I last visited the Dallas area four years ago.  It was a brief visit as I flew into Dallas but spent most of my time in Houston.  This visit would be different as I would be spending pretty much all of my time enjoying the courses in the Dallas area, with one side trip to Oklahoma to see a Perry Maxwell gem.  The motivation for the trip was a course I had been trying to play for fifteen years, and which I now consider the best course in Texas. More on that later. Brook Hollow Golf Club, the best course in Texas IMO. The trip began at the well known TPC Las Colinas, for ..read more

As many times as I've done blog posts about trips to Florida, this one was different.  This was probably my last trip to central Florida for a very long time.  My good friend who I have been staying with is moving on to bigger and better things in another part of the state, so I tried to make this trip about hitting courses in Orlando and Tampa that I haven't had a chance to play over the past twelve years I've been going down to visit him.  Streamsong Blue, 4th and 5th holes The trip began with a stop just south of Jacksonville to check out the newly opened Stillwater ..read more

The year 2022 was my first full year as a resident of the Charleston area.  The area has grown on me and this year I was able to take full advantage of our two multi-week closures at work during the summer.  In July I did a solo trip to Oregon and joined my wife for a week in Nebraska and Kansas.  In September we made a bucket list trip to the Big Island of Hawaii where I played one of the best courses I have ever seen.   Nanea, my favorite course of 2022 Another highlight of the year was playing my 2000th course in May.  The course wasn't the one I had ..read more

Sometimes the smallest things in life can spur an adventure that you never expected.  Such was our trip to Los Angeles and the Big Island of Hawaii.  During a trip out west in 2021, I met some people who would ultimately be the motivation for my wife and I to undertake the long journey to Hawaii.  More on that later.  This was a journey we never really planned on taking.   We are not beach people and spending eleven hours in a plane to spend time on islands that are best known for their beaches seemed like a fools endeavor.  The trip turned out even better th ..read more

After spending lots of time in airports on my recent adventures on the west coast and Nebraska, I decided a driving trip to play some of the great courses in the greater New York area was appropriate.  I stopped along the way in Virginia and North Carolina and added a couple Ross courses to my total.  I continue to be amazed by the depth of quality courses in the greater New York area.   Round Hill Club.  My favorite course from the trip My drive to New York began with a stop in the Richmond, Virginia area.  I was here to check out Lake Chesdin Golf Club ..read more

The last time my wife and I were in Nebraska was six years ago.  We stopped at Dismal River to play the Red course which was not open during my intial visit to Dismal in 2012.  This time we would be staying in the state longer than one night and would be returning to the Chops Hills, albeit at a different destination this time.  We also hit a bunch of courses in the Omaha area and made a side trip to Kansas City to eat great BBQ and play some wonderful golf courses.  The last course of the trip proved to be the best, a sleeper course that should absolutely be ranked in the ..read more

I spent one of the best summers of my life working in Oregon when I was in college.  I was trying to decide on a summer internship, and was looking through the book of places available to Professional Golf Management students at Campbell University, and noticed Crosswater in Sunriver, Oregon.  I contacted them and was hired for a summer internship.   Bandon Preserve I drove to Oregon from Virginia with my mom and drove back with my dad, creating wonderful memories with both of them.  While I was working at Crosswater, I asked my boss if he could get me on Ban ..read more

I know what your thinking Florida again?  Really?  Wasn't your last trip write up Florida?  Why don't you go someplace else?  Well this time I had a very good reason to make the relatively short trip down to Florida, golf course #2000.  I also made the mandatory stop at Streamsong as well as playing some very good courses in South Florida. Everglades Club, biarritz par three 14th hole The trip began, as most Florida trips do for me, at Streamsong Resort.  This was my 17th visit to Streamsong and I love the Red & Blue courses more every time I play the ..read more

  Sometimes there are happy accidents in life that turn into something very cool.  Such is the case for the above photo and the story behind it.  The ball markers you see are on the roof of our portable storage unit at work that we refer to as the bird cage.   We store it in the cart barn over night and wheel it out to the bag drop every morning.  One day a few months ago, one of our staff members put a couple random plastic ball markers on the roof of the bird cage.  The slates being a perfect place to put the markers.  It started with a handful, and ..read more

My trip to Florida in January was exciting for so many reasons.  I played a course that I was told was one of the hardest Ross courses to get on and I played a top 100 course designed by William Flynn that had been eluding me for many years.  Even with challenging weather at times, it was still a great trip to the Sunshine state. Indian Creek Club, wonderful short par four 13th hole The trip began at the happiest place on earth, or more accurately, the golf courses contained within.  In my many trips to Florida I had never played any of the courses at Disney.  Fou ..read more