OTL August 2017

TEXAS WHISKEY

Nice & Neat

TEXAS A&M TRADITIONS GOLF CLUB: Creating New Traditions FAZIO CANYONS AT BARTON CREEK: Synonymous with Austin Golf

Contents Volume 15 , Issue 8

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PHOTO BY FRANKIE WYLIE

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THE CARILLON To call it a hidden gem is no exaggeration, Richard Arebalo.

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TEXAS WHISKEY It’s been a long time in the making. Now it’s here.

Learn who’s making whiskey in Texas, Harry Jarvis.

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CREATING NEW TRADITIONS Doing it big and doing it right. New traditions are being made in Aggieland, Carl Mickelson.

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FAZIO CANYONS AT BARTON CREEK Beautiful layout married to a place that is forever linked with Austin golf, Barton Creek, Carl Mickelson.

TEXAS WHISKEY

Nice & Neat

TEXAS A&M TRADITIONS GOLF CLUB: Creating New Traditions FAZIO CANYONS AT BARTON CREEK: Synonymous with Austin Golf

ON THE COVER Texas Whiskey is on the rise. What does it take to be considered a Texas Whiskey? What’s good and where to get it?

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FEATURES

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Contents 56

COLUMNS 16

ON YOUR GAME Meet the guy who is changing the game, David Edel.

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EQUIPMENT Playing from the fairway is now a little easier.

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MIND GAME Visualize the shot, before hitting the shot.

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TIPS Improve your speed on the greens and make better scores.

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FITNESS Glutes don’t just look good, they are helpful for great health.

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YOGA Improving the range of motion in your hips can reduce injury.

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DRIVE FOR SHOW Lincoln Continental starts a new breed of American luxury.

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PUTT FOR THE DOUGH Credit rating, as in life, typically the high score wins.

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WINE Rosé has always had an image problem, but not for long.

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SPIRITS A Chi Chi may save you on one of those hot days.

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CIGARS Maduros, a dark wrapper doesn’t mean the cigar is strong.

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TRAVEL Guatamala assumes the lead role as a luxury vacation.

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THE SWEET SPOT Vegas shows keep it interesting by never staying the same.

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SIGNATURE SPOTLIGHT Teravista hole #18 is a fantastic finishing hole.

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Letter from the Publisher

The journey continues.

When operating a business, it’s clear you must have a plan and direction. The challenge lies between the fine line of being focused and being closed minded. When do you open your mind to implement new ideas and when do you stay the course?

Is it possible to do both? We have always tried to stay in our lane and never tried to steer others into a different lane. Live and let live is the general operating directive. As you read our columns and features notice that we have taken the time to find the very best options for you out there. We tell the writers that

if something sucks, let’s just not write about it.

One writer recently dined at a restaurant we intended to feature and he called me mid-dinner and told me that the food is horrible and the service matched it. “What should I do,” he asked. I said, thank them, pay and leave. We won’t write the feature. We are not in the negative, gotcha, attack businesses for attention format. It’s more challenging to highlight the good than to point out the bad. If the reader is generous enough to give their time to us, then we should give them gems instead of bad rocks.

Go back and look at the top of the cover page.

It says OTL. OTL is our vision. OTL is the life, leisure and luxury we intend. We want to the most out of our lives. We will continue to deliver the vision of OTL in the coming issues. It’s always been there in the content, but many would-be, short-sided decision-makers and lazy people in charge have been quick to say, “We’re not interested in a Golf magazine.” Then we would try to explain we are more than just golf. We are lifestyle, travel, entertainment Blah Blah Blah. At that point, it’s pointless and their little minds are already made up. It’s OTL. OTL means On The Links to golfers, but the outsiders will learn of the brand as Life, Leisure and Luxury. Notice the emphasized T. The visual was drawn from the scales of justice with denotes balance. You have to find the balance in life.

Give us some time and grow with us. This a great issue. Special thanks to the outstanding folks over at Traditions and to all who participated in creating this issue.

Sedric Walker Publisher august 2017

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veryone has ideas of what they want our business to be. We live and breathe this thing. I get told on a daily basis what this thing should be. Granted, everyone knows I’m open for suggestions.

While wrestling with new ideas and suggestions I was standing on the tee box on a golf course in Maui last week overlooking the beautiful Pacific, it came to me.

There’s a game golfers like to play called “Wolf”.

You know the one, just before you tee off you have to decide who you want to partner with to have the best chance to win. But there are times when you feel the best chance for you to win is to go it alone. You yell out a mighty howl and then say WOLF! I’m yelling WOLF. If you are hearing too many voices in your life, don’t play small. Play big and go WOLF.

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/OnTheLinks Magazine

@otl_golf

PUBLISHER Sedric Walker

FEATURES EDITOR Richard Arebalo

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Tony Dean

GOLF FEATURES EDITOR Carl Mickelson

ADVERTISING Leslie Sosa

TEACHING PROFESSIONALS Brech Spradley, Dave Pelz

ART DIRECTOR Leticia Galarza

@otlgolf

PHOTOGRAPHERS Conrad Earnest, Myka Dylan, Frankie Wylie, Al Alguerta Carol Stanley Aaron, Jennifer Hickle Carpenter, Ornella Shaya CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Harry Jarvis, Scott Kramer, Leslie Awdykowyz, Kristi Grosse, Al Alguerta, Kelly Vohnn, TJ Stevenson Tony Dean

FOR ADVERTISING OR EDITORIAL INQUIRIES

OTL magazine is published bi-monthly by Pristine Media, Inc. Executive, editorial,and advertising offices are located at 210 Grand Isle Drive. Round Rock, TX 78665. Advertising rates furnished upon request.

Advertisers warrant and represent that the descriptions and depictions of the products or services advertised are true in all respects. All advertising is subject to approval before acceptance. OTL reserves the right to refuse any ad for anyreason whatsoever. Š2017 by OTL. All rights reserved throughout the world. Reproduction in whole or part without the express written consent of OTL is strictly prohibited.

Editorial queries and manuscripts should be directed to the editor via email, editor@otlgolf.com. All letters and their contents sent to OTL are sole property of OTL and may be used, printed, and published in any matter whatsoever without limit, obligation and liability to the author thereof. All views expressed in all articles are those of the authors and artists and not necessarily those of OTL or its advertisers. Manuscripts should be accompanied by self-addressed, stamped envelopes. OTL assumes no responsibility or liability for the return of unsolicited artwork, manuscripts or pictures. Printed in the USA.

august 2017

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512.657.7533 pr@otlgolf.com

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PHOTO BY EDEL GOLF

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OTL / ON YOUR GAME

Game Changer STORY BY TONY DEAN

Golf defines who I am,” founder/owner David Edel said, “I’ll be involved in golf for the rest of my life. I have enough up here,” he says, tapping his temple, “ to make a living at this game no matter what else happens.”

“I started building putters in 1996,” David said, sitting at his cluttered desk in Liberty Hill, Texas amid a small fortune of golf memorabilia.

“A reputation is hard to build and easy to loose and my Dad instilled that in my brother and myself at an early age. If there is a prob-

lem with a customer we will do everything in our power to make it right,” Edel says unequivocally. “It bears my name. I want to build a brand, so that the name Edel has a reputation...it means something.”

To that end, Edel is very particular about his product, accepting virtually no compromise.

“I don’t say we build a perfect putter, and we don’t. But then I don’t know what a perfect putter is. We build golf clubs that are custom fit to the player and will work for them. It will improve their game.

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In an industrial warehouse space turned factory on the outskirts of Austin, Edel Golf has set about changing the game of golf forever.

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Edel’s putters, wedges and irons are manufactured and assembled under his personal control.

His product is sold through a network of “fitters and retailers” who are golf teachers and pros trained to fit an Edel product to the individual golfer.

Edel custom fitters, match the right components from their Torque Balanced

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putter system that has over 26 million possible permutations to find the players perfect combination. Edel-trained fitters choose the optimum length, lie, head shape, offset, line combination to make them aim correctly.

Then the fitter can adjust head weight, shaft weight and counter weight to control speed dictated by each golfer’s stroke pattern.

“It’s simple physics,” he says.

“E=1/2MV2, or energy equals half mass times velocity squared. So we can change the energy imparted by the putter to the ball by changing the weight of the putter.

If we change the energy of the ball, up or down, we lengthen or shorten the length of the roll. Our putters have the ability to be adjusted with internal weights from 339 to 354 grams, static lofts from 2 to 4 degrees and static lie angles from 67 to 74 degrees.

Each Torque Balanced putter comes standard with a Pixl insert which really help if the ball if it is struck slightly off center. The whole point is consistency. When a player uses one of my putters, I want all of their practice balls to be in one tight little group.”

“And when they look at their club, I want them to draw some pleasure from what they see,” he adds.

Edel’s putters are milled from 303 stainless steel, machined under his watchful eye in his Texas Hill Country facility. Edel has put years of study into the bio mechanics and the psychology of swinging a golf club.

“Everyone wants to be able to hit a tee shot 300 yards, perfectly straight, and that’s fine. The short game, however, with putters and wedges, accounts for more strokes and if they don’t work right, it shows. Our fitting process really personalizes the club. Our competitors charge $2,000 for a consultation similar to what our clients get with a putter that cost $375 and wedges as low as $150.”

One of Edel’s new additions this year is the Single Length Irons. These irons were just released and the response has been phenomenal. David Edel is not new to making single length irons as he made the 2015 US Amateur and NCAA Championship winners single length irons from 2012-2016. David found certain flaws in the single length con-

He’s been a caddie, a golf pro, he’s taught golf and done every job there is in golf. Eventually, he toured South America teaching golf and he speaks fondly of that part of his life.

“It was an eye opener for me, and I was very lucky. I came to know Roberto DeVicenzo, one of the all time winning-est players in history and I guess you could say we became friends. He sorta mentored me.”

DeVicenzo, in his career, won over 231 major tournaments, but is best known for the 1968 Masters he carelessly signed his scorecard where his playing partner, Tommy Aaron had entered a 4 instead of the 3 DeVicenzo actually shot. That error cost DeVicenzo the tie for first place.

Years later, when David Edel was back in the states, he received a call from DeVicenzo, asking if David was interested in buying some of DeVicenzo’s trophies. David bought them all, including dozens of gold and silver medallions and medals, the British Open trophy, known as the “Claret Jug” and the silver consolation prize awarded to DeVicenzo at the 1968 Masters. Just his trophy case could tell the history and story of golf.

Touring South America caused David Edel to meet others equally important to him. He met his future wife, Barbara, on a subway in Santiago, Chile, where she was an architect. They have two children, a 18-year old son who just graduated

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cept and he had to fix those issues before offering them to the public. The short irons were going to high with too much spin and the long irons were not going far enough and didn’t have enough spin.

David then sought out the perfect single length shaft where he met Jason Hordeski from Paderson Shafts. They have developed an Edel exclusive single length iron shaft.

This proprietary shaft with Paderson Kinetix, mirrors the performance of flighted shafts. The short irons go lower with less spin, the mid irons are mid trajectory and mid spin, and long irons to have a higher launch with more spin. Finally easy to hit and more forgiving. Flying higher and longer with more spin and increased ball speed on the long irons as compared to conventionally built sets of irons having longer playing lengths and lighter head weights. Shafts are made from an ultra thin Kevlar and aerospace grade carbon fibers. All head are forged and available in head weights from 262 – 276 grams and lengths from 36-38 inches. Everyone is seeing more consistent ball flight and more control from all handicaps.

Edel grew up in the Pacific Northwest, in Oregon. His family owned a salmon fishing resort, general store and campground. He began working in his family’s general store at an early age.

“I was running a cash register when I was 10. I learned to farm the blue haired ladies well. I knew which ones had cookies or pies they would share with a youngster and I never missed a chance.

There were families that came back to my folks place year after year and I made friends with a lot of them, mostly World War II and Korean War vets and their families.”

After high school, David Edel enrolled in the University of Oregon, in a pre-med program.

“My Dad was athletic. He played basketball in school and was a frequent golfer who put his clubs away for some time. He used to caddie at Pebble Beach. I told him I wanted to learn golf and we began playing together. We were close to a course and played as much as we could. I guess I became a little obsessed with the game. It became obvious to my Dad that I was not happy in pre-med. One day he said, ‘You want to be a golf pro, don’t you?’

“Yes,” I said sheepishly. ‘Then go be the best golf pro there is!’ My folks have always supported me in whatever I wanted to do.”

He graduated from University of Oregon with a degree in leisure studies and services.

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from Liberty Hill High School and will be playing golf next year at University of Central Oklahoma on a golf scholarship and a 16-year old daughter finishing up at Liberty Hill High School where her passion is dance.

“Barbara is 100% supportive. In those times when I wonder if I’m doing the right thing, she always tells me to keep going,” he smiles. “None of this would or could work without her backing.”

It was also in South America that David purchased plans for a world class golf course designed by the great Alister MacKenzie, who died in 1934. His course designs, on four different continents, are ranked consistently as some of the finest golf courses in the world.

It was this course design that brought Edel to the Texas Hill Country.

“We put together a group to build this course. These plans are like finding an unbuilt design by Frank Lloyd Wright. Our primary financier, unfortunately, became ill and eventually passed, so the project fell apart,” he laments. “But I still have the plans, and some day there will be a MacKenzie course in the Texas Hill Country and it will be world class. And I’ll build it.”

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Such a course might have a pro shop that is almost all Edel products. David dreams big, and his love of design and precision is evident in all he does.

“What is there being made today that anyone would want to collect? I mean, really? We’ve moved away from quality so that most of what we see is cheaply made junk. Right now, I’m working on a bag, that I may name the Bussey Carrier as an homage to William Bussey. He was granted a patent on a golf club caddie in 1895 and my design is not unlike his. It will be beautiful and unique as well as serving it’s purpose. Eventually, I want to build everything, even a car. We’ve started a watch company already and they are simple, strong and beautiful and they keep amazingly accurate time.”

“I want to change the game of golf. I want to give players the ability to reduce golf to an internal challenge where they are limited by their skills and not by their equipment. To do that, I’ve got to find golf pros that truly want to teach, who want to help other golfers instead of just enjoying the lifestyle. If I can do that, we’ll change golf for the better.” That’s David Edel’s challenge.

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REMOVING DOUBT FOR THE LONG SHOTS STORY BY SCOTT KRAMER For many golfers, there are few golf shots tougher than hitting a 3-wood from a tightly cropped fairway. After all, it typically involves using a large clubhead with little loft. How is anyone supposed to get the ball airborne?

That’s why many of us have resorted to higher-lofted, smaller-headed fairway woods and hybrids -- to help negotiate those farreaching shots from both the fairway and rough. And club manufacturers have taken notice in recent years, making these clubs with better weighting schemes, shallower profiles and more confidenceinducing aesthetics -- all in an effort to help ease the process of hitting the long ball. If you haven’t tried some of the latest models, you may be blown away at how easy they are to hit.

Here are some just hitting the market:

Cobra’s super game-improvement KING OS hybrid ($249/club) is designed for high, forgiving shots. Its large sweet spot revs up ball speed and distance -- even on mis-hits. The three standard lofts available are each adjustable by three degrees, making the large-and-wide club extra versatile. Its carbon fiber crown is also featherweight, allowing for internal and heavier tungsten weight usage that gets the CG low and deep.

Callaway’s Steelhead XR fairway woods ($230) have improved shaping that increases versatility and smoothes out turf interaction from every lie -- so you get clean contact with the ball. A lightweight carbon crown combines with the proprietary Hyper Speed Face Cup, to help get the ball easily up in the air with plenty of velocity.

Yes they’re pricey, but Miura’s Hayate titanium fairway woods ($539) aim to be very versatile. The shallow clubface and low center of gravity collectively promote a high launch with loads of forgiveness. Variable toe and heel adjustable weights enable lets you dial in a draw or fade bias, and the sole shaping allows for optimized turf interaction and consistent shots.

OTL

Connection in Golf STORY BY BRECH SPRADLEY, PGA DIRECTOR OF INSTRUCTION BARTON CREEK GOLF ACADEMY “I can’t take it to the course”….”I have been stuck at a 15 handicap for 15 years”….”I got nervous in the tournament and didn’t perform well”….These are all comments I have heard too many times to count over the years from new students who come to our Academy. There is never a quick answer because it depends on the person’s personality, skill level, practice habits, goals, attitudes, etc. My job is to help identify the best roadmap for improvement.

One area of importance is the mind and body connection. Many people do not improve because they simply neglect the power of their thoughts. This tends to change as the skill level of the golfer goes up. The elite golfer is much more aware of the mind’s influence over their swing and short game performance, which is also why you see elite golfers working on their mental game more than recreational golfers.

“All golfer’s think in pictures” – Dr. David Wright Consider times when a golfer stands on a certain tee box - no matter how poorly they’ve been playing – and rips the tee shot down the middle of the fairway. Conversely, when a golfer is playing great but finds there are certain tee boxes that create timidity and fear. This occurs because of the pictures in the golfer’s mind and the effect of those pictures on how the body performs. What we visualize during performance plays a major role in how we execute a shot.

According to the Brain Imagining Center in San Antonio, Texas, visualization creates eighty percent of the neural pathways needed to perform a task. So, when you maintain images of a positive outcome and visualize your success,

you are eighty percent on the way to achieving the goal.

However, when you hold on to negative pictures and visualize a poor performance, you are also eighty percent of the way to achieving a negative result.

Jack Nicklaus has said he never hits a shot, not even in practice, without having a very sharp, in-focus picture in his head: “First, I focus on where I want the ball to finish and imagine a white ball sitting up high on bright green grass.

Then the scene quickly changes, and I see the ball going there: it’s path, trajectory, and shape, even its behavior on landing. Then there is a sort of fade -out and the next scene shows me making the kind of swing that will turn the previous images into a reality.”

Start your road to better golf today by Visualizing Positive Outcomes!! Next time you play, stand six to eight feet behind every shot during your pre-shot routine. Visualize yourself performing the shot successfully and then imagine the flight or roll of the ball towards your target. You can even close your eyes to visualize, like PGA player Jason Day. I also recommend players practice visualization at home as well. Spend a few minutes of quite time going through the shots you want to play on the course. This is a valuable mental exercise that can improve performance. You will be more prepared and confident during the round with a game plan. You have “already” hit the great shot! Jack Nicklaus said he mentally visualized and played each important round of golf in his mind before the tournament. We can all learn something from an 18 time Major Champion!

It’s time to start playing your best golf ever! Good luck! OTL

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OTL / MIND GAME

Mind and Body

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OTL / TIPS

Speed doesn’t have to kill STORY BY DAVE PELZ

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In reference to automobiles on highways and racetracks, you’ve probably heard the expression “Speed kills.” On the putting surface, the consequences of misjudging speed aren’t quite so severe, but understanding how to read greens and control the speed of your putts can go a long way toward not killing your scores.

As you practice putting, there are simple methods you can use to develop your speed awareness for your future putts. One good way is to put yourself through a Speed Awareness Test on every putt you have. Try this next time your on a practice putting green.

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1. Before each putt, after you have committed to your putting line, make several practice strokes until you imagine your stroke will roll the ball one to two feet past the hole (if it misses).

2. Then move into your putting address and repeat that stroke without delays.

3. And finally, hold your putter at the end of your follow through and keep your entire body motionless (except for turning your head to watch the putt roll) until the putt stops rolling.

In Southern California, you can frequently find yourself on greens with Poa Annua grass,

which requires a bit of a learning curve because the surfaces can be a little unpredictable if you haven’t grown up putting on them. On short putts, you’ll see some California natives, like Phil Mickelson, add speed to putts to minimize the break. On longer putts, however, Phil is more careful. If you watch him practice, you’ll see him work hard on Lag Putts from 40, 50 and 60 feet to get his putting muscles engaged and to take keen notes on how the ball rolls on the surface.

You should form a habit of imagining the proper stroke before each of your putts, then

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PHOTO BY DAVE PELZ GOLF

holding and feeling this stroke as you evaluate its result.

Repeat your practice stroke. Correlate the feel of the stroke with the speed of the result. This habit will enable you to input a putting touch learning experience into your brain every time you putt. Soon you will have your speed awareness fully programmed and fine tuned, ready to perform whenever you need it.

It’s also important to be aware of the factors that affect the speed of the greens you play and how those factors can affect your putts. Take these into consideration as you survey the green you putt on:

1. The faster the putting surface, the more putts will break on any given slope. Because golfers must roll putts slower on faster greens (to keep them from going too far), putts take longer to get to the hole. This gives gravity more time to pull them down hill. The opposite is also true.

The slower the greens (due to wetness or longer grass), the less putts will break. Always remember, when the greens are fast, play more break.

2. When you have downhill putts, be extra careful to focus on the precise speed you roll them. Again, it is gravity that will give you a problem if you don’t. If you roll your putt at any greater than the perfect speed, each little bit of extra speed will be magnified by the ball being pulled down the slope by gravity to the maximum distance error. Of course, when you putt back uphill, gravity keeps by making these putts less sensitive to speed variations. Again, be sure to focus on speed control on all downhill putts.

3. Always look carefully at the greens to observe the grain of the grass on every new course you play. Grass is a living, growing plant and tends to grow (and lean) toward its primary source of water and sunshine, and away from the prevailing wind. If the blades of grass are leaning sideways and growing in a predominant direction, your putts will roll slower against this direction and faster when it’s with it. When a grass effect combines with a slope effect, look out. Those downhill and down-grain putts can be terrifyingly fast.

If you always maintain an awareness of these factors of green speed, slope and grain as you “feel” the proper speed during your practice strokes before you putt, I think your speed control will be just fine. Good luck and good scoring to you!

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STORY BY LESLIE AWDYKOWYZ CERTIFIED POP PILATES INSTRUCTOR

Curtsy Lunge

Right leg steps directly to the right as you go into a lunge position while the left leg will be straight like a kickstand. It is important to activate your core during this movement to protect your back, help with balance and ensure you are executing safely. Your right knee should not cross past your ankle; keeping a sturdy beam from the heel to knee will enable you to effectively push your body back to center without putting your knee in a position of discomfort or injury.

Side Lunge

PHOTOS BY JENNIFER HICKLE CARPENTER

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Step directly back with your right leg for a reverse lunge, keeping the left knee directly over the ankle and the right knee under your hip. As you rise, press through the heel to target the glute more than the quad, and come back to center.

This medley will target different areas of the glutes and not only give it a nice shape, but also strengthen the minor muscles as well.

Using weights is optional for these movements, but you can grab a plate or a kettlebell and hold it close to the center of your body. While keeping the weight close will help with balance, it also forces you to use your abdominal muscles to contract. Each movement should be done with the same leg until the set is finished.

Forward Lunge

When we hear someone say they want to work on their core, most tend to think they are referring to their abdominal muscles, which may be true, however; the core also includes the glutes. It’s no secret that more women are making an effort to improve the appearance of their backside, but men should too--not just for the looks but more so for their health. Having a strong butt helps pull in the belly, reduces back pain, provide stability and of course, it doesn’t hurt that it has a visual appeal as well.

Reverse Lunge

OTL / FITNESS

NOT JUST COSMETICS

This lunge is one of the most commonly used and may seem more comfortable since you are stepping forward. Some tips to making the best out of your forward lunge include keeping a strong core for balance, maintaining shoulders over the hips (many people tend to hunch over as they step into the lunge which throws off balance and could cause injury down the road), keeping your back leg and front leg at a 90 degree angle to best target the glutes, front knee never goes past the toe, and press through the heel as you rise.

Once you are back to the center, step your right leg diagonally behind you. This movement may not seem natural at first, but give it a chance and you will notice it targets a different area than any other type of lunge or squat.

As always, keeping a tight core throughout will help with stability, execution and recoil.

Repeat the medley on the right side five times, then switch to the left side. Not sure what weight to use? Try 25% of your body weight and adjust as needed.

Abdominal work is always important, but the next time you work on your core muscles, don’t forget to include those glutes! Hopefully this medley will bring something fresh to your routine and wake up some muscles that may not be getting enough attention. Focus on your form and muscle activation and less on the amount of weight you are using and remember, if you don’t squeeze your butt, no one will!

OTL

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Yoga: Get Hip to hips Golfers often focus on upper back flexibility, yet neglect opening the hips. This can lead to a tight low back, putting you at possible risk for injury. Improving the range of motion in your hips can reduce injury risks in your back, and yield a deeper twist in your torso, which

Through the Hole Pose

This pose increases flexibility in the outer hips and helps to open the low back. It is a wonderful pose for beginners or those with very tight hips.

(also known as Reclined Pigeon) Instructions:

can better your swing! It is recommended that these postures are practiced a minimum of twice per week, but can be practiced daily for greater flexibility. As with any exercise program, it is recommended to consult your physician prior to practicing yoga.

• Begin lying on your back with both feet parallel on the floor.

• Lift the right leg, turning the knee to place the right ankle above the left knee.

• The head and back remain on the floor as you lift your left foot.

• Place the right hand through the hole while the left hand reaches behind the left thigh and connects with the right hand.

• Begin to pull the legs towards the chest, keeping the right foot

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Instructions:

Pigeon Pose

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flexed to engage the leg muscles and protect the knee.

• Hug the legs in to the chest as far as you can comfortably stretch.

• Hold the pose for 10-15 slow breaths.

• Release the pose by unclasping the hands and slowly lowering the legs.

• Return the right foot back to the floor, parallel to the left.

• Repeat on the other side.

This pose can increase range of motion in the hips by opening the front hip flexors, primarily the psoas and piriformis muscles, when extending the torso upright.

• Begin in a tabletop position, wrists aligned underneath shoulders, and knees beneath hips.

• Bring your right knee forward to the floor, sweeping the right foot through, keeping the knee in line with the hip.

• Flex through the right foot to engage the leg muscles and protect the right knee.

• Lower the hips down as you extend the left leg behind you, keeping the foot in line with the hip.

• Both hips remain facing forward. If this is intense, place a blanket or rolled towel underneath the hips to keep the hips in alignment.

• Extend the torso upwards, lifting through the spine.

• Hold for 5-10 slow breaths to lengthen through the front of the hips before lowering the torso.

• Lengthen the tailbone towards the left foot as you extend through the full spine lowering the torso down over the right leg.

The stretch will now be concentrated on the outer right hip and glute muscles.

• Continue to flex through the right foot while distributing the weight between both hips evenly.

• Only lower down as far as you can comfortable go, relaxing the shoulders and neck.

• Hold the pose for 15-20 slow breaths.

• Release the pose by slowly lifting your torso, pushing in to your hands to slide the right knee back towards the tabletop position, while returning the left knee to the starting tabletop position, as well.

• Repeat on the other side.

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PHOTOS BY JENNIFER HICKLE CARPENTER

OTL / YOGA

STORY BY KRISTI GROSSE, CYT

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T he C a

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ocated on the edge of the University of Texas campus and in building that looks very much like a part of the school itself, calling this restaurant a “hidden gem” is more literal than with other places.

Once found though, the search pays off with a cool and comfortable dining room, an excellent bar, and a well-executed menu that changes with the seasons.

The Carillon restaurant located in the AT&T Hotel & Conference Center has a history of accolades under its former chef but has been able to maintain a high standard since November when L.A. native Chef Dan Bressler came on board.

The restaurant calls its food “new American” but Chef Dan has a definite Texas-centric focus. With a proud Farm-to-table philosophy, most of the menu items can be identified to specific Texas Hill country farms and Chef Dan brings in local farmers’ market finds for garnishes and additional flavors.

As you walk in, the Carillon has a long, attractive granite bar that usually has hotel guests enjoying cocktails and conversation from lively bartender Slavo. The bar menu has a few favored cocktails like the Honeydew and a retro Champagne cocktail but also features over 20 Scotches and a couple dozen different Gin and Bourbon labels.

A must-have at the Carillon is the charcuterie and cheese combination. Delivered on a large wooden board, it reads like mini map of rural Texas with cheeses from CKC Farms in Blanco, Eagle Mountain Farmhouse in Lipan and a wonderful goats’ milk cheese from Latte-Da Dairy in Flower Mound. Chef adds to this locally sourced country boar pâté, little mounds of local honeycomb, local jams and even a house-made ramp kimchee. He rounds out the plate with a spicy prosciutto spread called nudja and fantastic slices of cured pork called Lomo Americano (the last two from farms in Iowa).

The full dinner menu is brief compared to virtual encyclopedias at other restaurants, but it covers a solid range of steak, lamb, pork and seafood. Starters include soup, various salads, and a few other good options like an excellent steak tartare and tender grilled octopus.

During the summer, the conference center slows a bit and the Carillon adds a $35 three course prixfix meu. It includes a good selection of full menu favorites. ($10 supplement for some items).

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PHOTO CORTESY OF THE CARILLON

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Cocktails and dinner in the main dining room.

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On our last visit, our dinner started with a small amuse-bouche. At first it looked like a tiny dish of pain being a whole roasted chili pepper with a bit of sauce; but, unlike its Texas cousins, it turned out to be an amazing, sweet and mild shishito pepper perfectly complimented with a yuzu kosho aioli (a mixture of fermented peppers, salt, yuzu citrus zest and juice and mayonnaise).

Generally, the spicy (harissa) roasted Celeriac soup with lardons and croutons is a great option, but with the summer heat, salads were selected by most at the table.

One repeat stand-out is a beautiful heirloom tomato salad with a portion of burrata (mozzarella softened with additional cream and stracciatella). It is drizzled with aged balsamic vinegar, and topped with a chiffonade of basil and some toasted pine nuts.

Over the last several months I have had most of the entrees on the Carillon’s menu but tend to gravitate to the excellent seared Sea Bass or the grilled NY strip.

The seared Sea Bass was served on a bed of creamy sunchoke purée, roasted cauliflower and pieces of grapefruit with an additional drizzled of grapefruit gastrique. The fish was firm but very moist and was perfect with the earthy purée, bright citrus and the smokiness from the cauliflower. It paired beautifully with a 2013 Jean Vincent Sancerre.

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The Carillon 1900 University Ave. Austin, TX 78705 512-404-3655

PHOTO BY CAROL STANLEY AARON

Long dining room evokes the classic UT architecture.

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PHOTO BY CAROL STANLEY AARON PHOTO CORTESY OF THE CARILLON

Chef Dan plating in the open kitchen.

The center cut New York strip (a restaurant favorite) was cooked tender via sous vide and then finished on the grill. It was served over creamed arugula with just a bit of fennel and paprika oil. Simple smashed, roasted potatoes finished out the dish. We paired it with a 2014 Danial Cohn Bellacosa Cabernet Sauvignon. The wine was a bit fruit forward, but it went well with the nicely seasoned steak.

We all finished the evening with Sticky Toffee Pudding – a traditional English dessert that would remind you of a very moist brownie with a smooth toffee layer. It is served with a fig coulis and a small quenelle of vanilla ice cream. Despite the charcuterie and the generous courses, not a bite of the dessert was left on the plates.

A good part of what makes a restaurant memorable is the service. The Carillon’s staff is young but friendly, focused and very knowledgeable about what the restaurant has to offer.

Additionally, manager Susie and servers Masie and Chris G. have formal sommelier training and can help find great wine parings with dinner.

The restaurant serves nineteen wines by the glass and they cellar 130 different wines.

The Carillon is ideal for business dinners and a great choice for a special occasion, but it truly is comfortable for just any night of the week.

Lastly, the complimentary underground parking – a rarity these days - makes dinner here just that much easier.

Perfect Sea Bass.

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TEXAS WHISKEY It’s been a long time coming STORY BY HARRY JARVIS AND DAVID VENTURA GARCIA

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walk down the whiskey aisle of any decent spirits retailer in Texas these days will find a sizeable selection of Texas-labeled whiskeys. The craft distilling wave that has swept the country since around the year 2000 has taken Texas by storm as well, and the accompanying popularity of whiskeys has paralleled the growth in distilleries. Due to more restrictive prior laws and regulations, Texas is a relative newcomer to the craft spirits movement.

But as Texas does with everything seemingly, it went big quickly with distillers. There are over

100 active distilling licenses in Texas as of this writing, with more every week. And nearly half of them make (or intend to make) whiskey. In larger stores, there are literally dozens of Texas branded whiskeys to choose from. All claim Texas origin and some level of craft distilling pedigree. But not all whiskeys with a Texas brand were distilled by the people who bottled it or in the state of Texas.

So why don’t all whiskey producers in Texas distill 100% of their own spirits? That’s something longtime Texas whiskey (or whisky) standard bearers Balcones and Garrison Brothers wonder about, considering that the top selling Texas branded whiskeys are sourced and blended. To quote Garrison Brothers: “Most Texas disaugust 2017

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PHOTO BY FRANKIE WYLIE

It used to be that you could look at a steer and tell where it came from by one look at the brand on its hide. But as more and more cowboys started to raise stock, the brands became as convoluted as the stock themselves. At the end of the day, the only thing that mattered to the consumer was if the stock produced a damn good steak to go with a potato and an after-dinner sip of whiskey that brought a long-awaited end to a hard day’s work.

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tillers are honest about how they make their Texas whiskey. They’re just trying to build a business like anyone else. But a few are deceitful.” For some distilleries, it’s their business model; most of these producers are upfront about their content on the label.

Others view the essence of the craft as being what happens to the spirit after it is distilled, when maturing in oak barrels baked by the Texas climate.

For many, however, it’s a financial stepping stone to selling their own distilled whiskey. Creating any aged spirit is a time-intensive and expensive process, with the financial payoff for whiskey distilled today likely several years in the future. Most startup craft distilleries need to find ways to offset their costs until the whiskey they dreamed of sharing with the

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public is ready for distribution. One way to do that is bottling and selling sourced whiskeys. But distillers that are making the effort to be truly Texan feel at a big disadvantage, and their only way to fight back is to point out their effort at authenticity. Guy Endsley at Fire Oaks Distillery in Liberty Hill put it “This has been a big issue for us. I believe that one of the reasons why we have achieved what we have is that we make our own.”

Many of the whiskeys labeled as being from Texas contain spirit entirely distilled elsewhere - generally sourced (remember that word) from large producers in Kentucky, Tennessee, Missouri, Indiana, or even Canada. The practice is most prevalent with vodka - the number of vodkas in Texas that were 100% distilled in Texas from mill to still

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can be counted on the fingers of one hand, and Tito’s isn’t one of them - but is common with whiskey as well. Some whiskeys are simply purchased in bulk already aged then bottled under a new label.

A few are sourced, blended, and/or further matured in Texas before bottling. There are even whiskey blends containing NGS (neutral grain spirits – basically vodka). Many use Texas water for proofing (diluting to bottle strength) to add Texas character. However, a growing number of craft distillers in Texas distill and age 100% of their alcohol on premises. So how do you tell them apart? A careful study of the label is the key. The words “distilled by” are a decent indicator of true Texas provenance, as are phrases like “grain-to-glass”, “millto-still”, and “farm-to-bottle”. Terms to be cautious of are “produced in”, “made in”, “bottled in”, and “blended in”. Those usually mean the whiskey inside was sourced elsewhere.

Does it really matter as to how authentic the provenance of a whiskey may be? Ask anyone from Kentucky and all the requirements a distiller must answer to in order to be called a bourbon and you will come to understand that distillers and whiskey drinkers emphasize the provenance as a badge of distinction that keys in on the craft and attention to detail that one would come to expect from a certain whiskey. Distillers work hard to create a flavor palette that carries a unique set of qualities that separate it from the herd of offerings found at your local liquor store.

This distinction ties in to the marketing of its product and brand recognition. And with the variety of customers seeking out Texas whiskey, you better believe that provenance matters. In order to broaden its offerings, a distiller often provides do both styles of whiskey. Many of the blended or sourced whiskeys sold as Texan are excellent and have been winning prestigious awards.

These awards backed by increased consumption have given rise to the birth of a more authentic Texas distilled whiskey that is taking shape with every sip. Just three or four years ago the number of distilleries selling 100% Texas distilled whiskey could be counted on one hand.

Now the number distilling all the alcohol in at least one of their whiskeys is over twenty. Many craft distillers have been around long enough now to put out one or more truly Texas distilled whiskeys, and their number is starting to rival those of the sourced whiskey producers.

Most of these distillers endeavor to source as many of their ingredients as possible from Texas.

Many work closely with local farmers, maltsters,

Distillery: Bone Spirits, Smithville (bonespirits.com) Price: $36 Where to Buy: Texas statewide Notes: The delicious aged 100% Corn Whiskey is only available at the distillery.

Distillery: Fire Oak Distillery, Liberty Hill

(fireoakdistillery.com) Price: n/a Where to Buy: At distillery - limited

availability in stores summer 2017 Notes: Bottle and label style have recently changed. Both types may be in stock. Single barrel also available in places.

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Banner Wheat Whiskey

Distillery: Balcones Distilling, Waco

(balconesdistilling.com) Price:$40+ Where to Buy: Nationwide Notes: The three above are just a sample - Balcones make several whiskies and they all qualify as 100% Texan. Look for a new 100% Rye Whisky in late 2017 and some new Single Malt and Peated Whiskies as well.

Distillery: Banner Distillery, Manor (bannerdistilling.com) Price: $38 Where to Buy: Larger cities in Texas Notes: Double oaked version and distilled craft beer whiskies available at the distillery.

Bone Straight Bourbon Whiskey, Fitch’s Goat Aged 100% Corn Whiskey

Revenant Oak Peated Single Malt, Stryker Smoked Single Malt

Distillery: Andalusia Whiskey Co, Blanco (andalusiawhiskey.com) Price: $60 Where to Buy: Central Texas, at the distillery Notes: Three quarters of their facility is tasting room.

Worth a visit.

quality and consistent income has been a key factor in that change. All Texas distillers use locally sourced water (even if many process it by reverse osmosis filtration first). A growing number use captured rainwater. One – Firestone & Robertson – went so far as to develop their own yeast from a local strain they discovered in a pecan tree. Other are following suit.

For whiskey aficionados for whom this local and craft distinction is an important consideration in purchasing, here is a reasonably complete list of whiskey bottles that are 100% Texas distilled and where to find them. For those who prefer single malts to bourbon, Texas distillers have that covered as well.

Fire Oak Texas Bourbon (out summer 2017)

Alamo Craft Whiskey, Alamo Bourbon Whiskey (out summer 2017)

Distillery: Alamo Premium Distillery, San Antonio (alamopremiumdistillery.com) Price: $33 Where to Buy: San Antonio, Austin,

Dallas/Ft. Worth Notes: Currently called Texas Craft Whiskey – name and label are changing summer 2017 - some previous stock may still be on shelves.

Baby Blue Corn Whisky, Texas ‘1’ Single Malt Whisky, Texas Blue Corn Straight Bourbon Whisky

and grain mills to ensure the best quality ingredients. Jared Himstedt, Head Distiller at Balcones stated “Texas has a lot of promising wood options for either aging spirits with or smoking grain with. We are finally having a decent amount of barley grown and malted in state, along with some heirloom strains of rye and other grains that are super promising for distillers and brewers both to play with.”

Corn and wheat have always been accessible in Texas, but getting distilling quality rye and malted barley has been a challenge until recently. The demand from craft distillers looking for local ingredients and being willing to work with farmers to guarantee

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.36 Straight Bourbon Whiskey, Rimfire Mesquite Smoked Single Malt, .44 Texas Rye Texas Hill Country Signature Whiskey Red River Texas Bourbon, Red River Texas Rye, Red River Texas Canadian Style

Distillery: Old Humble Distilling, Humble (oldhumbledistilling.com) Price: $45+ Where to Buy: Houston area,

some distributioin Notes: Small barrel maturation

Distillery: Western Son Distillery, Pilot Point (westernsondistillery.com) Price: $30 Where to Buy: Larger cities in Texas,

smaller releases at distillery Notes: A portion of Red River’s profits go to the Native Texas Wildlife Conservation.

Rio Brazos Texas Bourbon Whiskey

Distillery: Five Points Distilling, Forney (lone-elm.com) Price: $50 Where to Buy: Limited distribution

in Texas, Arkansas Notes: Next up is a barrel strength Wheat Whiskey

Distillery: Real Spirits Distilling, Blanco (realspiritsdistilling.com) Price: $50 Where to Buy: At the tasting

room only Notes: Real Ale is first and foremost a brewery, and they distill their whiskey from their Devil’s Backbone Belgian Tripel.

Distillery: Rio Brazos Distillery, College Station (boxcarwhiskey.com) Price: $60 Where to Buy: Major Texas cities Notes: Only their bourbon - Boxcar Whiskey is sourced.

Enoch Sylvester Straight Bourbon Whiskey

Distillery: The Distillery at Kiepersol, Tyler (kiepersol.com) Price: $48 Where to Buy: Larger cities in Texas, at the distillery Notes: Small distillery in the middle of vineyards and a winery.

Distillery: Ranger Creek Brewing & Distilling,

San Antonio (drinkrangercreek.com) Price: $30+ Where to Buy: Texas-wide for

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limited or at distillery.

Notes: Ranger Creek also makes beer, and even distills some of their whiskies from their beer recipes.

Distillery: Rocking M Ranch Distillery, Henrietta

(rockingmranchdistillery.com) Price: $45 Where to Buy: Limited in the

Dallas-Ft-Worth area and locally Notes: Aged 2 ½ Years.

Pfluger Texas Single Malt

Firestone & Robertson TX Straight Bourbon Whiskey Garrison Brothers Texas Straight Bourbon Whiskey, vintages 2015 & 2016 Herman Marshall Texas Bourbon, Herman Marshall Texas Rye, Herman Marshall Single Malt Jimmy’s Straight Texas Bourbon Whiskey

Distillery: Herman Marshall Distillery, Garland (dallasdistilleries.com) Price: $33+ Where to Buy: Texas statewide Notes: Look for the upcoming 80 proof blended (but not sourced) whiskey

Lone Elm Texas Wheat Whiskey

Distillery: Garrison Brothers Distillery, Hye (garrisonbros.com) Price: $75 Where to Buy: National distribution Notes: Smaller releases and single barrel are available at the distillery and some stores. Look for new double-wood releases in fall of 2017, other recipes as well.

Old Humble Texas Straight Whiskey, Old Humble Roughneck Reserve Bourbon, Old Humble Boomtown Bourbon

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Distillery: Firestone & Robertson Distilling Co., Ft. Worth

(frdistilling.com) Price: $40 Where to Buy: Major cities in Texas, more every week Notes: Black snakeskin neck band only – the white muslin neck band is a blend.

Distillery: Spirit of Texas Distilling, Pflugerville (spiritoftx.com) Price: $50 Where to Buy: Limited Twin Liquors stores and at distillery Notes: The distillery has had some issues getting their whiskey wider distribution, but should have it solved by late Summer 2017.

Distillery: Whitmeyer’s Distillling Co., Houston (whitmeyers.com) Price: $65 Where to Buy: At the tasting room,

some limited local availability Notes: Their other whiskies are sourced, but they have limited releases of their own whiskey at the distillery.

Witherspoon Straight Bourbon Whiskey, Witherspoon Single Malt Whiskey

Distillery: Yellow Rose Distilling, Houston (yellowrosedistilling.com) Price: $55 Where to Buy: statewide in Texas Notes: They sell a number of whiskies, but only these two are distilled in-house..

Keep your eyes open for future release from the following distilleries whose own grain-to-glass products are not yet on the market, but which should be out somewhere between Summer 2017 and Fall 2018: • Acre Distilling Co, FT Worth (acredistilling.com) – Fall 2017 • Armadillo Whiskies, Cedar Creek (armadillowhiskeys.com) Spring 2018 • Still Austin Whiskey Co, Austin (stillaustin.com) Summer 2017 (white whiskies at first) • Tate Distillery, Waco (tatedistillery.com) – Fall 2018 – Tate is also handcrafting stills for other distilleries.

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Distillery: Whiskey Hollow Distillery, Valley View

(whiskeyhollwdistillery.com) Price: $150 Where to Buy: limited in Dallas Ft. Worth area, starting to spread beyond.

Notes: An unusual single malt bourbon.

Distillery: Witherspoon Distillery, Lewisville (witherspoondistillery.com) Price:$38+ Where to Buy:statewide in Texas Notes: They also sell a Barrell Strength Straight Bourbon.

Yellow Rose Outlaw Bourbon Whiskey, Yellow Rose Single Malt Whiskey

Swift Single Malt Texas Whiskey Texas Experimental Collection Whiskey Master Select Texas Gold Single Malt Bourbon Whiskey

Distillery: Treaty Oak Distilling, Dripping Springs (treatyoakdistilling.com) Price: $50 Where to Buy: limited availability in

stores, or at the tasting room Notes: The label will be changing soon (Fall 2017?) to Treaty Oak Texas Bourbon. Their Redhanded Bourbon is sourced.

Whitmeyer’s Barrel Selection Texas Bourbon Whiskey

Distillery: Swift Distillery, Dripping Springs (swiftdistillery.com) Price: $50 Where to Buy: Major Texas cities Notes: The original is finished in Sherry casks.

Coming Summer 2017 will be a Sauternes cask finish.

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OTL / DRIVE FOR SHOW

2017 Lincoln Continental

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DRIVERSIDE VEHICLE REVIEWS

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The year 2017 marks the return of Lincoln’s majestic presence in the world of automotive royalty. Lincoln defined luxury when most other manufacturers were trying to keep up with the Joneses who were driving in Lincoln’s star-studded line-up of the time. But with the passing of the years Lincoln’s glitz and glamour faded leaving many American luxury sedan enthusiast no choice but to turn to other brands for satisfaction.

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The resurrection of the Lincoln Continental is long overdue. 2017 marks the end of the waiting and the beginning of a new breed of American luxury. In its absence, other automakers have come to the game with A-list products so Lincoln designers had to really do their homework to produce a vehicle that could compete in performance, look and feel right out of the box.

The 2017 Lincoln Continental’s exterior design is reminiscent of its classic legendary predecessors from the 1950s. Smooth lines complimented by modern day LED lighting that seemingly radiates from all four corners of this sleek 5-passenger sedan. Only thing missing that would have definitively closed the competition gap would have been a set of suicide doors.

Considering we now live in a world full of Hell Cats and Raptors, performance was top of mind for engineers when they decided on what the Continental needed under the hood. The top of three options includes an all-wheel drive twin-turbocharged DOHC 3.0-liter V-6 that pumps out 400 horsepower and propels this 4000 plus pound ride down the quarter mile in the mid-13 second range.

The interior is filled with state-of-the-art comfort and technology. The main feature is 30-way front-seat adjustability. Once you have found your perfect seating position you can relax and enjoy touch screen technology, an incredible sound system and all the other creature comforts you would expect to find in a modern-day Lincoln Continental.

The all-new 2017 Lincoln Continental will reignite an old flame with previous fans while inspiring the next generation of American luxury car enthusiasts. You can pick-up a 2017 Lincoln Continental from anywhere between the mid $40,000 to the mid $70,000 range. OTL

STORY BY TJ STEVENSON, CFP®

You may have noticed that over the past few years television and radio ads increasingly involve discussions about credit monitoring services. In light of some recent data breaches, and as we pass the halfway point of the year, it might be a good time to take some inventory on the health of your credit score.

In life, typically the high score wins. This is especially true when it comes to credit scores. Since 1956 the Fair Isaac Corporation, or FICO, has been the determinant of how these scores are generated. A good credit score, generally considered to be above 700, can lead to preferred interest rates on consumer loans. A few big factors that impact this score are utilization rate, account history, and inquiries. Working in reverse order we will go over inquiries first. While you are shopping, let’s say you humor the nice clerk about a zero interest special they are offering on a new patio set and they need to pull your credit.

This will count as an inquiry, and every new inquiry is recorded. Too many of these may portray you as being too eager to borrow money and this can hurt your score. Think twice when signing up for anything that will result in a credit check.

In terms of account history this is relatively straight forward. To receive a FICO score you need to have at least one account open for six months or longer that has been reported to the credit bureau recently. The longer these accounts have been open, the more benefit you will see to your score. So if you think you should close some old accounts you may want to hold off for a minute. Closing old accounts can hurt your score. If you have a few open accounts with zero balances it may be more beneficial to keep them open. Third, and finally, is the utilization rate.

This sounds like physics, but is actually quite simple. For example, you only have one credit card and your limit is $10,000. One expense leads to another and soon you have a revolving $3,000 balance on this card. Your utilization rate is 30%, meaning you have used 30% of your available credit. Anything above 30% starts to diminish your score.

Now, to check your credit score you have a few options. Most credit card companies will offer you a snapshot of your FICO score on their website. However, your true FICO score and the factors that influence it appear on your

credit report. According to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, your credit report must be provided by each of the three credit reporting agencies once per year at no charge.

Experian, Equifax, and Transunion are the three major credit reporting agencies that generate this report.

A good rule of thumb would be to log on to AnnualCreditReport. com at least once per year to obtain your free credit report. This way you can monitor the number of accounts, payment history, inquiries, delinquencies, and other factors to make sure no one has used your identity to fraudulently obtain loans. For the overachievers out there, since this report is available by all three agencies once per year you could check one every four months to have ongoing monitoring throughout the year. In today’s world you can never be too cautious. OTL

TJ is a Senior Associate on the Wealth Planning team at Austin Asset, a fee-only financial planning firm. He is committed to not only help people protect their financial future, but also make sure they receive unbiased counsel that is in their best interest.

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Credit Ratings

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Making New ot l g o l f . c o m

Tradition

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ns Golf Club

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PHOTOS BY CONRAD EARNEST

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Tr aditions Club is the pri v ate golf c lub and r esidential community in Ag gieland. A Jac k Nic klaus and J a c k N i c k l a u s I I D e s i g n c h a m p i o n s h i p g o l f c o u r s e t h a t i s s e t i n t h e m a j e s t i c B r a z o s V a l l e y.

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STORY BY BY CARL MICKELSON

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ith unprecedented growth transforming the economic and cultural complexions of cities all across Texas, it’s become a fun hobby to check in and see the changes. Seemingly overnight, the Bryan-College Station region has become one of the nation’s leading centers for biomedical and biopharmaceutical research. Throughout this decade, bigname biotech companies have flocked to the area’s booming BioCorridor and the ripple effect- rising home values, new retail, commercial and residential infrastructure- is evident all around.

While the Texas A&M University campus continues to expand and be revitalized, the ATLAS development, which surrounds the Traditions Club golf and residential enclave is frequently singled out as

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the community spearheading Bryan’s giant leap into the future.

ATLAS has allocated 200 acres around Traditions Club for mixed-use development designed to bring top biomedical companies and their employees a lifestyle-driven “small town” in which living close to the office can still mean living in your dream community.

For alumni and devotees of all things Aggie, Traditions Club is the luxury playground of their dreams, complete with maroon and white golf carts and a well-appointed clubhouse filled with masterfully-curated tributes to the university’s deepest campus traditions and finest on-field achievements.

You don’t have to be an Aggie to sense the deeprunning history and pride.

“This place is Disneyland for A&M grads and even if you’re not, it’s rare to find a club that feels like a destination resort every day you’re here,” says director of golf Bill Slade, himself a Texas A&M graduate.

property. The golf teams have their own dedicated clubhouse and multi-green practice park while members enjoy an expansive double-ended driving range, academy and a regulation-spec par-4 practice hole-- a literal 19th Hole.

Teeing off on the first hole of the par-72 Traditions Club, you disappear into a thickly-wooded oasis, lined and crossed by the omnipresent Turkey Creek and its many tributaries. “The first thing people notice is the rolling terrain,” Slade says.

“The land has much more rise and fall than people expect and shots require a lot of calculation when you’ve maybe got the ball below your feet and a carry over water with a lofted club in your hand.”

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In addition to the acclaimed 7,121-yard championship course designed by Jack Nicklaus and Jack Nicklaus II, Traditions Club is also home to a vibrant resort-caliber swim center with aquatic features for every member of the family and cozy outdoor bar and casual dining space.

To truly make the club a desirable overnight destination, Founders Cottages, Gameday Cottages and Casitas (in two-, three- or four bedroom floorplans) can be booked by guests or purchased to be enjoyed several times a year.

For golfing members and the Texas A&M men’s and women’s golf teams, it would be tough to suggest a feature or amenity that’s missing from this

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“

This place is Disneyland for A&M grads and even if you’re not, it’s rare to find a club that feels like a destination resort every day you’re here,” says director of golf Bill Slade, himself a Texas A&M graduate.

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With at least a dozen forced carries over hazards, it’s easy to see how the course earned its intimidating 151 slope rating (from the farthest-back Maroon Tees). Slade is quick to point out, though, these aren’t all severe forced carries. “In some cases, you’ll have 50 to 60 yards from the far edge of the hazard to the front of the green. If you do the right math and don’t play too aggressively, you can work your way around this course really well.”

The routing feels intimate thanks to mature thickets of imposing hardwoods throughout the lush pastureland once owned by fiery former NFL referee Red Cashion.

“There aren’t many cases where you’re playing a hole and you even see another hole,” Slade says. Holes 8 and 17 are exceptions as they’re joined by an ample double green complex situated in a quiet hollow.

Eight is the second par 5 on the opening nine and like, the 539-yard, par-5 fifth, it features a ribbon of creek running just short of the green. “The par 5s tend to be threeshotters for most players, but the college players can have a go at some of them in two. As tough as the course can play, there’s actually been discussion about potentially add length to the back tee areas.”

Even short par-4s like the well-bunkered 354-yard sixth and the 381-yard 13th must be played carefully as creek front each green, and 13 features a significant bend to the right on the approach. The par-4 finishing hole (444 yards from the tips) presents perhaps the toughest approach shot on the course as the green is protected by bunkers all around and creek crossing near the edge of the putting surface. It’s a thrilling venue for tournament contestants.

Traditions Club hosts the collegiate Aggie Invitational annually and has been tabbed multiple times to host Regional rounds of the men’s and women’s NCAA Championships. “You get a great field in the Aggie invitational because players know if they can play well here, they can play well anywhere,” Slade says.

If you want to experience the true essence of Traditions Club, visit during a Texas A&M home football weekend.

Festivities begin on Friday with fine dining, special events and even some late-night Yell Practice. On game day, shuttles take you from your casita or Gameday Cottage to the game and back. Sundays are all about relaxing on the links or by the pool.

“This club really fits the culture of what being an Aggie is all about. It’s unpretentious, people really get to unwind here among fun people. Members constantly tell us ‘this is exactly what I wanted Bryan College Station to feel like when I came back.’”

Slade hints that Gameday Cottages sold out, plans for a tennis facility coming together that ATLAS is far from finished making Traditions Club as “amenitized” as it can be.

“Our ownership is second to none,” he says. “They’ve got an incredible long-term vision for this club and for the surrounding development. More and more, people are telling us they can’t wait to retire and move their business and their families here.”

If you think you’re ready to be a part of the growing legacy at Traditions Club, visit traditionsclub.com to learn more.

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OTL / WINE

AN ELEGANT BLUSH STORY BY RICHARD AREBALO FEATURES EDITOR / OTL MAGAZINE

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Rosé has always had a bit of an image problem in the U.S. It’s pretty, light, generally inexpensive and guys would never drink it if there wasn’t a girl involved. But according to the CIVP / Province Wine Council, the last decade has seen a steady trend of double digit growth in exports to the U.S. reporting a 29% growth by volume between 2014 and 2015 and overall rosé sales growing by another 17% between 2015 and 2016. As wine consumption has increased in the United States over the last several decades, demand for better wines and greater variety has also increased. In France rosé has had a century’s old tradition of pairing with wonderful food year round. As rosé is best served chilled (between 41 and 45 degrees), that tradition has taken hold in the US where summer entertaining usually calls for cold drinks. While hundreds of rosés are available between nine and eighteen dollars, the recent growth trend has been in the more high-end wines, closer to the thirty to fifty dollar price point. In this category you’ll find the beautiful 2016 ‘Excellence des Muraires’ by Bernard Magrez (Wine Enthusiast 92) Best known as the owner of four Grand Cru Classé vinyards in Bordeaux, including Château Pape Clemént and Château La Tour Carnet (1855), Magrez is considered one of the foremost names in the wine world. He has invested heavily in Chateau de Muraires which is considered to have one of the best terroirs in the district between Nice and Aix-en-Provence.

This elegant Côtes de Provence rosé is unusually pale in color but has a complexity that you might find in a soft red wine. The make-up of the 2016 is 36% Carignan, 21% Cinsault, and 33% Grenache.

The wine has an initial bright tartness that yields wonderfully to food and carries through with strong citrus with edges of raspberry and even red currant notes. The overall mouth feel is big and it has a long finish. Most recently, it was a perfect complement to a baked Halibut with Italian vegetables and continued to impress with a bowl of Rainier cherries later in the evening.

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OTL / SPIRITS

Tito’s Chi Chi

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STORY BY TONY DEAN

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BATCH OF 4 DRINKS • 6oz Tito’s Handmade Vodka • 12oz Pineapple juice • 4oz Coco Lopez (or coconut cream) • 4 cups of ice

INSTRUCTIONS Drink Instructions Place all ingredients in a high-powered blender and blend until smooth.

Add more ice or more pineapple juice if necessary.

Garnish extravagantly with umbrellas, fruit, and a plastic monkey.

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OTL / CIGARS

MAD ABOUT MADUROS STORY BY HECTOR VENTURA

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Most of the time, when I approach a newer smoker, or even a seasoned smoker for that matter, the subject of strength usually comes up in the conversation. Almost every smoker is under the misconception that the darker the wrapper, the stronger the cigar. In fact, the wrapper has nothing to do with the overall strength of the cigar with the exception of sun-grown wrappers. The darker colors are due to either the aging of tobacco or the tobacco having undergone a process that makes it a maduro.

A maduro is a very dark leaf, usually shades of chocolate brown, but sometimes can be almost black (in this case called an oscuro). The maduro is not a particular type of tobacco, but rather a process that some different strains of tobacco go through. The process is very similar to composting, but without completing the compost process.

The term maduro quite literally means “ripe.” A tobacco leaf goes through a 72-day drying period where it changes in color from green to brown. The selected leaves are then piled in huge stacks called “pilons.” The pilons are covered with a tarp to help hold in the heat during the compost process. The temperatures of the leaves in the pilon are constantly checked, and when they reach a certain temperature, the leaves are turned. This process continues for up to two years before the leaf is ready to be a maduro wrapper.

Most of the better cigar factories use the twoyear process while others have learned to speed up the composting. Some cigar companies add chemicals to help generate heat while others heat the rooms where the tobacco is composting, a term called “baking.” Another counterfeit maduro is one that has been artificially colored. The easiest way to

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tell if any of these methods had been used is to see if you have an ammonia taste during or after the smoke. This is a sign that the tobacco has not had the proper time to bleed off the ammonia. Both the colored and the baked maduros are fairly easy to spot in that their color is not a healthy brown but a charred, dull black.

The wrapper gives a cigar between 40 and 80 percent of its flavor, with maduro wrappers giving the most. Maduros have a rich body, flavor and character. They also have a sweetness that comes from the starches in the tobacco becoming sugars from the aging/heating. The nicotine content is greatly reduced as well giving the wrapper no “strength.”

Some cigars are “double maduros” in which both the wrapper and binder are maduros.

Maduros vary in flavor, but overall, the properly made ones have a sweet, oily and sometimes earthy flavor depending on the type of leaf used. Some can even have a slight spice, a hint of pepper. Overall, maduros tend to be lighter, using more volado and seco and less ligero leaves.

For beginners, I would recommend Los Blancos maduro. It has no ligero and has a nice balance of seco and volado giving it a mild body. Being the only brand that makes a Habana 2000 maduro, it has unique, pleasant taste. Los Blancos also puts out a Connecticut and Criollo wrapper with the same fill.

This enables the smoker to taste the difference without having the fill and binder interfere.

Rocky Patel does the same thing with the Edge, but instead of using a Criollo wrapper, a Corojo wrapper is used. For a much fuller bodied smoke, I find the Rocky Patel Olde World Reserve is as good as it gets. Light up and enjoy.

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OTL / TRAVEL

Luxury in unexpected

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places: The little-known allure of Guatemala STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHS BY AL ALGUERTA

his was a subject of discussion with a fellow traveler I met recently in Belize at a luxury beach resort on Ambergris Caye. When I mentioned Guatemala, Belize’s nextdoor neighbor, curiosity lit up in his eyes. While in Houston boarding the flight to Belize, he’d noticed the jam-packed boarding area for a flight to Guatemala City next to his departure gate.

“I guess it’s because there’s probably only one flight down there per day,” he mused. I informed him there are actually 3 or 4 nonstop flights per day from Houston, depending on the season, and a nonstop flight from New York/Newark, on United Airlines alone. Utter surprise descended upon his face. When I

waxed nostalgic about the country’s volcanoes, colonial towns, vibrant capital, amazing coffee, colorful Maya culture, and internationallyknown rum brand, Zacapa Centenario, he seemed genuinely interested in checking it out.

Although Guatemala and its high-end hospitality options have received coverage from luxury travel websites such as www.luxurylatinamerica.com, it still lacks the luster (at least in the collective consciousness) of Latin American luxury travel and eco-darlings like Costa Rica and Belize. It comes as a genuine surprise to American travelers that just 2.5 hours from Houston or Miami lies a unique, little-explored cultural travel destination with luxurious options. That’s starting to change,

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When you hear of Guatemala, what do you think of?

For many Americans, it’s a complete blank. It’s just another country south of Mexico and Belize. Perhaps coffee and Mayan ruins buried deep beneath dense jungles come to mind. Or illegal immigration, poverty, and street gangs - if you read too many newspapers. All of these are true, to some extent, but what may come as an utter shock is the concept of Guatemala as a luxury travel destination.

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thankfully. On a recent visit to the country to photograph Guatemala City’s hip new Hyatt Centric hotel, my assistants and client were pleased (and admittedly surprised) by the Guatemalan capital’s cosmopolitan atmosphere and luxurious offerings.

The same happened when I traveled with a British writer from Conde Nast Traveller UK a few years ago. In her writings, she described the Guatemalan capital as a place that’s both very smooth and somewhat rough at the same time, which is true. Guatemala has the unfortunate distinction of harboring one of the world’s most inequitable distributions of land and wealth ownership. It’s a virtual pineapple-upside-down cake where the wealthiest 20% of the population control almost 54% of the country’s income. Guatemala City is a modern capital where a multitude of high-rises harboring banks, offices, and luxury hotels dot the urban landscape. Just a few miles away, and sometimes separated only by the city’s broken geography of deep ravines scarring the landscape, lie the shacks and shanties of the city’s less fortunate residents.

In the overwhelming absence of foreign investment, most notably from the U.S., the country’s elites have taken it upon themselves to provide the luxurious condos, hotels, and office buildings that would be otherwise absent from the landscape. The out-picturing of Guatemala’s wealth ownership can literally be seen in its capital’s skyline, an urban landscape which is largely absent in neighboring Central American capitals (including San José, Costa Rica) and altogether nonexistent in Belize and Nicaragua. I ponder all this while contemplating the city’s skyline from the rooftop swimming pool crowning the beautiful steel-and-glass building housing the Hyatt Centric. It’s part of a larger complex that includes office towers and a shopping mall complete with a T.G.I. Friday’s and P.F. Chang’s. It will eventually harbor luxury condos. In Guatemala, a traditional submission to American geopolitical hegemony often translates into an emulation of American consumption patterns.

This particular Hyatt Centric, like most American-based businesses’ presence in

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and the guest rooms feature reprints of vintage Pan American Airways posters commissioned to artist Paul Lawler in 1938. This was back in the country’s aviation heyday when Pan Am operated a hub from Guatemala City to service neighboring backwater Central American capitals.

One of these posters depicts a Spanish colonial church surrounded by indigenous Maya and flanked by the country’s landmark Agua Volcano. To me, Agua has always symbolized Guatemala City and neighboring Antigua Guatemala, much like the Eiffel Tower symbolizes Paris or Mount Fuji Japan.

“Perfectly conical volcanoes, like those drawn by Hokusai,” contemplated the Conde Nast Traveller writer. It’s one of the first things you notice when flying in to Guatemala on a clear day.

My final stop on this trip to Guatemala is Kuxtal, a luxury villa about 25 minutes from Antigua Guatemala, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Agua Volcano overlooks the villa’s infinity edge swimming pool. It’s the perfect place to decompress after a successful, but always challenging, commercial photo shoot. The villa is part of a larger complex known as La Reunion Antigua Golf Resort & Residences. The complex harbors a fabulous luxury hotel built on

the grounds of a Pete Dye-designed golf course with views of four volcanoes.

The peaceful atmosphere is interrupted only by the occasional rumble of active Fuego Volcano, behind the property, or the afternoon thunderstorm that inevitably rolls in most every afternoon during Guatemala’s six-month rainy season.

For now, it’s quiet here, and I am able to enjoy the villa’s beautiful architecture accented with local hardwoods, along with the phenomenal views of Agua from the pool.

Eventually word may reach American travelers about the country’s luxurious offerings. Indeed maybe it already has. It seems harder to get a First Class upgrade on flights out of Guatemala City these days. It already has a cult following with anglers due to the excellent fishing on the Pacific Coast. And they like to fly in First Class. But that, and Guatemala’s other luxury offerings, are material for another story.

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Al Argueta, the U.S.-born son of Guatemalan immigrants, is the author of Moon Guatemala 5th edition. He travels to Guatemala on frequent work visits to photograph its hotels for international chains and to see his parents, who retired from life in the U.S. and traded it for volcano views in Antigua Guatemala.

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Guatemala, is operated under a franchise agreement. I met the hotel’s owner, the affable Fernando Paiz, through mutual friends a few years ago. The Paiz family is well known in Guatemala as the owners of the country’s best-known grocery store chain. The family eventually sold the company to Walmart, which now operates the namesake grocery stores (and Walmart-branded superstores) throughout the country.

There’s a lot of Fernando Paiz’s personality and love for Guatemala here.

It almost feels like visiting his home on the outskirts of the capital. There are phenomenal Maya relics, all lovingly restored, decorating the lobby areas. The colorful throw pillows in the lobby’s many seating areas are a nod to the country’s rich Maya textile heritage. A Technicolor thread sculpture opposite the front desk evokes Mayan Guatemala’s iconic backstrap loom.

There are even traditional Guatemalan wooden carved slingshots adorning the walls of the meeting room pre-function area. I saw a similar collection in Paiz’s home and was kindly gifted one of these beautiful pieces by my friend Gio, who has been restoring antique art pieces for Paiz’s collection. Traditional Guatemalan wooden masks adorn Zamat, the gourmet, farm-to-table restaurant,

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Fazio Canyons a

For more than three deca Resort and Spa has be Austin, synonymous with the Hill Country

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f you’ve ever had to entertain out-of-town guests, playing just one round that perfectly typifies golf in this uncommonly hilly region, Barton Creek’s Fazio Foothills and Fazio Canyons courses surely made your short list.

Perched on a hilltop overlooking the convergence of humbling native panoramas and

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at Barton Creek

STORY BY CARL MICKELSON

PHOTOS BY CONRAD EARNEST

equally awe-inspiring luxury residential communities, the resort is a local icon. In the ritzy West Lake Hills community filled with mansions on hills, Barton Creek is THE Mansion on the Hill.

Through the years, the Resort and Country Club have grown and expanded their offerings to cement Barton Creek’s reputation as one of the most versatile resort properties in the state. Golf is this Central Texas destina-

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ades, Omni Barton Creek een the face of golf in h the best the game and y have to offer.

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tion’s calling card but the 309-room resort also does brisk conference and wedding business. The renovated Three Springs Spa is garnering buzz as one of the best centers for wellness and rejuvenation in the area.

“The energy never really stops when you have a marquee resort and a large, active country club operation,” says Director of club management Mike Sizemore. “Day or night, you could come here and get a taste of what people love about being in the Hill Country. There’s a connection to nature and always a social or entertainment event going on that’s just true to the Texas experience.”

The Crenshaw Cliffside and Arnold Palmerdesigned Lakeside (a half-hour’s drive from the resort) courses have more than their share of unforgettable holes and spectacular views and are must-plays in their own right, but the duo of Tom Fazio designs are consistently ranked among the very best public-access (open to guests of members and the resort) in the state. The Fazio Canyons Course is Texas’ top-ranked ‘course you can play by Golf Digest, GOLF Magazine and The Dallas Morning News. Should you need further validation, our recent playing partner, a taciturn 16-year-old, characterized the Canyons layout as “ridiculous” and the conditions “completely sick.” Say no more, you say? Don’t worry. He didn’t.

While the Fazio Foothills course undergoes a large-scale restoration, the Fazio Canyons has the opportunity to shine. With spectacular views of plunging Hill Country landscapes, limestone-bed creeks meandering throughout the property and mature oaks and native vegetation guarding the fairways, this 7,153-yard, par 72 layout presents a four-hour commune with unspoiled nature.

“It’s easy to put the Canyons course in same conversation as some of the best courses Mr. Fazio has ever designed. The design fits the land and does an incredible job exposing the property’s best natural features while still keeping pure shot values,” Sizemore says. “Everything’s right in front of you and nothing’s tricked up. The creeks and shelf rock and all that exposed limestone... It’s reminiscent of a hike through the greenbelt. You just escape into the round.”

The Fazio Canyons is a brawny and rugged course that is breathtakingly scenic at every turn. To navigate its landscapes, you will need one of your best ball-striking rounds. “There’s no way to fake it on this

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in it for the big hitters) and another rippling book crossing the width of the hole just in front of the green.

“A par 5 as your finisher is really the ultimate way to finish a round and this one, like so many of the great ones makes you strategize and plan the way you’ll play the hole in reverse,” Sizemore says. “Your first two shots must be designed to give you a comfortable approach from the perfect distance. With the creek to cross on that last approach, it’s really the perfect way to finish the round, with one last thrill.”

The Fazio Canyons course is also home to a state-ofthe-art practice area and the acclaimed Barton Creek Golf Academy which is spearheaded by award-winning instructor Brech Spradley. “It’s a great testament to the quality of practice area you have when local Tour players ask if they can come practice here and that’s something that happens quite often. It’s not unusual to see former (University of Texas) players out here or local guys like Nick Watney or Omar Uresti working on their games.”

A world-class clubhouse is coming soon at the Fazio Canyons Course, giving members and guests a stately new congregation “hearth” and adding to the legacy of an already-celebrated layout.

The Omni Barton Creek Resort and Spa recently partnered with YETI Coolers on the “Keep Your Cool on the Course” package which includes a round of golf per adult per day, resort accommodations, one YETI Hopper Flip 12 cooler and one 10-oz Lowball YETI Rambler.

To take advantage of golf packages and other opportunities to discover a golf destination that truly gets better with age, visit omnihotels.com/hotels/austin-barton-creek. www.omnihotels.com/hotels/austin-barton-creek.

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golf course. The angles really demand that you play solid tee shots to the correct part of the fairway. The landing areas are generous, but because there’s so much native Hill Country terrain beyond the fairways, missing with your driver can make for a really long day,” Sizemore warns.

Boasting one of the best and most diverse collections of par 4s in the state, this course is all about pacing and knowing when to be patient vs. aggressive. “This course has these little runs or segments that separate tough stretches of holes from the ones where you have really good scoring opportunities. “Early on, holes 2, 3, 4 and 5 present chances to jumpstart your round with good scores,” Sizemore advises.

At 385 and 330 yards, holes two and four give golfers the chance to ease into the round, playing short-iron shots to receptive greens. The second hole plays downhill and doglegs right. Any drive too far right will face a blind approach. The 596-yard fifth (just 516 yards from the middle tees) is an zigzagging three-shot hole and another good chance for birdie.

“Holes seven through 10 can be really challenging,” Sizemore continues, pointing emphatically to the hulking 457-yard ninth that plays slightly uphill with a creek running the full length of the right side of the hole. “You’ve got to connect with two really solid shots to have a chance at par.”

With two short par 4s and a wide-open 545-yard par 5 at holes 12, 13 and 14, Fazio provides another chance to gain momentum in your round while taking in views of the surrounding nature preserve.

The round finishes with one of the most memorable par 5s in the region, winding 561-yarder with a creek crossing just beyond the landing area on the tee shot (or

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OTL / THE SWEET SPOT

Cirque Du Soleil Revamps Mystère august 2017

PHOTO BY RICHARD TERMINE / COSTUME BY : DOMINIQUE LEMIEUX

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STORY BY KELLY VOHNN Mystère’s premiere performance was December 25, 1993 being the very first permanent home for a Cirque Du Soleil show and the oldest of the seven Las Vegas shows. It is by far the funniest of all the Cirque shows bringing that street theatrestyle comedy to the big stage.

The main reoccurring character that totally captivates everyone is an older gentleman named Brian Dewhurst who is a spunky 78-year old. He prides himself in being a scheming menace who constantly makes you laugh with his physical comedy.

After many years of celebrating this long time favorite flower in the desert/mystery of life performance, Cirque decided to revamp Mystère. They added two new acts that were previously part of “Zed” from Japan. The first being female soloist silk artist, Ginger Ana Griep-Ruiz and the second is the closing trapeze act who flip and fly to opposite bars. Both are beautiful and exciting additions to this already amazing creation.

If you have seen Mystère before, you will be happy to know that the “Big Baby” is still in the production and remains funny as ever. The role was created by Francois Dupuis whose memory will last forever.

There’s a lot of excitement and laughter built into this 90-minute power phenomenon with tickets beginning at $69 at Treasure Island. A definite recommendation and fun for the whole family.

Enjoy the Mystère de la vie!!!!

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OTL / SIGNATURE SPOTLIGHT

No. #18 Teravista Golf Club

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Finishing Touch 70

This 18-hole Clifton-Ezell-Clifton design has captured the Hill Country beauty with views that span for 30 miles. The rolling hills provide a challenging 7,200-yard layout, and offers 5 different tees that will challenge golfers of all ages and abilities.

Hole #18 is a finishing par 4 that has a wide driving

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area. As the wind helps your ball down the fairway, try to stay away from the water on the left. On the final swing you’ll hit to a small narrow green, over the rocks and water. There will be extra pressure hitting shots to the green because the clubhouse will be watching!

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