Destination Golfer 2023 ProAm

Award-winning dining, a booming craft beer scene, luxurious resorts, and exceptional year-round golf on courses along the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail await you in Alabama. Plus, with Jerry Pate’s Kiva Dunes and Arnold Palmer’s Craft Farms in Gulf Shores, from the Mountain Lakes to the Gulf Coast, you can take it all in.

With INTERSTATE travel and DIRECT FLIGHTS into Birmingham, Huntsville & Pensacola/Gulf Shores, getting here is easy.

www.GolfAlabama.org

Renaissance Ross Bridge Golf Resort & Spa on the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail, Birmingham

We never miss a chance to talk about one of America’s longest-running golf destinations — the Palm Springs area and Coachella Valley in California. The 2023 cover feature is none other than Desert Willow in Palm Desert. This muni beautifully managed by KemperSports is not just a world-class 36-hole golf complex that sees as many rounds as any course in the United States, it’s also a haven for sunseekers that appreciate the finest in public golf, food and libation. Photos courtesy of Desert Willow.

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COPYRIGHT 2023 Destination Golfer. PUBLISHED IN THE USA. All rights reserved. Articles, photos, advertising and /or graphics may not be reprinted without the written permission of the publisher. Advertising and editorial contained herein does not constitute endorsement of Destination Golfer or Varsity Communications, Inc. Publisher reserves the right to edit letters, photos and copy submitted and publish only excerpts. The publisher has made every effort to ensure the accuracy of all material contained in this issue. However, as unpredictable changes and errors do occur, the publisher can assume no liability for errors, omissions or changes.

All photos are courtesy of the course or individual unless otherwise noted.

PROUD PRODUCERS OF VARSITY GOLF SHOWS

BY DICK STEPHENS • PUBLISHER

This issue is certainly a reflection of America’s golfing quilt and our bounty of links experiences from coast-to-coast. Our collective golf ‘cred’ wields a special power globally to our sojourning brothers and sisters who live in Europe, Asia and all over the world. We’re indeed fortunate to have such a portfolio of incredible places to play here.

Each year when we publish Destination Golfer, we strive to showcase a cavalcade of options. In fact, you could say that we look at this annual magazine kind of like a golf travel brochure for the year to come in the U.S. Although our love of golf and coverage does extend outside of North America at times, it’s our honor to play our part in showcasing a ‘best of’ bouquet here at home.

Since January, I experienced the sport in a lot of different sandboxes so to speak — garnering a good grasp of what’s hot and what’s not right now. I’ve been to Orlando for the PGA Show and produced our own golf expos with our team in Connecticut, St. Louis, Kansas City, Portland and our hometown of Seattle. I enjoyed some R and R in Palm Springs and went to Colonial in Ft. Worth for the Charles Schwab Challenge.

And it’s only May.

Having a chance to reflect on this year and golf’s explosion coming out of COVID, I’m surely blessed and glad to be back at it on the biz front of the sport. Why am I bringing this up?

Having hit all four corners of the map this year, it made me appreciate what we have in the U.S. more than ever. I love the Midwest — I grew up there. So, in this issue we reflect on central Missouri and the Lake of the Ozarks Golf Trail. We also bring you up to speed on Shangri-La’s latest addition in Oklahoma and golfing through the ‘Gateway to the West,’ with coverage on St. Louis and southern Illinois.

No DG is complete without our sweep of the south, so we have features on the Gulf and what’s new in Mississippi and Alabama — these trails are not to be missed.

We also work our way up into the mid-South and draw focus on Myrtle Beach and Pinehurst — and bring attention to experts there that can stitch together your own ‘quilted’ experience for you.

Our last stop on the eastern seaboard is to what may be the birthplace of American golf with focus on New England and more specifically Cape Cod. We give a heartfelt thanks to Tom Landers and Golfing Magazine for his expert vision on golfing and life on the ‘Cape’ with shared coverage there.

And being West Coasters ourselves, no issue is complete without our spotlight coverage on the world-class golf and lifestyle in Washington, Idaho, Oregon, California and Hawaii. We will give exciting glimpses of updates from Bandon Dunes and Sunriver in Oregon, and Salish Cliffs, Kalispel, Suncadia

and Gamble Sands in the Evergreen State.

Our cover feature on Desert Willow in California’s Coachella Valley will make you long for a trek there — we just got back and can’t stop talking about the Palm Springs area. I may have broken a record that week for the most sand traps hit on the Pete Dye PGA West Stadium Course at La Quinta — I'm proud to hold some distinction from that great day there.

Lastly, we have some new features this issue with an invite to play on Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula in Cancun at an amazing event, and the unveiling of an array of equipment that we feel will pique your interest.

Then, we will cap off our coverage and propose a toast to you and the 2023 golf season as we present our first-ever 19th Hole section on libations, cocktails and mixology that will ‘stir’ your soul. We will even point you in the right direction on where to stop for a pop when traveling to Oregon or Connecticut with golf-friendly ‘spiritual’ watering holes where you can meet the makers of fine wine, vodka, whiskey, beer and more. Cheers!

In closing, I wish to thank the great many advertisers of this title that make Destination Golfer possible this year and in the past. You’re not just clients — we see you as partners and friends — vital to making this fun and worth the read.

I also wish to tip my hat to the gent that founded this title and was the driving force behind it for nearly 15 years. Kirk Tourtillotte, my biz partner for over 30 years, is now enjoying the fruits of his labor and rightfully so. He still has his hand in the game so to speak, but now reduced — we wish to thank him. He’s written the Teeing Off column every year and it’s my honor to fill his spikes moving forward.

I enjoyed my recent Palm Spring golf experience with him last month and look forward to Ireland and Scotland later this summer with my ‘pards.’ Kirk and I have an amazing time wherever we go.

Enjoy your 2023 journey, write your own narrative and relish your time with the game at home and on the road. And, as always, TAKE IT EASY.

Destination Golfer is published and owned by Varsity Communications, Inc.

Take a trip with us this issue as we touch all four corners of the American golf landscape with you

BY BOB SHERWIN • DG STAFF WRITER

As travel agents, Michael and Michelle Cypher understand that one client is not like another. We all are madly diversified creatures living in a world where we accommodate the differences between the goose and the gander.

In turn, their clients' travel itineraries reflect that diversification. “It’s not cookie-cutter. It’s not onesize-fits-all. It is tailor-made for what you, as an individual wants, what you are looking for,” said Michelle Wicks Cypher, who operates Travel There and Back agency with her husband Michael in Monroe, Wash.

It’s a fairly simple and fundamental concept, indeed, for the individual. Where it gets complicated is when there are twosomes. Or foursomes. That’s when the Cyphers must thread the needle by presenting “those experiences the entire travel party finds as enjoyable things to do,” Michael added, “and not feeling like they’re giving up their vacations for someone else.”

All the travelers have a viable stake in the process, and each deserves consideration. After all, the folks who come to them generally have hard-earned and limited resources and vacation time.

“My goal is not to find the cheapest way to do something, but I do pride myself on providing value for the money they spend,” Michelle said.

Golfers are not Travel There and Back’s primary clientele, although it is a substantial segment of their business that they've built over the past seven years, crafting hundreds of golf trips throughout the state, region, and world. Many of the trips are stereotypical buddy trips, four guys, but there are also many

couples golf trips where half the travelers don’t golf, or larger groups where perhaps just one or two want to break away to golf. The Cyphers must take them all into account through their ‘travel fittings.’

It begins with questions probing the basics, where do they want to go, how many, how much they can spend and for how long. Then every session diverts, as Michelle says, as she drills down into each travelers’ interests and what else they might want to do.

“What are the must-haves,” she said. “Then I ask, what are the would-be-nice-if-but-not-required. Then what are the, I-could-care-less-doesn’t-matter-to-me categories. Then when I’m putting it together to fit into their price range, if the must-have category fills up their price range, then there isn’t room for more. If not, then it would be nice to add the extra touches.”

Those extra touches could be excursions that fill the day for the non-playing travelers to enjoy while the golfers golf. Michelle said many of the options are a nod to the specific area, such as a visit to a scotch distillery in Scotland or Guinness factory in Ireland. But she has found cultural bonuses for folks in different countries based on her initial questioning.

Here's one such example. Finding the option of booking a cooking class where the chef comes to their villa that has a kitchen. A couple visiting Germany had a mutual interest in highbrow music, so she had them attend a workshop where violins are made. Another couple took part in glassblowing in Venice. She also has set up factory tours for golfers interested in how clubs are made.

“During our conversations and the back and forth, some things come out,” she added. Many trips

can be customized as much for the travelers as the travel site. Museum tours can be arranged in the cultural cities of Europe. A growing number of golfers/ travelers also are interested in ancestry research, especially in Ireland.

“I can absolutely do that. Several people are interested in ancestry stuff,” Michelle said. “We can do packages that include renting a car for self-tours. There’s a lot of that in Ireland. Norway is another big one.”

She added that another combination that golfers don’t often associate together is golf and a safari in South Africa. “They can go to Kruger National Park (for a safari) and across the way is a really cool golf course.”

Or golfers can do a two-in-one deal at Skukuza Golf Club, within the boundaries of Kruger. There are no fences around the course so golfers can enjoy a golf cart safari where a possible foursome of impala, warthog, hippo and baboon can play through.

The most natural cultural option with golf for all members of all traveling parties in all areas of travel is wine. Golfers and the non-golfers can gather at the end of the day for wine tasting (and culinary delights).

“Wine with golf is popular. They can be easily paired together,” Michelle said. “Walla Walla is big for that. There are a lot of places here (Northwest) where you can combine those two things. Because there’s pretty much golf anywhere and there’s pretty much wine anywhere.

“So much culture is in what people drink and their culinary tastes. That’s how you learn a lot about a place.”

‘Travel fitting’ is how these excursion pros make your golf experiences memorable and hit the mark

Old Course St. Andrews • Scotland

And Back Travel There

Where do you want to go? Scotland, Ireland, Europe? Hawaii, Mexico, Caribbean? We get you there.

What do you want to do there? Golf, Enjoy Food & Wine, Visit Castles? Sit on the Beach, Hike, Bike, Explore? We enable your adventure.

Who do you want to travel with? Yourself & S.O.? Family & Friends? We turn everyone's dreams into memories.

Cancun MexicoCalling is

The ultimate Caribbean golf experience at Moon Palace is one click

away

BY BOB SHERWIN • DG STAFF WRITER

Michelle Wicks Cypher and her husband Michael, travel agents who have been fashioning golf trips all over the world for nearly a decade now, have put their expertise together for what they hope will be an ultimate golf trip in May 2024 to Cancun.

The couple, who run the Travel There and Back agency in Monroe, Wash., are taking orders for a four-night, five-day stay at Moon Palace Cancun, a five-star, all-inclusive resort on the Caribbean. There is a 27-hole Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course on the Moon Palace property that participants will play.

“We wanted to do this before COVID,” says Michelle. “But travel is coming back and we’re happy to be part of this.”

The event is planned for May 2-6, 2024. Golfers will play the Moon Palace course each day except Saturday, when they’ll move over to the nearby Riviera Cancun Golf and Resort course, also a Nicklaus-design.

Moon Palace is a massive 1,300-room property right on the beach. Six large pools, all interconnected, feature swim-up bars, a FlowRider double surf simulator, and a kids’ pool with slides and water

features. Tennis courts, pickleball courts, basketball courts and a mini-golf course are dotted throughout the property. There are nightly theater shows, a dance club and 11 restaurants. The Moon Palace also connects to the Grand Palace next door.

It’s an all-inclusive property, which means all food and drinks are included in the up-front price. The golf is also unlimited. If golfers want to play more than one round in a day, they can schedule that, sunrise to sunset. For any accompanying non-golfer, the Cyphers have secured a $250 credit that can be used for the full-service Awe Spa.

The cost of the trip is $1,995 per person, based on double occupancy (air fare not included). “We were happy we could get it at that price,” Michelle adds.

The trip is open to anyone, though it will likely have a decidedly Northwest flavor. The Cyphers will promote it through golf shows from Seattle to Kansas City to Connecticut and, of course, through Cascade Golfer which reaches more than 200,000 golfers across the U.S.

The Cyphers have operated the Travel There and Back agency for the past eight years, offering all varieties of travel packages including golf tours which have gradually become a prominent part of the business.

The company has put together hundreds of trips to Scotland and Ireland so customers can play the ancient links courses. They have put people on some of the best courses in the world, but golf takes up only four-five hours a day which means the Cyphers need to find enjoyable ways for people to fill the rest of the day.

Golf may be the connecting factor for many in the group but, invariably, some non-golfers are along for the culture, climate or cuisine. Those interests need to be accommodated in some fashion so that no one feels they are giving up their vacation for the benefit of others.

Travel There and Back takes pride in offering a variety of side trips and adventures, such as museum visits, beer and/or whiskey tours, glassblowing or cooking classes. The Cyphers can also set clients up with ancestry experts. They’ve planned golf trips to Africa that might include a safari and domestic golf trips to eastern Washington, Oregon and California (with the obligatory wine-tastings, of course).

The couple has developed a system of ‘travel fittings,’ in which all the vital questions are asked/ answered. After a sit-down session, they determine what the priority is for each traveler. Then, working within the travelers’ budgets, they assemble travel packages based on their interests and what they might find interesting.

For more information on the Moon Palace trip, you can contact Travel There and Back at Michelle@ travelthereandback.com or call (425) 361-5212. Contact them to inquire about custom elements or offerings for you and your travel party.

Moon Palace • Cancun

Magnificence Mid-South

BY TONY DEAR • DG CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

They couldn’t be much further apart culturally, visually, psychologically, or philosophically, but in one sense Myrtle Beach is a lot like Augusta National.

You read so much about the place and have seen so many photographs that when you visit for the first time very little surprises you. The Masters first-timer is beyond thrilled to experience the tournament for real, of course, but they’ve seen Amen Corner so many times on TV and in magazines it’s pretty much what they’d expected to see.

Same with Myrtle Beach. The South Carolina coastal destination roughly halfway between New York City and Miami, Fla., is the full-blown, authentic, unadulterated, vacation town you knew it was with enough golf that, somewhere along the line, it became known as the ‘Golf Capital of the World’. No one’s exactly sure what the criteria are — number of courses, quality of courses, history of courses, etc.

For some, Augusta National might be the golf capital of the world by virtue of its rather popular event in April, while others might pick St. Andrews in Scotland, or perhaps Phoenix/Scottsdale in Arizona.

Whatever the measuring system, Myrtle Beach makes a sound claim. Though the number has been higher in the past, there are still more than 80 courses spread around the city and its neighbors North Myrtle Beach, Murrells Inlet, and Pawleys Island whose collective permanent population is a little higher than 66,000. That means an incredibly low 825 people or thereabouts per course. To put that in perspective, Scotland, which is ranked as the country with the most facilities per capita, has more than 9,000 per course.

To be fair, Myrtle Beach’s official population isn’t remotely close to the actual number of people within its boundaries at any one time. Being on the coast, the temperature rarely gets unpleasantly hot, allowing golf to be played throughout the year. Spring and fall when the needle hovers around the 75-degree mark are certainly the best times to come though.

And when you do, you really will be spoilt for choice. From Little River at the northern end of the Grand Strand to Winyah Bay 60 miles south you’ll find a handful of courses rated among the very best public courses in the nation and an awful lot that are

just one rung below that.

The two Myrtle Beach-area courses that usually rank the highest are the exquisite True Blue and Caledonia Golf and Fish Club in Pawleys Island. Both were designed by the late, great and uncommonly artistic Mike Strantz and, as luck would have it, are just a mile apart making for one of the best 36-hole days in America.

While True Blue is perhaps the slightly bolder and more adventurous of the two with more memorable holes, Caledonia, whose driveway is bordered by 200-year-old oaks draped in Spanish moss, is a graceful journey through the Low Country.

Other superb multiple-round days can be had at the 2,377-acre Barefoot Resort in North Myrtle Beach, which offers courses designed by Tom Fazio, Pete Dye, Davis Love, and Greg Norman, and the not quite so enormous, but similarly popular, Legends Resort. It’s located 20 miles to the south and home to the Moorland, Parkland and Heathland Courses (Oyster Bay Golf Links is across the border in North Carolina and The Heritage Club is in Pawleys island).

Myrtle Beach and Pinehurst are must-plays and more affordable than you think

Pinehurst Golf Resort • Pinehurst, N.C.

Myrtle Beach National has three Arnold Palmer designs, Myrtlewood a pair of fine courses by Arthur Hills and Ed Ault, but really, there are great 36-hole options everywhere you look because the density of courses — good courses — is a golfer’s dream. Cross the border into North Carolina and you’ll find more quality golf in Brunswick County — Thistle, The Pearl, Sea Trail and Arnold Palmer’s superb River’s Edge.

Stay-and-play packages are easily found, and we recommend you start looking at myrtlebeachgolfdirectors.com.

Another destination in the Carolinas with an attractively high course-to-person ratio is Pinehurst, of course. The historic Pinehurst Resort is among the most popular and recognizable golf destinations in the world and is currently building its 10th which Tom Doak designed and is currently building. The resort dates to 1895 when Boston businessman James Walker Tufts sold his soda fountain business and bought nearly 6,000 acres of sandy, pine-harvested land with the idea of creating a health retreat.

Its first nine, rudimentary holes were designed and built by Dr. D. Leroy Culver in 1898 and nine more were added the following year to create what would soon be known as Pinehurst No. 1.

In 1900, Tufts needed someone to head his golf operations and hired a Scottish expat named Donald Ross, who quickly set about redesigning the resort’s first 18 holes. He then added the famous No. 2, which was boldly renovated by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw in 2014, No, 3 and No. 4 that Gil Hanse completely redesigned in 2018. Ross protégé Ellis Maples designed No. 5 in 1961, Tom Fazio added No. 6 in 1975 and No. 8 in 1996, Rees Jones built No. 7 in 1986, and No. 9 was purchased in 2015 from National Golf Club, whose Jack Nicklaus-designed course had opened in 1989.

The existing nonet of courses is amazing enough, certainly, and Doak’s No. 10 will make the resort’s roster that bit more incredible. But it isn’t the only place in the area that offers superb golf. This is the North Carolina sandhills region where good golf courses may not be two-a-penny exactly (golf this popular doesn’t come cheap) but certainly are plentiful.

About six miles to the east is the delightful town of Southern Pines where you’ll find three more Donald Ross masterpieces — Mid Pines, Pine Needles and Southern Pines all of them renovated in recent years by Kyle Franz, who did an excellent job of reviving and refreshing the Ross-built features that had faded over time.

Two minutes northwest of Pine Needle Lodge and Golf Club is the Talamore Resort where the Rees Jones-designed course is open to the public and the private, Palmer-designed Mid-South course can be accessed by resort guests. Longleaf, between Pinehurst and Southern Pines is a lovely round.

And there’s Tobacco Road in Sanford, about 25 miles northeast of Pinehurst. If you’re coming to the area from Myrtle Beach and have played True Blue and Caledonia, you’ll probably be full of anticipation on arriving at Tobacco Road. And you certainly won’t be disappointed because this course is regarded as Strantz’s most eccentric, unconventional, and just plain kooky. Some think it a little overthe-top perhaps, but the vast majority lucky enough to have played it are simply blown away

The Carolinas have some of the most appealing golf to be found anywhere on the planet, and when you mix in southern hospitality and weather, which, for the most part, is ideal for golf you have the makings of a very fine golf trip.

Let an expert help you book these bucket list experiences.

No one knows Myrtle Beach and Pinehurst like nationally acclaimed golf and travel expert Billy Cole from Resort Promotions. His extensive knowledge, insight, and vision for creating the right golf experience, no matter what your budget and timeline may be, will surely impress you and keep you coming back. You can reach him at billycolegolf@gmail.com or directly at (843) 251-6094.

Let an expert help you book these bucket list experiences.

No one knows Myrtle Beach and Pinehurst like golf and travel expert Billy Cole from Resort Promotions. You can reach him at billycolegolf@gmail.com or directly at (843) 251-6094.

Myrtle Beach now calls itself the Golfing Capitol of the World.

Pinehurst Golf Resort • Pinehurst, N.C.

Tidewater Golf Club • Myrtle Beach, S.C.

Hit‘The Trail’

Alabama’s RTJ Trail hotels, resorts and options are calling all golfers to the Yellowhammer State

BY TONY DEAR • DG CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

It doesn’t happen very often, but when it does it stays with you forever. You stand on a tee and suddenly every thought about the score you’re compiling — every concern in your life, in fact — momentarily vanishes as you admire the panorama before you. You may have played 10,000 holes or more and, while many were memorable, most just sort of blend together. This one though, the one you’re about to play, is somewhat overwhelming.

The 18th on the Fighting Joe Course at The Shoals in Alabama seems to have that effect on people (well, it did me). From the Orange tee (unless you play golf for money you want no part of the Purple or Black tees which stretch the course to 7,256 and 8,092 yards, respectively), the hole plays just 151 yards across a

significant drop with the Tennessee River to the right. The clubhouse sits on rising ground behind the green but, suddenly, the cold beer you’ve been anticipating for an hour or more just doesn’t seem to matter.

Part of the 36-hole Shoals resort three miles south of Florence, Ala., the Fighting Joe Course was named for Congressman and Confederate military commander Joseph Wheeler and designed by Roger Rulewich as part of the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail. Mr. Jones left quite an imprint on the Yellowhammer State, of course.

It opened, together with the Schoolmaster Course (named for President Woodrow Wilson), in 2004, a year before the magnificent Marriott Shoals Hotel on the other side of the river. The 192-room hotel’s main

feature is the 300-foot Renaissance Tower at the top of which the revolving 360 Grille restaurant gives diners wonderful views of the river and Florence area, but not far behind are the dozens of concerts, many by bands from the nearby musical hotbed of Muscle Shoals, that take place here throughout the year.

The Shoals is the northernmost stop on the famed Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail that now offers 459 holes across the state. But it’s at a course not affiliated with the Trail where you might have another stopin-your-tracks moment. The par 3 5th hole at Pursell Farms, outside of Birmingham, is named ‘Hang Time’ and falls 175-feet or thereabouts though the hole is only about 200 yards from the back tee. Designer Michael Hurdzan took a while to decide whether such a

FarmLinks • Sylacauga, Ala.

drop was safe and would be worthy of what is truly a superb golf course, or simply a gimmick that might be memorable but not technically a very good hole.

Whatever your verdict, the vast majority are pleased he kept the hole as the 15 seconds or so that it takes your ball to land, hopefully close to the hole, are quite exhilarating and full of adrenalin and hope. The nearest RTJ Trail courses to The Ham, also known as the ‘Magic City’ or the ‘Pittsburgh of the South’ due to its steel-manufacturing days in the second half of the 19th Century, are Oxmoor Valley and the former PGA Tour Champions site at Ross Bridge which offers another of Alabama golf’s tracks-stopping moments.

Though typically impressive and well-designed, Ross Bridge’s transfixing sight isn’t of any one of the holes in particular but of the scorecard which shows the course measuring a terrifying 8,191 yards from the Black Tees. If you’re on vacation, may we suggest using a set of tees that provide a more enjoyable, relaxing round of golf.

Talking of relaxing, may we also recommend a visit to Ross Bridge’s incredible 12,000 square-foot spa, one of six on the Robert Trent Jones Spa Trail which also includes acclaimed therapeutic/relaxation facilities at The Shoals, The Marriott Capitol Hill (54 golf holes) outside Prattville, the Marriott Grand National (54 holes) near Opelika, and the Grand Hotel at Point Clear (36 holes), 25 miles south of downtown Mobile where another of the Trail’s resort spas can be found at the historic Battle House Hotel originally built in 1852.

Waning popularity saw the hotel close in the mid1970s, but it reopened in 2007 and, two years later, was named one of the top 500 hotels in the world by Travel and Leisure.

The 16, 18-hole courses, nine nine-holers and seven short courses (including the year-old Backyard at Oxmoor Valley whose holes stretch from 59 to 132 yards and which groups can get round in an hour) of the RTJ Trail together with Pursell Farms provide some of America’s most popular public golf, but they certainly aren’t the only places in Alabama you’ll find an entertaining round.

George Cobb’s excellent Lake Course together with the popular Plantation Course make Goose Pond Colony a great vacation spot, Earl Stone’s The General Course at Joe Wheeler State Park is always a pleasant walk, and the Eagle’s Nest Course at Lake Guntersville sits atop Taylor Mountain with fabulous views of the lake and, in 2009, was renovated by University of Alabama alum and 1976 U.S. Open champion Jerry Pate.

A lot of good golf and good times in Alabama.

Ross Bridge • Hoover, Ala.

Peninsula Golf & Racquet Club • Gulf Shores, Ala.

Gulf Shores G.C. • Gulf Shores, Ala.

Kiva Dunes • Gulf Shores, Ala.

If

MindfullyMagnolia

BY TONY DEAR • DG CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

Mississippi’s golfing landscape weaves through bayous, foothills, piney woods and along the gulf coastline making the Magnolia State a must-play

Mossy Oak • West Point, Miss.

Golf has been played in Mississippi since 1908 when the Donald Ross-designed Great Southern Golf Club opened, but the Magnolia State’s rise as a golf tourism powerhouse has been relatively recent.

There are now over 140 courses spread between the Gulf of Mexico coastline and Tennessee border 380 miles to the north, many of them designed by the game’s best architects and worth a lengthy plane ride to get to.

Debate surrounds which of the 140 is the best (not many states have a clear, no-questions-asked winner), but a handful of usual suspects always come up in conversation. And it’s a measure of how strong and diverse Mississippi’s golf scene has become that the two polling perhaps the most votes were designed by two very different architects with contrasting design philosophies and who work very differently, on very different types of property for two very different types of clientele.

Former PGA Tour Champions venue Fallen Oak opened in 2006 and is owned by MGM Resorts and part of the massive, and hugely impressive, Beau Rivage Resort and Casino in the old military town of Biloxi. It was designed by Tom Fazio who has used big budgets to build extravagantly-beautiful courses throughout his career and is often referred to as the ‘Shadow Creek of the South’ (a reference to the extremely high-end, MGM Resorts-owned course in Las Vegas, where Phil Mickelson out-dueled Tiger Woods in 2018’s edition of The Match to win $9 million). Fallen Oak is open exclusively to guests staying at the Beau Rivage, and invariably in first-class condition.

That’s not to say Mossy Oak, opened in 2016 and the other course consistently mentioned when Mississippi’s best is the subject, isn’t in first-class condition. Any course ranked inside America’s You Can Play is virtually flawless maintenance-wise. But its designer, Gil Hanse, is usually regarded as Fazio’s antithesis, building courses that the land gives him, using a relatively small construction crew, and often jumping in the cab of a bulldozer to shape a feature himself.

Regardless of how they operate, however, Fazio and Hanse have designed several of the country’s very best courses, and Mississippi has benefitted greatly from their skill.

Jerry Pate, the 1976 U.S. Open champion, has shown what he’s capable of here too. You only need to travel just under a mile from Mossy Oak to find his best work in Mississippi. Old Waverly which Pate designed alongside Bob Cupp, is a grand and elegant course built on 350 acres of pastureland and opened in 1988. Before Fallen Oak and Mossy Oak came along it was regularly voted the best course in the state and it has hosted two USGA events – the 1999 U.S. Women’s Open and 2019 U.S. Women’s Amateur. Together with Mossy Oak, it forms the Golf Club of Mississippi and offers several lodging options including nine four-bedroom cottages perfect for groups.

From West Point, it’s 80 miles southwest to another of the state’s finest golf developments Dancing Rab-

bit Golf Club. Part of the Pearl River Resort, a mile east along State Route 16, the club’s two courses were designed by Fazio and Pate, and though in the past the Azaleas was usually attributed to Fazio and the Oaks to Pate, they collaborated on the design of each. And the result is magnificent – both layouts covering exceptionally beautiful ground and featuring several memorable holes that stick in the memory for years.

Very popular golf packages start at $249 (plus tax) and include a round of golf for two with a shared cart and range balls, a night’s accommodation, food credit, and transport to the resort’s Silver Star Casino.

As if Pate hadn’t done enough for Mississippi golf, his design at the Preserve in Vancleave, 20 minutes west of Fallen Oak, has won numerous awards and accolades. And just 40 minutes west of the Preserve, is another designer’s work that may interest you. Jack Nicklaus’s Grand Bear course is a wonderful journey through the southern reaches of the De Soto National Forest with a few holes bordering the Biloxi River.

When traveling in the Biloxi/Gulfport area you shouldn’t miss the Island View Casino-owned Windance Country Club whose 1985 Mark McCumber course may not be terribly long at 6,659 yads but is extremely enjoyable.

While the majority of Mississippi’s best public golf is located in the south of the state — Old Waverly and Mossy Point notwithstanding — visitors shouldn’t limit themselves to that area alone as there’s plenty more good golf further north. If you’re headed to the Tunica resorts or, eventually, Memphis, stop off in Jackson to play the newly renovated Refuge.

Originally designed by Roy Case and opened in 1998, the course was renovated in 2021 by Nathan Crace who built three new holes, made each nine return to the clubhouse, rebuilt bunkers, installed new irrigation, and generally made the course more playable and enjoyable for a wider range of players.

Crace also worked his underrated magic at Ole Miss in Oxford, 160 miles north of Jackson, in 2008 — a tricky commission as Crace had attended Mississippi State from 1990-94. The course first opened in 1973 and was designed by three-time major winner Cary Middlecoff. But Crace spent $3.5 million rebuilding the greens, bunkers, and cart paths, regrassing fairways, building new back tees, and doubling the size of the practice range.

Considering the course also renewed its 60-strong cart fleet, $3.5 million seems like a bargain for everything that was done, even in 2008 money. Reviews following the work were entirely positive, and the reinvigorated course continues to receive good press.

Eight minutes northwest of Oxford are the six hotel/casinos owned by Tunica Resorts. They are home to a couple of excellent courses, including the Mark McCumber-designed Tunica National and Clyde Johnston’s River Bend.

The great golf courses of Mississippi may not be tightly packed together like they are in parts of Florida and Arizona. But that’s okay because you get to see more of what is a truly beautiful state.

Fallen Oak GC • Saucier, Miss.

Dancing Rabbit GC • Philadelphia, Miss.

Old Waverly GC • West Point, Miss.

Perfection Par 3 Oklahoma

BY BOB SHERWIN • DG STAFF WRITER

Shangri-La, the golf and tourist center in the northeast corner of Oklahoma, has opened a rather extraordinary 18-hole, par 3 course, unlike any in the country, with the hope that folks will long remember their experience. It also comes with a noble reminder, as is the tradition here, of people and places we can’t forget.

The entertainment mecca on Monkey Island, close to the borders of Missouri, Arkansas and Kansas, unveiled its par 3 course on May 5, after nearly two years in the making. It’s called “Battlefield,’’ an appropriate name not just for the golfers struggle to tame the land but for what it represents.

“It is really an amazing course,’’ said Mike Williams, Shangri-La’s Director of Communications and Government Relations. “Everyone who knows something about par 3s says they’ve never seen anything like this.

“The greens are so challenging. There are four tees, including a kids' tee that most golfers would take just a wedge. But by the time you get to the back tees you can only see the top of the flag. There’s creeks, waterfalls, lots of bunkers and hazards.

The distances range from 110 to 245 yards with a 100-foot elevation change so demanding that carts — on the par 3 course — are recommended. It’s all downhill on the opening nine and all uphill on the return.

What makes it even more special is that each of the 18 holes is named in honor of an Oklahoma military

figure who served in World War II. That emphasis on honoring the military stems from Eddy Gibbs, a Tulsa businessman who revived Shangri-La more than a decade ago with more than a $100 million cash infusion.

Gibbs purchased a rundown, golf-centered property in 2010 and eventually added and enhanced the three nine-hole courses, and improved the marina paving the way for the resort hotel and hundreds of waterside properties as well as several tourist attractions.

Last year, the resort opened a $12 million yearround indoor/outdoor facility called “The Anchor,’’ featuring tennis courts, pickleball courts, basketball courts, a Fenway Park-like Wiffle ballpark and Trackman Golf Simulators.

The reason it is called the ‘Anchor’ is because the facility has on display a 20,000-pound replica of the battleship USS Oklahoma’s anchor. The Oklahoma was one of the ships sunk during the surprise Pearl Harbor attack on Dec. 7, 1941. There also is a tribute wall to the 429 servicemen who lost their lives on the ship that fateful day. There is also a Sherman tank and service boats on display.

This early development of the area began around the start of the war, in 1941, when a dam was constructed, flooding the terrain to produce a six-milelong, man-made Grand Lake ‘O the Cherokees with thousands of waterfront homes. The high point in the area is Monkey Island.

The three nine-hole courses are The Champions,

The Heritage and The Legends, which honors another Oklahoma luminary – Yankee great Mickey Mantle. He was born in nearby Spavinaw but lived in the area until his death in 1995. Shangri-La was his home course, even hosting a charity here from 1991-94.

The Legend’s closing hole is known as ‘The Mick,’ is a par-5, 580-yarder with a double-green finish that is the state’s most famous hole. Golfers must decide whether to risk a long over-water shot to the right-side island green or choose a safer shot to the other green, 70 yards farther and bordered by a rightside waterfall hazard. The hole has a statue of Mantle behind it. He once made a double-eagle on the 18th.

The championship course, with the different nine-hole combinations, has been consistently honored as best in state. It was named “Oklahoma’s No. 1 Golf Destination” (Midwest Golfing Magazine), “Best Golf You Can Play in Oklahoma” (Tee Times, Kansas City), “Top 5 Oklahoma Courses’’ (Golf Oklahoma) and ranked among the top state courses by USA Today and Golfweek.

Now that the golfing/tourist entertainment center has added 18 more holes with the Battlefield course, which a bit shorter but long on difficulty, one Shangri-La executive who played it just before the opening joked, “I’m going back to the championship course. It might be easier.’’

See their informative website ShangrilaOk.com for complete details.

New Battlefield par 3 opens at Oklahoma’s Shangri-La and takes short courses to the next level

Shangri-La Resort • Monkey Island, Okla.

Missouri Central ‘Show Me’

Missouri

Missouri's Ozarks region has 13 places to play on its popular trail

BY BOB SHERWIN • DG STAFF WRITER

Let’s see, as you sip your morning coffee and peruse the local tourist material, you want this to be a designer day, but how do you choose?

Should you go with one everyone’s familiar with, say an Arnold Palmer design, or a Tom Weiskopf or Robert Trent Jones, Sr.? Or perhaps one by a lesserknown designer such as Ken Kavanaugh or Robert von Hagge? So many choices, just never a wrong one.

This is what golfers must deal with, although hardly a dilemma, when traveling through the Lake of the Ozarks recreational region in central Missouri. You are squarely in the middle of a golfing nirvana with a selection of 13 golf courses on the Ozarks Trail.

It’s actually middle-middle-middle. It’s not just the center of a golf mecca, it’s the center of the state and center of the country, the geographical middle that is readily accessible to an enormous number of leisure prone Americans. Kansas City, St. Louis,

Memphis, Wichita, Des Moines, Oklahoma City, Indianapolis, Cincinnati and Nashville are all within a gas tank reach — or a full charge.

Voted by the readers of the USA Today “The Best Recreational Lake in the Nation,” golfers flock to the Trail for the courses’ quality, access and affordability. All of them are within a 30-minute drive of another, making two-fers readily in play.

The Palmer course is Osage National Golf Resort. It's sort of a mandatory play. In fact, the course’s motto is, ‘The Must Play Course at the Lake.’ The King designed more than 300 courses in 25 countries and 37 states, but this was his lone effort in Missouri.

Osage is situated on a bluff overlooking the Osage River. Palmer designed it in 1992 and another nine was created six years later to give the resort three nine-hole combinations, the ‘River,’ the ‘Mountain’ and ‘Links.’ The Michelob Skins Game that featured

Palmer, Tom Watson, Lee Trevino and Payne Stewart was played there. Stewart’s 9-under 63 that day still holds up as the course record. The course also hosted the National Club Pro Championship and various PGA regional events.

Weiskopf’s 1999 masterpiece and one of the area’s most honored layouts is Old Kinderhook Resort, about 30 miles south of Osage. Weiskopf, who designed more than 40 courses worldwide, put the full-meal-drama-deal into Kinderhook with waterfalls, perilous over-water shots, narrow chutes and elevation changes. It has been consistently ranked the first- or second-best course in the state.

Senior Trent Jones put together The Cove at the Lodge of Four Seasons course in 1973. The redeeming factor for The Cove is that it’s not tailored for just long hitters. The course has four tee positions, with the longest at a reasonable 6,553 yards. It is a walk in

Osage National Golf Resort • Lake Ozark, Mo.

the park but that merely pertains to the scenery. It can be a challenge with water on half the holes, especially the fourth hole, called ‘Witch’s Cove,’ a 230-yard (back tee) shot with an all-carry drive over water.

There is a second 18-hole layout at The Lodge designed by Ken Kavanaugh, who designed more than 25 courses across the country. It is The Ridge, another relatively short but super playable (6,447 yards) that is considered one of the top five best public courses in the state. It features significant elevation changes, as much as 180 feet, and wonderful lake vistas. The par 5 sixth hole, long and narrow, is said to be the hardest hole in the state.

Von Hagge has a signature design – along with partner Bruce Devlin – at The Oaks Course at Margaritaville Lake Resort, in Osage Beach, in the heart of the Ozarks golfing community. The pair also built a nine-hole course at Osage Beach. Von Hagge and Devlin, either as a team or separately, have created hundreds of courses across the world. This is another average length layout (6,432 yards) for the average player but no snap. It can be tight in places with water hazards all about. It hosted the 1994 PGA Club Pro Championship.

The tightly bunched Lake of the Ozarks Golf Trail collection also includes Rolling Hills CC in Versailles, the most established course (1955) among the 13, Lake Valley GC in Camdenton, which features six par 3s, six par 4s and six par 5s, The Golf Club at Deer Chase in Linn Creek, Eldon GC, Indian Rock GC in Gravois Mills, semi-private Redfield GC in Eugene and Bear Creek Valley GC in Osage Beach. All designed exclusively for everyone.

Top of the Rock at Big Cedar Lodge • Ridgefield, Mo.

Old Kinderhook • Camdenton, Mo.

Payne’s Valley at Big Cedar Lodge, Hole No. 1 • Ridgefield, Mo.

Also consider these two great courses when playing through Missouri.

Links & ‘The Lou’

at Casino Queen is the perfect spot for destination golfers to call home while playing through Missouri and Illinois

BY TONY DEAR & DICK STEPHENS • DG EDITOR & PUBLISHER

If you are linkster or just happen to be traveling with one, DraftKings at Casino Queen is the perfect location for St. Louis or southern Illinois travelers alike. Why? It’s simple. Location, location, location.

From the casino, you can see the mighty Mississippi in the foreground, the historic beauty of the Gateway Arch and ‘The Lou’s’ skyline. Downtown St. Louis is a perfect confluence of its riverboat port heritage, French infusion, modernism, industrial footprints, and true Americana. Major corporations Anheuser-Busch, Enterprise and Edward Jones call St. Louis home to name a few.

Just a two-minute drive across the Eads or Martin Luther King Bridges and you are there. In fact, you can walk the Eads to get in your steps should the mood strike you. This gives golfers the option of staying ‘on campus’ at the casino and taking in all downtown and the surrounding area has to offer, such as Cardinal Baseball at Busch Stadium, the new St. Louis City SC Major League Soccer team at CityPark, Blues NHL hockey, Worldwide Technology Raceway and the National Park at the Arch.

DraftKings at Casino Queen may have the best view of the St. Louis skyline anywhere in the metro area. In fact, when we first met their Director of Marketing Jessica Beckmann, the professional recently given the huge responsibility of advertising and audience development for this grand property, we were awestruck with the view out her office window. Beckmann and the new DraftKings energy are creating new avenues and are becoming a ‘must stay’ marketleading locale in a competitive casino marketplace.

The casino has a ‘full house’ of accoutrements to cast a light on – all of which will sing to traveling golfer’s hearts when they book and plan their getaways. This lineup includes amazing hotel accommodations, five on-site restaurants (see below), a lively gaming floor with state-of-art and classic

options to play, an RV park and of course their worldclass DraftKings Sportsbook.

And they want golfers to use their casino as the hub to ‘hit’ all the right courses like those mentioned here when playing through the Show Me State and Land of Lincoln.

The DraftKings at Casino Queen stay-and-play package starts at $199 during the week ($249 on weekends) and includes a round of golf for two, a night at the hotel, and a 10 percent off dining coupon, which is an ideal option for the golfer-gamer visiting there.

DraftKings at Casino Queen puts a premium on food and drink – knowing full well that their guests and golfers love the cuisine and libation. While staying or visiting the hotel, golfers can enjoy casual dining at Bridgeway, appetizers and sharables (while placing some friendly wagers) in the DraftKings Sportsbook, Asian fare at the new 3 Woks Noodle Bar, grab and go golf-friendly food at That Chickn’ Place and unwind after 18 holes at QBar — their perfect 19th hole.

In the morning before you walk to the valet

DraftKings

to get your car and hit the links, you can grab coffee and pastry at Front Street Coffee — now you’re off and running.

The hotel/casino’s stay-and-play package began in April of this year and is run in partnership with Walters Golf Management, a St. Louis-based company that operates three courses in Illinois and six in Missouri. It is the three Illinois courses that are part of the package deal, and each comes highly recommended — just see the Golfpass reviews. Partner courses Far Oaks, Stonewolf and Gateway National are top tracks and earn more than their share of four and five-star reviews.

A 93 percent approval rate on a trusted website inevitably gets your attention, and the fact the rating comes from over 450 users is a pretty good indication the product/service being reviewed is worth further scrutiny.

Far Oaks Golf Course opened in 1998 in southwest Illinois, about 11 miles east of the Mississippi River and 12 from downtown St. Louis, Mo. It was designed by 1968 Masters champion and 11-time PGA Tour winner Bob Goalby who was born in the Prairie State and attended the University of Illinois on a football scholarship. Assisting his 68-year-old father was Bob’s son Kye who was building the first course of an impressive career during which he has built several of the world’s best courses alongside architect Tom Doak.

Far Oaks is often described as a Scottish linksstyle course, but the beautifully maintained grass is probably too lush and the trees now too tall and numerous for it to resemble a links in any way. Whether it has any kinship with Scotland doesn’t matter in the slightest, however. What does is that it’s good and that you can play the course as part of a great value golf package while staying at DraftKings at Casino Queen.

Stonewolf is a Jack Nicklaus Signature course that opened in 1997 15 miles east of the Gateway Arch. As is the case at every Nicklaus design, length

is certainly a virtue (where isn’t it, really?) but careful positioning of shots is just as important, if not more so. At 6,943 yards from the back tees, Stonewolf certainly isn’t Nicklaus’s longest or toughest course, but there’s really no let-up if you’re hoping to match par or post a personal best.

There are some birdie opportunities out there, but plenty of holes that can thwart your goals. The most difficult, for mid-high handicappers at least, may be the 595-yard 12th which finishes on a beautiful, but potentially treacherous, green with a large depression on the right side. If the pin is back, make sure your approach reaches the flag to minimize the effect of the hollow.

More than half of Gateway National’s Golfpass reviews are five-star, and the Keith Foster layout which opened in 1998 is widely regarded as the St. Louis area’s best public-access course. Foster is a highly regarded architect devoted to classic designs of the past, and you can certainly see his Golden Age sensibilities on the mostly exposed course whose fairways are generous but require careful negotiation if you are to give yourself some birdie looks.

The sport has exploded, and the destination golfer is seeking urban spots that suit their needs. The new campaigns that Beckmann and the CQ team are now focused are delivering on that premise. Evidence of that is DraftKings at Casino Queen’s multi-year sponsorship of the St. Louis Golf Expo, where they are building a new fanbase within their backyard to let golfers know this can be their home base all year long.

Destination Golfer gives this St. Louis gem a thumbs up and we recommend this stay-and-play location this spring, summer and fall. The value and amenities can’t be beat.

To learn more about their golf and vacation experiences, visit DraftKingsatCasinoQueen.com for complete information. You can call (618) 874-5000 to book your golf package today.

PACKAGES

200 Front Street, East St. Louis, IL 62201 (618) 874-5000

PACKAGES STARTING AT $199 INCLUDE:

• One-night hotel stay

• Round of golf at choice of course

• 10 percent off property dining discount

COURSE OPTIONS AND RATES:

Far Oaks

• $199 Mon.-Thurs.

• $249 Fri.-Sun.

Stonewolf

• $199 Mon.-Thurs.

• $249 Fri.-Sun.

Gateway National

• $239 Mon.-Thurs.

• $279 Fri.-Sun.

Rate and package inclusions based on double occupancy and twosome round of golf. Payment due at time of booking. Promotion only valid April-November 2023. Subject to availability. Valid ID and credit card must be presented at check-in. A $100 refundable credit card deposit required upon hotel check-in. Offer cannot be combined with any other offer or promotion. Management reserves all rights. Based on availability. Dining discount is a single use coupon and does not apply to alcohol.

STAY & PLAY GOLF HOTEL

Stonewolf Golf Club

BY BART POTTER • FOR DESTINATION GOLFER

Not so many years ago, when Kathie Patterson took up golf, there was nothing like The Golf Academy Plus in her part of the world.

It took a couple fortuitous turns in the road to get here, but today, she manages the place.

Lucky turn No. 1: It started with a Friday night couples league with her husband at their community association nine-holer. It was a flirtation, really, this first relationship with golf. A party atmosphere. Giggle golf.

“It took the pressure off,” she says. She loved it. She couldn’t get enough. And the flirtation got serious.

Lucky turn No. 2: Her first teacher was Ryan Baker, a St. Louis-area PGA professional.

Besides overseeing a rapid improvement in her golf game, Baker would talk, all about a grand plan already in the works — a plan to open the country club of golf training facilities. And Patterson would talk: Maybe I should come work for you there.

Patterson already had a career in the IT industry behind her. She jumped in with Baker to help get the doors open, and on Nov. 11, 2021, the enterprise launched: The Golf Academy Plus, in the St. Louis suburb of Chesterfield, with multiple sophisticated ways to be as serious as a person could want, or not, about getting better at golf, complete with food, drink and fun.

Emphasis on fun.

Once inside its 11,000 square feet, Golf Academy patrons can pick their experience: practice their long

game, chipping and putting; play some of the world's finest courses virtually; or just hang out and watch sports on the big screen TVs.

They sometimes come in to get out of the St. Louis winter weather. For instance, Maryville University’s golf teams do their off-season workouts at the Academy.

Flip the calendar, and the Academy offers respite from the sticky StL summer in climate-controlled comfort.

Birthday parties, retirement parties, office parties … they are all welcome. Think about any facet of golf, and you can find it here.

Rentable simulators measure a statistical wealth of information, such as swing path and how squarely a clubface interfaces with the ball.

Putting simulators similarly measure all the things that go wrong (or right) on a putt.

Take all these stats and make of them what you will … or take a lesson to consult with a pro who can understand the readouts and apply them to improve your swing and your game.

Baker, the World Series of Junior Golf national champion in 1989 and a veteran professional with experience internationally and stateside, heads the instructional staff at the Academy.

Consult with the Academy’s golf club technicians on a Ping club fitting, or get a broken club repaired. Shop for OnCore golf balls, rangefinders and SwingCaddie products in the retail store on-site.

Memberships are a useful option for juniors, singles/couples, families and corporate, all of which offer unlimited use of the practice range and putting/ chipping area and week-ahead reservations for hitting bays and simulators.

The seven simulators at the Academy offer up one of the most popular features in the building: the opportunity to view and play on famous golf courses of the world, including Pebble Beach, The Old Course at St. Andrews and many others.

In April, Augusta National got a lot of play.

When you’ve worked up an appetite, dig into a snack or a meal in the café. Celebrate the progress in your golf swing (or drown your anxiety at those distressing stats) with a beer or cocktail in the fully stocked bar.

That her first experiences with golf were so much fun made it easier to learn and practice toward becoming a better player, Patterson shared. It didn’t take long: after her second year of playing golf, she won the women’s club championship at her home course.

When she and her family go on a vacation now, it’s built around golf. And if doing the same thing on a break as you do at work seems like a busman’s holiday, Patterson doesn’t see it that way.

Anyone traveling to play golf in St. Louis or those lucky enough to live close by can find Golf Academy Plus at 140 Long Road, Suite 110, Chesterfield, MO 63005. Call them at (636) 577-9124 or find them on the web at golfacademyplus.com.

A one-stop golf experience for those living in St. Louis or traveling through

The new normal at Salish Cliffs Golf Club is starting to look like the old normal. As COVID-19 restrictions fade away, people are beginning to get reacquainted with the world.

“We’re seeing some familiar faces from Seattle, Tacoma and up the Peninsula,” says Brian Green, the associate golf professional. “We might have seen them once a month but now it’s starting to be more frequently.”

Salish Cliffs opened in 2011 and was honored as one of the top 10 public courses in the state. It was the first course on the Olympic Peninsula to welcome golfers when Governor Jay Inslee lifted restrictions for golf courses three years ago.

“It didn’t seem to affect us as much as other areas (the economy),” Green says. “We saw a little dwindling off in spring of 2021, but golf is growing.”

The course is a beast as Salish measures 7,269 yards from the championship tees. That includes the 601-yard par-5 8th hole and the 587-yard par-5 10th.

Owned by the Squaxin Tribe, Salish Cliffs as an amenity of the nearby Little Creek Casino. Notable golf course architect Gene Bates, who also designed the acclaimed Circling Raven (Idaho), created Salish with nines that return to a shared green.

The course is about to embark on another major project in replacing sand and liners in the bunkers. Here's Brian Green's quick assessment of the course he calls home.

Q & A with Associate Pro Brian Green

Toughest Tee Shot 12th hole

My choice is 12 (par 4, 434 yards). It’s the narrowest tee shot on the course with hazards on both sides of the fairway. And it usually plays into the wind. There are drop-offs on both sides of the fairway with bunkers on the right side.

Best Birdie Opportunity 2nd hole

It’s a par 4 and is a great risk/reward hole. There are hazards (four bunkers) all along the right-hand side of the fairway. Long hitters can drive the green, but it doesn’t take a whole lot for shorter players to get to the fairway. Then it’s a short wedge to a receptive two-tier green.

Best

Par 3 6th hole

Elevated tee is 168 yards to the pin. There’s a great bunker complex just to the left of the green that you must carry. There’s a bowl just short of the green that can affect how your ball rolls or bounces. It’s a beautiful hole, and not that difficult but can be tricky also.

Favorite Hole 17th hole

I really like No. 17 (par 3, 161 yards), a short hole where the tee is probably 60-feet above the green. It’s a great view from up there. And visually a great backdrop, too.

Emergency Nine front or back?

I prefer the back nine. It requires a little more thought, and the holes have just a bit more character to them.

Go To Lunch Item On The Menu

The French Dip sandwich, with house-made Salish chips.

Golf the summit at Suncadia

Washington

Cascade Mountains

A resort destination with everything a golfer desires high up in the Cascade Mountains

BY BOB SHERWIN • FOR DESTINATION GOLFER

The journey from the city out to Suncadia has to be among the most highly-anticipated trips any Seattle golfer can make. Well, any Seattle resident really, as the delightful mountain retreat, opened in 2003, has always provided the scenery, tranquility and amenities anyone would enjoy.

You’ll surely relish the 80-mile drive east along I-90. For here, among the pines, rocks, and ridges of the Cascades eastern slope, are two of the most exquisite public-access courses the state can offer. And as the west side’s grey skies start turning blue as you crest Snoqualmie Pass and begin to drop, these courses become increasingly appealing. In truth, you just can’t get there fast

enough.

Suncadia’s first course, Prospector, was designed by Arnold Palmer and opened in 2005. Throughout his design career, the King built beautiful, player-friendly courses that players can’t really help but enjoy. Prospector fits the mold perfectly. It won’t beat you up, but nor is it without its challenges. The view from the 10th tee box is perhaps the course’s most outstanding moment, but there are so many good holes and fun shots you’re more or less guaranteed four solid hours of memorable entertainment.

The second course, Rope Rider, built on the site of the old Roslyn Mines, was named best new course of 2011 by Golf Magazine — deserved

recognition for an innovative layout that incorporates three six-hole loops. Such a configuration allows for quick rounds with the kids, which makes it the popular choice for families visiting the resort.

The course’s 7th, 8th, and 9th holes circle a 60 foot-high pile of coal slag which, unlike most tall heaps of mining waste, is covered in grass, shrubs and trees and actually forms a very cool feature of a very interesting course which was designed by Jim Hardy and popular NBC golf announcer Peter Jacobsen.

Equally cool is the fact the clubhouse and pro shop are part of the Swiftwater Cellars winery where a tomahawk steak or plate of bison short ribs

washed down with a large glass of Zephyr Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon or SWC Reserve is a pretty decent way to celebrate a special round of golf.

With the Golf, Stay and Sip Package, guests get a night’s accommodation, and two rounds of golf (two rounds for one person, or a round each for two people). If you arrive and discover you forgot your golf clubs or, more likely, a nonplaying spouse wants to join you for a game, the resort offers Titleist rental sets and they throw in a sleeve of three balls, which hopefully will get you to the 2nd hole at least.

The Suncadia Golf Park, down the hill from Swiftwater Cellars, is a six-tee, three-green shortgame area that’s perfect for a pre-round tune-up and an ideal spot to finish the day with a dollars-in chip-off.

After reading all that, we’re guessing you’re anxious now to point towards Suncadia. Go ahead, summer’s coming. And we’re right behind you. Go to SuncadiaResort.com and open up a world of possibility.

Suncadia Resort • Roslyn, Wash.

David McLay-Kidd

Course Designer of Gamble Sands, Bandon Dunes, St. Andrews Castle Course & Several Others Plus the new course at Gamble Sands!

This once-in-a-lifetime event will give tournament participants an opportunity to look through the lens of a legend

BENEFITTING THE MS SOCIETY

McLay-Kidd Will Ride With Your Group

David will ride along with with your group for three holes on the Sands course, receive a special photo and he will also sign your scorecard.

Fun Thrill Ride On The Quicksands Course

You and the other participants will play the amazing 14-hole Quicksands Short Course with the Scotsman! Take some pics and get info from the mind of the master.

An Evening On The Green With David Saturday Night

Enjoy festivities on the putting course, learn about the new developments, win incredible auction items and compete for prizes.

BY BART POTTER • FOR DESTINATION GOLFER

When considering the always forwardlooking Kalispel Golf and Country Club, it’s rewarding to look the other way, back in time, to the earliest days of golf in Spokane, Wash.

It’s a long history. And it all started, in 1898, with the Spokane Golf Club.

The founders put the first golf course at 14th and Perry Street in the South Hill district of Spokane. Early on, the members sought a better fit. The next location near Hart Field served four years until the clubhouse burned, and the club moved to another site near the Little Spokane River. There, the new course opened on July 8, 1911, and there it remains today.

The club, in attempting to build its memberships, used a jitney (a small bus) to help members bridge the distance between the club and Spokane’s main population centers.

Over the years, the club hosted a U.S. Women’s Open (1946), won by Hall of Famer Patty Berg.

Lee Trevino, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, Curtis Strange, Nancy Lopez, Fred Couples, Chip Beck, and Nick Price all made appearances at the club. Tom Watson set the course record.

Flash ahead to 2015, when the Kalispel Tribe of Indians acquired the club and renamed it Kalispel Golf and Country Club. Among other updates at the property, the restaurant on-site became a gastropub renamed the 1898 Public House, in honor of the year

the course was founded.

Kalispel is a full-fledged golf destination, in partnership with the Tribe-operated Northern Quest Hotel and Casino. The golf on this richly scenic site has remained much the same through the years — top tier — and was only enhanced when esteemed golf architect Robert Muir Graves did a remodel of the course in 1988.

The course has been honored as a Top 50 Resort Course in the U.S. by Golfweek. The par 72 course, meandering alongside the Little Spokane, features 54 well-situated bunkers and water hazards in play on seven holes.

The golf course is fully private, but the visiting public can get on Kalispel by reserving a stay-andplay package. It’s a good deal — the resort welcomes “members for a day” to play golf and gain access to members’ amenities in the casino, spa and dining venues.

Hotel stay-and-play packages start at $209 per person and include a round of golf for two at Kalispel, a night’s stay in a luxury room, and dining and drink discounts at the 1898 Public House and members-only Kalispel Grill, both located at the golf course.

A lower-cost but still upscale stay-and-play alternative is a night in a luxury cottage at Northern Quest RV Resort, with packages starting at $159, which of-

fers the same golf access and resort amenities as the hotel package.

Dining and drinking options are virtually unlimited at Northern Quest. It starts with Highball, an opulent lounge near the Pavilion entrance to the casino.

East Pan Asian Cuisine on the casino level offers made-in-house noodles and a contemporary take on Asian dishes. Neon Pizza is all about pizza, and EPIC Sports Bar offers the nachos and buffalo wings you expect, plus craft cocktails and an epic beer roster.

Masselow’s Steakhouse is the prime fine dining option on the property, with top-grade grilled meats, fresh seafood and house-made pasta among its menu offerings. This joint is popular: reservations with credit card are required.

If your gaming plans include wagering on sports, the Turf Club Sports Book invites you to show off your betting acumen while enjoying a cocktail or cold beer.

Post round, you don’t need to venture from the clubhouse to find good grub. The 1898 Public House is hugely popular among the non-golf Spokane public and offers menu items a considerable cut above typical golf course fare.

The frog in the Kalispel logo symbolizes health, balance and community in the Kalispel tribal tradition. At Kalispel Golf and Country Club, it stands for world-class golf far into the promising future.

Kalispel and Northern Quest Hotel and Casino both have a rich past and promising future

Idaho Icon

Circling Raven still tops the charts for golfers and media alike

BY BOB SHERWIN • DG STAFF WRITER

We’re coming up on 20 years since Circling Raven has been stretched out gently across the rolling and remote countryside on the northwest Idaho panhandle and nothing much has changed. When it opened, it was hailed among the best new courses in America and is still racking up the awards today.

The Worley, Idaho course, close to the Washington border about 40 miles south of Spokane, was recently ranked Idaho’s No. 1 public course, according to Golfweek. The course has been given the ‘best’ award 11 times since it opened in 2003. The annual rankings are based on 10 criteria.

It has also been rated among the nation's best resort courses and casino courses, and its pro shop has been similarly recognized.

The golf/casino complex includes a full-service spa, two hotel wings, multiple restaurants, a live entertainment section and a renovated gaming floor at the Coeur d’Alene Casino Resort. The Coeur d’Alene Indian Tribe operates the properties, and its Native American heritage is a most significant influence.

Circling Raven was named after one of the tribe’s most important chiefs, although stories about him tend to view him more as a prophet or supernatural figure. He was said to have ruled over his people for 100 years, from 1660 to 1760. At around age 150, it was said that his “spirit departed.” Over the years, stories have been passed along about him by word of mouth. He was so revered that there was no debate among his people when it came to giving his name to the land.

“Circling Raven is named for one of our tribe’s most important chiefs, who guided us through our most difficult times,” said Laura Penney, the CEO of the

Coeur d’Alene Resort Hotel. “Our homelands mean everything to the tribe, so Circling Raven’s award is testament that we’re nurturing it respectfully and are honoring our ancestors as well.”

The course was designed by Florida-based architect Gene Bates. He was selected specifically because the tribe believed he could design the 18 holes that took great care of the land and cause minimal disturbance. Bates’ reputation and work on Circling Raven won him the favor of the Squaxin Island Tribe in 2011 to build a similar course called Salish Cliffs Golf Club in Shelton, Wash.

What made people notice Bates’ design at the opening in 2003 was the sheer size and scope of his layout. The 7,189 yards cut across the Idahoan wilderness through a variety of terrains — wetlands, woodland, and grassland.

It was spread over 620 acres. That’s nearly four times the number of acres for a ‘normal’ course in the country. Everything is giant sized, the greens, vast fairway stretches and the white-sand bunkers. Bates made sure that a golfer’s round was as close with nature as possible. He made sure there was not a structure in sight, just natural settings.

From the start, the awards were bestowed on the course, as it was ranked among the top 100 resorts and top casino courses. It quickly was ranked among the top courses in the state, which includes a stiff competition, the elegant Coeur d’Alene Resort and its ‘Island Green’ just up the road, Banbury in Eagle, River Bend in Wilder, The Highlands in Post Falls, and Sun Valley Resort.

The tribe also has made sure the amenities have kept pace over the past two decades. Just three years ago, the casino and the 300-room hotel underwent a $15 million renovation. The gaming floor and Events Center were revamped while improvements were made to the various restaurants, bars and the Ssakwa’q’n spa. Even the golf shop won national and regional awards for its excellence and displays.

Bates has been re-commissioned by the tribe to work on phase-in projects, part of a master plan that will add more holes and course/property improvements. Initially, the plan included renovating existing bunkers (and some removal), repositioning tee complexes, expanding the practice facility and exploring the possibility of adding nine new holes to the course called Twisted Earth.

“We are advancing the golf experience at Circling Raven for the next 15 years, with its condition, playability and aesthetics,” said Bates as he began his work. “Each phase of the master plan will be implemented such that the course will be available for play the vast majority of time.”

He added that the plan will guide course enhancements and provide a blueprint for future refinements.

Circling Raven • Worley, Idaho

Bandon’s latest thrill ride

New soon-to-be-named par 3 course will only make Keiser’s kingdom that much cooler

BY TONY DEAR • DG CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

News that Mike Keiser had begun the permitting process for a new links course just to the south of Bandon, Ore., and to be designed by David McLay-Kidd, began circulating about two years ago. The New River Dunes project, though incredibly exciting, has yet to be given the green light, however, so Keiser’s focus for now is on the par 3 course currently being built at the world-famous Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, which he opened 24 years ago — located about five miles north of the town.

Yet unnamed, the new par 3 layout was originally routed among the spectacular dunes to the south of the main lodge and right of the Bandon Trails course’s second hole by Tom Doak in 2015. Doak was too busy to complete the job when Keiser came calling, however, so instead it went to the firm of Whitman Axland & Cutten.

Rod Whitman had designed the first course (Cabot Links) at Cabot Nova Scotia, which Keiser part owns, so was well-known to the developer who had little hesitation in hiring the Canadian and his partners once

it became clear Doak would not be available.

WAC’s plan extends to 19 holes — six more than the 13 of Bandon Preserve, the resort’s first par 3 course (actually, it has another — the nine-hole Shorty’s that McLay-Kidd laid out at the 50-acre Practice Center shortly after completing the resort’s first course in 1999) that Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw designed, and which opened in 2012.

Last year, when WAC submitted its initial routing there were 12 holes. but the more time the three designers spent on-site, the more holes they found.

After plotting six more, and once the clubhouse’s position had been decided, another hole became evident. Cutten says that while the land is ideal for golf, it wouldn’t work for a standard-length course as the dunes are too tightly packed and there are so many of them. It’s perfect for a par 3 course though, he adds.

The holes will range in length from 60 to 160 yards and the green fee is likely to be the same as that for Bandon Preserve — just $100. That fee benefits the Wild River Coast Alliance, the resort’s grant-making department whose mission is to ‘Fund projects on the South Coast of Oregon that yield triple-bottom-line results — conservation, community, and economy.’ Proceeds from Bandon Preserve have been totaling roughly $800,000 a year and those from the new course will very likely match that figure if not exceed it.

It's possible a name for the course will have been decided by the time you read this but at press time the short-list had been whittled down to two possibilities — ‘Sandy’ and ‘Shorty’ (Keiser believes few will notice if it takes the same name as the resort’s original par 3 course). Whatever it’s called though, it is bound to be another wonderful addition to the southern Oregon destination resort when it opens next year (preview play will possibly begin in late 2023).

Keiser, who made his first fortune selling greeting cards made with recycled paper, spent much of the early 1990s scouring the U.S. coastline looking for the sort of land where he could build the natural, unadorned, running sort of golf he had grown to love. His plan was never to build merely adequate courses with extravagant man-made features in the hope of selling residential lots. The emphasis has always been on building great golf – what’s now labeled ‘Dream golf’ — and the 50,000 or so people who visit the resort every year love the golf he built.

The first course, eponymously named Bandon Dunes, was expected to record 10,000 rounds in its first season but did 24,000. Its success enabled Keiser to buy more land and build a second course for which he hired Tom Doak as architect. Opened in 2001, Pacific Dunes proved even more successful than its predecessor and is now ranked behind only Pebble Beach in most golf publication’s lists of America’s best public courses.

Bandon Trails, designed by Coore and Crenshaw, followed in 2005, and then came Old Macdonald in 2010. Bandon Preserve debuted a couple of years later, and the last course to open at the resort was the Coore and Crenshaw-designed Sheep Ranch that opened in 2020 but had begun life many years before as a random collection of greens that golfers could approach however, they chose.

The seventh course — whether it’s Sandy or Shorty — is greatly anticipated and will surely enhance Bandon’s claim to being the best golf resort in the world.

The natural rolling links terrain and seascapes is what brings each of the six Bandon Dunes courses their character and unique facets. The new par 3 course will soon be unveiled and bare its characteristics and individuality.

Bandon Dunes

The holes will range in length from 60 to 160 yards and the green fee is likely to be the same as that for Bandon Preserve — just $100.

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Elevated

Central Oregon never disappoints, always strives to best itself and has crafted a culture where golf, lodging, cuisine and libation always rise to the top

Crosswater • Sunriver, Ore.

entral Oregon, which spent more than three decades establishing a reputation as a prime West Coast golf destination, was, like so many tourist spots across the nation, challenged by COVID restrictions.

The crisis cut deep into the summer travel plans for so many regular visitors to the area, further complicated by high fuel prices, deepening inflation and colder/wetter than usual conditions.

But the area took the panic out of the pandemic. It came through the storm revived, intact and back in the tourist mainstream again. The area’s golf courses are resurgent, from wilderness chic 63-hole Sunriver Resort, 20 miles south of Bend, all the way up Interstate 97 to venerable and time-honored Aspen Lakes, 30 miles north of Bend.

“We were the same as everyone else, hammered during the pandemic,’ said Howie Pruitt, head PGA professional at Aspen Lakes. “Now we have a full tee sheet in the morning and full in the afternoon. I guess that’s the silver lining.”

That’s also consistent with what other courses around the country have been reporting. As the restrictions eased, golf became one of the few activities that got folks out of sheltering, providing a way to exercise within a safe environment. For the past several months, courses and clubs have enjoyed full sheets, full memberships, salvaging many courses as well as the game.

Aspen Lakes, a family owned (Cyrus) course that opened in 1995, used the pause in play to make much-needed improvements.

“We had a 13-year-old cart fleet so old they (batteries) couldn’t go a second 18,” Pruitt said. “We were losing significant revenue.” Course owners, Keith and Connie Cyrus, authorized funds for a new fleet.

Then a series of unfortunate circumstances last fall nearly took the entire course off the grid. The course’s irrigation system failed during an extended dry period. That was complicated by the departure of the course superintendent two months earlier.

“We were in a terrible condition,” Pruitt added.

Enter Bob Fluter, hired as the course superintendent in October to save the day. He repaired the system and restored the lush grass conditions.

“He made a huge difference,” Pruitt said. “The course is in amazing shape now.”

“The word is out,” Pruitt said. “we started to turn the corner last year. We’re getting more groups, 16 to 20 people. We’re on a good trajectory.”

Pruitt added that from what he has seen there’s been a slight shift in the customer base. What used to be about a 75-25 split between tourists/locals in the past, is now 60-40, while the bulk of the visitors continue to be from Portland and Seattle.

What remains the same is Aspen's distinctive signature red cinder look in all its bunkers. When the course was designed three decades ago, it was determined that it would be cheaper and environmentally preferred to use ground up local cinders in the bunkers, creating a unique and visually pleasing red contrast to the green grass.

Recovering from the pandemic didn’t seem as daunting for Sunriver, the stylish 3,300-acre property south of Bend, as its recovery from World War II. The remote wooded acreage was once a World War II training facility, Camp Abbott, with divots as big as bomb craters.

It opened in 1942 to train combat engineers as they headed overseas. The camp operated for two years, closing in June 1944 as D-Day commenced. The Officers’ Club is the only remaining structure from the war years. It has been renovated and given the time-honored and dignified status as ‘The Great Hall’ on the Sunriver property.

Aspen Lakes • Sisters, Ore.

Meadows • Sunriver, Ore.

Crosswater • Sunriver, Ore.

Aspen Lakes • Sisters, Ore.

Image courtesy Visit Central Oregon

BY BOB SHERWIN • DG STAFF WRITER

Image courtesy Visit Central Oregon

Peace reigned over the land for more than a couple decades as the land needed time to heal. It wasn't until 1968 when renovations and new construction revived the area with the intention of making it a wilderness resort. It was helped along by Hollywood, as John Wayne and Katharine Hepburn brought attention to Sunriver in the early 1970s while filming the movie “Rooster Cogburn.”

The first of four golf courses were opened in 1969, initially branding the area as one the West Coast’s most promising destinations. The Meadows was built next to the dignified Sunriver Lodge and designed by Fred Federspiel and remodeled in 1999 by Portland-born John Fought. Keeping your ball dry is paramount as seven holes skirt the Sun River. The course has won a slew of national awards.

The Woodlands course, designed by world renowned architect Robert Trent Jones, Jr., was added in 1982. It meanders through the ponderosa forests, wetlands, and lava rock outcroppings. Both Meadows and Woodlands have been honored as a top 10 family golf destination in America by Golf Digest.

It wasn’t until 1995 when the Crosswater course, a layout designed by Bob Cupp (who also did Pumpkin Ridge and Liberty National) for members and resort guests, that Sunriver hit the national consciousness. Golf Digest named Crosswater one of “America’s 100 Greatest Courses.” The 600-acre layout, which hosted the 2006 NCAA Division I Championship, runs 7,700 yards through meadows, wetlands and close by the Deschutes and Little Deschutes Rivers. You do, as you might suspect, cross water frequently.

Crosswater, combined with The Meadows and Woodlands, fortified Sunriver’s family golf reputation (kids under 11 are free). There is also a private, nine-hole course, Caldera Links, that gives Sunriver 63 holes of possibilities.

If an 18-hole walk is not enough for you, there are 45 miles of paved biking/walking trails along with tubing, canoeing and kayaking down the gentle streams, horseback riding, art walks, tennis, and fly fishing.

For those who like to mix in indoor activities, especially when the snow flies, the choices are abundant. In 2021, undeterred by COVID, the Sunriver community opened a $40 million indoor water park facility, the Cove Aquatic Center, that features a huge, heated pool, spas and a ‘Cinder Cone’ water slide that weaves out then back into the facility.

“The big destination resort is Sunriver,” Pruitt added. “It brings people to the area, and we find that they’ll play here (Aspen Lakes) at the end of their vacations.”

There are other highly ranked golf courses on the visitor agendas, such as Tetherow, just south of Bend, and two layouts at Black Butte Ranch, about 15 miles north of Bend.

Tetherow is a challenging layout designed by

Black Butte Ranch • Sisters, Ore.

Tetherow • Bend, Ore.

Woodlands • Sunriver, Ore.

Scottish architect David McLay-Kidd. Kidd, one of the golf world’s most dynamic designers, best known for Bandon Dunes. He also designed the Castle Course and Machrihanish Dunes in Scotland and Gamble Sands in Brewster, Wash., among others. Tetherow, once ranked 82nd in the world among the 100 best courses you can play, is a links-style, high-desert course that plays firm and fast. But playing 7,293 yards from the Kidd tees, you’ll need your big boy pants.

Black Butte features two quality tracks, Big Meadow and Glaze Meadow. Big Meadow, the threedecade-old Robert Muir Graves design (updated in 2007) stretches more than 7,000 yards through lush meadows and Ponderosa pines. After a $3.57 million renovation in 2012 by John Fought, Glaze Meadow was hailed as one of the most iconic classic designed courses in Oregon. The course weaves through rolling hills with breathtaking views of Mt. Washington, North Sister and the Cascade peaks.

As with any golf designation region, Central Oregon also has its share of obligatory post-round adult beverage establishments, whether it's brews, spirits or wine.

For those who love their vino, the area does not have an abundance of wineries because of the limited growing days, but one of the more popular tasting rooms is the Bledsoe Family Wine on North Industrial Way in downtown Bend. Former professional quarterback Drew Bledsoe, who played at Washington State then 14 NFL seasons, has been producing wines for more than 15 years at his Doubleback Winery in Walla Walla, Wash. He specializes in Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay.

Faith, Hope and Charity Vineyards in Terrebonne, about 20 north of Bend, perhaps is the most renowned local winery, known for its Frontenac reds and La Crosse whites.

The region has a robust craft beer community with dozens of quality outposts. Just a quick four-mile drive after an Aspen Lakes round is Three Creeks Brewery in Sisters, calling itself the ‘Gateway to Central Oregon Beer and Adventure.’ The Dankness IPA and Crowdpleaser IPA please the masses.

It’s difficult to get more Oregonian than the flagship Deschutes Brewery & Public House, the eighth largest craft brewery in the nation. The brewery, established in 1988 on NE Bond St., downtown Bend, has expanded its reach across the state and nation, as more than 30 states carry Deschutes selections.

Craft vodka, gins and rum establishments also have been embedded in the community for decades. Popular Cascade Spirits in downtown Sisters has a variety of fruit-infused vodka mixes such as Wild Roots and Sun Ranch Spirits along with Cascade Street potato vodka and Broken Top Whiskey.

When the skis are finally put away here, the sticks and spirits become central to this community.

Crosswater • Sunriver, Ore.

Aspen Lakes • Sisters, Ore.

Tetherow • Bend, Ore.

Desert

A Diamond

DESERT WILLOW

BY TONY DEAR • DG CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

The numbers may have dipped slightly early in 2022 due primarily to some crummy weather. But it’s well-known that golf in the U.S. enjoyed a surge in popularity in 2020 and 2021 — a result, of course, of the pandemic and the opportunity golf gave people caged up at home during lockdowns to recreate outside safely.

Some of the figures demonstrating the phenomenon were frankly remarkable. Here are some good ones (all according to the National Golf Foundation):

• Despite 42 percent fewer rounds being played in the U.S. during the first few months of 2020, May, by which time golf courses had begun to open again, saw an increase of over six percent.

• More than half a million new golfers tried the game for the first time in 2020.

• Eleven million more rounds were played in October 2020 than had been played in October 2019.

• Some leading retailers recorded a 70 percent increase in business over 2020 and 2021.

• The number of rounds played in 2021 was roughly 18 percent higher than the average in the years 2017-19.

• In September 2022, eight out of 10 golf businesses surveyed by the NGF said their financial health rated between eight and 10 on a scale of 10.

This pure golf destination is breaking all sorts of play and revenue records

ne of our favorite stats, though, involves a course (well, two) we invariably enjoy when visiting the southwest deserts in the fall and winter. Desert Willow Golf Club in Palm Desert, Calif., has always been a busy place with 36 holes designed by Michael Hurdzan and Dana Fry. Pre-pandemic, the courses Firecliff and Mountain View, averaged slightly less than 90,000 rounds between them. From July 2021 to July 2022, however, that number surpassed 100,000 — almost an extra 30 rounds a day, every day, or seven additional fourballs. That’s an impressive number when you consider how busy it already was.

Director of Sales and Marketing Brian Simpson says golfers began flocking back to Desert Willow in April 2020 as soon as Riverside County lifted its restrictions. “And it’s just continued growing since then,” he adds, with both courses contributing equally to the record-breaking 2022. “We were at capacity almost every day during our peak season,” Simpson continued, “with a mix of returning golfers and those out here for the first time.” (And it isn’t just golfers that are enjoying what Desert Willow has to offer as the wedding lawn is on schedule to host 50 weddings this year, and the terrace saw more than 600 diners enjoying Thanksgiving dinner in 2022).

You might think courses, and their maintenance departments, would buckle under the weight of such traffic, but reviews of Desert Willow seemingly always mention the quality of the turf and its appearance in general.

Responsible for the playing surfaces is superintendent Chris Bien, who worked on the Tom Weiskopf, Greg Norman and Jack Nicklaus (private) -designed courses at PGA West before moving to Desert Willow three years ago and who has somehow managed to produce quality conditions without hiring a single new staff member. Bien also having to deal with California’s worsening drought and serious shortages of water from the Colorado River which supplies many Southern Californian and Coachella Valley golf courses. He oversees a maintenance staff of 39 and relishes the challenge of keeping his turf firm and fast without becoming wall-to-wall brown.

It’s clear he has taken the significant increase in traffic very much in his stride. “Sure, it has been slightly more difficult,” he admitted. “But we were plenty busy before. Our operation hasn’t changed a great deal.”

Bien says mowing the rough during the afternoon has been his toughest task — one he has met by combining the work force of two courses more often on to just one. “That has helped us stay ahead of play and create less disturbance for the players,” he says.

It’s a job that most definitely must be done as Desert Willow is a municipal facility and, in order to keep players coming back, needs to remain playable. Both courses have the prerequisite number of teeing options you’d except of a cityowned course, but neither is terribly easy, especially the Firecliff which stretches to 7,056 yards from the back tees.

The Firecliff, whose name is derived from Leonard Firestone, son of Firestone Tire and Rubber Company founder Harvey S. Firestone, and Cliff Henderson, who

co-founded the City of Palm Desert, opened in 1997 and has been ranked in the top 25 Californian courses by both Golfweek and GolfPass. Hurdzan and Fry took out 10 percent of the bunkers a few years ago in an effort to make it more playerfriendly (without becoming a pushover) though sand is probably not the golfer’s primary concern with water coming closely into play on half a dozen holes.

Two of the course’s best are the 17th and 18th, both of which feature the wet stuff on the right, though there’s plenty of sand on that side of the 204-yard 17th too. Aiming left would seem to be the best policy, but steer safely away from the trouble and you might find another bunker to the left of the green.

Bailing left might be problematic at the 536-yard 18th too, with bunkers at various intervals all down that side. “It’s a great finish,” Simpson asserts. “The 17th is the most demanding par 3 we have, and the 18th with its second shot over water is truly one of the best in the Valley.”

Water also affects six holes on Mountain View, which opened in 1998 and where the right-to-left dogleg 18th is another birdie-able, but trouble-strewn par 5. There’s water all down the right on the tee shot (with a trio of bunkers on the other side) and left for the second.

Exciting though the 18th surely is, it could be the 6th that people remember most — another risk/reward par 5 where two stout shots will see you putting for eagle but anything defective off the tee will make you see the hole very differently.

Many players have a hard time picking between the two courses at Desert Willow and both will prove hugely popular again this winter when daytime temperatures will likely hover around the 70-degree mark.

We will definitely be hoping to squeeze in some Coachella time this winter and a couple of rounds, at least, at Desert Willow, where Brian Simpson says the entire property is thriving. Be sure to book your tee-times as far in advance as possible to be sure of getting on the course. And, if you’re going to be in the area for an extended period, consider joining either the Platinum Club or Champions Club. Membership of either will likely end up saving you a packet because, once you play at Desert Willow, you’ll probably want to make it a regular thing.

Pre-pandemic, the courses Firecliff and Mountain View, averaged slightly less than 90,000 rounds between them.

From July 2021 to July 2022, however, that number surpassed 100,000

Desert Willow Golf Club • Palm Desert, Calif.

Ka’anapali

MauiMiracle Hawaii

BY TONY DEAR • DG CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

TThe northwest corner of Maui and the oval of land with 5,788-foot Pu’u Kukui (the highest point in the West Maui Mountains) at its center is surely one of the most popular winter destinations among American golfers who flock to Hawaii to escape the long winters, snow or winter rains in their home state.

Before Hawaii became the 50th state of the Union in August 1959, the archipelago wasn’t much of a golf destination possessing just a few military nine-holers and a couple of rudimentary 18-hole courses. That began to change in 1960, however, when Robert Trent Jones arrived to build a championshipcaliber course at the $40 million Ka’anapali Beach resort being built by development and sugar giants American Factors (Amfac) and the Pioneer Mill Company who together were transforming 800 acres on a 2.5-mile stretch of beach.

is the ultimate spot for sunseekers looking to play golf on island time

ones was the most sought-after designer in the business at the time and built what he described as a ‘big course’ that extended to a formidable 7,215 yards. Jones felt it was a course from which ‘only true champions will emerge’ — a theory that would be put to the test in 1964 when the Canada Cup was staged there. The forerunner to the World Cup of Golf, the Canada Cup saw two-man teams from 20 nations play four rounds of stroke play in which every player’s medal score counted.

Representing the home team was Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer (actually, the U.S. side wasn’t the only ‘home’ team that week as Hawaii was invited to field a team of its own) — a pretty strong pairing that not surprisingly ran away with the title shooting a team score of 554 — which was 22 under par. The two best players in the world (they also finished first and second in the individual competition) each recording the equivalent of -11 was a fair representation of the course’s demands — scoreable, but far from easy.

It’s fair to say Jones’s prediction that only true champions would emerge was fairly accurate.

In 1976, a second layout was added with 14 holes on the east side of the Honoapi’ilani Highway which begins in Kahului and doesn’t quite make a full circle of the West Maui Mountains. The Jack Snyder-designed/Robin Nelson renovated (2005) Ka’anapali Kai Course is shorter and certainly less demanding than its bigger, older brother, but it’s equally as popular sharing the burden of a combined 90,000 rounds a year — a barely conceivable number given Maui’s

population (just over 165,000), and the fact the mainland is over 2,000 miles away.

Managed by Indigo Partners, the original course at Ka’anapali, now called Royal Ka’anapali (the nearby town of Lahaina was capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii between 1820 and 1845) has a number of strong holes, on either side of the highway, perhaps the most notable of which is the 474-yard 5th. It dog-legs left slightly with a couple of large fairway bunkers at the hinge and May’s Beach on the right side of the green, making it a beautiful, but very tricky, approach shot. Some, intimidated by the prospect of a long-iron or hybrid with the beach so near, layup and hope to bump-and-run the ball close, while stronger, more confident players might take on the carry over the left fairway bunker and leave a much shorter approach.

Either way, golfers will be able to see the gorgeous sandy beach and the famous Black Rock when they arrive at the green. Formed by an ancient lava flow that divides the Ka’anapali sand into two, Black Rock (Pu’u Keka’a) is a popular cliff-diving spot where Hawaii’s last chief, King Kahekili, often jumped into the ocean, earning the respect of his people.

The 5th is understandably ranked the No. 1 handicap hole, and a par or better will certainly feel good. But it’s one of those holes where a bogey or worse soon gets forgotten, thanks to the beauty of the setting.

On the neighboring Kai Course, which hosted the Golf Channel’s ladies-only “Big Break Ka’anapali” in 2008, the favorite hole just might be the uphill 7th, which stretches to 395 yards and

OVER THE COURSE OF THE YEAR, THE DAYTIME TEMPERATURE IS USUALLY 80-89 DURING THE DAY AND 60-69 IN THE EVENING.

whose tee shot crosses a rock/tree-filled depression. After a couple of solid shots to the diagonally oriented green protected by a couple of huge bunkers, you are treated to a panoramic view of the Pacific and the neighboring islands (Lanai to the left, Molokai to the right). Scan the deep, blue water for a moment and you might see whales breaching, which certainly will delay your arrival on the 8th tee.

The TifEagle Bermuda greens invariably run fast and true at Ka’anapali. It is the site of one of college golf’s most anticipated tournaments each year. The Royal Course first hosted the Ka’anapali Classic Collegiate Invitational in 2014. Since then, a number of future PGA Tour players — Collin Morikawa, Aaron Wise, Sam Burns, Doc Redman — have appeared. The 2022 event took place in October with 20 teams from 17 states. The University of Oklahoma shot an impressive three-round total of -41 811 to beat Clemson by 12. (Gonzaga, the only Washington team in the field, finished 17th at 862).

Finding a good place to stay at Ka’anapali shouldn’t be a problem. There are six major hotels within the resort, along with five luxury villa/condominium properties. Dozens of dining options and activities (zip-lining, parasailing, snorkeling, whale-watching, sailing, canoeing, spa, surfing, etc.), in addition to the golf, make a Ka’anapali vacation a memorable trip. And when the daytime temperature averages 79-81 degrees from January to April, one wonders what could possibly go wrong. Even a double-bogey or two in this paradise will barely register.

— the cradle of American golf

One of America’s oldest regional golf destinations, Cape Cod is a Massachusetts marvel and a national treasure

Cod

BY TOM LANDERS • GOLFING MAGAZINE PUBLISHER

Our American golfing history and heritage all stem from one place, and when you think about it, it makes complete sense.

New England was the gateway for the America Revolution and the main artery where European and English influence was brought to this country, so it’s fair to say that Massachusetts and New York have the longest root of golf given those settlers brought their modest golf bags aboard those early ships arriving in Boston Harbor and Cape Cod.

Massachusetts, Cape Cod to be specific, which is one of the cradles of golf in the U.S., offers golfers a chance to enjoy the game near the warm waters of the Atlantic Ocean. Temperatures on the peninsula stay mild well into autumn and the courses are in great shape thanks to cooler nights.

From championship 18-hole layouts, resort courses and charming, old nine-hole tracks, the Cape offers a myriad golf options all within an hour or so drive of one another. Plus, the Cape’s courses remain open yearround weather permitting.

When not golfing, you can get away from it all on their famous beaches, hiking trails, and shopping in cozy villages. Culinary options are endless with seafood restaurants and lobster shanties, where you can sample freshly caught seafood and enjoy a beverage while sitting on a picnic table and gazing out into a harbor or the rolling ocean waves.

The National Seashore that is located on the tip of the Cape features a very informative visitor’s center, as well as several wildlife sanctuaries for walking and biking and unfettered strolls along the beach. And it’s easy to find suitable accommodations, whether it is on the ocean or bay side of the Cape, a posh hotel in Chatham or a weathered cottage in the dunes in Wellfleet.

Here are some courses to play on your Cape Cod road trip.

New Seabury, Ocean Course • Mashpee, Mass.

Cape Cod

In the mid-Cape town of Brewster, you will find one of the most comprehensive daily fee clubs in the area. The Captains Golf Course (CaptainsGolfCourse.com) features 36 holes of golf on two very distinct 18-hole layouts. The club calls itself the Cape’s premier public golf facility and few dispute the claim. The conditioning here is always excellent, the golf is challenging but approachable for players of all abilities.

The Port Course plays to a yardage of 6,724 yards and has a slope of 131 and a rating above its posted par of 72, which gives an indication of the difficulty of some of the holes. One of the best holes is the 573-yard, par-5 8th. A pond guards the putting surface and there are several large fairway bunkers to complicate matters.

The Starboard Course plays around 6,800 yards and has a slope of 122. It’s a bit more ‘player friendly’ than its sister layout, with wider fairways, large greens, and fewer bunkers than the Port Course, which makes it more suitable for mid- and higher handicap players. Number 18 is a great finishing hole, a 534-yard par-5 that can be reached in two by big hitters.

Dennis Highlands Golf Course (DennisGolf. com), in the town of Dennis, is situated on 175 acres of pine and oak forest on the north side of town. Designed by Jack Kidwell and Mike Hurdzan and opened for play in 1984, Dennis Highlands is considered by some to be one of the ‘crown jewels’ in the traditional list of fine Cape Cod golf courses. It boasts a spectacular practice range and offers a visually enjoyable golf experience.

Dennis Pines Golf Course (DennisGolf.com) is located on 170 acres of pine forestland in East Dennis. Designed by Henry C. Mitchell and opened for play in 1966, Dennis Pines has long been noted as one of the toughest layouts on Cape Cod. Tree-lined corridors place a great premium on accuracy rather than distance. Water comes into play on four holes, and the 12th hole is known as one of the most difficult par 5s anywhere. The Pines plays 7,029 yards from the tips and will provide the most accomplished players a true test of golf.

Indeed, one of the best nine-hole layouts in the Northeast is Highland Links Golf Course in Truro. It’s a classic links design and plays like it, with the wind usually blowing off the nearby Atlantic Ocean, which can be seen on several holes as you walk along massive cliff-like dunes that guard the land from the ever-encroaching sea. The par-3 9th hole plays directly toward a historic lighthouse.

The Club at New Seabury (NewSeabury.com) is a great place to visit and stay for awhile at this time of year. Stunning ocean views frame the 1,500-acre property, which boasts two recently renovated championship golf courses and Sea Quarters accommoda-

New Seabury, Dunes Course • Mashpee, Mass.

Dennis Pines • South Dennis, Mass.

tions. Whether you are visiting, exploring a club membership or second/new home, The Club at New Seabury offers it all. The premier private golf community boasts resort amenities, as well as fine and casual dining, all with spectacular views of Nantucket Sound.

Golf enthusiasts will love the Ocean (amazing views) and Dunes courses and have unlimited use of the resort’s practice facility and professional instruction. If you want to complement your golf experience with other recreational interests, there is no shortage of activities at New Seabury. If you stay on property, you can dine at the upscale 95 Shore restaurant and bar, visit The Sand Wedge Bistro for breakfast and lunch, or check out nearby classic Cape Cod venues.

Yarmouth is home to 45 holes of golf that encompasses the newly renovated Bayberry Hills Golf Course, the Links 9, and Bass River Golf Course.

The work at Bayberry Hills Golf Course (GolfYarmouthCapeCod.com) was undertaken by Tim Gerrish of Providence, R.I., a former member of the Geoffrey Cornish/Brian Silva team that laid out the track in 1988. Changes were made to make the nearly 7,300-yard course friendlier to the average golfer yet maintain or even enhance the course’s challenge to the low handicap player.

Bunkers were re-positioned to enhance play options, and others replaced with closely mowed collection areas on some holes, providing multiple options for greenside recoveries, fairway corridors have been widened, and green surrounds have been expanded.

Rough areas in the front of greens have been replaced by tightly mowed fairway to create the illusion of false fronts in many cases. Fairway corridors were widened, and tree lines thinned, allowing for recovery shots where previously none existed. This feature, accomplished through the removal of over 3,000 trees, provides enhanced course playability, along with a vast improvement in aesthetics and added panoramic course views.

The course’s original bunkers were also rebuilt to reduce sand area, while maintaining proper proportions and enhancing the original style. The bunkers were lined with pervious capillary concrete that allowed dramatic sand flashing, while reducing bunker face maintenance.

Forward teeing areas on four holes were added for more options in course setup and to provide additional user friendliness. Three tees were resurfaced, including a new championship tee on number three (a par 3), stretching the course to nearly 7,300 yards. In some cases, tees were located for better playability, and on other holes additional playing surface was added to provide varied play lines and more tee placements.

The Links 9, which is on the property at Bayberry, opened in 1999 and is a fun layout, with wide open fairways, solid par 3s and exposure to the Cape’s wind, which makes the course play different from day to day. Several the holes are doglegs, which makes approach shots tricky if you don’t put your tee shot in the proper position. The 9th hole is a 195-yard par-3 that demands an accurate shot over water to reach the green.

Bass River Golf Course is over 100 years old that the legendary Donald Ross renovated and expanded. The layout rolls along among trees and sandy hills and features narrow fairways, small greens and views of nearby Bass River. The club’s signature hole is the 6th, a 169-yard par-3 that plays across the river. The layout is on the short side, but the holes demand good shot making and a good short game, a typical Donald Ross demand on the player.

Visit CapeCodChamber.org for information.

Editor’s Note: We wish to thank our friend and colleague Tom Landers and his title Golfing Magazine for allowing us to run this piece and photos. GolfingMagazine.net is a trusted and entertaining source for news on New England and playing in the northeast.

The Captains, Starboard Course • Brewster, Mass.

The Captains, Starboard Course • Brewster, Mass.

Highland Links • Truro, Mass.

Fitting

Excellence

Experience the joy of better golf with custom fit PXG clubs

Why Should Golfers Consider A Custom Fitting?

Take a walk down any range and you’ll see — golf is personal. Playing with clubs that don’t suit your swing could lead to loss of distance, low ball flight, two-way misses and more.

No matter how many lessons you have, there is no fix for an ill-fit club. Bottom line, your equipment should work for you, not against you.

How To Get Fitted The PXG Way

For your convenience, PXG offers two ways to get fitted, as well as the option to personalize your clubs online. Regardless of the path you choose, you will have access to PXG’s wide range of game-changing clubheads, an extensive menu of premium shafts, the ideal grip for your grab, and the best service in the industry — hands down.

In Person with a PXG Master Fitter

PXG Master Fitters are among the best in the business. They are highly experienced product and fitting experts, extensively trained in specialized fitting processes. And, like you, they’re golf enthusiasts. Equipped with leading perfor-

mance-tracking launch monitors, PXG Master Fitters guide players through a tourcaliber fitting in a fun and unassuming way. "I got my PXG fitting and dropped 7 strokes off my score. Get fit, get the best clubs, and have more fun,” said a recent happy PXG customer Matt Manlandro.

Through the course of a club fitting, PXG Master Fitters consider your height, swing speed, swing dynamics, ball flight, and more to dial-in club specifications. This data-driven experience powers PXG Master Fitters with the information needed to optimize loft, lie, head weight, shaft selection and length, and of course, clubhead style until the ideal combination is found for you – all without changing your swing.

PXG Fitting experiences vary in duration based on the type of equipment being tested. On average, PXG recommends that players allow for the following times:

• The Full Bag Experience (2 Hours)

• Long Game Fitting (1 Hour)

• Irons Fitting (1 Hour)

• Putter Fitting (30 Minutes)

Scott MacMeans recently went through the process and couldn’t be happier. "The best thing to do is visit a PXG Fitting location. Getting fitted for the clubs that fit you and your budget is the best thing to do for your confidence and your game. These are my clubs, and they feel like it with every swing."

To experience PXG’s premium, one-on-one golf club fitting, book an appointment with a PXG Master Fitter at a PXG Store or PXG Fitting Studio.

PXG Fitting Specialist Via Phone

PXG Fitting Specialists are product experts who are trained to guide you into the right golf club set up for your swing and skill level. This one-on-one, over the phone experience is ideal for players who have a general idea of what they want. Talk to a PXG Fitting Specialist today at (844) PLAYPXG and know better golf is just days away.

Personalize Your Clubs Online At Pxg.com

Your clubs. Your call. If you know what you want and have your preferred specifications, PXG made it incredibly easy to configure and order your golf clubs online. And, if you need a little help at any point in the process, PXG Fitting Specialists are available over the phone.

Where To Get Fitted For PXG Clubs

PXG partners with premium indoor and outdoor fitting locations around the country and has a growing network of PXG Store locations — 23 nationwide — in some of the biggest golf markets like Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Minneapolis, Orlando, Scottsdale, Seattle, and Westchester. “I never realized how important getting the right fit was. I worked with Mike at Liberty National Golf Club in New Jersey, who had some great insights about my swing and set up," said a recent reviewer.

A Phoenix-area reviewer had a similar experience. “I drove out to Scottsdale for my fitting. I was impressed with the company before I ever set foot in the fitting bay. I’m loving my 0311 Irons. I’ll definitely be going back for a driver soon! PXG is awesome, period.”

Find Your Nearest Fitting Location

Simply put, PXG’s unmatched golf club technology combined with a personalized, data-driven fitting is a golf experience you’ll never forget and a surefire way to maximize your enjoyment on the course.

So, what are you waiting for? With so many ways to get fitted for PXG clubs, it's easier than ever to enjoy the best golf of your life.

To learn more or schedule your fitting, call PXG Fitting Specialists at (844) PLAYPXG or visit PXG.com to get started.

MGI AT (All Terrain) Motorized Cart

Motorized Golf International (MGI) was born in 1993 at Caddymatic Australia. While powered trollies had become popular in the UK, they were struggling to get a toehold Down Under where the vast majority of golfers walk. It wasn’t until, MGI’s founder, Ian Edwards, designed his own remote-controlled Tornado trolley in 2000 that the company really began to take off. Numerous successful models followed, before the most successful trolley of all — the Zip Series (X1, X3, X5, Navigator) was launched in 2017. The pandemic saw a significant rise in the number of people playing golf in the USA and the number using powered trollies with the Zip Navigator being a particularly popular model. By 2018, the company’s 25th year of doing business, the ZIP Series had become available in 23 countries around the

world. In 2019, responding to customer’s calls for something a little heartier to meet the challenge of longer, more remote and extreme courses, the Zip Navigator AT (All-Terrain) was launched with an impressive list of features — check these out: dual swiveling independent front wheels; full-directional and speed remote control; patented Gyroscope Straight Tracker Technology; downhill speed control; twin 230-watt calibrated motors powered by a Lithium battery; all terrain tread rear wheels; fully-foldable rear fifth wheel; USB charging port; and adjustable ergonomic T-bar handle and bag. Amazing right? And all this is lightweight coming in at only (with battery) 37 pounds. MGI has been touring the golf expo circuit and turning heads across the U.S. in 2023 establishing themselves as the market leader.

Bushnell Pro X3

What was once seen as a possible trend 15 years ago with the advent of the rangefinder — many seeing it as a product that was a luxury item to keep in your bag – it’s now become an invaluable tool and the “15th club” in your arsenal. Laser rangefinders are probably the piece of golf equipment improving the most rapidly, and Bushnell is one of a handful of manufacturers leading the charge. The Pro X3 features an incredible range of features including Elements — the ability to compensate for both temperature and altitude. Together with Bushnell’s patented Slope technology (not legal during tournament play), Elements assures you get the most accurate distance every time. And you can put in your home elevation to get compensated distances at the elevation where you play most of your golf. Dual Display gives you the ability to easily toggle between red or black display settings based on lighting conditions and your preferences. The Slope-Switch, with interactive locking mechanism, significantly reduces the risk of accidently setting the unit to Slope mode during tournament play. Bushnell says the Pro X3 is the most powerful golf laser rangefinder ever made and will give you consistent yardage readings within a yard to flags from 600plus yards. The integrated BITE magnetic mount allows you to adhere the unit to the cart, which saves you the trouble of taking it out of your bag every shot. The Pro X3 comes in a rubber-armored, metal housing meaning it won’t get damaged if dropped, and is fully waterproof.

Bushnell Launch Pro

What did we say about hi-tech devices? Since the original Trackman was introduced in 2004, launch monitors have rapidly become more accurate and consistent and have added a multitude of cool features. Perhaps the greatest difference between the Bushnell Launch Pro, made in conjunction with Foresight, and that first Trackman is how shot metrics are generated. Early launch monitors used radar to catch the flight of the ball and then employed several algorithms using certain factors to calculate impact data. These devices are usually placed behind the golfer and used in open spaces. Launch monitors that use high-speed cameras (photometric) only require a small space and are positioned a few feet from the ball. The device captures up to 10,000 frames a second before, at and after impact. It also produces a wealth of data like clubhead speed, clubhead path, angle of descent, face orientation at impact, smash factor, ball speed, spin in revolutions per minute, vertical launch angle, horizontal launch angle, spin tilt axis, backspin and sidespin. Wow! Launch Pro also gives you ‘true-to-life’ simulation allowing you to play the world’s best courses or work on your game on the range. Launch Pro offers a range of software packages powered by Foresight Sports. Included with your purchase is a 30-day free trial of gold software and a year of free basic software. The Bushnell Launch Pro gives you Tour-level accuracy anywhere you use it.

Cleveland

RTX 6 ZipCore Sand Wedge Srixon ZX MKII Irons

Pat Ripp, Research and Business Solutions Engineer at Cleveland Golf/Srixon USA, says the RTX 6 ZipCore Wedge may have the classic look on the outside but is “packed on the inside with three technological breakthroughs.” HydraZip is a dynamic blast and lasermilled line system that creates roughness that increases friction at impact. That increases spin in all conditions from anywhere around the green. ZipCore is Cleveland’s low-density core technology added to the heel/hosel that is designed to position the club’s Center of Gravity (CG) at the exact point the club contacts the ball. That, according to Cleveland, not only expands the sweet spot and helps optimize spin but also helps increases feel and control to help you hit more consistent short-game shots. Meanwhile, by adding an abundance of high/ low and heel/toe MOI into every loft in the line, you should experience increased spin, consistency, feel, and control. And UltiZip is a system of grooves that are sharper, deeper, and more tightly spaced than is typical. That allows the club to slice through debris and bite harder for enhanced spin and control. “All the work put into this wedge, we really focused on finding the perfect balance of versatility and consistency,” Ripp says. “UltiZip is a notable example. Without grooves you don’t have a wedge, so we equipped the RTX 6 ZipCore with our sharpest groove radii ever.” The RTX 6 ZipCore Wedge has four different sole grinds (LOW, LOW+, MID, FULL) with a variety of lofts available ranging 46-60 degrees.

The Japanese company’s first generation of ZX irons, launched in 2021, had a large and committed following. So, when Srixon’s Senior Product Manager, Brian Schielke, says the second generation has been “improved in so many ways,” you can’t help but be curious. Designed for the best ball-strikers in the world, the ZX7 Mk II Iron is a true players’ iron (Shane Lowry, Keegan Bradley, Sepp Straka) with incredible feel. PureFrame, an all-new design characteristic exclusive to ZX7 Mk II Irons, enhances feel by reducing unwanted vibrations. PureFrame is forged into the body of the iron — just behind the sweet spot – as an 80 percent thicker portion of 1020 carbon steel. The result is a soft yet solid feel at impact. Meanwhile, the rest of the ZX Mk II Iron line features the second generation of Srixon’s MainFrame technology. MainFrame is a variable thickness pattern of grooves, channels, and cavities carefully milled into the back of the ZX4 and ZX5 faces that maximize flex at impact. It not only boosts ball speed, but also, says Srixon, repositions mass away from the face and more toward the toe which makes the club more forgiving and consistent. A mainstay of Srixon Iron design, the Tour V.T. Sole which helps maintain the speed of the clubhead through impact, and popular sole notches which reduce drag, are a feature of the ZX Mk II Irons. Finally, the forged Z-Forged II is a muscle back blade that certainly isn’t for everyone regardless of how attractive it is. By the way, Srixon was the official club at the Seattle Golf Show in March and wildly popular all weekend.

On the Tee On The Rocks with

ABY TARYN HAUGLIE • SPECIAL TO DESTINATION GOLFER

s the weather begins to warm up, we see longer and sunnier days, and great times on the golf course. Golfers who might enjoy an ice-cold beverage to help move the game along appreciate simplicity, both on and off the course. Beam Suntory brings the bar to you with ease with their On the Rocks ready-to-serve cocktail line.

On the Rocks cocktails combine quality namebrand spirits with natural flavors to create a chic ready-to-serve product.

In 2015, restaurateur Patrick Halbert, mixologist Rocco Milano, and entrepreneur Andrew Gill saw a need for good quality cocktails that were ready to serve. They developed cocktails that could be put in jars and ready to serve as needed, with the simplicity of the cocktail batch being poured over ice. With that, On the Rocks was born. Tyler Voorhies, Associate Marketing Manager for Beam Suntory, said the creators then decided they wanted to improve these prod-

ucts by using premium spirits. “(We) partnered with them, actually pretty early on to make an investment with the brand, but also to help provide the spirits.”

“What was unique about On the Rocks at that time was, it was the only ready-to-serve cocktail that actually had a branded spirit on there,” Voorhies said. With a premium spirit listed on the label, consumers have that quality assurance knowing the product is a known brand, good quality, and confidence in the product.

For $12 for a 375-milliliter bottle, you get four cocktails. “It’s pretty hard to beat when you look at price per ounce if you were to buy all those ingredients separately. It just makes it so easy, and you know you’re getting good, quality spirits.

There are six cocktails in their original lineup: a Cosmopolitan with Effen Vodka, an Old Fashioned with Knob Creek Bourbon, a Margarita with Hornitos Tequila, a Jalapeno Pineapple Margarita with Tres

Generaciones Tequila, an Aviation with Larios Gin, and a Mai Tai with Cruzan Rum.

New to the lineup, On the Rocks has added a Manhattan with Basil Hayden Dark Rye Whiskey and an Espresso Martini with Effen Vodka.

“On the Rocks really plays into leisure, so resort, golf, outdoor, and leisure activities. What’s nice about On the Rocks is that if you’re on the course, you have a cocktail easy, ready to go,” Voorhies said. “We do make a 200-milliliter plastic bottle that basically is like pouring yourself a double.” And for the entertainers out there, be on the lookout for larger, 750 milliliter size bottles, being released soon.

There is great versatility to the products available with On the Rocks, whether you’re on the green with your golfing buddies, or anywhere you need a nice and easy cocktail with no fuss. Being greeted by a cocktail already prepared can be just what you need to get in the zone.

Beam Suntory hits is straight down the middle with these new ready-to-drink marvels with the golfer and links lifestyle in mind

The Mai Tai

A modern take on a classic Tiki cocktai.

• Made with a custom blend of dark & light Cruzan rums.

• Other ingredients include flavors of orange and pineapple.

• 20 percent ABV

The Cosmopolitan

This Cosmopolitan is a simple cocktail, wildly popular, with a big history.

• Made with Effen Vodka.

• Other ingredients include flavors of cranberry, triple sec, lemon and lime.

• 20 percent ABV

The Margarita

One of the most recognizable and sought-after cocktails in the world.

• Made with Hornitos Plata Tequila.

• Other ingredients include tart lime flavor and triple sec.

• 20 percent ABV

The Old Fashioned

This Old Fashioned is strong, balanced, and simple.

• Made with Knob Creek Bourbon.

• Other ingredients include bitters, cane sugar, orange, cherry, and lemon flavors.

• 35 percent ABV

The Aviation

A throwback from an era when airplanes were brand new, and hospitality was king.

• Made with Larios Gin.

• Other ingredients include flavors of cherry, lemon, and violet.

• 20 percent ABV

The Jalapeno Pineapple Margarita

Fun and Flavorful with a hint of heat.

• Made with Tres Generaciones Plata Tequila.

• Other ingredients include triple sec, pineapple and jalapeno flavors.

• 20 percent ABV

Waypoint Spirits

New England’s compass to cocktails and spirits

BY TARYN HAUGLIE • SPECIAL TO DESTINATION GOLFER

What exactly is a waypoint? It is a point of reference that helps orient yourself to where you are and where you are going. Brothers Joe and Tony Tine of Waypoint Spirits seek to be just that for folks looking for a local, quality spirit to enjoy.

The original Waypoint Spirits started in 2015 after five friends went on a trip to the Caribbean and decided they wanted to open a distillery, but the Tine brothers entered the picture around 2016. Tony owned a cigar store and Connecticut law prohibits selling liquor and cigars in the same spot, unless in a brewery or distillery. “I originally started where I was going to have a brewery at my cigar store.” Tony said. When he began doing research on opening a brewery, he found that the market was oversaturated, so he pivoted and began to research distilleries in the area.

Tony reached out to the original owners of Waypoint Spirits about partnering to create a private label for him. They initially agreed, but later made the decision to cease production and asked Tony if he would be willing to buy it from them. After some time to think, Tony approached his brother Joe with the opportunity. Together, the Tine brothers checked out the space and saw the potential. They decided to take ownership of Waypoint Spirits.

The Tine brothers became official owners in August 2020, right in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. “We started with zero customers, and after the first year, we got up to 200 customers, and now we’re up to about 450.” Tony said. These customers are made up of restaurants, bars, liquor stores, etc.

In July 2021, the state of Connecticut began offering a craft café license, allowing distilleries to sell cocktails and food, so the Tine brothers waited until that time to open their taproom to customers, officially opening at the end of August of that year. In the

meantime, they transformed a very commercial space into a more inviting gathering place. “We tore down all the offices, the ceilings were like 30 feet high, so we made them normal, regular ceilings, and we have a really nice ambience.” Tony said the taproom has a bar, seating for 125 guests, as well as an outdoor patio when the weather is nice. “It was quite a transformation,” he said.

Waypoint began with three original spirits: vodka, rum, and gin, and have expanded their lineup to include nine different flavored spirits, and four varieties of Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey.

Their newest products include three canned ready-to-drink cocktails: a vodka mint lemonade, a vodka iced tea lemonade, and “Bees Knees,” a gin cocktail with honey and lemon. Simplicity and quality were the name of the game in creating these canned cocktails. “The end user always wants something easy,” Tony said.

The Tine brothers take pride in being able to offer a quality spirit made locally. “People take pride in whatever state they live in regardless of what they like or don’t like about their state.” Tony said. He shared that Waypoint Spirits are offered at several minor league sports stadiums in the area, including New Britain Bees baseball and Hartford Athletic FC. Tony said he hopes to get Waypoint plugged into some local golf courses in the near future.

In the meantime, you can visit the Waypoint Spirits taproom Wednesdays through Sundays at 410 Woodland Avenue, Bloomfield, CT. Their taproom offers sweet and savory bites, signature cocktails like their Blueberry Smash or Summer Solstice, as well as a brunch menu on Saturdays and Sundays.

You can find them at drinkwaypoint.com and keep up with their dynamic news and spirits.

At Home Bar Mixology with Waypoint

Espresso Martini

By Waypoint Spirits

INGREDIENTS

• 1 ounce espresso

• .75 ounce coconut cream

• 2 ounces Waypoint Vodka

• Switch things up by swapping the vodka with one of our Waypoint bourbons.

INSTRUCTIONS

• Throw ingredients into a shaker with ice.

• Vigorously shake

• Double strain into a martini glass or a coupe.

‘Pour’tland’s Perfect Pairing

Anne Hubatch and Helioterra Wines

BY BART POTTER • FOR DESTINATION GOLFER

When Anne Hubatch moved to the Pacific Northwest from Wisconsin in the late 1990s, she knew not a thing about wine or how to make it. She didn’t notice nor did she care about the wine industry then beginning to boom in her adopted state of Oregon.

Today, this “gal from Sheboygan” is an established urban winemaker in one of America’s wine hotbeds. The 2023 spring bottlings for her Helioterra Wines label marked her 13th vintage-year release and the wines can be found in 15 U.S. states and several Canadian provinces.

Her sponsorship of at the Portland Golf Show in 2023 built on the fan base for her label, reinforced her solid standing in the industry, and hinted at future marketing links between wine, golf and food in urban and urbane Portland. The Rose City is certainly known for its good wine, good golf and good food.

And Oregon, which once based its wine-world reputation almost solely on wines made from pinot noir grapes grown in northwest Oregon’s Willamette Valley, is now home to 70 varieties of grape. The 200 working wineries in Oregon when Hubatch entered the industry (circa 2000) now number 1,000. Eventually, Hubatch noticed.

“I discovered I had just landed in one of the most up-and-coming wine regions in the world,” she says.

When Hubatch left Wisconsin, armed with degrees in geology and environmental studies from the University of Wisconsin, she put her credentials to work for an environmental nonprofit in Portland, doing public policy and issue and campaign politics.

When she went to work part-time in the tasting room of Tualatin Winery in Forest Grove, Ore. — a job she took because she hoped to meet new people — something clicked. I could do this, she thought. I

want to do this.

It changed her life.

In 2000, she went back to school. Chemeketa Community College had an evening winemaking program geared toward working people. In 2002, she went to work in the industry, and for most of the next eight years she was a “cellar grunt” working with and learning from mentors at wineries including Hamacher Wines, Adelsheim Vineyard, Dobbes Family Estate and Apolloni Vineyards.

By 2009, pregnant with her second child, she was ready.

“I pulled half the equity out of my mortgage and bought grapes and barrels,” she says.

Her first releases in Spring 2011 were two 2009 pinots from grapes grown in Oregon and a 2009 Syrah from Washington state grapes. Let the accolades commence …

welcome travelers playing through Portland for a perfect aprés-golf experience at her impressive urban winery

Photos Courtesy of Helioterra Wines

On the Helioterra website, which is worth a look, Hubatch writes: “My wines are a grounded, honest expression of my winemaking style, reflecting feminine sensibilities. They are sensuous and evocative, honoring the wine grapes and the fertile vineyards where they are grown.”

Of all the wine areas in the world, Hubatch says, Oregon might be the most open to woman entrepreneurs in the wine business. But winemaking is still very dominantly male.

It’s not like she catches a break being a woman. She’s the one who paid for the startup of her business. She calls the creative shots in the sourcing and blending. She drives the forklift almost every day. She knows how to fix the HVAC system and run pumps and other heavy equipment.

“I am the head winemaker. I work the longest days of anyone when it comes time for the grape harvest. It’s my babies. I’ve got one shot, one time of year to make great wine. You can’t mess it up then.”

Hubatch is not an active golfer, but she grew up in a country club environment — her grandparents were avid players. The golf community is near and dear to her heart.

Post-pandemic, she focused heavily on finding new markets and new drinkers for Helioterra wines.

“I’ll be honest,” Hubatch says. “Golfers tend to like to drink.”

At the Portland Golf Show in March at the Port-

land Expo Center, her team set up the Helioterra booth like a lounge.

“That was a lot of fun. We got a great reception — people loved our wines.”

She made contact at the show with a hotel operator who’s exploring a golf-wine package, and she’s waiting to see what other leads trickle down from the show.

In 2018, Helioterra moved her winery operations into a 5,000-square-foot building on Southeast 7th Avenue in southeast Portland, part of the Central Eastside Industrial Area. She describes the neighborhood as “industrial lite.”

A wine bar and tasting room occupies the front of the building, and a lofted space above the barrels is used for private tastings by appointment.

Hubatch is not alone in her appreciation of an urban location for making wine. Membership in the Portland Urban Winery Association, a community of winemakers committed to making their wines in the city, is at 20 wineries and growing.

She’s unusually well-situated to visit and maintain relationships with her growers. The closest vineyard is only 25 minutes away.

Her urban setting works for her and her family, too. She lives three miles from the winery with her two teenagers, and her children’s schools are situated between home and the winery.

Portland is known for the quality of its urban golf — top-notch private courses and an array of municipal and other public courses.

Anybody coming to Portland as a golf destination and wanting to add wine and food to the experience doesn’t have to go to the country or the suburbs to find them. It’s all right there in the city, Hubatch says.

If her business benefits from location, location, location, she blesses the day she chose this career and this lifestyle … and it’s about the people.

“There are so many amazing people in this industry. I get to make wine and talk about it for a living … what can be bad? I get to eat at some of the best restaurants in the world. I get to call some of the best chefs in the world my close friends because of my working with them and collaboration …

“That’s pretty lovely.”

It helps that she’s very good at what she does.

”I’m known for making high-quality wines,” she says. “I take great pride in my work.”

HelioterraWines.com is an impressive website with information on their wine library, events, club and much more.

Time to Spice It Up

Captain Morgan unveils leveled-up flavor and look to its trademark Original Spiced Rum

BY CAPTAIN MORGAN AND DESTINATION GOLFER STAFF

For decades, Captain Morgan Original Spiced Rum, has been known, loved, and trusted to serve up big flavor and spice at every great moment. And now, America’s No. 1 selling spiced rum is made even better with real Madagascar vanilla.

Plus, an upgraded liquid calls for a bold look that matches the delicious taste of Original Spiced Rum. The new bottle features a bold color palette with expressive gold brushstrokes to reflect the signature smoothness and spice of Captain Morgan.

With the addition of real Madagascar vanilla, the iconic Original Spiced Rum delivers a perfect blend of Caribbean rum, vanilla, natural flavors and spice, with notes of cinnamon, clove, dried fruit, caramelized sugar and honey. It’s smooth enough to be enjoyed neat, on the rocks, with cola, or any mixer of

choice. The foundation of any great rum cocktail starts with Captain Morgan Original Spiced Rum — from tropical Pina Coladas, minty Mojitos, to citrusy Daiquiris, the possibilities are endless.

With its subtle sweetness and original spice, there’s no need for any bartending skills with Captain Morgan Original Spiced Rum. To prove it, Captain Morgan has tapped comedian, actor and host, Tone Bell and influencer, host, author, Drew Afualo. Both are starring in a content series on Instagram, highlighting the versatility of Captain Morgan Original Spiced Rum and how it spices up any gathering and occasion.

Spice up the day on the golf course and cool down with a Frozen at Sea cocktail — a twist on the classic Captain and cola.

At Home Bar Mixology with Captain Morgan Spiced Rum

INGREDIENTS

• 1.5 ounces Captain Morgan Original Spiced Rum

• 3 ounces of Cola

• Ice

• Cherry Garnish

INSTRUCTIONS

Add Captain Morgan Original Spiced Rum and cola to a blender with ice. Looking to spice it up even more? Add 0.5 ounce of vanilla or cherry syrup to the blender. Blend and garnish with cherry.

FOR MORE RECIPE INSPIRATION

Visit captainmorgan.com. Captain Morgan Original Spiced Rum is available on shelves in a 750-millititer bottle with an ABV of 30 percent at a suggested retail price of $15.99. Whether you enjoy Captain Morgan on or off the golf course, always remember to do so responsibly.