By Craig Dekshenieks, publisher
of Today’s Chiropractic Life Style
It was only the third hole, but already Ted was fuming. He had just made his
third double bogey in a row, and he was about to break his putter over his knee.
We sat in the golf cart in complete silence while we drove to the next tee box,
but I was grinning ear to ear. As I brought the cart to a stop, he looked over
at me, saw my grin, and spoke.
“What are you smiling for? You’re not doing much better than I am.”
“I know,” I replied.
“Then why are you smiling? Aren’t you upset you’re playing
so badly?”
I didn’t say a word, I just got out of the cart and retrieved my driver
from my bag. Ted was close behind me, mumbling and grumbling the whole way.
While we waited for the other members of our foursome to tee off, I still couldn’t
wipe the grin off my face.
“What is so funny?” His voice raised a few octaves.
“You are.”
“Why am I funny?”
I opened my arms with my palms up and looked to the heavens, pirouetting around.
“Look at us! We’re in the middle of a golfing mecca, it’s
February 8th and it’s 85 degrees, we’re not at work, and our kids
are at home with our wives 3,000 miles away. This is an absolute dream vacation,
and you’re in a bad mood over a bleepin’ putt! That’s what’s
so funny.”
Ted made many more double bogeys over the next 15 holes, but he was grinning
the whole time. After the round, he bought me a drink and held up his glass
to a toast.
“Thanks,” he said quietly.
“For what?”
“For setting me straight on the fourth tee. You were absolutely correct.
This is a dream vacation. I’m here with my three best friends, doing what
I love, and now, thanks to you, I’m enjoying every minute of it.”
That weekend in the desert of Palm Springs goes down in my book as one of the
best vacations I’ve ever had. (Don’t worry, sweetheart, our honeymoon
was great, too!). We played golf at four world-class courses, we ate steak and
we drank a few cocktails. But for me, what put it over the top was the time
I shared with my friends.
I love golf! No other sport offers near as much in the way of variety, exhilaration,
frustration, and comraderie. You also have the ability to do it for the rest
of your life. There’s only one other thing I know of that you can be bad
at, yet still have a lot of fun doing it. And finally, you can determine a lot
about a person’s character just by playing a round of golf with him.
If you’ve ever talked about getting together a group of your friends and
coordinating a golf weekend, the time for talk is over. There is probably an
area within a few hours drive that is teeming with great golf courses.
You can play 54, 72 or even 90 holes over a long weekend, and not have to take
more than a day off work. Whatever you decide, a golf weekend with friends will
be a pilgrimage you won’t soon forget. It will be a feast for your spirit,
mind and body. Fore!
Here are some golf destinations you might want to look into for your trip. Each
area will have tons of great courses nearby, but make sure you look into these
gems:
Bandon, Oregon
Midway down the coast of Oregon, an area that used to be nothing more than windswept
dunes, is now home to some world-class golf courses. The area also has wonderful
accommodations in the way of cottages and condominiums at reasonable rates.
Bandon Dunes Always ranked high in every golf magazine’s “Top 100,”
Bandon Dunes offers links-style golf and wonderful views of the Pacific Ocean.
(888) 345-6008; bandondunesgolf.com.
Pacific Dunes The “sister” course is just as stunning, yet infinitely
different. There is even a rumor floating around that a major professional golf
tournament will be played there in the near future. (888) 345-6008; bandondunesgolf.com.
Bay Area, California
(and beyond)
There’s more to golf in California than Pebble Beach and Torrey Pines.
There are plenty of great affordable courses in Monterrey and all the way up
the coast to San Francisco.
Spyglass Hill (Monterrey) Doesn’t get as much publicity in the shadow
of its famous neighbor, but you can’t go wrong with unique holes and great
scenery. (800) 654-9300; pebblebeach.com.
Pasatiempo (Santa Cruz) This is the final resting place of perhaps the greatest
golf course architect ever, Alister MacKenzie, who also designed Augusta National
and Cypress Point. He was so proud of this design that he lived the last few
years of life in a house off the 6th fairway. (831) 459-9155; pasatiempo.com.
Sharp Park (Pacifica) This is a municipal course that dates back to the 1930’s.
You won’t believe the price, especially after you see it! (650) 359-3380;
sharpparkgc.com.
Harding Park (San Francisco) Steeped in history, this course used to host all
kinds of tournaments back in the good ol’ days. It has recently undergone
a restoration, and is once again worthy of its reputation, hosting the World
Golf Championships’ American Express Championship in 2005. (415) 664-4690;
harding-park.com.
Upper Michigan
You might not know that Michigan has more golf courses per capita than any other
state. Imagine how many more courses there might be if you could play all year
round! The best part is, both of these are reasonably priced:
Arcadia Bluffs (Arcadia) situated on the shore of Lake Michigan, this course
is routinely ranked in the top 20 of every golf magazine’s list of top
courses. The views are so amazing, you’d think you were in Scotland or
Ireland. (800) 494-8666; arcadiabluffs.com.
Bay Harbor (Bay Harbor) Rolling terrain, sweeping shoreline bluffs, and rocky
outcrops overlooking the calmness of Little Traverse Bay—talk about a
golf experience! (231) 439-4028; bayharborgolf.com.
North Carolina
The sandhills of North Carolina was the first area truly created to be a golf
destination. Famous designer Donald Ross made the region his home while he personally
crafted golf courses around the country. Since then, many other great designers
have followed in his footsteps.
Pinehurst Resort There are eight courses at the resort, but the most famous
is No. 2. It has played host to the U.S. Open numerous times, most recently
in 2005. Courses No. 4 and No. 8 are also grand. (800) 487-4653; pinehurst.com
Pine Needles Donald Ross had a hand in this layout as well, carving out 36 holes
among the tall pines and rolling terrain. You’ll use every club in your
bag, and you’ll remember every hole. (910) 692-2114; pineneedles-midpines.com
Golf Travel Planners
When planning a golf weekend, you might want to leave the details to an expert.
Many companies specialize in golf vacations, especially ones overseas. They
will put together a package that will suit any size group and any size budget.
Give these folks a call, and all you have to do is pack your clubs.