Side Bets FAREWAYS
A Bite at the Turn
Colorado golfers recall top meal memories on and off the links. By John Lehndorff
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF PINEHURST GOLF RESORT
CRABBY PATTIES: The Jumbo Lump Crab Cake is a staple at North Carolina’s Pinehurst Resort and is often the focal point of a memorable meal.
FOOD MAY NOT be the first thing golfers recall about great days on the course. If truth be told, the bill of fare in the clubhouse is not usually the primary attraction. “Golf is usually more about drinking than eating. Every golf course has something they are famous for and it’s often a cocktail,” says Frank Bonnano, a Denver chef and restaurateur and inveterate golfer. That said, many courses are known for particular dishes. Think about the chocolate milkshakes at Castle Pines Golf Club and the seafood chowder dished at Maidstone Club on Long Island, as well as the Bill Burger—a hot dogshaped burger in a hot dog bun—served at San Francisco’s Olympic Club. The most renowned dish of all is the pimento cheese sandwich served at Augusta National Golf Club. Recently, we asked some Colorado golfers to share their favorite memories of food and the links. The dishes and the meal occasions they recall range from humble fare to truly magnificent feasts, much like the rounds of golf that preceded the meals. coloradoavidgolfer.com
SHANE BERTSCH A Denver-born PGA tour golfer since 1994, Bertsch won his first tour event in August at the Charles Schwab Series at Bass Pro Shops Big Cedar Lodge in Missouri. “We traveled a ton in my career in an RV. We home-schooled the kids and we cooked a lot because going out to eat gets old. What I hate the most is that to go out for a good meal for two can cost $100 minimum. We can get five days of groceries for that. The day I won the tournament, my wife had to go home before I finished, so I was alone the night after I won. We were staying in a time share and, for my victory meal, I ate four leftover Sloppy Joes all by myself with a couple of Coors Light. They were the best I ever had.” TOM FERRELL Membership and Marketing Director at the Colorado Golf Club in Parker “The meal I will always remember was in 2013 at Pinehurst in North Carolina. It was
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the annual meeting of Coore and Crenshaw, the Austin-based firm that designed a lot of courses, including the Colorado Golf Club. We got to play Pinehurst No. 2 with representatives of all the clubs, a total of maybe 60 people. This was the year before the course was used for the U.S. Open. The highlight of the gathering was annual dinner at Pinehurst hosted by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw. The food and wine were great, starting with the lump crab cake they are famous for and the filet mignon they’ve been serving since about 1895. After the meal, I moderated a discussion with Bill and Ben about Pinehurst No. 2, the course we’d just played. With all the traditions and the history, it just all came together in this great moment of food and drink and golf.” PAUL STOLTZ Head Chef at Lake Valley Golf Club in Boulder “My most memorable golf meal was a long time ago when I was in my twenties. I was a newbie professional cook—definitely not a chef—and a newbie golfer. My golf instructor in Winter 2020 | COLORADO AVIDGOLFER
