Web.com Playoffs I just returned from a one month road trip that took me from Ft. Wayne, IN to San Diego, CA and back in nineteen days and after two days to regroup, another eight days away from home to Orange Beach, AL and back (with a quick stop in St. Francisville, LA). This was preceded by three days of volunteering at the Hotel Fitness Championship, the Web.com Tour's first 2014 playoff tournament, at Sycamore Hills Golf Club in Ft. Wayne.
I'm whooped! I think I know how Odysseus felt, though his trip was a bit longer and with more peril.
I played twenty-four rounds of golf in the first fourteen days, attended a four day Travel Writer's/Blogger's Conference in San Diego, drove back to Ft. Wayne in forty-six hours (with overnight stops in Phoenix and Oklahoma City), recovered for two days, traveled to St. Francisville, LA for another round of golf before resting on the beautiful beaches of the Alabama Gulf Coast for seven days followed by another fourteen hour drive back home.
This was the most complex trip I've ever planned. But I love when a plan comes together!
Here's a brief recap.
Beginning on Monday, August 25, I volunteered for three days at the Web.com Tour's Hotel Fitness Championship. This was the tour's first 2014 playoff/elimination tournament to determine which golfers earn status on the PGA Tour for 2015. I was a part of the Shuttles Team and my job was to shuttle the golfers and caddies from the Sycamore Hills clubhouse to the driving range and back. I had the early morning shift each day.
I left Ft. Wayne at 4:00 A.M. on Thursday, August 28. My first stop was in Broken Arrow, OK where I played Forest Ridges Golf Club. It just so happened Broken Arrow was about twelve hours from Ft. Wayne and a good point to stop driving a car and start driving a golf ball.
After a night in Oklahoma, I ventured south to Texas where I played in Nocona, TX and Runaway Bay, TX before making Horseshoe Bay Resort, just west of Austin, TX my playground for two days. Two of the courses at this resort are a part of my Quest.
I'm whooped! I think I know how Odysseus felt, though his trip was a bit longer and with more peril.
I played twenty-four rounds of golf in the first fourteen days, attended a four day Travel Writer's/Blogger's Conference in San Diego, drove back to Ft. Wayne in forty-six hours (with overnight stops in Phoenix and Oklahoma City), recovered for two days, traveled to St. Francisville, LA for another round of golf before resting on the beautiful beaches of the Alabama Gulf Coast for seven days followed by another fourteen hour drive back home.
This was the most complex trip I've ever planned. But I love when a plan comes together!
Here's a brief recap.
Beginning on Monday, August 25, I volunteered for three days at the Web.com Tour's Hotel Fitness Championship. This was the tour's first 2014 playoff/elimination tournament to determine which golfers earn status on the PGA Tour for 2015. I was a part of the Shuttles Team and my job was to shuttle the golfers and caddies from the Sycamore Hills clubhouse to the driving range and back. I had the early morning shift each day.
I left Ft. Wayne at 4:00 A.M. on Thursday, August 28. My first stop was in Broken Arrow, OK where I played Forest Ridges Golf Club. It just so happened Broken Arrow was about twelve hours from Ft. Wayne and a good point to stop driving a car and start driving a golf ball.
After a night in Oklahoma, I ventured south to Texas where I played in Nocona, TX and Runaway Bay, TX before making Horseshoe Bay Resort, just west of Austin, TX my playground for two days. Two of the courses at this resort are a part of my Quest.
Horseshoe Bay Resort in Texas - Downhill 10th Hole at Apple Rock Course Overlooking Lake LBJ
After a Sunday morning round at the resort, I drove ten hours to Albuquerque, NM where I spent the night. The University of New Mexico Golf Course, which I played Labor Day morning, is another course that's a part of my Quest. Playing early morning, I was surprised to see a pack of Mexican Gray wolves. The wolf is commonly referred to as "El lobo" and is the mascot of the University of New Mexico.
A Pack of Lobos on the 3rd Tee of the University of New Mexico Golf Course
After the round, I had yet another ten hour drive before spending the night at a delightful little hotel called Los Arboles which I will describe later.
Tuesday morning, I played 36 holes of golf on the two courses at Cimarron Resort near Palm Springs before a three hour drive to Simi Valley, CA where I spent three days and nights with old friends from Ft. Wayne, George and Patti Kubach. George and I played five rounds of golf during the three days.
Wednesday morning we played Rustic Canyon Golf Course, rated 97 on Golf Magazine's current Top 100 list and a part of my Quest. We played Saticoy Country Club in Somis, CA that afternoon.
Thursday was a day we won't soon forget. We were privileged to play two private courses in downtown Los Angeles with our host for the day, Scot Alexander. We played The Los Angeles Country Club and Hillcrest Country Club. Scot is one of Hillcrest's golf professionals. I had met Scot the previous year on a trip to Oregon. I'll provide more details in a later post but these are elite courses. The 2023 US Open will be played at The Los Angeles Country Club. And check out the picture below. I did not have the "see through" lens on my camera.
Tuesday morning, I played 36 holes of golf on the two courses at Cimarron Resort near Palm Springs before a three hour drive to Simi Valley, CA where I spent three days and nights with old friends from Ft. Wayne, George and Patti Kubach. George and I played five rounds of golf during the three days.
Wednesday morning we played Rustic Canyon Golf Course, rated 97 on Golf Magazine's current Top 100 list and a part of my Quest. We played Saticoy Country Club in Somis, CA that afternoon.
Thursday was a day we won't soon forget. We were privileged to play two private courses in downtown Los Angeles with our host for the day, Scot Alexander. We played The Los Angeles Country Club and Hillcrest Country Club. Scot is one of Hillcrest's golf professionals. I had met Scot the previous year on a trip to Oregon. I'll provide more details in a later post but these are elite courses. The 2023 US Open will be played at The Los Angeles Country Club. And check out the picture below. I did not have the "see through" lens on my camera.
The 13th Hole at The Los Angeles Country Club - Playboy Mansion Hidden Behind the Shrubbery
We played our last round of the week together on Friday morning at Olivas Links in Ventura , CA with George's neighbor, Brent Barker, who, coincidentally, attended Miami University in Oxford, OH at the same time George and I were there.
After the round at Olivas Links, I made a white-knuckle drive through Los Angeles mid-morning traffic to Rancho Palos Verdes to meet Wayne Deloney, a friend from Warrior Golf where we played Trump National Golf Club, rated 29 on Golf Magazine's current Top 100 list and therefore, a part of the Quest.
After the round at Olivas Links, I made a white-knuckle drive through Los Angeles mid-morning traffic to Rancho Palos Verdes to meet Wayne Deloney, a friend from Warrior Golf where we played Trump National Golf Club, rated 29 on Golf Magazine's current Top 100 list and therefore, a part of the Quest.
Trump National Golf Club on the Pacific Ocean
We finished the round near dusk and I made a Friday evening drive south to Carlsbad, CA where I was to stay at the La Costa Resort. Everybody told me to plan on three hours for the ninety-seven mile drive because of traffic but I was surprised to make it in less than two hours.
Wayne joined me for Saturday and Sunday rounds at the two La Costa courses, the course at Pala Mesa Resort and Aviara Golf Club, site of the LPGA Kia Classic. Two of these courses are a part of my Quest.
On Monday morning, I drove to Irvine, CA where I toured the Warrior Custom Golf facility and finally met some of the people I've spoken with over the years at Warrior Golf. That afternoon, I joined Wayne, Howard Farber, another Warrior Golf friend, and Eddie Buendia, a Warrior Golf investor, for 18 holes of golf at Arroyo Trabuco Golf Club, a fine track in Mission Viejo, CA.
Wayne and I were joined by Dave Hilliard, yet another Warrior Golf investor, on Tuesday where we played The Crossings at Carlsbad in Carlsbad, CA and Riverwalk Golf Course in the Mission Hills section of San Diego. The Crossings at Carlsbad opened in 2007 and took nearly 20 years to build. It was built by the city of Carlsbad on otherwise unusable land and ran into huge cost overruns before opening. At $62.8 million, it was the most expensive golf course ever built at the time. Those lucky taxpayers.
Wayne joined me for Saturday and Sunday rounds at the two La Costa courses, the course at Pala Mesa Resort and Aviara Golf Club, site of the LPGA Kia Classic. Two of these courses are a part of my Quest.
On Monday morning, I drove to Irvine, CA where I toured the Warrior Custom Golf facility and finally met some of the people I've spoken with over the years at Warrior Golf. That afternoon, I joined Wayne, Howard Farber, another Warrior Golf friend, and Eddie Buendia, a Warrior Golf investor, for 18 holes of golf at Arroyo Trabuco Golf Club, a fine track in Mission Viejo, CA.
Wayne and I were joined by Dave Hilliard, yet another Warrior Golf investor, on Tuesday where we played The Crossings at Carlsbad in Carlsbad, CA and Riverwalk Golf Course in the Mission Hills section of San Diego. The Crossings at Carlsbad opened in 2007 and took nearly 20 years to build. It was built by the city of Carlsbad on otherwise unusable land and ran into huge cost overruns before opening. At $62.8 million, it was the most expensive golf course ever built at the time. Those lucky taxpayers.
The Clubhouse at The Crossings of Carlsbad,
On Wednesday, I played two courses in Poway, CA with Glenn Rossman, an old softball buddy of mine from Ft. Wayne. We first played Maderas Golf Club, currently rated 89 on Golf Digest's Top 100 list and a part of my Quest, with Glenn's wife Lynn and good friend, Bud Taylor. That afternoon, Glenn and I played Glenn's home course in Poway, StoneRidge Country Club and after a brief stop at Glenn's home in Poway, I left for my hotel in the Mission Hills area of San Diego. I had played 24 rounds of golf at 24 different courses in 14 days while traveling a little over 3000 miles.
Productive!
My next four days were spent at a Travel Writer's/Bloggers conference at the Westgate Hotel in downtown San Diego. This conference was the impetus for my trip to the West Coast. This was an invaluable experience for in addition to many insider tips and tricks for landing articles in publications and scoring expense free trips, I made many "inside the industry" contacts I hope to leverage as I further my passion for writing. Several of the people I met are such drivers, they make me feel like a laggard. That's just the kind of people you need in your life to keep you on your toes!
When the conference ended at 5:30 Sunday evening, I immediately got back on the road. I drove for five hours and was stopped once on I-8 by the U.S. Border Patrol (no, I wasn't trying to sneak into Mexico) before spending the night in Phoenix, AZ. Early Monday morning, I was on the road for a thirteen and a half hour trip to Oklahoma City where I spent another night. And finally, early Tuesday morning I was on the road for the twelve and a half hour trip back to Ft. Wayne. All in all, the trip from San Diego to Ft. Wayne took forty-six hours with two short stays at hotels.
After two days of laundry, mail processing, and lawn-mowing, I was back on the road with family Friday morning, eventually headed for Orange Beach, AL. Of course, given the due south direction from Ft. Wayne, I took the opportunity to travel through Mississippi and into Louisiana to play a Saturday morning round of golf at The Bluffs Golf Resort in St. Francisville, LA, another course that is a part of my Quest. During my trip to The Bluffs, I was stopped by the Louisiana Highway Patrol where my vehicle was searched as there had been a prison break that morning. Again, I was sent on my way.
Productive!
My next four days were spent at a Travel Writer's/Bloggers conference at the Westgate Hotel in downtown San Diego. This conference was the impetus for my trip to the West Coast. This was an invaluable experience for in addition to many insider tips and tricks for landing articles in publications and scoring expense free trips, I made many "inside the industry" contacts I hope to leverage as I further my passion for writing. Several of the people I met are such drivers, they make me feel like a laggard. That's just the kind of people you need in your life to keep you on your toes!
When the conference ended at 5:30 Sunday evening, I immediately got back on the road. I drove for five hours and was stopped once on I-8 by the U.S. Border Patrol (no, I wasn't trying to sneak into Mexico) before spending the night in Phoenix, AZ. Early Monday morning, I was on the road for a thirteen and a half hour trip to Oklahoma City where I spent another night. And finally, early Tuesday morning I was on the road for the twelve and a half hour trip back to Ft. Wayne. All in all, the trip from San Diego to Ft. Wayne took forty-six hours with two short stays at hotels.
After two days of laundry, mail processing, and lawn-mowing, I was back on the road with family Friday morning, eventually headed for Orange Beach, AL. Of course, given the due south direction from Ft. Wayne, I took the opportunity to travel through Mississippi and into Louisiana to play a Saturday morning round of golf at The Bluffs Golf Resort in St. Francisville, LA, another course that is a part of my Quest. During my trip to The Bluffs, I was stopped by the Louisiana Highway Patrol where my vehicle was searched as there had been a prison break that morning. Again, I was sent on my way.
Gulf State Park Pier The drive from St. Francisville, LA to Orange Beach consumed four and a half hours and after joining family at a Vacation Rental Condo, we spent the evening sitting on the sugar white sands of the Gulf of Mexico listening to the waves and watching the sunset.
Shockingly, no golf was played during the week in Orange Beach. I spent most of each day trying to turn a golfer's tan into a beach comber's tan and then every evening, taking advantage of the Alabama coast's fresh seafood and local brews.
Shockingly, no golf was played during the week in Orange Beach. I spent most of each day trying to turn a golfer's tan into a beach comber's tan and then every evening, taking advantage of the Alabama coast's fresh seafood and local brews.
One of the area's establishments, the Flora-Bama Lounge, is rated in the top 10 on many lists of the best beach bars in the world. You have to see it to believe it!
Above the Dance Floor at the Flora-Bama Lounge
We left Orange Beach at 5:30 the next Saturday morning and were back in Ft. Wayne by 7:45 that evening--a fourteen hour drive.
Overall, I drove 8164 miles through thirteen different states (Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana), drove on twenty-six different Interstate Highways (5, 8, 10, 12, 15, 17, 20, 24, 25, 40, 44, 55, 59, 64, 65, 69, 70, 74, 110, 210, 405, 465, 469, 565, 710, and 805), paid tolls at six different toll booths, and stayed at fourteen different resorts/homes/hotels/rentals. I paid 3.999 for a gallon of gas in San Diego on my final Sunday there and 2.989 for a gallon of gas in Oklahoma City just a day and a half later.
Amazingly, I never encountered a single drop of rain the whole month!
For my Quest, I added three more courses on the current Top 100 Public Golf Courses lists (from 81 to 83 on the Golf Magazine list and 75 to 76 on the Golf Digest list), and eight more courses on the Golf Magazine 207 course "ever on the list" (from 164 to 172).
I met SO MANY new people during the month and spent time with a number of friends from the past. There is so much more to share including photos. I will be breaking it apart and providing several posts over the next couple of weeks.
Overall, I drove 8164 miles through thirteen different states (Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana), drove on twenty-six different Interstate Highways (5, 8, 10, 12, 15, 17, 20, 24, 25, 40, 44, 55, 59, 64, 65, 69, 70, 74, 110, 210, 405, 465, 469, 565, 710, and 805), paid tolls at six different toll booths, and stayed at fourteen different resorts/homes/hotels/rentals. I paid 3.999 for a gallon of gas in San Diego on my final Sunday there and 2.989 for a gallon of gas in Oklahoma City just a day and a half later.
Amazingly, I never encountered a single drop of rain the whole month!
For my Quest, I added three more courses on the current Top 100 Public Golf Courses lists (from 81 to 83 on the Golf Magazine list and 75 to 76 on the Golf Digest list), and eight more courses on the Golf Magazine 207 course "ever on the list" (from 164 to 172).
I met SO MANY new people during the month and spent time with a number of friends from the past. There is so much more to share including photos. I will be breaking it apart and providing several posts over the next couple of weeks.
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