Larry's Five Stages to Golf Nirvana

With the new 8th season of his HBO Series, Curb Your Enthusiasm, set to kick off July 10th, Larry David is letting fans in on what may be the most rational and stable part of his life. And surprise, surprise, it’s his golf game.

Sure, as he admits in a debut article he wrote for The New Yorker magazine, David’s game has gone through all the machinations and idiosyncrasies of his character on the show. (Who, after having seen what arguably is the best show on TV, would doubt that David once gave a brand new set of clubs to a caddie on the 16th hole after getting upset with his game and walking away?) Even considering his love for the sport, few would have guessed that Larry David has found peace while playing the maddening game of golf? Which begs the question: If he can be at peace with a duck hook, then why can’t I?

Larry David sporting his El Dorado Golf Club hat in CYE Episode 65

David’s isn’t a new-to-the-game contentment either. As he admits in the article, his contentment is not tempered by a patience that believes in the illusion of future greatness. And as keen observers of his show may have noticed in Season 7, David’s already a fan of some rather prestigious golf courses. In addition to a membership at the Riviera Country Club in LA, there was the El Dorado Golf and Beach Club hat he wore in Episode 65: “Denise Handicapped” and, of course, Episode 67: “The Black Swan” had David killing a man and then a swan on the same golf course.

But now, David is leaving the friendly courses of Southern California as he and the Curb crew take the show to New York. And so, David has taken his golf game to the pages of the current issue of The New Yorker. In a piece titled Fore! in the Shouts & Murmurs section, the co-creator of the Seinfeld series reintroduces himself to Gotham by outlining the five stages of grief he went through with his game to get the point of accepting that he is and always will be a bad golfer.

It’s a good read, with some of the acerbic wit that makes Curb Your Enthusiasm so good. And while it may not be quite as good as the show itself, it’s enough to get us through the next few weeks…both on the course and while waiting for Season 8 to debut.

Yeah it's Cheating, but Give Me a Dozen Anyway...They're for My Dad

There’s a great video on the New York Times website by Bill Pennington for his On Par series about the Polara Golf company and their anti-slice ball, which this screen shot was pulled from. Basically, Polara has created a golf ball with shallower dimples around the seam, or vertical center line, and deeper dimples on each of the vertical hemispheres. The result, when hit, is that the ball resists the urge to travel left or right…of course, calling it the anti-hooker ball would put Polara in a completely different market, thus anti-slice it is.

The physics behind the ball’s design first showed up on golf courses in the 1970s when a couple of scientists named Daniel Nepela and Fred Holmstrom decided they wanted to actually enjoy the game of golf without having to quit their day jobs in order to spend more time on the practice range. The fact that Nepela and Holmstrom would rather design a prototype golf ball and develop the manufacturing process needed to create it, is evidence to the difficulty and unpleasantness of getting better at golf. Fortunately for them, they were also aware enough of their shared plight with the majority of all other golfers and decided to patent their design.

Perhaps sensing that the game of golf could thus get too enjoyable for the average golfer, the USGA refused to approve the ball, in essence killing it’s prospects in the marketplace. According to the Polara website, the USGA concluded that the ball did work and that in the end they were willing to pay a $1.4 million court settlement to keep such scourge out of member/guests tournaments throughout the country.

Nearly forty some years later, it’s not that the USGA has suddenly reversed it’s decision, but rather that a new ownership group has taken over the Polara patent and is hoping that the average golfer of the new millennia will choose to enjoy their rounds more rather than conform to USGA standards. In watching the video, it’s clear that most of the golfers Pennington spoke with in New Jersey weren’t immediately open to the idea of playing a non-conforming ball. But then again, these guys were all at a driving range…practicing.

Amid the Vineyards and Fairways in Okanagan Valley

Aside from those living in the Pac NW, flying into the town of Kelowna, in British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley, may take the better part of a day after a likely layover in Seattle or Portland. However, once you arrive at the far north end of the Sonoran Desert and the home of icewine and Canadian golf, it’s a quick transition into a four-day itinerary that will leave you awash in a sea of reds, whites and greens.

Day One: First, head to The Harvest Golf Club, where it will be hard to believe that there really is a Sonoran connection between this course – with its grapevines and apple, peach, cherry and pear orchards lining the fairways – and the arid Arizona counterparts; but technically, the northern end of the desert zone that starts south of Arizona does stretch all they way to the Okanagan. Of course, if you visit during the peak of summer, you can expect to experience a few warm and dry, but not close to Phoenix-like, days.

On the course, the greens are as good as most in Arizona, but the rough benefits from the wet winters and fast northern growing season. There may not be any ball-snatching cholla cacti off the fairways here, but the tall grass can make a ball disappear just as fast.

After the round, take the bridge over Lake Okanagan and visit the Mission Hill Family Estate winery. Founded in 1966, Mission Hill has won several awards for its wine, and the estate’s architecture is nearly as impressive. Pick up a bottle of the 2005 Select Lot Collection Riesling Icewine. Harvested at night when the temps were a chilly 10 degrees outside, this icewine is sweet and complex and may just remind you of your round at The Harvest.

Day Two: Wake up early on the second day and make your way to The Okanagan Golf Club (OGC). Set nearly a par-five’s distance away from the Kelowna Airport, OGC’s two courses are surprisingly secluded and quiet. Start off with The Bear track, where you’ll be staring down fairways lined with tall pines until the turn.

Furberize Yourself on The Quail Course at Okanagan Golf Club

After lunch in the clubhouse, tee off on Les Furber’s The Quail. Furber is a Robert Trent Jones Sr. disciple who has been creating western Canada’s best courses for nearly 30 years. On his Quail design, you’ll want to use iron off the tee more than once, so be patient as you battle the pine limbs that will inevitably try to cajole your ball out of bounds.

If you get out early (or make the mistake of only playing 18 at OGC) there may still be time to take the short drive to Summerhill Pyramid Winery. As the largest certified organic vineyard in Canada, Summerhill creates some special wines. See for yourself on a tour of Summerhill’s wine-aging cellar – a four-story replica of the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt.

Make Room for a Bottle of CedarCreek Meritage

Day Three: Don’t drink too much wine at Summerhill the night before, because on the third day you’ll be teeing up at Gallagher’s Canyon Golf and Country Club. To start the round, you’ll have to face the No.1 handicap hole, with the entirety of the clubhouse right behind you to boot. Literally, it looks like the first tee box should be under the roofline.

The views of the canyon for which Gallagher’s is named are equally dramatic, but the par-five No.9 has perhaps the most spectacular of these, with a steep  descent running up the entire left side of the hole. At the bottom is the river, but the white out-of-bounds markers will make it clear that you want to stay well right. The 9th hole is just the first of three par-fives in four holes, so reserve some energy.

Post-round, head back down the hill and south to CedarCreek Estate Winery. The picturesque winery, which was founded in 1986 by Canadian senator Ross Fitzpatrick, has been named Canada’s winery of the year. While visiting, try to secure some of the Platinum Reserve wines – the Madeira and Meritage won’t disappoint.

Day Four: After sampling some of CedarCreek’s finest the day before, navigate north 45 minutes to Predator Ridge Golf Resort and on your last day in the Okanagan you’ll revel in one of the most serene sights north of the border. From the resort towers, the two courses (The Predator Course and The Ridge Course) slope across the hills and in and out of the trees like they were painted on the earth with a master’s hand.

But don’t kid yourself by thinking that playing either course will be a stroll through a museum. The greens are viciously fast, and by the end of your day there will certainly be three putts you’ll remember with pride. While the Predator Course was designed by Furber, the new Doug Carrick-designed Ridge Course was named a best new course for 2010. Play both, because the memory of following your ball down the almost labyrinthlike trail of manicured grass laid through the thick forest will stay with you for awhile.

It'll be Hard to Say Goodbye to Predator Ridge

In fact, after your first round, stop by the lodge and change your flight home. That way you can play the second course in the afternoon and then enjoy your favorite of the two all over again the next day. There is no way anything this good should be passed through so quickly.

Play swiftly though that next morning, because before you leave the Okanagan Valley you’ll want to make one last stop at the Gray Monk Estate Winery on the drive back to Kelowna. Enjoy some of the Latitude Fifty Series blended wines, coined after the 50th parallel on which the winery sits. And, if you still have room in the bag and haven’t surpassed the one-liter limit imposed by US Customs, pick up a bottle of the Gray Monk Ehrenfelser Icewine. It’s the perfect souvenir to sip while reliving your four, or five, day tour of the Okanagan.

Playing in a Golf Tournament when a Beer Festival Breaks Out

More often than not, the problem with charity golf tournaments as I see it, is the fact that each foursome playing is remains disconnected from the rest of the event to some degree or another while they are on the course.

Meanwhile, the great thing about a bar is that you could enter alone and walk out with dozens of new friends. Barstools have that ability it seems, whereas golf carts do not.

So, when my brother, Scott, created Colorado Beer Week (which runs April 8th through 16th, 2011) I told him that in addition to events like the Fresh Oyster Fest with Rogue Ales on Wednesday the 13th, and the incredible Vertical Tasting event on the 14th, where guests will get to enjoy four vintages of the most award-winning beer in the United States (Alaskan Brewing’s Smoked Porter from 2000, 2003, 2006 and 2009), he should also host a beer and golf tournament with tee box craft beer samples being poured for the participants and more food and beer offered up after the last putt has been sunk; a sort of bar stool camaraderie set up throughout the course.

Scott then took my passing suggestion and ran with it. Instead of just any course, he signed up with the private Club at Pradera in Parker, Colorado. With music playing on the driving range and an exciting Jim Engh-designed course, it’s about as good of a fit as I could imagine. And Pradera’s own house beer from the Fort Collins Brewery will be poured during and after the golf. There will also be the standard silent auction to raise even more money for the National Sports Center for the Disabled. And after all of that – after toasting a fairway hit and a green in reg; after sampling the food and beer pairings in the private clubhouse after the event – the tourney players will have yet another after party offered up to them, this one cigar themed and held nearby at The Robusto Room.

So, I’m thinking I may stand corrected, because not all charity golf tournaments have to be uninviting it turns out.

Note: Any A Position reader interested in playing in the Colorado Beer Week Birdies and Beer  Golf Tournament can receive $25 off the $150 entry fee. Just enter the code: TheAPosition during checkout at www.cobeerweek.com for the discount.

Teeing off on the West Texas Town of El Paso's Butterfield Trail No. 1

There is no denying that the West Texas town of El Paso has gotten more than its share of bad press through association lately. It’s proximity to Juarez, one of the more dangerous battlegrounds in Mexico’s ongoing war with the drug cartels, has unfortunately slowed tourism to the area.

Yet, driving near the San Jacinto Plaza today, there’s a surge of activity, redevelopment and renewal taking place. And since all of the registered historic buildings in downtown have —or will in the next few years—be celebrating their centennial birthdays, this proud metropolitan area is set to resume its place as one of the crowns on the Royal Road of the Interior Land, El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro.

Set right in the middle of that crown is the Camino Real Hotel, whose Tiffany stained-glass ceiling above the Dome Bar shines brighter than any of the other crown jewels. Completed in 1912, the Camino Real sits less than one mile from the banks of the Rio Grande and the Mexican border, and much like in its earliest days when guests would reportedly stand on the rooftop terrace to watch Mexican Revolution gun battles, today many rooms have views of our neighbor to the south.

Under the Tiffany Glass Dome in El Paso's Best Bar

The views alone, both of the Camino Real’s interior refinement and the thought-provoking juxtapositions outside, turned out to be reason enough to use the Camino Real as a base for a recent visit to El Paso, and it’s elegant Dome Restaurant was an added bonus. Also a bonus was the hotel’s proximity to the Butterfield Trail Golf Club, a 2007 Tom Fazio design that feels grown in and completely set in place.

Despite the short drive from the Camino Real, the golf course is beyond the reach of both residential and urban development. And while it is adjacent to the international airport, Butterfield Trail seems as remote now as the fairway-surrounding mesquite mounds and creosote bushes were when horse train was the main mode of transportation. How natural Fazio’s work blends into the surrounding landscape is a testament to a design that required heavy doses of earth-moving equipment in order to create each and every hill on site. Thankfully, it plays as well as it looks, making all the hard work in creating the hillocks and elevated tees worth the effort.

In contrast to Butterfield Trail, the absence of hills at the nearby Painted Dunes Desert Golf Course only adds to its unique (in Texas at least) Cihuahuan Desert appeal. The first 18 holes, designed by Ken Dye in 1991, were already receiving plenty of accolades when Jeffrey Brauer added a third nine-hole routing in 1998. The result: Painted Dunes immediately jumped to the top of the list of municipal courses in the state. More than 10 years later, this course—with its multi-tiered greens and protuberating fairways kindling associations to Arizona golf—still earns its place at the top.

With Butterfield Trail and Painted Dunes as a springboard for resort development and a new influx of tourists, El Paso has visions of Scottsdale or Tucson-like golf offerings. But, you don’t have to wait for what looks to be a long course-construction recession to lift to plan a multi-round, multi-course golf trip in the surrounding area.

From El Paso, it is less than 125 miles north to mountainous Ruidoso, New Mexico, where two more courses await. At roughly 7,000 feet in elevation—and with the closest ski area to most of Texas—Ruidoso is a well-known getaway.

For the past 35 years, the Inn of the Mountain Gods—one of the first resorts built and owned by a Native American tribe, the Mescalero Apaches—has been the best place to stay in town. Thanks to a 2005 update, the inn is now home to a large casino as well, but its championship golf course remains more relevant than ever, even without a renovation. Despite more than one glancing blow from my golf ball, large ponderosa pines held their ground and my attention on five of the first nine fairways and made for as intimate an experience as a golfer should care to have with a course.

Robert Trent Jones Jr's New Mexico Masterpiece: Rainmakers

Having warmed up on the Inn of the Mountain Gods course, the next step is to make a tee time at The Golf Club at Rainmakers. One of Golf Magazine’s Top 10 New Private Courses in 2008, Rainmakers is allowing daily fee guests on the course until membership is full, so there’s still time to play what is easily one of the best courses in the state of New Mexico. The Robert Trent Jones II design is set on a south-facing slope in the nearby town of Alto and offers views of the 12,000-foot Sierra Blanca range, home of the Mescalero tribe’s Ski Apache. But its on-course features, such as the 40-foot-deep arroyo running along the 6^th fairway, will strike just as strong of a recollection after trying to negotiate your way around all 18 holes.

Given the year-round appeal of the El Paso and southern New Mexico region, golfers can even straddle the end of ski season and the beginning of golf season in order to check both off your bucket list in just one day.

From Ruidoso the loop moves west, returning to the Camino Real trail, after first driving above the northern boundary of the White Sands Missile Range. Then, cross the Rio Grande, and you’re on Interstate 25 and just a short jaunt south to the town of Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, and Elephant Butte Lake.

Elephant Butte is the largest and most popular lake in the state of New Mexico, but long before it was built, travelers along the Camino Real and Native Americans before them would stop at what is now “T or C” (as it’s most commonly known) for a soak in the expansive geothermal springs that run underneath the small city, just feet below the earth’s surface.

Now, in addition to the lake and the artesian springs, golfers have reason to stop along the shores of Elephant Butte Lake. In fact, the new Sierra del Rio golf course at Turtleback Mountain Resort development is not just worth stopping to see, it’s good enough to warrant the two-hour drive from El Paso alone.

Designed by Dick Phelps and opened in 2007, Sierra del Rio can play long (with one stretch of back-to-back 600-yard par-fives), it can play wet (there are seven lakes on the course, four of which come into play) and it can play rough (mesquite, yucca and sage are all waiting amid the rocks for an off-line shot), but it always plays fun. The high-desert surroundings just off the fairway, the river valley’s extended growing season, the underground hot springs nearby and the lake’s shores in the near distance all create an oasis-like setting that can be completely refreshing for anyone who is accustomed to dry desert golf.

Soak in the Springs and Sun at Sierra Grande Lodge

Anyone who has golfed in the desert knows how dehydration can rob their swing by limiting the rotation in the spine. Or at least it makes it feel that way. A stay at the Sierra Grande Lodge and Spa will help. The lodge keeps multiple pools full of the hot water, the warmest getting as high as 107 degrees. And since Sierra Grande doesn’t treat the water, a dip in one will put you in touch with all 35 of the artesian spring’s minerals.

For further proof that the springs run directly underneath downtown T or C, get in an hour soak at Blackstone Hotsprings’ Wet Room, a private soaking pool inside the recently converted and significantly upgraded motel. Or, if the pull of the Camino Real is too great and you’re short on time for your return to El Paso, take a private half-hour bath in one of the original 1930’s tubs in the public bathhouse at Blackstone.

The bathhouse makes for a unique ending to an equally unique golf loop. And maybe it’s the minerals you’ve soaked in or the variety of shots you’ve been able to hit or the historic undercurrents in almost every direction you point, but having done it, there’s nothing quite like this loop. Royal indeed.

At 24"x15"x13" the Model 3.0 will fit in any trunk.

Clicgear’s newest pushcart – known as Model 3.0 ($200) – is lighter and more user-friendly (read: easier to lift, fold, unfold and push) than any cart I’ve ever rolled. Albeit, my experience has been limited until now. Long ago, I put pushcarts in the “Things I’ll Do When I’m Retired” category. This was mostly a response to the advent of the motorized walking cart. (Really? Because using four fingers and two thumbs in order to propel a cart forward is too hard?)

Either way, I am far from retired. It seems like I’m just getting started in fact. But as I’ve watched friends go from shoulder straps to wheels, I’ve come to realize a couple of things. First, they’ve been walking more often than I have. Second, when we walk together, they don’t have to worry about tight shoulders when it comes time to hit driver on the 18th hole.

Until this past season, I didn’t either…no matter how many rocks, water bottles and old shoes these pushcarters stuffed inside my bag.

So now, I’m slowly making the transition into joining the rolling cart crowd and hoping to do so without taking too much ribbing from my friends. And having the Clicgear Model 3.0 has helped. Folded up, it measures just 24-inches tall, 13-inches wide and 15-inches deep – so it doesn’t stand out in my trunk. Unfolded, it has wheels that won’t go flat because they hold no air – so it’s low maintenance. And whether I’m pushing it uphill or lifting it into the car, it is exceptionally light.

Light Enough to Carry, Solid Enough to Push

I certainly prefer to walk and to do so comfortably, I still like to carry TaylorMade’s Micro-Lite Stand Bag ($130) on my shoulders. But, if I’m playing a second round in one day or even three rounds over a weekend, pushing is better than riding in a golf cart, and burns twice as many calories. Fortunately, my Micro-Lite fits well on the Clicgear, and together they seem to weigh less than the one brick and the bottle of unopened Gatorade I found when I transferred my clubs into the Micro-Lite in the first place.

I like to think I’m not growing older, just wiser.

The golf course at the Park Hyatt Aviara looks innocent enough, right?

Just down the hill from the empire walls protecting some of golf’s biggest equipment manufacturers used to be the Four Seasons Resort Aviara, North San Diego. But as of this past June, the Four Seasons is gone. In its place, Aviara has been re-branded as the Park Hyatt Aviara Resort.

One thing that didn’t change is the big-for-its-size 7,007-yard Arnold Palmer-designed course at The Aviara Golf Club. It can still leave you whimpering. As many say, the course is ‘strategic’ around the greens (though I prefer to call it, just plain tough). Fortunately, Aviara has always done a good job of keeping you smiling through the pain of multiple three putts, and that doesn’t look to change either now that Hyatt has assumed the reins. Maybe it’s getting to play along the banks of the Batiquitos Lagoon that helps your mood. Having a spa treatment waiting at the Aviara Spa doesn’t hurt either.

Rub-downs aside, a big part of the reason golfers at Aviara don’t get overly upset over putting past the hole is because the staff at the golf course doesn’t pull any punches. Chances are the starter will warn you before you get that first tee in the turf that the 18 holes looming in your future won’t be easy. (Need further proof? The back tees come with a rating of 71.8.) And in good exaggeration theory execution, the starter may even tell you in graphic detail how much masochistic fun you’re about to have.

Chances are you will have fun as you make your way through a series of canyons not far from the headquarters of TaylorMade, Callaway, and Titleist, with the breeze coming off the Pacific, no matter how many putts you take.

And playing just miles from three of golf’s biggest names essentially puts you in the same neighborhood where the Tour pros do their shopping. As you drive in, Phil Mickelson might be the guy in the car next to you as he makes his way to Callaway’s headquarters. Or Sergio Garcia could be the in the Ferrari that cuts you off as he makes his way up the hill to TaylorMade’s facility, simply known as The Kingdom.

Corporate clients and select VIPs are the only ones who can get the Mickelson treatment at Callaway. Same goes for the full-fitting at The Kingdom and at Titleist’s nearby Performance Institute. But for the rest of us not on the invite list at one of the big three, it doesn’t mean we can benefit from being in the neighborhood. In fact, the Aviara Golf Academy was home to the first TaylorMade Performance Lab outside of The Kingdom. And by utilizing the same TaylorMade equipment for so long, the staff offers an similar individual club-fitting experience, open to everyone and at a much lower rate.

Meet MATT...he's here to help you.

The equipment is called MAT-T, or Motion Analyis Technolgy by TaylorMade, and it uses technology that was first developed to create the lifelike personas seen in movies such as “The Lord of the Rings” and “Spider-Man” trilogies, and “The Polar Express”. TaylorMade then modified that technology in order to gather the exact intricacies of anyone’s golf swing. Nine cameras track the position of 28 special reflective markers placed on the golfer’s body and clubs, resulting in a 3-D animation of you and your swing.

Normal pertinent data, like club head speed, swing path, and loft, lie and launch angles at impact is collected. But so are previously unattainable measurements taken throughout the course of an entire swing. The information is then processed and analyzed by the MAT-T software in order to determine the exact TaylorMade clubs for you.

So, once you’ve finished your first round at Aviara and your ego and putting stroke are a little worse for the wear, book a fitting at the TaylorMade Performance Lab the next morning. Not only will you get the exact clubs you should be hitting, delivered to your room, but the animated swing analysis along with an Aviara Golf Academy lesson will have you ready to face the ‘strategic’ course once again. And this time you won’t need any warning from the starter.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Park Hyatt Aviara Resort, parkaviara.hyatt.com

Aviara Golf Academy, aviaragolfacademy.com

TaylorMade Performance Labs, tmplabs.com

The Countryside, Tradition, History and Scotch are all Famous...But it's the Food that Surprises

The haggis was brought into the room, lifted above the head of its carrier and preceded by its chef, a bagpiper, and a barman. It was the barman who gripped the bottle of Glenfiddich single-malt Scotch and lifted it into the air as if to purify the atmosphere in advance of the haggis’s arrival. Robert Burns would have been proud.

In fact, the spirit of Scotland’s national poet seemed to be hovering in the dining room at the Westin Turnberry Resort that night as well. And just before the haggis was cut open, before the Scotch was then poured onto the succulent collection of meat stuffs and set aflame to christen, crispen and season the already tasty dish, a poem was read. It was, naturally, Burns’s “Address to a Haggis,” which he authored in 1786. A perfect finale in flavor and soul to any Scottish excursion.

Burns’s soul is most apparent not far from Turnberry, in the town of Ayrshire, where he was born and lived most of his life. But his “Address to a Haggis,” while romanticizing the essence and history of Scotland’s most famous meal, does little to prepare the unsuspecting tourist for the national dish. Made from the ‘leftover parts’ of a sheep, it was traditionally prepared by the country’s poor, who would salvage the heart, liver and lungs from their butchered woolen livestock; combine the viscera with oatmeal and spices; and boil the mixture inside the sheep’s stomach. Sounds appetizing, right?

Well, at the Westin Turnberry Resort it truly is; and forever in my mind no trip to Scotland will be complete without at least a taste.

The primary purpose of any trip to Scotland will always be the golf, no matter how good the haggis. And there are few courses in the world as special as the Turnberry Golf Club’s Ailsa. Predating the hotel by four years, the Ailsa Championship Course gave golf along the western coast of Scotland’s Southern Uplands a dramatic boost when it was unveiled not long ago…and by not long, I mean just 108 years now . However, after Ailsa’s original pening in 1902, war interrupted life in Scotland.

Dating to the 15th Century, Dunure Castle now Watches Over Turnberry's Greens

Then, during the Second World War, play was again interrupted and this time the course was excavated, leveled and mostly paved into an airfield for the Royal Air Force, leading locals to believe that golf would never return to the coastline.

And yet, after the end of the war, new life was breathed into the Ailsa links: Mackenzie Ross came to Turnberry and assumed the monumental yet enviable task of restoring the flat landing strips to golfing gold. What Ross accomplished was no small miracle given what he had to do to recover 18 holes, but he did benefit from having a stretch of shoreline skirting the Firth of Clyde and overlooking the Irish Sea that had been left largely untouched.

Today, from the par-three, No. 4 through to the par-four, No. 11, the Ailsa Course runs along the coast and atop the cliffs above the icy waters. This collection of seaside golf holes is one of the greatest in the world and reason that some Americans are prone to referring to the Ailsa Course as the Pebble Beach of Scotland—though after visiting, there’s no mistake that even the great Pebble Beach would be fortunate to be known as the Ailsa of the U.S.

Also within the incredible expanse of ocean holes at Turnberry is the famous lighthouse. Set between the 9th green and the 10th tee, the lighthouse has been shinning out to sea since 1873. And from the small halfway house nearby, where a heater and a dram of Scotch make for a fitting and idyllic turn between nines, golfers can catch a glimpse of Ailsa Craig—a large stone island located almost halfway between golfers on the Scottish coast and those in Northern Ireland.

That Clear Sky, It's Not Lasting...Nor Consequential

On a clear day, Ailsa Craig—and sometimes even Northern Ireland—are visible from the hotel; and on a clear night after finishing my haggis and with a Scotch in hand, I stepped outside one last time to look out over the Irish Sea. The next morning, I would return home where the weather and cuisine are all very predictable, but as I looked down on the Ailsa Course and the sun set in the distance, the variability of the unknown became much more immediate. As my caddie had muttered earlier, “If you can see Aisla Craig, it’s about to rain; if you can’t, it’s already raining.”

With the first raindrops landing, I realized that even the tempestuous weather here only adds to the essence of each moment at Turnberry. It’s history, beauty and tradition are so memorable that—even in the worst of Scottish rains—I’d still gladly choose to be on the farthest reaches of the Ailsa Course watching a storm cross the Irish Sea with a pin flag bending violently in the wind 130-yards away, while holding onto a three-wood and little chance of reaching the green.

When a vacation appears doomed before takeoff, it helps if you land at the St. Regis in Punta Mita, Mexico.

There are times when you feel you shouldn’t be going on a trip, even before you’ve left for the airport. This started out as one of those times. My wife, Rebecca, was supposed to be traveling with me, and yet because of a booking mishap there I was, on my way to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, to see the St. Regis Punta Mita resort alone. To say I was not excited to be going would be underselling it like the French did with Louisiana.

Mexico has a way of sneaking up on me though. And as I got out of the car at the St. Regis, the air damp and sticky like coastal Mexico gets in the humid hot months, the pleasant recollections of past trips south-of-the-border filled my pores. After checking in, my mood improved even more as I sipped a cold michelada (I prefer mine with Pacifico beer, hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, lime juice and salt, poured over a glass-full of ice) on the patio at the resort’s Altamira bar.

It wasn’t just the setting and drinks though, throughout my stay, the friendly St. Regis staff made it impossible to be upset. Their ability to anticipate when I would need a towel before I had even decided to swim in one of the resort’s three pools and when I wanted to be left alone was borderline telepathic. Even better was the resort’s blend of two equal parts: On the one side, there is the expected, palatably refined touches and service that the St. Regis brand is known for, and on the other, surprisingly, was the authentic and friendly Mexico I love. Amazingly, neither seems to overshadow the other.

After the michelada, I returned to my room. My clothes had been unpacked for me, my golf clubs already transferred to the course. There was nothing left for me to do, so I went for swim in the ocean followed by a shower before dinner. As I opened the shower door and realized I was once again under the sun, the cold water mixed with the warm humidity in the open-air patio removed any lingering regrets I had about my trip.

Then, came the golf course. When I got to the Pacifico Course’s well-known 3rd hole, a par-three that tees off on the shoreline and ends on a natural island green 194 yards out into the ocean, I forgot that I had even been upset in the first place. Though the water was high and the hole is only playable at low tides, something I returned for later that day, I was all smiles as I launched three tee shots out over the Pacific, despite the fact that only one landed on the island green.

At Las Marietas, You Can Order Traditional Mexican Dishes, like Chilaquiles, Even if They're Not on the Menu

To sustain the now complete satisfaction I was feeling about being in Mexico again, I visited the nearby Bohemian surfers village of Sayulita, and I took an unintended nap in the resort’s exceedingly perfect Remède Spa relaxation lounge. I also indulged in a number of faithfully refined adaptations on the Mexican dishes I hunger for most at home, and ultimately I felt regret for having been upset in the first place. The St. Regis Punta Mita, it turned out, alleviated all my frustrations, and made me long for the chance to return…with my wife this time. Of course, I didn’t tell Rebecca how much she was going to like Punta Mita, when I returned home. Why ruin the revelation.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

St. Regis Punta Mita – stregis.com/puntamita – Located within the 1,500-acre Punta Mita community and set at the northern tip of Banderas Bay, the St. Regis is 25 miles northwest of the Puerto Vallarta International Airport.

OFF SITE:

Beach: It’s hard to beat the beach directly in front of the St. Regis, but if you’re looking to surf, or learn, head 20 minutes north to the ex-pat prevalent town of Sayulita. This coastal village continues to grow in popularity, thanks in no small part to the waves and the excellent fish tacos.

Ocean: Within the last two years, UNESCO declared the three islands off the coast of the St. Regis a Biosphere Reserve. Known as Las Marietas, the islands are an undisturbed sanctuary for birds above water and a rich habitat for marine life below. And if you’re snorkeling there from December through April, there’s a chance you’ll see some of the migrating humpback whales that return here each year.

Mountains: Located in the Sierra Madre Mountains just east of Puerto Vallarta, the more than 400-year-old former gold and silver mining town of San Sebastian was once the provincial capital of the area and had a population in excess of 40,000. Today, there are roughly 600 people living there, who are all worth visiting.

This article originally appeared in Denver Life Magazine.

According to Bridgestone, I Should See This Before Every Swing

Sometimes, marketing campaigns are so transparently contrived that I wonder who would ever be tempted enough to actually buy the shtick they’re selling. [See: Nike's Tiger Woods ad from April 7th, here.]

While other ad campaigns (like those for Progressive Direct’s car insurance comparison service where they compare my rate with other top companies, here) not only work, but they somehow even get me to feel something resembling trust when I think about an insurance company.

The difference is in the promises made. If the campaign is promising something that I can believe – that they’ll at least show me other rates that may or may not be accurate – then I might be nostalgically swayed by some retro makeup and an upbeat personality. Whereas, even if your name is Tiger and you try to stare me down for 30 seconds while summoning your father back from the grave, it won’t make hollow words ring any truer.

So, when I learned of Bridgestone’s online golf ball fitting program I gladly entered my information while retaining some skepticism over just what the computer was going to tell me to put on the tee.

The process takes all of two minutes, at most, and the selection of recommended golf balls is limited to just Bridgestone rocks, but after going through it multiple times, I find that I agree with the program’s recommendation. And, I’m not the only one. Bridgestone’s online fitting results showed that I should be hitting the same pills that a fitting at Hot Stix Golf endorsed earlier (story here).

My Results - (and yes, shooting in the 80s on my last two rounds inspired me to perhaps embellish my 'Average Score' answer)

In short, the program asks you to input the golf ball you currently play (and unfortunately for me, “whatever I find in the junk” was not an option), the distance you hit it with the big stick, your average scoring range, and what you’d like to change or keep the same about how your current ball performs. Given that my ball flight, spin and distance can be as inconsistent as the types of balls I find in my off-the-course rummaging, I decided to input my information multiple times switching the balls I prefer to hit (Titleist Pro V1x and TaylorMade’s Penta TP currently) and the results I tend to get (a slice one day is a hook the next). The results were about the only thing that didn’t change: I should be playing the Bridgestone Tour B330-RX.

And so, with a sleeve of B330-RXs in hand I set off with my new cousin-in-law to play at the on-base course at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, NM.

The course is a relatively easy test, made most special by the men and women making their way around it. But during our round, the wind was up and threatening to take my ball over one of the fences I knew well enough not to cross. And yet, I only needed to pull one B330-RX from the sleeve that day en route to a happy 86.

I don’t know how much of that score is a result of the ball-fitting program convincing me to give the B330-RX a chance, but afterward I didn’t really care. It was a promise I’ve believed in for the better part of four hours so far and that has been enough for me to stick with it for my next round…even with the noticeable absence of a spokeswoman named Flo.