golf analysts. Debate that among yourselves. But Venturi had the maximum exposure afforded by CBS, and he had longevity— the rarest form of television genius.

You don’t last 35 years, the longest run by any lead analyst in American sports broadcasting, by being a poor houseguest.

We most remember Venturi coming into our living rooms with Pat Summerall, his long-time tower partner who was brilliantly sparse with words, and later with the smooth Jim Nantz.

They were as comfortable as a pair of slippers and a crackling fireplace. They didn’t televise golf as much as share it with us. When they cried after Jack Nicklaus sentimentally won the 1986 Masters, they did so unashamedly. Maybe we did, too, not that we’re admitting anything.

Being the voice of golf would be enough for any one lifetime. For Venturi, it was merely a second act. And an ironic one, since doctors told his parents that Venturi would never speak normally because he was “an incurable stammerer.”

That he became a successful commentator after that terrible childhood affliction was a proud badge of honor. When he finally saw The King’s Speech, a historical movie about King George VI overcoming a similar speaking issue, he wept in understanding.

In Act I of his life, of course, Venturi was a golfer—although he almost chose a different path. A young Venturi shagged fly balls for Joe DiMaggio, a fellow San Franciscan, at Seals Stadium. Venturi was 18 when he signed a contract with New York Yankees scout Lefty O’Doul but opted for golf because, he reasoned years later, “They live a lot better in country clubs than they do in dugouts.”

The young Venturi promised great golf. He won the California State Amateur in 1951, served two years in the Army in Korea, and won it again in ’56. He also led the 1956 Masters through three rounds at 24 as an amateur, then collapsed to an 80 and finished runner-up to Jackie Burke, Jr. He turned pro and won 14 tournaments, including the one that made

him legendary—the 1964 U.S. Open at Congressional, just outside Washington, D.C., when he became seriously dehydrated in the humid heat of the 36-hole finale (the last time the USGA used that format, by the way) and played the last 18 holes despite a doctor’s warning that he could die.

It was a script straight out of Hollywood. Venturi was drained when the last putt dropped. “My god, I’ve won the Open,” Venturi said, with a sense of incredulity. He scribbled a signature on the scorecard after a USGA official checked his hole-by-hole scores because Venturi was unable to read them in his condition.

Two things about Venturi go overlooked. He was a comeback story. After 10 wins in his first four years as a pro, his game and his bank account went bust following a car accident that injured his wrist. By 1964, he was a nobody again and had to beg his way into the Thunderbird Open, where he tied for third and won $6,000—a big score. When he called his wife to tell her, they cried together on the phone.

A few days later, he shakily qualified for that U.S. Open where he made history. His life story, glossed up by co-writer Oscar Fraley and published in 1966, was titled, Comeback: The Ken Venturi Story.

There would be another comeback but not on the golf course. Carpal tunnel syndrome ended his playing career in 1967. A year later, CBS hired him as a golf analyst. Again, the rest is history.

The other forgotten piece of Venturi lore is how much he rubbed shoulders with giants and breathed rarefied air. Legendary golfer Byron Nelson was Venturi’s teacher. Francis Ouimet, the teenager who won the 1913 U.S. Open, was his stockbroker. Eddie Lowery, Ouimet’s young caddie, became a successful Bay Area car salesman who financially backed the amateur Venturi and later took turns as his mentor, swing coach, sports psychologist and cheerleader. Gene Sarazen asked Venturi to deliver his eulogy. Ben Hogan granted what turned out to be his last televised interview on the condition that Venturi ask the questions.

Hogan knew just how good Venturi was as a player. In 1956, a money match was arranged between the teams of Hogan and Nelson, the game’s most famous pros if slightly past their primes, and Venturi and Harvie Ward, the game’s top amateurs. It was quietly played at Cypress Point and Hogan and Nelson had to match the amateur’s birdies on each of the last four holes to escape with a 1-up victory in a mythic showdown simply known as, The Match. Hogan shot 63 on his own ball that day, Venturi 65.

Frank Sinatra let Venturi share his Palm Springs estate for a few years in the mid-‘60s after Venturi’s first marriage and playing career were on the rocks. When Venturi remarried in

MY GOD, I’VE WON THE OPEN.”

THEY LIVE A LOT BETTER IN COUNTRY CLUBS THAN THEY DO IN DUGOUTS.”

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IN PLAY, SUMMER 2013

DEFINING MOMENT The 33 year-old Venturi, who hadn’t won a tournament since 1960, after finishing two rounds of Sunday play in staggering heat at the 64th U.S.Open. He won the championship by four shots.

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SIGNING OFF Venturi waves to the crowd from the CBS broadcast booth after his final telecast at the 2002 Kemper Open .

SINATRA ALWAYS CALLED HIM KENNETH. VENTURI ALWAYS CALLED HIM FRANCIS. FEW MEN WERE CLOSE ENOUGH TO ADDRESS “THE CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD” AS FRANCIS. VENTURI WAS.” 1972, Sinatra gave away the bride—a Palm Springs restaurant hostess he’d introduced to Venturi—and paid for the wedding.

Sinatra always called him Kenneth. Venturi always called him Francis. Few men were close enough to address “The Chairman of the Board” as Francis. Venturi was.

Masters co-founder Bobby Jones thought so highly of him that he said in 1958, after he’d turned pro, that if Venturi had won that ’56 Masters and stayed an amateur, Jones would have named him his successor as Augusta National president.

What an honor—and a very different Act II—that would have been.

The final golf telecast Venturi did was the 2002 Kemper Open. He chose it because Congressional, the site where his Open legend was born, is practically next door. The show

featured almost every player offering him a wave of acknowledgment in the booth and concluded with a tearful hug from Jim Nantz and music in the background—“My Way,” as sung by his great friend, Francis.

When Venturi was given an award for his charitable efforts (something else he picked up from Sinatra) at the Byron Nelson tournament a few years ago, he said, “Sometimes I wonder what I could’ve done if I hadn’t lost the use of my hands at the peak of my career. But I think of all the good things, and if I had to choose anybody in the world to be…” he paused, blinked back tears and added, “I’d choose me.”

It was a life well lived, Kenneth. You couldn’t walk it out there and place it any better than that.

NEW KIDS ON THE

LOCH

AN ARCHITECTURAL TOUR THROUGH SCOTLAND’S CONTEMPORARY CLASSICS

By Alan Shipnuck

T

here are a myriad of reasons to make a pilgrimage to golf’s homeland—the untamed landscape, the wildness of the wind, the history under your feet as you walk through gale and gorse feeling uniquely connected to earth and sky. There is the promise of a fine, aged single malt at day’s end. And then there is the linksland itself: bouncy turf, fiendish pot bunkers, wild dunes and the challenge of an outdoor sport in an inhospitable environment.

THE BELOVED COUNTRY Sunset at Machrihanish Dunes.

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HAPPILY EVER AFTER THe author rates Castle Stuart a non-stop smile fest.

If the only glimpse you get of the auld sod is during the Open Championship, it’s easy to believe that nothing ever changes over there—a new course hasn’t cracked the rota since Turnberry in 1977.

In fact, the golf landscape in Scotland has been altered dramatically this century with a burst of spectacular new courses.

While the ancient classics will always be touchstones for any itinerary, these new courses have brought a needed variety and vitality to Scottish golf. For the well-traveled golfer, they have become must-plays, if for no other reason than these courses are now part of the endless grillroom debate about favorite destinations.

They range from the instantly beloved (Kingsbarns, Castle Stuart) to the controversial (the Castle Course, Trump International Golf Links) to the far-flung (Machrihanish Dunes). Each is a modern take on an ancient game, and collectively they illustrate the thrill and challenge of trying to create something new on the same earth that gave us the Old Course.

“The influences are very, very strong when you’re building a course over there,” says David McLay Kidd, a native Scot who designed the Castle Course and Machrihanish Dunes. “You can’t help looking over the fence at the place next door, thinking about the comparisons people will make.”

David was given the freighted task of building the first new St. Andrews course in a century on the site of an old potato farm just outside town. The Castle he conjured is links golf on steroids: blind shots galore, massive greens with vertiginous slopes, mounding in the middle of some fairways, “eyebrows” of raised patches of shaggy rough sprinkled randomly in the fairways.

Since its opening in 2008, the flamboyant design has earned a love-it-or-hate-it reputation that tickles David. “It had to be polarizing or else I’ve failed,” he says. “I didn’t want to build an inoffensive, U.S.-style course that was painted in primary colors. The worst thing that could happen is every golfer walks off that course and says, ‘Yeah, that was pretty good.’ In Scotland, no one is plowing up golf courses to construct condos. You’re building courses to last hundreds of years. You’re building for the millennia. I knew the Castle wouldn’t be universally loved on day one, but I was willing to take the criticism, because I wanted to build a course that could stand the test of time.”

At Machrihanish Dunes, which opened in 2009, the goal was the same, but the means were wildly different. The Castle was sculpted on a flat, featureless site on which man had to impose his will, while Dunes shares the same stretch of towering linksland as neighboring Machrihanish Golf Club, which was designed in 1879 by Old Tom Morris, who is reputed to have said, “The Almighty had golf in his eye when he created this place.”

THE WORST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN IS EVERY GOLFER WALKS OFF THAT COURSE AND SAYS, ‘YEAH, THAT WAS PRETTY GOOD.”

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Trump by brian morgan Cruden

The land that became Mach Dunes carried the governmental protection of a Site of Special Scientific Interest due to five rare types of orchids that color the dunes. So, says David, “We took minimalism to the extreme. If Old Tom himself saw how the course was created, it would not have been a shock.”

This was a good fit in a land that time seems to have forgotten. The village of Machrihanish is known as “The Wee Toon,” with a population of around 500. It is at the far end of the Kintyre Peninsula, a gorgeous, four-hour drive south of the nearest golf course anyone has heard of—which happens to be Turnberry. The ancient golf club has long been one of golf’s great pilgrimages, and Machrihanish Dunes’ natural look next door is a perfect complement.

Yet the soft, rolling pitch of the fairways is in sharp relief to some of the wildest greens in Scotland—or anywhere. This is where David Kidd could more readily express himself as a designer, and he cites the Old Course as an influence. “Why do we love the Old Course?

Because it’s quirky, it’s full of whimsy. I think it’s important to bring that to any golf course that is built in Scotland.”

Nobody understands this better than Gil Hanse, the man behind Castle Stuart. Upon its opening in 2009, Golf Digest’s Ron Whitten, the dean of golf course architecture critics, wrote, “Castle Stuart might be the most perfectly conceived and executed design ever built.”

AT CASTLE STUART, YOU STEP OFF THE 18TH GREEN AND WANT TO PROCEED DIRECTLY TO THE FIRST TEE TO TRY AGAIN. AT TRUMP, YOU’RE JUST HAPPY TO HAVE SURVIVED.

Perched on the Moray Firth, just north of Inverness, the course is a non-stop thrill ride with an adrenaline-pumping mix of “half-par holes”: reachable par-5s, drivable par-4s, killer par-3s and some long, tough two-shotters that require macho ball-striking. At Castle Stuart, you can make a lot of birdies and bogeys, but routine pars are scarce. Gil never wants you to play the same shot twice, but while thought provoking, the course’s primary objective is to provide smiles.

“People always ask me, ‘What are the greatest compliments you get?’” Gil recently told fortune.com. “My answer is when someone says, ‘This course looks like it’s been here forever.’ An even bigger one is, ‘Wow, that was fun.’ That’s our goal.” Both were accomplished at Castle Stuart.

The new Trump course, which opened last year, has more in common with the Castle Course than Castle Stuart—it is

designed to make a statement, and it’s a bonus if the golfer enjoys himself or herself along the way. Built along the North Sea 11 miles north of Aberdeen, Trump boasts some of the most majestic dunes ever to grace a golf course, at times stretching 120 feet toward the heavens. The visuals are mind-blowing.

But while the new Machrihanish course plays over, around and through its softer dunes, the mountains of sand at Trump are largely decorative, as the holes themselves are placed on the flatlands in between. In fact, the fairways are pretty flat and devoid of character.

Dr. Martin Hawtree, third-generation owner of Hawtree Limited, designed the course, which dates to 1912—making it the oldest golfdesign firm extant. The most celebrated work of Hawtree’s grandfather Frederic is his 1932 reworking of Royal Birkdale, of which Golf Digest once wrote, “There’s no gee or haw to the flow of these fairways, and no yaw, either. They just lie there, motionless … as level as the floors of coffins.”

In sharp contrast are the angular, stair-step greens at Trump, which feel out of place amongst the dunes. Then there is the course’s punishing ethos. The fairways are pretty narrow, given all the elevated tees, which exaggerate the ever-present zephyrs and bring into the play the punishing, knee-high, native grass that lurks just off the fairway.

(There’s a reason folks want to build a wind farm just off this stretch of coastline.)

SHIPNUCK’S FAVES The author’s Scottish Top Ten ◗ CRUDEN BAY. The very essence of Scottish golf—a town course that is endlessly entertaining and wildly quirky, with views and shots you’ll remember forever. ◗ THE OLD COURSE. There is no more historic or romantic setting than St. Andrews, and the most important course in the world becomes more fascinating every time you play it. ◗ TURNBERRY. The Pebble Beach of Scotland: elegant, beautiful and historic. ◗ MACHRIHANISH. The greatest opening tee shot in golf—over the churning ocean—is only a prelude to some of the wildest dunesland in creation. Bonus points for being one of golf’s ultimate pilgrimages. ◗ CASTLE STUART. This neo-classic is a non-stop thrill ride, with wildly inventive holes and jawdropping views.

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◗ NORTH BERWICK (WEST). Loaded with charm and memorable design features, including the original Redan par-3 and ancient rock walls that zig-zag across the course. ◗ KINGSBARNS. Simply one great hole after another across exceptionally varied terrain. ◗ WESTERN GAILES. This underrated gem is a stout test and endlessly beautiful. ◗ PRESTWICK. The first Open Championship venue begins and ends with some of Scotland’s craziest/most fun holes. ◗ CRAIL. Short and sporty, with a handful of pulse-quickening carries over the water and a bunch of memorable greens.

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BEAUTY AND THE SHEEP: Left: The locals take in vegetation at Mach Dunes. Right: No. 1 at Kingsbarns.

Trump’s 18th hole is a par-5 measuring 586 yards from the middle tees, into the wind, and it’s crowded by 18 bunkers with wetlands down the left side. At Castle Stuart, you step off the 18th green and want to proceed directly to the first tee to try again. At Trump, you’re just happy to have survived.

On the continuum of hard/fun, or beauty/beast, the most perfect balance among the neo-classics may belong to Kingsbarns, which sits six miles south of St. Andrews. Kingsbarns opened in 2000 to rave reviews, and its success helped spur Scotland’s ongoing building boom. It’s hard to believe now, but at the turn of the century, the new golf course market in Scotland was so stagnant, the R & A

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gave Kingsbarns’ developers a £1,000,000 interest-free loan to get the project off the ground.

It is not situated on traditional linksland, but Kingsbarns’ ingenious routing makes wonderful use of diverse terrain, offering one great hole after another along with endless views of the North Sea. Years ago The Scotsman wrote something that remains true today: “Kingsbarns is now the standard against which all new links golf courses anywhere will be judged.”

Kyle Phillips’ design at Kingsbarns deeply influenced David Kidd’s subsequent work on the nearby Castle Course. “In the U.S., most new courses are driven by real estate,” he says. “The developer doesn’t want you to offend any potential homeowner. In Scotland, all that matters is the course. You can challenge the golfer, and I find that liberating. I think others do as well—Scotland has become the place where modern design is pushing the envelope.”

David knows better than anyone that there can be pushback on

KINGSBARNS IS NOW THE STANDARD AGAINST WHICH ALL NEW LINKS GOLF COURSES ANYWHERE WILL BE JUDGED.” such fantastical designs. One of the most distinctive holes in Scotland is the 13th at ancient North Berwick West, with a rock wall that cuts in front of the green. The wall has been there for hundreds of years, dating to when the land was a pasture.

“If you built that hole today, people would think you’re a lunatic,” says David. “But because it is so old, everyone loves that hole.”

The last time I played North Berwick West, I drove it a few paces from the wall and then needed three tries to get over. All I could do was laugh. It is this unique challenge that compels golfers to cross an ocean.

But the old and the new are not mutually exclusive. On the same

trip, I played the Old Course, Muirfield, Cruden Bay, North Berwick West, Royal Dornoch and other classics—this mega-itinerary was arranged by Perry Golf, the premiere Scottish travel company—but the three friends I traveled with cited Kingsbarns and Castle Stuart as maybe their two favorite courses. A wondrous design in a beautiful setting is transporting, no matter when it was built.

With an eye toward his own courses—and Trump’s—and probably a few wild Scottish designs that haven’t been imagined yet, David Kidd knows that time is on the side of the intrepid. With a laugh, he says, “Here’s a secret I haven’t told many people: One day all these new courses will be 100 years old too.” 

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×

SIX MEN AND A

MOUNTAIN Drive, determination, friendship and, yes, love—on an adventure of a lifetime

IT’S ALMOST SOMETHING YOU’D SEE IN A FANTASY PICTURE … YOU LOOK UP AND SEE A BAND OF CLOUDS, THEN THE SKY, THE TUNDRA, THE GLACIERS, THE ROCKY PEAKS. IT’S LIKE THE WORK OF AN ARTIST WHO COULDN’T STOP DRAWING.”

By Jennifer Drawbridge 50

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SCENES FROM A TREK Below: One of many Khumbu River bridges.

Right: Hiking with yaks at 17,000 feet.

H

Hiking to the base camp of Mount Everest—the world’s highest mountain—wasn’t even a bucket list item for Ken Harman, Richard Pender, Kurt Kelley, Tristan Renz and Mike Reizer. The dream of an Everest trek belonged to Kurt’s father-inlaw, Dave Sommers.

“Dad and I were talking over the holidays, and he said, ‘That’s a place I really want to go,’ and I said, ‘What are you waiting for?’” Kurt began to research the trip and talk to some golf friends from The Woodlands Country Club.

With his upbeat charm and the promise of adventure, Kurt assembled a sturdy crew of executives and businessmen, ranging in age from 74 (Ken) to 48 (Kurt, the baby of the group).

Says Ken, “I can’t say that any of us had this ‘I’ve got to go there!’ feeling, but we’re all guys who like a challenge. And when you have the opportunity and ability to take on a challenge like that, you do it.”

Preparing physically for the trip was pretty much business as usual for the men. The group included hikers, long distance bikers and a former marathon runner.

“None of us really did much more than our normal routines,” says Ken. “We all work out regularly. I’d put us up against almost any group of people regardless of age. Physically we’re about as fit as you can get, but it still doesn’t prepare you for the demands of this trek.”

On September 26, the group flew from Houston to Qatar and then on to Kathmandu, Nepal. After 30 hours of travel, the city was a bit of shock.

As Kurt described it in his travel journal, “Kathmandu isn’t a quaint mountain city. It’s a bustling mass of humanity, dust and pollution.

Picture a crowded mall packed with people; now substitute cars, trucks, motorcycles, cows, monkeys and chickens for some of those people, and then place them on a crumbling, partially paved road.”

After an overnight in the city, the hikers went to the small airport to catch a plane to the base of the Everest trail. There, they learned that only the day before a plane carrying trekkers had crashed in the mountains; all on board were killed.

On the second day of stormy weather delays, the guys decided

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to charter a helicopter to transport them to Lukla, the small town that marks the beginning of the hike.

“Loading into the helicopter was like stuffing clothes in a washing machine. Three of us sat on the back seat squeezed in like sardines, and then the bags were loaded basically in our laps,” wrote Kurt in his journal.

“It was so stormy, we couldn’t land in Lukla,” recalls Ken, “so we landed in a pasture, and the assistant guide got there to meet us. And that’s where we started.”

Characteristically, the whole group found this series of unfortunate events invigorating. “Losing a day, then getting that helicopter?” says Kurt. “A challenge, and we overcame it. Mike, Ken and Richard have traveled and lived around the world; it was such a great thing to have their expertise, because I just didn’t feel like we were going to run across anything they couldn’t cope with. And the nice thing about the bad weather and the airport being closed was we had the trails virtually to ourselves.”

Ken adds, “Now these are not just some little day-hike trails. You are hiking six, eight hours a day. They are major, major trails over the sides of glaciers.”

“The scenery was unbelievable,” says Kurt. “You see a peak and think, ‘My god, that is by far the most amazing, huge, tumbling cliff I’ve seen in my life—and there, it’s nothing. It’s one in 1,000. We were surrounded by these amazing mountains.”

I’D PUT THE SIX OF US UP AGAINST ALMOST ANY GROUP OF PEOPLE REGARDLESS OF AGE. PHYSICALLY WE’RE ABOUT AS FIT AS YOU CAN GET, BUT IT STILL DOESN’T PREPARE YOU FOR THE DEMANDS OF THIS TREK.”

THE MEN AND THE MOUNTAIN Bottom to Top: Tristan Renz, Mike Reizer, Ken Harman, Kurt Kelley and Richard Pender. Here: The Majesty of Everest.

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PEAK MOMENTS Below Top: Living quarters, Kurt with guide. Below Bottom: Kurt and Dave with Sherpa Crew and Base Camp.

“You’re slowly gaining elevation, but there are lots of ups and downs. Say you gain 2,000 vertical feet in a day. You’ll go up 1,000 feet, then down 1,000, up 5,000, down 4,000,” says Tristan, laughing.

“You think once you go up, you’re up, when you know you’re going up and you suddenly go down, it’s demoralizing because you KNOW you are going to have to go up again!”

And then there were Nepal’s famous suspension bridges. Recalls Ken, “The bridge path is four or five strips of aluminum wide. Some can be 300 feet long, and some of them are suspended 300 feet above the terrain. That’s all well and good, but there’s two-way traffic, and some of that traffic might be yak herds. It is a significant event to cross those bridges.”

And, discussing the bridges with Mike, it becomes evident that these guys really mean it when they say they love a challenge. “I’ve got problems with heights,” he says matter-of-factly, “so I could not look down. I looked straight across to the other side and just kept walking. It’s a challenge. You have to get over your little concerns and get through it. You cannot NOT do it.”

That they were all pushing themselves in one way or another did not seem to get in the way of them enjoying each other’s company.

“Because you do need a group where everyone’s going to be able to chill out and have a good time,” says Tristan of the crew. When they guys re-tell their tale individually, it’s clear that a powerful connection was being forged through their ongoing challenges.

And the biggest challenge was elevation. All of them came to the trek aware that the wild card would be Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS), the body’s response to the lack of oxygen in the thin mountain air. Mild altitude sickness is characterized by symptoms such as loss of appetite and fatigue; more severe disease can cause potentially fatal symptoms such as fluid in the lungs and even swelling of the brain.

AMS tends to kick in at roughly 8,000 feet above sea level. Lukla, where their hike started, is 9,000 feet above sea level. The goal—the Everest base camp at 17,598—is more than 8,000 feet higher.

The only way to cope with the steadily thinning air was to slow down. “We saw some folks moving at literally a snail’s pace to conserve energy. It was step. Pause. Step. Pause,” says Ken. And they conserved energy by emulating their Sherpa guides.

“They wind their way up the trail, curving from trail edge to edge at a slow, methodical pace,” says Tristan.

But even the careful pacing didn’t prevent them from feeling the elevation. Tristan continues, “At 14,000, you start losing your appetite.

And at 15,000, the same food that you really liked at 12,000 feet is entirely unappealing.”

In spite of the strenuous days, sleep became challenging. “You’d find you were slow to fall asleep and would wake every 30 minutes.

The higher you go, the less you sleep. The first night we slept at 16,000 feet, I remember waking up gasping for air,” says Kurt. “For most of us, the mild, dull headache was really the worst of it. Except for Mike.”

Mike Reizer, the hiker who’d spent his summer at relatively high elevations, started showing signs of more severe altitude sickness above 14,000 feet. “Once you get up in the valley near the glacier, it’s terribly dusty,” recalls Mike, who began coughing.

“It’s called the Khumbu cough,” he says. “It’s triggered by a combination of cold, dry air and dust.” The coughing is not only a sign that the lungs are having trouble. It burns up much-needed calories, uses up additional oxygen and robs the hiker of much-needed sleep.

In spite of this, Mike powered on and made it to the goal: the base camp of Everest.

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PEAK MOMENTS Below Top: Living quarters, Kurt with guide. Below Bottom: Kurt and Dave with Sherpa Crew and Base Camp.

The group called a helicopter to come up and airlift Mike to safety.

Ken stayed with him, while the rest of the guys headed down to rejoin their equipment. Recalls Ken, “The farewell was emotionally draining. Some of us were teary, and we are not that kind of people. But to know what we’d done to get up that trail and to be separating …”

“It was the worst moment,” admits Kurt. “I just cried.”

Heavy snow began to fall, and the guides left behind with Ken suggested they try to walk Mike down the hill to the next town. “I said, ‘Absolutely not,’” says Ken. “We had food, shelter and oxygen.

Even if the bad weather persisted for five days, it was the right place for Mike.”

Fortunately, the skies cleared, and the helicopter was able to take off. “The guide trampled a ring in the snow so the helicopter could land, and we started to load up,” says Ken. The pilot told the guide that he could carry only Ken and Mike. “So Mike and I left in the helicopter with our guide on the ground; I just had faith we were headed in the right direction.”

The helicopter dropped Ken off down the mountain with the others and took Mike directly to the hospital in Kathmandu. In addition to swelling of the brain and fluid build-up in his lungs, they found that he was in the early stages of kidney and liver failure.

He was stabilized and improving after only two days in the hospital. “The doctor said to me, ‘Thank your lucky stars you were with who you were with.’ They were resourceful guys,” Mike says.

Today, when you ask the friends about the frigid, dusty air, the lack of oxygen or even the infamous bridges, not one will tell you that those were the important details of their adventure. They talk about the camaraderie. “We put this gang together, we had a common goal, and we worked very hard. That bond is pretty significant,” says Ken. And they talk about the remarkable beauty of the Himalayas. Says Kurt, “It’s almost something you’d see in a fantasy picture … you look up and see a band of clouds, then the sky, the tundra, the glaciers, the rocky peaks. It’s like the work of an artist who couldn’t stop drawing.”

They are unanimously grateful for one another and their oncein-a-lifetime journey. When asked if he was glad he made the trip, Mike, now entirely recovered from his brush with death, replies without a moment’s hesitation, “Oh yeah! I wouldn’t have missed it for the world!”

This uniformly positive, can-do band of friends still finds it difficult to speak of the morning after their night at base camp. “We could see Mike was in real trouble,” says Ken. Mike wanted to continue down the hill, but he wasn’t able to walk without support. “He could only go 15 feet or so before he needed to sit down,” recalls Kurt. The group knew they weren’t going to be able to get him safely to the next rest stop, so they called ahead for an oxygen tank.

Breathing through a mask and supported by his friends, Mike was able to make it to a small, nearby village. As ill as he was, Mike argued that he could keep going, but “I was in no condition to make decisions,” he says. “The decisions that were made by the guys saved my life.”

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THE BACK

STORY

BIG FINISH Lewis focusing in on the 2013 season.

Texas-Tough, Tour-Tested,The Woodlands’ Stacy Lewis has triumphed over much more than the LPGA leaderboard.

By Alan Shipnuck

T

he only wobbly thing about Stacy Lewis is the way this self-professed tomboy walks in heels. But with a laugh, she admits she’s working on it. And no wonder, given all the awards banquets and fancy dinners that have come with her success on the course and in the

marketplace.

Stacy, 28, has already won a major championship (the 2011 Kraft Nabisco) and in 2012 became the first American to be named Player of The Year in almost two decades. This supremely proud Arkansas Razorback is quickly growing into the new face of the LPGA, with a sweet, All-American smile, girl-next-door charm and an inspiring underdog story.

Stacy spent seven years wearing a back brace and when she was 18 underwent major surgery to reverse the effects of scoliosis in her spine. (She still has a five-inch rod and a handful of screws in her back, much to the exasperation of the TSA agents manning airport metal detectors.)

The timing of her ascendance is a beautiful thing for the LPGA. Women’s golf hasn’t had a true leading lady since the double-whammy retirements of Annika Sorenstam and Lorena Ochoa in 2008 and 2010, respectively. (Current #1 Yani Tseng has never connected with fans outside Asia.)

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Though Stacy is naturally shy, (“On her recruiting trip, she didn’t say more than 10 words the whole time to anyone,” says former Arkansas coach Kelley Hester), she’s recognized the importance of her position in furthering the game and has sought help from the LPGA. “You can’t imagine how much media training she has done,” says LPGA commissioner Mike Whan. “She works on it like she works on her short game.”

Crazy mad work ethic, inspirational story and winning persona—it all adds up to the stuff of a golf commissioner’s dreams. Two companies with which she had personal endorsement deals have stepped up to become tournament title sponsors this year. Pure Silk, a shaving cream, put its name on a new event in the Bahamas, and Marathon Petroleum, a Fortune 50 company, will underwrite what used to be known as Jamie Farr’s tournament in Toledo.

“Certainly, our relationship with Stacy showed us the value of being associated with the LPGA,” says Marathon’s president and CEO, Gary Heminger. “She has so many admirable qualities that we want to be associated with: character, a passion for what she does and a burning desire to be the best.”

The adjectives all fit this former Woodlands Country Club kid.

Here, a few more things we thought you ought to know about a woman you’re going to be seeing a lot more of.

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ON THE JOB Lewis swinging through at the Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic.

THE WOODLANDS IS SUCH A GREAT PLACE FOR A KID TO GROW UP.”

STACY LEWIS: 10 TRUE THINGS

4. SHE’S GOT THE DRIVE OF AN UNDERDOG. Stacy wasn’t

finance and accounting, carrying a gaudy 3.87 GPA. “I don’t know if it gets much nerdier than that,” she says. “Some of those A-minuses still tick me off.”

the best player on her high school team, and for all of her collegiate accomplishments, she was snubbed for Player of the Year as a senior and passed over for a spot on the 2006 Curtis Cup team. She plays best with a chip on her shoulder. When Stacy was finally picked for the Curtis Cup in ’08, she became the first woman to go 5-0. “If people tell me I can’t do something, I go, ‘Watch me!’ I’ve always been that way.”

2. SHE’S A GYM RAT. If you’re looking for Stacy, try the weight

5. SHE’S A DADDY’S GIRL. Stacy is very close to her father, Dale.

1. SHE’S A SMART ONE. At Arkansas, Stacy earned a degree in

room. She spends 60 to 90 minutes working out, six days a week. She won’t discuss whether she can lift her body weight (she’s 5’5” and 130 pounds), but she will cop to the strength of her gams. “I do lunges with a bar on my shoulder that’s 85 pounds,” she woofs.

3. SHE’S A RUTHLESS HUSTLER.

Stacy plays at The Bear’s Club in Palm Beach, Florida, which counts some two dozen tour pros as members, including Ernie Els, Rory McIlroy, Luke Donald and Keegan Bradley. “When we play money games, everyone wants to be on Stacy’s team,” says Keegan.

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When she was inducted into the Arkansas Hall of Fame earlier this year, she made only one request: a hotel room with two beds so she and her dad could bunk together. “Never had that happen before,” said one Hall of Fame organizer.

6. SHE’S ALSO A MOMMY’S GIRL. “My mom and I went back

and forth to doctors appointments together every couple of months for seven or eight years,” she says. “We went through the ringer, and she taught me that you have to play the hand you’re dealt. I learned that bad things can happen, but it’s not what happens … it’s how you

respond to it. My mom keeps me grounded and helps me remember what’s important. To this day, she helps me be a better person.”

7. SHE’S FOUND A GOOD USE FOR HER MATH SKILLS.

Seriously. In 2012, her finance brain led her to AimPoint, an advanced green reading system. Before every putt, she uses a metric to determine the slope of the green and then factors in the distance of her putt with the angle at which she’s putting across the slope. She does the math in her head to give her the exact number of inches a given putt will break. “I’m a numbers person, so it fits right in for me.” So far this year, she ranks second in putts per GIR.

8. SHE’S GOT A TEMPER. Her on-course displays used to be vol-

canic. At a college tournament, Stacy once buried her putter up to the hosel in the green. “I’ve struggled with it since junior golf,” she says.

“My mom would threaten to pull me off the course if I didn’t behave.”

A series of rebukes from family and coaches have helped her tame her competitive spirit just a tad, but when she’s grinding hard on the golf course, her cheeks still redden. “I know I’m not perfect, but I think

in my head that I should be able to do everything perfectly. So I have to lower those expectations and be okay if I don’t hit a perfect shot.

It’s hard for me, but I’m working on it—because I can’t have 10- and 12-year-old kids watching me slamming my clubs.”

9. SHE WAS A GOLF COURSE KID. “The Woodlands is such a great place for a kid to grow up. We had access to five golf courses.

After school our parents could just drop us off for a few hours and leave us. We could hit balls, we could practice, we could play. We could do whatever we wanted to.”

10. SHE’S NOT A SHOPPER. Stacy is the first to acknowledge that

her tomboy self is most comfortable in jeans and a T-shirt. “I ask my sisters and my friends to go shopping with me and help me pick out clothes, because it’s not my thing,” she says of the glam outfits that are becoming increasingly necessary for her promotional duties. She’s still most comfortable in spikes. “I don’t know how girls do the really high heels,” Stacy says. “I do some little ones, so I’m hanging in there.”

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A DAY AT THE BEACH Below: Bunker work. Bottom: Hoisting the Rolex 2012 Player of the Year trophy.

RANCHO VISTA GOLF CLUB PALMDALE, CALIFORNIA playawayclubs.com

STACY BY THE NUMBERS Age she started golf: 8 College victories: 13 NCAA Championships: 1 No. of Razorback Hats in her closet: 20+ No. of times it took her to qualify for the LPGA: 1 Victories to date: 7 Top 10s : 44 2012 Ranking for Eagles, Birdies, & Rounds in 60s: 1 Average driving distance: 59 Age she became the youngest inductee to the Arkansas hall of fame history: 28 2012 On-Course paycheck: $1,827,409

A

CONTINENT OF

MEMBERSHIP Sequoia Golf Presents 450 Reasons to Embrace Your Away Game

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PLAY AWAY

playawayclubs.com

A

dd another item to your Best-Things-In-Life-Are-Free list: Sequoia Golf’s PlayAway program allows you to take your golf on the road. Whether you’re on business in California, gambling in Vegas, visiting your kid at college in Wisconsin, on vacation in British Columbia, or just a short drive from your home club, the PlayAway program extends member benefits across the country by providing access to more than 400 private clubs as well as the 50 properties directly associated with Sequoia Golf.

It’s simple, it’s beautiful and all you need to do to enjoy these fantastic tracks from sea to shining sea is go to playawayclubs. com, log in with your account and fill out a tee time request form.

Requests will be answered within 48 hours. Members may also call the PlayAway Call Center at 678-288-3912.

And as if membership x 450 wasn’t enough, you’ll also receive reduced guest fees at most clubs and the ability to bring your guests along. With PlayAway, it’s not just North America; it’s 8,100 holes of golf. Read on for a small sampling of stunning courses that your membership offers access to.

OYSTER REEF GOLF CLUB HILTON HEAD ISLAND, SOUTH CAROLINA OYSTERREEF GOLFCLUB.COM RANCHO VISTA GOLF CLUB PALMDALE, CALIFORNIA RANCHOVISTA GOLFCLUB.COM

Rees Jones carved this 7014-yard design through 190 acres of breathtaking low country terrain complete with winding lagoons, lush vegetation and scenic views of the Island. Oyster Reef is home to one of the most spectacular golf holes on Hilton Head island, the Par -3 6th, which plays 192 yards from the championship tees to a green that is set against the backdrop of the beautiful Port Royal Sound.

Three mountain ranges surround this Antelope Valley, Ted Robinson design. The 6,659-yard layout is a “very fun, very fair and playable course for all levels of golfer,” says resident pro Marshall Paterson. Golfers play through desert landscaping, and will find challenge on its contoured fairways and strategically incorporated lakes.

playawayclubs.com playawayclubs.com

CHAMPIONSGATE GOLF CLUB, ORLANDO, FL CHAMPIONSGATEGOLF.COM ChampionsGate features two premier, 18-hole championship courses designed by Greg Norman. The International Course and The National Course are just fifteen minutes from Walt Disney World. ChampionsGate Golf Club brings a unique combination to Orlando Golf with two totally different signature designs that incorporate Florida’s natural habitat and offer beautiful vistas on every hole.

playawayclubs.com

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PLAY AWAY

ROYAL FOX ST CHARLES, ILLINOIS ROYALFOXCC.COM Built in 1989 and designed by Dick Nugent, the Royal Fox has hosted the Illinois PGA Open five times in 11 years. The 6,816-yard, par-71 golf course is a true challenge from the get-go. It offers a mixture of both open and tree-lined fairways as well as super-fast greens and tricky par-3s.

Three other courses—the Royal Hawk, Klein Creek and The Grove Country Club—round out this fantastic quartet of Illinois golf just 30 miles west of the Windy City.

playawayclubs.com

REGATTA BAY GOLF & COUNTRY CLUB DESTIN, FL

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SHOP TALK

> Nike skirt and belt, $99. “I Won’t Watch” watch, $20 (proceeds go to Open Door Haiti; email info@ inplaymedia.com to order). Adidas contrast stitch shorts, $65.

Canterbury Belts, $20.

STEP UP

Brent’s tips for putting your best outfit forward.

BRENT REID

OUR MAN IN MERCHANDISING I used to approach my wardrobe conservatively, like teeing off with a 5-iron. Khaki pants, brown belts and blue shirts were the norm. And then a merchandiser at one of our stores insisted on a fashion intervention that took me way beyond my comfort zone. To my delight (and surprise!), the positive reactions were like a standing “O” from the gallery on 18.

I’ve been trying to step up my game ever since. We can’t always make the heroic shot, carry the water and hit the green in two, but we can always dress like we’re about to. Here, some thoughts about buttoning up your action, using some of our members as inspiration.

> Her outfit: Tail

skort, $59 and top, $45. Nike belt, $20.

Look for these and more of the latest fashions in your pro shop.

> Left: Nike shorts, $52 > Puma shorts, $65.

Oakley belt, $45.

Buckle, $20.

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and top, $45. Belt, $50.

Right: Adidas shorts, $60 and top, $65.

> Nike top, $59. Right: Nike > Ashworth shirt, $69.

top, $65 and shorts, $65.

Martin Dingman belts,SPRING $49. 2013, INPLAY 67

THE PRO FILE

RUMINATIONS ON GOLF AND LIFE Jim Dickson, PGA Professional Director of Golf, The Woodlands Country Club

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IN PLAY, SUMMER 2013

WHEN I WENT TO HAND HIM THE BALL, I SAID, ‘ARNOLD, GREAT PUTT.’ AND HE HAD TEARS COMING OUT OF HIS EYES, AND HE SAID, ‘JIM, I HAVEN’T HEARD THAT ROAR IN A LONG TIME.’ THAT’S A BUCKET-LIST TYPE OF DAY RIGHT THERE.”

FIRST GOLF EXPERIENCE: I started playing golf when I was 15 years old. I grew up in Wahiawa, Hawaii. My dad was in the military.

There was a course on the base called Kalakaua. It’s not there any more. I was fortunate that I had about eight friends, and we played every day and drove the pro crazy. We played 36 holes a day. We didn’t even have a driving range. So to this day I’m not much of a practice guy. By the time I was 18, I played in the USGA Junior Amateur.

ON THE JOB: I started working at Makaha Resort on the North Shore after I graduated from high school. I was 19, and I worked in Outside Services. Loved the job—taking care of hotel guests, getting carts out, putting bags on the carts. And that’s probably where I got indoctrinated in customer service. And then my dad retired and moved to El Paso. He called me one day and said, “There’s an opening at El Paso Country Club for an assistant golf pro, and they’re only hiring good players. If you want to come, I’ll pay your airfare.” So I flew down and shot 69—and got the job. That was 1971. I was making $300 a month. This is my 41st year in the golf business.

PGA TOUR CAREER: I played the PGA Tour in 1976 and 1980. Both times I had very limited success, because I didn’t putt very well. I have been fortunate to play in six major championships: the U.S.G.A. Junior Amateur in 1969, the U.S. Open in 1983, the U.S. Senior Open in 2009, the 1988 PGA at Oak Tree, the 1991 PGA at Crooked Stick, and the 2008 Senior PGA at Oak Tree. Everywhere I played, I didn’t make the cut. When you work 60 hours a week and then you go try and play in a major, you’re just not prepared to do it. But you don’t get treated like a rock star very often, so it’s something I will always remember.

BEST THING ABOUT YOUR JOB: The friendships. I have people from El Paso CC from 1971 call me and check on how I’m doing, and I’ll call them. Those are 40 years of friendships. You don’t get that in everyday jobs.

PRO YOU MOST LOVE TO WATCH: I worked with Lee Trevino when I was an assistant at El Paso and he played out of that club. We became really good friends. When he opened his club called Santa Teresa in 1975, he asked me to be the first pro. So I’m partial to Lee. I’ve watched him hit 300,000 balls. He’s such a natural. He always says, “It’s in the dirt,” which means you’ve got to practice harder.

BEST DAY EVER ON A GOLF COURSE: I had it last year during the 2012 Insperity Championship. We had the Greats of Golf—Arnold, Jack, Gary Player, Lee Trevino—all playing here, and there were 40,000 people here. I got to be an official starter on No. 1 and call everybody to the tee. And then I got to call everybody when they came up to the green on 18. Arnold made a 20-foot putt on the last hole, and people just went crazy. I took the ball out of the hole—it still kind of chokes me up to talk about it—and when I went to hand him the ball, I said, “Arnold, great putt.” And he had tears coming out of his eyes, and he said, “Jim, I haven’t heard that roar in a long time.”

That’s a bucket-list type of day right there.

WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED FROM THE GAME? Humility.

It’s just such a great game, and it’s so hard. Lee used to say, “You never own golf; you just rent it.”

ONE THING YOU TELL ALL YOUR STUDENTS: It’s interesting. I’ve never charged for a lesson.

I’ve always believed the country club pro should not charge. I always tell my students, “If you don’t have a good grip, you can’t play.” It’s just a basic thing.

Without a good grip, you just can’t play.

SURPRISING FACT ABOUT YOU: That I’m completely self-taught.

When I was in New Mexico, I was five-time player of the year. People are always surprised that I don’t hit balls. I go straight from the office to the first tee and hit it. The last U.S. Open I played was at the Broadmoor in 2009, and my oldest soon was caddying for me.

He said, “Dad, you gotta practice a little. You’re in the U.S Open!”

So I said, “Okay, give me 10 balls.” He said, “Oh my god!” But I don’t practice. I get bored really quick.

FAVORITE GOLF APP? I’m old school. We were in a staff meeting yesterday, and we had 15 people there, and everybody was saying we need to get upgrades on our equipment and our iPhones and this and that. Somebody said, “Can we get Jim a new quill?” I go home every day with 20 notes in my pocket. I’m still writing it down.

GRANDDADDY’S BOYS CLUB: I have two grandchildren—boys, of course! I have five brothers, and we all have boys. We don’t allow girls in the Dickson family! My grandson Pierce is 5 and Campbell is 2.

They’re in San Antonio, and we visit them often. I take them fishing, and I’ve already bought them both their own set of clubs. They call me “Granddaddy.”

FOR GRINS: My wife, Nancy, and I both work long hours, but the one thing we do every night together is sit down and have a glass of wine. Often we’re so tired, we just go to bed. Occasionally we’ll watch Scandal or a crime drama. We’re taking a holiday in Scotland for the first time this fall. No matter where we go, I never take my clubs.

We’re going to see castles and pubs—that’s my idea of a vacation!

SUMMER 2013, IN PLAY

69

WHEELS

ALL CLASS, NO GAS Tesla presents a lovely trifecta: groundbreaking, gorgeous and good for the environment.

By John Voelcker

T

esla’s Model S is a breakthrough sedan that’s fast, sleek and happens to run on electricity. The manufacturer delivered its first Model S only last June, and so far it’s on track to deliver about 21,000 this year.

From January through March, Tesla actually sold more Model S cars in the U.S. than Mercedes-Benz did S-class luxury sedans. The e-car is already ubiquitous in Silicon Valley. Motor Trend named it Car of the Year; Consumer Reports said the Tesla Model S was the best car it had tested in six years. It’s that good.

It’s also not for everyone. Owners will have to get used to some differences between a Model S and the average luxury sport sedan from Audi, BMW or Mercedes-Benz.

For one thing, the all-electric Tesla uses no gasoline, which means owners plug it into a special charging station installed in their garage, generally overnight, and the car’s battery recharges itself—for a fraction of the cost of the gasoline needed to go the same distance.

For another: It’s fast—really fast. The 310-kilowatt (416-horsepower) electric motor, powered by an 85-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack that’s built into

the floor, catapults the Model S Performance version from 0 to 60 mph in about four seconds. That’s better than some expensive Italian sports cars—and well into BMW M and Mercedes-Benz AMG hot-rod territory.

The Model S is also remarkably quiet.

Occupants hear some wind noise, tire noise, road noise—but no more than an occasional muffled whine from the electric powertrain. There’s no engine or transmission, so rising and falling machinery sounds are completely absent.

The car rides firmly but comfortably, and the air suspension copes extremely well with rough surfaces—we tested it

SUMMER 2013, IN PLAY

on Manhattan cobblestones. Although Tesla offers few of the bells and whistles of full-size German luxury cars, the crisp and stunningly fast 17-inch touchscreen display in the dash makes any other car’s display look like a 1970s computer. Then there’s the always-on internet connection.

Ah, skeptics say, but what about the range? Tesla offers two models: the lowerend one is rated by the EPA at 208 miles of range; the top-of-the-line at 265 miles. It’s by far the longest-range electric car sold today. (It should be noted that range varies considerably with driving style, speed and temperature.)

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Tesla is also setting up a network of Supercharger quick-charging stations between major city pairs (San Francisco and Los Angeles, for instance). Stop in, plug in, check your e-mail, make a rest stop, and in half an hour you’ll be 80% recharged and ready to go. No, it’s not as fast as refueling a gasoline car, but it does enable trips of several hundred miles—if you’re taking a route that has Supercharger stations, that is.

The biggest thing owners have to cope with, really, is answering all the questions.

The sleek lines of the large, all-electric Tesla sedan almost always attract crowds— whether Tesla fans, electric car advocates or disparaging skeptics.

The Tesla Model S is for buyers who appreciate next-wave technology, support innovation in the car industry and appreciate the virtues of electric drive wrapped in a stylish, large sedan that can carry five people and quite a lot of their luggage. If you ever get a chance to ride in or drive one, grab it. You might find it permanently changes your perception of what a car can be.

SUMMER 2013, IN PLAY

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INDULGE

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IN PLAY, SUMMER 2013

3

SUMMER 2013, IN PLAY

73

ON COURSE

A TRIED AND TRUE

CLASSIC The Tournament Course The Woodlands Country Club Houston, Texas

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IN PLAY, SUMMER 2013

SUMMER 2013, IN PLAY

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ON COURSE

T

he 1978 design by Robert von Hagge and Bruce Devlin has aged like a fine Madeira. As Jim Dickson, The Woodlands’ director of golf, explains, “I can’t think of a better way to describe it than to tell exactly what Tom Kite told me this year when he played the Insperity Championship.

Tom said, ‘Jim, this is such a great golf course. Think about it. It’s 30 years old, and with all the equipment changes and ball changes, most courses have had to add yardage. But this is such a great golf course that you guys have not needed to add one extra yard.’”

The course remains a true classic, and a recent $1 million renovation of the greens has only added to its luster. Originally known as the TPC at The Woodlands, this 7,018-yard layout has hosted 18 PGA Tour events as well as the LPGA’s Samsung World Championship. It is currently the host of the Champions Tour’s Insperity Championship.

A multitude of greats—Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson, Greg Norman, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Annika Sorenstam among them— have worked their magic along these fairways. How very nice that you can too.

CLASSICS Below and right: The green at 13 and the 18th. Opposite: Arnie, Gary and Jack at this year’s InsperityChampionship.

I play the course probably twice a week. The staff is great. The conditions are always great.

And it’s a shot-maker’s course. You can’t just hit it around and expect to play well. There’s a lot of trees, sand traps and water to contend with if you don’t. You bring people out who have never played the course … it’s funny to see them play it, because they’ll pull out a driver on almost every hole—every par-4 or par-5—which a lot of times you don’t need to. It’s definitely a thinking man’s course. There are so many challenging holes, and when you’re looking down 17, especially out of the fairway, and you’ve got that water...

It’s just really beautiful.”

I like the finishing holes there—17 and 18. They are probably two of the best finishing holes on any golf course. They force you to really hold it together at the end of a round. I like the challenge of that.”

– STACY LEWIS, LPGA PROFESSIONAL AND CURRENTLY RANKED WORLD NO. 2

– CHARLES WINDSOR, MEMBER

I am a member of the women’s 18-holer group, and we play the course quite often. Whenever we have an event there, it’s highly attended because everyone wants to play it. Like a lot of the von Hagge courses, it’s a lot about placement. You don’t just pull the driver out and wail away. There have been so many professional tournaments there that if you play it well, you really feel like you did something. I love 13, 14, 15—13 is the signature island hole, and after that there’s a really short par-3 that’s all water carry with sand traps in the back. So you have to be kind of precise, and then you have a shorter par-5 following that one. I love that stretch. To me it’s fun, because it’s an opportunity to score if you hit the good shots, and I like having a chance to score before I go into 17 and 18.”

– KAREN NORTHCUTT, MEMBER 76

IN PLAY, SUMMER 2013

SUMMER 2013, IN PLAY

77

PLAYERS

OFF COURSE

FOURSOME CONFAB Coach Chuck with Chandler Avery, Dylan Pence and Peter Pappas

SIGNED AND DELIVERED

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Seven Hamilton Mill golfers bask in the light of scholarship

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T

he gates of excellence necessitate sweat and a long, hard road.

Seven Hamilton Mill golfers have crossed that threshold, dedicating time and effort to the game and the books—maintaining a 3.5 GPA or higher and practicing or playing a minimum of five days a week. The reward: They all received college scholarships and celebrated on “Signing Night” at Hamilton Mill on May 15.

The class of 2013 includes Garnett Glaser (University of Tennessee, Yates Scholarship), Shelby Hanna (University of North Georgia), Katie Plummer Armstrong (Atlantic University), Dylan Pence (University of West Georgia), Peter Pappas (Berry College), Melissa Blaurock (Truett-McConnell College) and Cara Crowder (Young Harris College). These seven scholar athletes represent the fourth year of Hamilton Mill’s Advanced Program under the tutelage of Chuck Scoggins and bring the scholarship total to 24.

As one witness to the signing night celebration put it: “In the advanced program at Hamilton Mill, you have three types of students: those that have signed, those that are signing and those that will sign.” Honors, indeed.

I KNEW I WANTED TO GET TO COLLEGE AND I KNEW CHUCK WAS GOING TO DO EVERYTHING HE COULD TO HELP ME GET THERE. I AM GOING TO MISS BEING AT HAMILTON MILL AND PRACTICING WITH MY FRIENDS AND WITH CHUCK.” —PETER PAPPAS

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FRESHMAN IN WAITING Left: Chuck with KatiePlummer Armstrong.

Middle: Garnett Glaser and Melissa Blaurock Right: Shelby Hannah

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PLAID SHORTS DAY IN PLAY, SUMMER 2013

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OFF COURSE

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MASTERS MEMBER TRAVEL

100 HOLES FOR HAITI

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ifty golfers tested their golf stamina by playing 100 holes of golf to support children in orphanages in Haiti and the Philippines. The tournament was attended by Pastor Wiljean Compere, founder and president of Open Door Haiti, an organization that houses children in the newly completed Open Door Children’s Home and provides school and feeding programs for 1,000 students. A medical complex in Bois De Lance provides the only health care for a village of more than 20,000 people.

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MOTHERS DAY CO.

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Y OPEN The Sequoia Foundation is proud to sponsor and host the Y Open, Atlanta’s largest charitable golf tournament. Held at six Canongate Golf Clubs and hosted by 20 local YMCAs with more than 500 golfers, the Y Open helps the YMCA make a difference in the lives of thousands of metro Atlanta kids and teens.

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IN PLAY, SUMMER 2013

SUMMER 2013, IN PLAY

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“M:PROJECT BLAZES NEW TRAIL”

GOLF IS MY GAME

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PERENNIAL CONTENDER, Chapel Hills Golf Club & Mirror Lake Golf Club

“I started playing in 1967 when I was 13. My dad got me into the game, and I fell in love with it immediately. I became a pro in 1981 at a 9-hole club in South Douglas County, Georgia, and I also played professionally,” says the five-time Club Champion and one-time Senior Champion, who now plays to a five.

“When I found out I couldn’t make a living doing that, I had an opportunity to begin a career with UPS. In fact, one of my members was a very high-ranking individual at UPS, and he had enough trust in me to hire me. I had a very successful, 25-year career in sales management.

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IN PLAY, SUMMER 2013

With golf, it used to be the competitive side that I loved. But now it’s transitioned into fellowship, knowing more about folks, developing relationships and, of course, enjoyment.

There’s an old saying: ‘You don’t meet too many bad people at the golf course.’ And I have found that to be true. I now have two grandsons that are 8, and they do follow me to the golf course. If I can involve my grandchildren in the game and get them to enjoy the game and let them see where the game can help them like it’s helped me, to me that would be special.”

“BEST FEELING SHOE”

“THEY ARE LIKE SLIPPERS. MOST COMFORTABLE SHOE I HAVE EVER WORN.”

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“THE MESH ONES WILL BE MY GAMERS THIS SUMMER”

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The Mark of a Player

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