New banner!

A heartfelt thanks goes out to my friend, Russell Akred, for putting together a new banner for my blog!  If you need any graphic design work done, I highly recommend him.  His linkedIn page can be found HERE and the website for his business can be found HERE.

Scotland in April 2015?

In April 2015, I am looking to schedule a golf excursion in Scotland. If anyone is interested in joining me, I have pricing available. Here is what the current schedule is looking like:

Saturday, April 18: Arrive into Glasgow, pick up rental car and travel to Inverness. Attempts are being made to secure a tee time at Loch Lomond (though very unsuccessful thus far) on way up to the Highlands. Overnight at The Bank House, Dornoch.

Sunday, April 19: Play Castle Stuart. Overnight at The Bank House, Dornoch.

Monday, April 20: Play Royal Dornoch--Championship Course. After golf travel to Machrahanish. Overnight at The Ugadale Hotel.

Tuesday, April 21: Play Machrihanish. After golf travel to Ayr. Overnight at Craigie Guest House.

Wednesday, April 22: Play Turnberry Ailsa Course. Overnight at Craigie Guest House.
Note: Golf today will be on a "sunset time" if we don't stay at the Turnberry Hotel per their policy. 
Earliest possible would be 5:00 PM. Will make every effort to move this time a little closer to 3:00pm shortly before your arrival. Get down to Turnberry earlier in the day, enjoy the resort and have some lunch before teeing off!.

Thursday, April 23: Play Royal Troon. After golf travel to Gullane. Overnight at Greywalls.

Friday, April 24: Play Muirfield. Overnight at Greywalls.
Note: Times will not be able to be confirmed prior to November 2014.

Saturday, April 25: Play North Berwick. After golf travel to Cruden Bay. Overnight at Kilmarnock Arms Hotel.

Sunday, April 26: Play Trump International Golf Links, Scotland. Overnight at Kilmarnock Arms Hotel.

Monday, April 27: Play Cruden Bay. After golf travel to St. Andrews. Overnight at Glenderran Guesthouse.

Tuesday, April 28: Play Carnoustie (Championship Course). Overnight at Glenderran Guesthouse.

Wednesday, April 29: Play Kingsbarns. Overnight at Glenderran Guesthouse.

Thursday, April 30: Play Old Course at St. Andrews (direct request, ballot or walkup/approach to starter and not guaranteed). Overnight at Glenderran Guesthouse.

Friday, May 1: Depart Edinburgh or Glasgow.

If you are interested on joining me for any part of my Scotland trip, please email me. I'd love to have a playing partner or two to experience these fantastic courses.

Pinehurst or Pebble Beach in November?

I am looking to schedule a "guy's week" golf trip to Pinehurst in North Carolina or Pebble Beach in California the first or second week of November. 

If Pinehurst, it would be to play all 8 of the courses there, including number 2, over four days. 

If Pebble Beach, it would be all five courses over the six days, hopefully with Pebble Beach Golf Links a couple of times.

Anyone interested in joining me?

Help fund my adventure through charity donations!

So I took the advice of a few friends and have set up a personal site to help fund my travels to finish this quest in a quicker time frame. If you are interested in helping fund this lifelong goal of mine, feel free to make donations HERE. One of the focuses on raising money to play these top courses is not just so I can play them, but also to support the courses' local charities.  One example is Shinnecock Hills holds an annual charity golf outing for Project ALS. Another example is that Oakmont CC supports one of its local schools through a charity golf outing. I think this would be a phenomenal way to experience these top 100 courses, while at the same time helping charities by much needed fund raiser events.Any donations received and designated to enter into these charity events would be used solely for the entry fee for the charity golf outings and I would pay for airfare and hotel out of my own pocket. Also, if you wanted to donate a charity auction tee time directly to me (so you can write off the expense on taxes), feel free to contact me via the contact gadget to the left. If my travel schedule has no event listed for that date, I can almost guarantee being able to make it.

I will eventually play all top 100 courses. I've made it a life goal. I would love to finish sooner rather than later, and any support received can help that along, especially if the monetary support goes towards a good cause.  If I don't receive any monetary support, it will just take longer than a few years. I am fine with that also. But as I've always been told, it never hurts to ask. So, I am making this request one time only. Every dollar helps a charity and helps me come closer to achieving this goal. Thanks in advance for any help offered.

63 (Public) Longaberger

June 12, 2013

Long before I ever decided to start this blog, I was still playing some of the top courses. Occasionally, I would pull out my cell phone and snap a photo if anything stood out. Hence why I only have three photos in this blog. It is a poor example of what I want to write here about courses I play due to lack of much info. Hopefully I can get back to Ohio and give Longaberger GC the write up it deserves.

In June, I was in Columbus for a week long business trip. Most of my meetings were in the afternoon and evenings, thus leaving me plenty of time each morning to pick and choose a course to play. While in Ohio for that week, I was able to play not only Longaberger, but I also played rounds at Darby Creek GC, Glenross GC, Eaglesticks GC, and Cumberland Trail GC.

I was scheduled for the first tee time of the day at Longaberger. Apparently the forecasted storms had scared everyone else away and I had the course to myself. I had read this was the top rated public course in Ohio and it certainly lived up to those expectations. The tee boxes, fairways, and greens on every hole but one were immaculate. Every staff member and grounds keeper I met were in good spirits. And the golf was a fantastically fun time.

The course is relatively new, opening in 1999 and they have a pretty decent clubhouse.

After a brief warm up on the range and some stretching, I made my way to #1. I knew it was going to be a tough round just by what I saw. It was a sharp downhill into a canyon you have to drive over, and half way back up, the fairway doglegs right 90 degrees.

Number 2 or 3 was  long down hill fairway with an amazing view.What I was also finding is that there is hardly any flat ground anywhere on the course.  The nice thing about a hilly course is you get all kinds of unique holes and the course doesn't become boring.  That is what I found at Longaberger. A course that every hole seemed unique and challenging, and it was just downright fun to play.

A view of #8 Green from the middle of the fairway.

A view of #8 green at the bottom of the hill.

I look forward to getting back to Ohio so I can give this course a real write-up.  But, I can advise, if you find yourself near Nashport, OH, and have a few extra hours, a round here is definitely worth your time.

On the drive back to Columbus, I did spot a rather interesting building. Here you go:

What's in the bag? What's your handicap?

So, I have had a few questions emailed to me and thought I would answer them in one post.  First, I am currently a 16 handicap. When I started playing again on March 29, 2013, after nearly two years away from the game, my handicap was right around a 22. I am proud of the accomplishment of dropping 6 full strokes on my handicap in 9 months. Lessons from Golftec Training Center have certainly helped.Also, playing 81 rounds of golf from March to December also helped a good deal. There is nothing like real experiences and situations on the course. Oh, and I was away from golf for almost two years due to some injuries to my back, knees and ankles that I sustained when I was a police officer and detective. I needed to let those heal properly and forced myself to take a 22 month break.

As for what's in my bag, mostly what I hear called "game improvement" equipment. I am not shy about the fact that I am not the greatest golfer out there. Realistically, I feel I am average at best.  But, the golf gods keep rewarding me with at least one memorable, very good shot every round I play. This keeps the passion burning that the next round I will have two or three of those kind of shots. 

My driver is my least favorite club in my bag currently. It is a Nike Covert VRS Driver. I bought it back in March when I got back into the game, to upgrade from my old Ping G10. I got pulled into the sales pitch of "you can adjust it 10 different ways to Sunday" spiel and so I bought it. I hit it just as far as the Ping G25, but I let the salesman talk me into buying the Nike. I kind of regret that decision now and am watching eBay to try to find a discounted Ping G25 or possibly a Callaway X2 Hot. I have hit both drivers at the pro shop and like both. I do want to try out Titleist 913 D2 and the new Ping i25 Driver before I make a final decision on what will replace the Nike.

One smart thing I did when I got back into the game in March was to get fitted at Puetz Golf Superstore here in Seattle. They have a phenomenal range and fitting system, as well as a huge selection of just about every piece of golf equipment and clothing you could ever want. I highly suggest checking it out if you are in the Seattle area. I had previously had Ping G10s with a yellow dot, but when I took them to my first round back at Flinders Golf Club in Australia, it just didn't feel like I was hitting them well. At my fitting, we narrowed down the irons to Ping G25 Irons and Mizuno JPX-825. I really liked both sets of irons, but I have been playing Pings for as long as I can remember, so I went with what I was comfortable with.  It's a good thing I was fitted also because my color code had changed from yellow dot to green. 

I also was fitted for and purchased Ping K15 Fariway Woods and Ping G25 20 and 23 degree Hybrids. I grew tired of the high loft of the K15 fairway woods and have since sold them. I have replaced them with a Ping Anser 3W and a Ping G25 5W.

One thing I noticed over the next few months and 20 or so rounds was that I have lost some distance. I believe it is due to several factors including age, lingering mental stuff with my injuries, and an extra 15 pounds. I am working to get rid of the extra weight. The more I play, the more comfortable I am with the fact I am not going to re injure anything again. The age, well, I guess I am stuck with it :-)   I have also decided my golf ball of choice is the Bridgestone e7 ball. They have a nice feel and they do help add a little extra distance to all my shots than what I was getting from other balls I have tried.

I also found I REALLY liked the feel of my hybrids so took out my 5 and 6 irons and put in a 27 and 31 degree hybrid.

During my fitting, we also decided on the normal Ping G25 wedges, except for the SW. It is a Ping Tour Gorge 54 degree Wedge.  I liked the Tour Gorge so much, I have since sold off my other wedges and replaced them all with the Ping Tour Gorge set. 

After 80 rounds and much improvement in my game, and since I only was using the 7, 8 and 9 iron from the Ping G25 set, I decided to sell the irons as a set.  I like the look of the Ping i25 Irons so will be putting the 7, 8 and 9 irons from that set into my bag.

Finally, to round out my bag, I purchased the Odyssey White Ice Sabertooth Putter. I have always preferred a mallet to a blade putter because it is easier for me to align.  The Odyssey was great for the 80 rounds I played in 2013, but about a month ago, while killing time in a local proshop, I tested a few Scotty Cameron Putters and absolutely fell in love with them. But man are they expensive. I got lucky with eBay just this past week and was able to pick up a store display test model of the Titleist Scotty Cameron Select GoLo S5 for $150! It has a few dings on the top, and slight paint wear from normal use from in-store demos, but it still rolls the ball very nicely and there doesn't appear to be any diminished performance.I am excited to get out on the course with the new putter.

So, going into 2014 and the real start of this quest to play the top 100 courses in the World and in the U.S., my bag is made up with the following:

Ping G25 Driver (Graphite Design Tour AD DI 5 shaft)

Ping G25 3W (Graphite Design G-Series Silver 60 R)

Ping G25 20* Hybrid (Graphite Design Tour AD DI Hybrid 75g shaft)

Ping G25 23* Hybrid (Graphite Design Tour AD DI Hybrid 75g shaft)

Ping G25 27* Hybrid (Graphite Design Tour AD DI Hybrid 75g shaft)

Ping G25 31* Hybrid (Graphite Design Tour AD DI Hybrid 75g shaft)

Ping i25 7 iron

Ping i25 8 iron

Ping i25 9 iron

Ping Tour Gorge 47* Wedge

Ping Tour Gorge 52* Wedge

Ping Tour Gorge 54* Wedge 

Ping Tour Gorge 56* Wedge

Ping Tour Gorge 60* Wedge

Titleist Scotty Cameron Select GoLo 5

(I either choose 3 or 4 of the wedges for each round depending on weather and the course).

More top 100 courses added to my schedule for 2014!

Mississippi and Las Vegas were added to my travel schedule for March. Since there are no top 100 courses in the U.S. located in Mississippi, I decided to check out the Top 100 Courses You Can Play list at Golf.com. Two were listed, one within 15 minutes of where I am scheduled to have meetings - Fallen Oak. I immediately picked up the phone and booked a tee time for a few hours after my plane lands. The other, Dancing Rabbit, is about a three hour drive. But, I have an extra day with nothing to do (on a Monday no less) so booked a tee time. At least I will get to see a good bit of Mississippi in my drive to and from.

For my Las Vegas trip later in March, I went back and forth about Shadow Creek (#56 in US) due to the cost. But, who knows when I will be back in Vegas. So, I've started saving some extra cash out of each paycheck to help pay for the green fee there. I will probably be able to fit in 3-4 rounds the week I am there.  If I can fit them all in, I think I will look to the Top 100 Courses You Can Play list again and see if I can secure tee times at Cascata GC, Wolf Creek, and Wynn Las Vegas.

I am also waiting to hear back from Kingston Heath GC for an afternoon tee time on May 19 (which would follow a morning tee time at Royal Melbourne). Additionally, I am waiting to hear back from New South Wales GC and Royal Adelaide GC.

For July 17 and the 22, it looks like I may be able to fit both courses at Woodhall Spa (#62 in the world) on one day, and Ganton Golf Club (#84 in the world) on the other day. I am still waiting to hear back from both clubs.

I had two days open at the end of my business trip in England. I was able to secure a tee time at Royal St. George's GC (#29 in the world) for July 24. I am also waiting to hear back from Rye GC (#96 in the world) for a tee time confirmation on July 25. Additionally, I have some friends and acquaintances in England reaching out to see if they can get me a tee time at Swinley Forest (#92 in the world).  England should be a phenomenal trip!

My boss also informed me I was tentatively approved for a trip that will take me to Portugal, Spain, and South Africa in October. If that comes through, I will be adding Oitavos Dunes (#65 world), Valderrama (#98 world), and Durban Country Club (#100 world) to my list.

I will keep my schedule updated HERE as things are approved and confirmed.