I've played many rounds of golf over the years in Florida as a traveling golfer. In fact, I've played nearly 70 different golf courses in the state. Prior to June of this year, only six of those rounds were in the Orlando area.

I played Black Bear Golf Club, DeBary Golf & CC, and Deer Island Golf Club just northwest of Orlando in May, 2004. In March, 2012, I had arguably my greatest thrill in golf when I played Arnold Palmer's Bay Hill and met The King on the driving range (see http://logoballtraveler.com/blog/the-most-memorable-golf-trip). I played Championsgate (International) in February, 2013 the day before playing the new courses at Streamsong. And I played the New Course at Grand Cypress in April, 2016 (see http://logoballtraveler.com/blog/two-more-top-100-golf-courses-added-on-spring-trip).

But I still wanted to spend a week in Orlando playing many of the courses I've heard about from friends over the years. The Disney courses, Orange County National, Mission Inn. And that's what I did earlier this month.

I booked a room at a Fairfield Inn near Universal Studios for a week beginning Monday June 10 and proceeded to play thirteen different courses in the next six days.

The are four Disney golf courses. Three, the Magnolia, the Palm, and the nine hole walking Oak Trail course play out of the same clubhouse. The Lake Buena Vista course is 7 miles to the southeast or about a twenty minute drive. Each of the three eighteen hole courses have hosted PGA Tour events.

My itinerary called for a round at the Lake Buena Vista course on my way into Orlando on Monday, a round at the nine hole Oak Trail at the end of Tuesday's 45 hole day, and rounds at the Magnolia and Palm back to back on Thursday.

But one of the conditions I failed to anticipate is Florida weather in June. There is a preponderance of daily afternoon thunderstorms and course conditions can become rather soggy. That's exactly what happened during my week in Orlando and it led to some reshuffling of my itinerary.

As far as prices are concerned, I did not find the fees out of line. Lake Buena Vista was $39, Oak Trail was $29 (admittedly a bit expensive for a nine hole walking only course), Palm was $85, and Magnolia $69 (there was a replay discount since I was supposed to play these courses back to back on the same day). You can get better rates if you are a resort guest.

Regarding the Pro Shops, while there is a great deal of clothing merchandise in each, it is all Disney themed and really nothing that I would want to wear.

I drove to Orlando immediately after a round of golf on St. Simons Island in Georgia. I had a 4:21 tee time and as I reached Orlando, the skies were darkening. It was very humid and the air was thick.

Lake Buena Vista is a Joe Lee design that opened in 1972. It's rather flat and winds through condominiums and homes and bordered by pines and palmettos. There are several lakes and a stream frequented by boats full of Disney patrons.

I played the par five first hole as the sound of thunder were heard in the distance and hit my tee shot on the par three second when the horn blew to vacate the course. I made it back to the clubhouse before a torrent of rain hit. The radar did not look good as I waited nearly two hours for the heavy rain to subside. I took the time to grab a snack and then explored the Pro Shop.

The rain did end and by that time, I was the only person who returned to the course (it seemed) and was able to complete a soggy round in just over two hours.

The course is fine; nothing special and its condition was average.

​I played the Oak Trail course after 36 holes of golf earlier in the day in Kissimmee. The weather on this Tuesday provided one of the better days of the week as the storms stayed away and the sunshine was plentiful.

Ron Garl designed the course and it opened in 1982. You will have a bit of a walk from the Pro Shop to the first tee of this course.

​There are three sets of tees at Oak Trail. The back tees play 2913 yards with holes ranging from 132 to 517 yards. There are middle tees and also a set of tees that plays at 1713 yards for Juniors and Beginners. The course is tree-lined and holes five through seven are routed around a deep canal.

My expectation was this nine-holer would be a flat, bland, walk in the park. I was wrong. I was a bit tired to begin with and this course turned out to have a bit of elevation change. To make matters worse, I failed to pay attention, and made a wrong turn.

​After playing the fourth hole, instead of turning toward hole five, I played the eighth hole and didn't realize my mistake until I saw the tee marker for the ninth hole. So I had to walk all the way back to the fifth tee. 

I saw only one other twosome the whole time I was on the course. Like the Lake Buena Vista course, the Oak Trail's condition was just average. But I did appreciate the thought of a walking only golf course.

I was originally scheduled to play Disney's Palm Course and then Disney's Magnolia Course on Friday of this week. But the weather intervened. When I got to the course Friday morning, I was informed the Palm Course was closed for the day. The rains earlier in the week including downpours the day before made the course unplayable. That threw a big wrench into my itinerary. Fortunately, the Magnolia Course was open and they were able to get me into one of the first groups. And they accommodated my request to play the Palm Course first thing Saturday morning (weather permitting). That meant I had to try to move my Saturday morning tee time in Haines City up to Friday afternoon after my round at the Magnolia.

The Magnolia Course was designed by Joe Lee and Rocky Roquemore and opened in 1971. It is the longest of the Disney courses and you will find water on eleven of the eighteen holes.

I was paired with Spencer, Kevin, and Jason. Since the course is on the same property as the Palm, it was pretty soggy. But it apparently drains just a little better than the Palm.

I probably played the wrong set of tees and I am sure my partners did too. We played a soggy course at 6558 yards and paid the price. There was no roll!

The Magnolia course is wonderful. And its condition is much better than Lake Buena Vista and Oak Trail. I would certainly play it again.

Disney's Palm Course was opened in 1971 and originally designed by Joe Lee and Rocky Roquemore. In 2013, the Arnold Palmer Design Company completely redesigned the course building new green complexes, reshaped tees, and brand new bunkers. There is water on half of the holes.

​I was paired with Darrell, Beau, and Tom and the course was still very soggy. But on this day, we played a set of tees more conducive to the conditions and it showed in the scoring.

Like the Magnolia Course, the Palm was in very good shape despite the soggy conditions. And it is another course I would play again.

When I develop my itineraries, I try to select courses that will minimize the drive between golf courses. This Tuesday, I selected two courses that were only 3.5 miles apart and very close to I-4. Additionally, Kissimmee is just 20 minutes south of my hotel. And I was scheduled to follow the 36 holes with a nine hole round at Disney's Oak Trail.

The weather on this day was typical of the trip. It began with lots of sun, had storms late afternoon, and cooled down a bit with humidity at the end.

Falcon's Fire Golf Club is a Rees Jones/Greg Muirhead design that opened in 1993. Water is a key feature on the course, especially the back nine with holes thirteen through seventeen playing around two large lakes.

I had the first tee time of the day at 7:00 A.M. and was paired with two gentlemen from Chicago, Jim and Jordan. Jordan is a pharmacist for a large chain and we got into a very interesting discussion about CBD oil as a help in dealing with aches and pains. During the conversation, he admitted this is a totally new area for most pharmacists but also that his nationwide corporation was about to start selling a line of CBD oils.​

Falcon's Fire was in great shape and has a nice routing. This is one of the better courses I played on this trip. The greens fee was $49.

The Pro Shop has a good selection of merchandise and I rate it above average.

While not really in Kissimmee (it's actually in Celebration, FL), Celebration Golf Club is not far from it. The course is a Robert Trent Jones Sr. and Robert Trent Jones Jr. collaboration that opened in 1996. As a matter of fact, Celebration is the final course designed by the father/son team.

There is a great deal of water on this golf course. It comes into play on nearly every hole. Celebration has four sets of tees but also has two combo choices so there are six sets of rated tees. Two of the sets are rated for ladies.

I teed off as a single just before noon as the weather was still cooperating. As I finished the fifteenth hole, the skies darkened and I caught up with a single in front of me. We played the final three holes together amidst distant thunder and showers. 

Celebration Golf Club is a great track and you should make it a part of your itinerary when you visit Orlando. Celebration is an excellent value as I paid only $35. I did not visit the Pro Shop so I cannot provide any feedback.

I traveled 45 minutes northwest of Orlando to Howey-In-the-Hills, FL on Wednesday to play the highly rated Mission Inn Golf courses. One of the courses, El Campeon, is on the Florida Historic Golf Trail. I am a fan of golf trails. This particular trail is a program created by the Florida Division of Historical Resources to promote Florida's historic golf courses that are publicly accessible without restrictions. There are currently 53 courses on the trail and it looks like I've played four already by accident. Certainly, if I lived in Florida, this would be a trail I would try to complete.

I had quite a bit of trouble finding the Pro Shop at Mission Inn. Navigation wasn't much help once I arrived at the property. The resort consists of many residences plus two golf courses. I had the first tee time at 6:41 and as usual, was worried I'd miss my tee time. How silly of me. I got there just before my tee time and there was nobody around except the grounds crew and the cart attendants.

I played the newer of the two courses at Mission Inn first. Las Colinas was designed by Gary Koch and opened in 1992. Mission Hills' website describes Las Colinas (Spanish for "the hills") as follows: it is an "inland links design with generous, wide-open fairways, gentle rolling hills and large, undulating greens."

​I played as a single and found it to be a typical, somewhat flat Florida golf course. 

With such an early tee time, I caught up to the grounds crew on hole 15. But I was finished with the round by 9:30. With a tee time of 11:56 on the El Campeon course, I headed to the Pro Shop and was given approval to begin my second round. 

El Campeon (spanish for "the champion") is one of the South's oldest golf courses. It was designed by George O'Neil and opened for play in 1917. This golf course totally surprised me. I didn't expect elevation like I found here. There are elevation changes of more than 85 feet. The fairways are rolling and the greens quite undulating.

I stopped as I drove towards the first tee to read the signs that trumpeted the age of the course and the Florida Historic Golf Trail.

Having just played the Las Colinas course, I expected a track that was somewhat similar.

​Was I ever in for a surprise!

I loved El Campeon! I don't have any pictures of the signature hole, number seventeen, because I didn't expect such a surprise. It's a par 5 double dogleg and from the tee, a first time player would never know what is in store. Essentially, it's a long target golf hole that requires two good shots to set up a third shot over water to the green. It's a hole you play and then want to go back and play it again now that you know what's required.

I paid $40 to play Las Colinas and $49 to play El Campeon. What. A. Bargain. You need to make a trip to Mission Inn the next time you are in Orlando.

I spent just a little time in the Pro Shop and was not impressed.

I had heard friends talk about Orange County National and certainly wanted to experience this property. There are three courses at OCN: Panther Lake, Crooked Cat, and the nine hole walking course called The 
Tooth. The property was about a half hour from my hotel.

My tee time at Panther Lake was 6:27, the first of the day. Phil Ritson, David Harman, and Isao Aoki designed both eighteen hole courses at Orange County National. Panther Lake opened in 1997.

Here's the best thing about this property: there is not a single home in sight! This is truly unique for Florida golf courses.

Of the two regulation courses here, I liked Panther Lake the most. It has elevation changes of up to 60 feet. Fairways are generous and the greens putt like bent greens. I discovered this is due to the Champion Dwarf Bermuda Grass that was planted in 2011. Very nice.

I had to wait on the grounds crew quite a bit but the morning was so calm and quiet, I really didn't care. I completed the eighteenth hole two hours before my tee time on the Crooked Cat course.

The Crooked Cat course opened for play in 1998 and the greens were completely replanted with Bermuda Ultra Dwarf Turf Grass in 2012.

Crooked Cat has elevation changes, just not as significant as its sister course. The course has large rolling fairways and huge contoured greens. It has a linksy feel with native heather grasses and mounds that frame the fairways.

This is a course where you can take a "grip it and rip it" attitude off the tees as it is difficult to miss the fairway. Obviously, you may not have the perfect angle into the greens taking this approach but it is definitely a second shot course. 

Things became somewhat slow as I made the turn at Crooked Cat. I had caught up to a foursome. As I played the tenth hole, a pretty hard rain began but fortunately, it lasted just a hole. The skies were darkening again by the time I finished the round.

The Tooth is Orange County National's nine hole walking course. It has seven par 3 holes and two par 4 holes. A lake is in play on four of the holes.

This was the last Orlando area course I played. It became somewhat of a rush as I hurried to the course after a five hour round at Shingle Creek. I did not get to the property until after 7:30 PM and by the time I got to the course, the Pro Shop was closed. The bag staff was still working and they told me to just go play it.

So that's what I did.

The skies were overcast as I began my round so darkness would be setting in pretty quickly. The walk to the first tee from the parking lot is pretty long as is the walk from the ninth green back to the parking lot.

It takes no more than an hour to play The Tooth and I completed the round as the sun set.

From a value standpoint, Orange County National is excellent. Each 18 hole round cost $47.50 and because of my timing, The Tooth was free. Normal cost is $10. There is onsite lodging at Orange County National and guests can play The Tooth at no charge. The regulation courses were in very good shape; The Tooth was OK.

Orange County National has a huge Pro Shop that is well-stocked.

​You should put this resort on your list when you visit Orlando.

Southern Dunes was the course I had scheduled to play on Saturday morning but because of the closing of the Disney Palm course, I had to reschedule this course for Friday afternoon.

After completing my round at Disney's Magnolia course, I headed south towards Haines City and 45 minutes later, was at the course. My tee time was loosely scheduled for around 1:00. As it turned out, I was on the first tee at 1:15.

Southern Dunes was designed by Steve Smyers and opened in 1993. This is another part of Florida with rolling hills and elevation changes up to 100 feet. The greens are large and undulating and the bunkers are massive and high-lipped.

Play was slow as I was required to follow the Friday afternoon crowd. The course plays through an upscale housing addition and most of the holes are lined by homes.

The course has some exceptional holes. All the par threes play downhill. The par fives allow a margin for error off the tee. The course is well manicured.

Play was slow and the routing through the neighborhood was confusing to first time players.

​My round cost $45. I was served a fine chili dog as I waited in the restaurant. This is not a bad course and I would play it again but there are other courses in the area I would put higher on my list.

Shingle Creek opened for play in 2003 after a design by David Harman. In 2013, Thad Layton of Arnold Palmer Design Company completed a redesign.

My tee time was 1:19 and as it turned out, my group didn't tee off until an hour later after several false starts. There was some sort of a scramble tournament occupying the course and a queue of people waiting for that to finish so they could tee off. We were finally sent to the tenth tee before the starter changed his mind and sent us to the first tee.

I was paired with Colin Dobbyne from Cambridge, England, David from Provo, UT, and Ben and Dot (Ben's wife who rode along). Ben left after nine holes which gave David, Colin and I time to talk as we waited on the groups ahead.

Colin was a small business owner in the technology space and had flown in from England to make a presentation at a conference. After the conference, he went to the onsite Brad Brewer Golf Academy to work on his swing. This was his first round after his lesson. Let me tell you, Colin had a nice game. David was a dentist and he too was a pretty good player.

Shingle Creek does not have much elevation change but the designers did a nice job in contouring the land. Water comes into play on at least half the holes. The greens range in size from 3500 square feet to 9500 square feet and provide interest and challenge by the way of swales, nobs and pitch.

​This course could be awesome but on the day we played, there were additional changes being made on the back nine which shortened one hole by 200 yards. And play was sllooowwww. I don't want my review to be sullied by the delays before tee-off and slow play but it probably is.

I paid $45 for my round which I thought was quite fair. Shingle Creek has an award winning Pro Shop.

I left Orlando on a Sunday morning and traveled 85 miles southwest to Bowling Green, FL where I met friend Steve Ramp who traveled north from Cape Coral, FL. We had a 10:43 AM tee time at the Black Course, the third and newest of the courses at Streamsong Resort. We had played the Red and the Blue courses shortly after they opened in 2013.

The Black Course is a bit south of its sister courses and plays out of a different clubhouse. The entire property is 16,000 acres and the site of an old phosphate mining operation. The Black is a massive golf course and the entire 18 hole loop is over six miles.

The course is a Gil Hanse design that opened for play in 2017. Like its sister courses, it did not take long for the Black to gain accolades, entering Golf Digest's 2019 "America's 100 Greatest Public Courses" list at number 32. That may be too low.

Let me say before I begin, the weather was not our ally on this Sunday. The horn blew as we finished the ninth hole and we sat in the clubhouse for over an hour before the rains subsided. After hitting our tee shots on hole 10, the rains came again and we never returned. So we have a nine hole rain check we will use in the future.

The Black Course plays fast! Its fairways are hard and closely mowed and you get a great deal of roll. The greens are also firm and MASSIVE! And they are very undulating. During my research, I read the total acreage of the 18 greens on the Black course is more than the total acreage of the 36 greens on the Red and Blue courses combined.

The front nine plays to a par of 36 with two par threes and two par fives. The back nine has three par fives and plays to a par of 37.

There is more elevation change than I expected for this relatively flat site. There is no way you can play the Black Course without a caddie until you have played it a few times. The second hole, a par 4, plays uphill to a green surface you can't see. The fifth hole, a medium length par 3 also plays to a green far above the tee which can't be seen. Of special note is a putting green you will certainly read about, the ninth hole's Punchbowl green. It sits above the fairway and is also blind to the golfer. A clever sign on the tee indicates where the pin is located that day.

You will find huge fairways on the Black Course and as a result, you will hit a lot of fairways. But you won't always have an ideal shot to the green unless you have taken the correct line. This is where your caddie comes in handy. You will face every kind of shot you can imagine. On just the front nine, you will face uphill and downhill shots, blind shots, easy greens to hit, greens that are impossible to hold, putts that are impossible to make, shallow bunkers, deep bunkers (even a Devil's Asshole on hole 6) and not much in the way of water.

 I am not usually a fan of blind shots but I must admit, this course is fun to play despite the blind shots. As a matter of fact, after only nine holes on the course, I think the Black Course may end up being my favorite of the three.

Obviously, ​I will have more to say about the Black Course when I have a chance to play the back nine.

​By the way, the greens fee was $89 with a caddie flat fee of $75. Tips are optional but most caddies do deserve a tip. Ours was very helpful. ​

After the rain chased us away from the Streamsong Resort, I drove a little over two hours through intermittent rain to my hotel in Ocala, FL where I would complete the golf portion of the trip with two rounds on Monday, the first at Juliette Falls and the second at Ocala National.

John Clark, a frequent golf partner of mine from Fort Wayne recommended I stop in Dunnellon, FL and play a favorite course of his, Juliette Falls, just 15 miles west of Ocala.

Designed by John Sanford, Juliette Falls opened in 2007 and is the focal point of this golf course community. The community has 540 golf home sites on 546 acres. Just adjacent to the community is Florida's fourth largest natural spring, Rainbow Springs, that produces more than 460 million gallons of crystal clear water daily.

The land is rolling and the course is dotted with native Oak Trees, many of which are over 100 years old.

Golf Advisor rates Juliette Falls the 4th Best "Underrated Golf Course" in Florida.

I had the first tee time of the day and was joined by two super seniors, K.E. and Jack, regulars who play the course six times a week. They played the forward tees and I chose the whites which play to 6269 yards.

WIth K.E. and Jack speeding up to the forward tees, I had a little trouble getting good unobstructed pictures of the course.

Juliette Falls was in decent shape with the exception of the Par 3 thirteenth hole. This is a beautiful hole called "The Falls" and surrounded by water beginning front center and wrapping around the left side of the green to back center. K.E. and Jack explained to me they have had trouble with flooding on this hole and as a result, the green was in poor shape. It is certainly the signature hole and I would have liked to take a picture of it.

I really enjoyed the course. It has a good blend of long, medium, and short par threes, par fours that demand both fades and draws off the tee, and reachable par fives.

​I paid $45 to play, a good late Spring bargain.

Ocala National was the last of my eighteen rounds on this nine day golf trip. I wish I had done a little better research as Ocala National was not the best choice for my last round.

The course was designed by Charles Pace and Lee Poppel and opened in 1964. Rees Jones and Steve Weisser did a complete redesign in 2003.

The course was the first private golf club in Marion County and is now offering tee times to the public. The course is surrounded by "majestic oaks and towering pines." It is set among rolling hills and surrounded by thoroughbred horse farms.

Like many Florida courses, this course is surrounded by homes.

I had a 1:00 tee time and the course was very crowded when I started. Ocala National has five sets of tees and two sets of combo tees that are rated. I waited on every shot and didn't leave the course until almost 5:30. Additionally, there was distant thunder as I got to the sixteenth tee and I was anxious to get on the road and complete a six hour drive to Prattville, AL where I would spend the night.

​I only paid $30 for the round so I probably shouldn't complain too much. But the course was rough around the edges and the property seemed a little dilapidated. I would not play it again. There are better options in the Ocala area.

The Sea Island Resort is located on St. Simons Island halfway between Savannah GA and Jacksonville, FL. just off the east coast of Georgia. A Triple-A Five Star resort, Sea Island has been the site of many historic events including the wedding of Winston Churchill's daughter Sarah and the G8 Summit during George W. Bush's Presidency.

The storied history of the resort began in 1924 when the Causeway between Brunswick, GA and St. Simons Island opened. In 1928. The Cloister, the first of the island's hotels opened along with the 9-hole Seaside golf course.

Many Presidents have spent time at the resort including Calvin Coolidge who started a tradition of planting Oak trees during a visit in December 1928. Dwight Eisenhower followed suit as did Gerald Ford,  Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush. Other dignitaries including Margaret Thatcher, Tony Blair, and queens and princes have participated in the tradition.

Over the years, new lodging options were added and in 1998, Rees Jones and Tom Fazio turned the four nine hole courses on the property into the Seaside and Plantation golf courses.

The Lodge at Sea Island opened in 2001 and that same year, Davis Love III and his brother Mark created the Resort Course which transformed the former St. Simons Island Club course.

​In 2010, the first McGladrey Classic, now known as the RSM Classic was played on the Seaside course. This PGA Tour FedEx Cup event is hosted by Davis Love III.

Most recently, the Loves completed an extensive redesign of the Plantation Course.

I drove to the resort after my Sunday morning round at the May River course in Bluffton, SC. Because I arrived several hours before the 3:00 PM check-in time, I had time to tour the facilities. One of the first things I learned is that gentlemen are not allowed to wear hats anywhere inside The Lodge or Pro Shop.

I chose to stay at The Lodge during my visit because of its proximity to the golf courses and practice facilities. There are several other lodging options including The Cloister, Sea Island's original hotel, The Inn, six cottages close to The Lodge, and Broadfield, a Southern-style Sporting Club.

Very simply, everything at this resort is first class. The Lodge has rich wood, exposed beams and marble baths. And while relatively new, it is made to look like an older English-style manor. I appreciated the smaller scale, quaint experience as opposed to some of larger resorts I've experienced. One simple example is the ability to park the car right below my room near the check-in area.

​Additionally, the lodge overlooks the ocean and a mammoth 18 hole putting course designed by Davis Love III. The Pro Shop for the Seaside and Plantation courses is attached to the Lodge and it is within walking distance of the practice facilities and the two courses.

While there are many dining options at the resort, I chose to have a few IPA's in the Oak Room at The Lodge before checking into my room and later, experienced The Colt & Alison, a seaside steakhouse also at The Lodge. As you would expect, the dining experience was first class.

After dinner, I spent time on the 18 hole Putting Green before watching as a bagpiper walked up the path along the ocean near dusk.
 
Turn down service included warm chocolate chip cookies and a glass of milk. How could anyone complain about that?!

Of course, my visit to Sea Island was necessitated by The Quest, my attempt to play all the courses that have ever had a spot on Golf Magazine's "Top 100 Courses You Can Play" list.

And the need to spend a night at the resort is a requirement to play golf at the resort.

Seaside is ranked 22 on the most recent list and has been as high as 16. It is ranked 33 on Golf Digest's most recent list.

Famous golf course architects Harry S. Colt and Charles Alison were the designers of Seaside's original nine holes in 1929. In 1999, Tom Fazio blended these original nine holes along with another original nine hole course, the Marshside, and delivered what Davis Love III described as "18 holes that didn't match into 18 matchless holes."

The golf course is a links style course that borders a large marsh adjacent to the sea. Its conditions were impeccable. The recent rains were nothing for this sand-based course.

There are two other courses at the resort. The Plantation Course (which was undergoing a redesign by the Love brothers during my visit) and The Retreat, redesigned by the Love brothers in 2001. The Plantation Course incorporates Walter Travis' original nine hole course which opened in 1928 and The Retreat was reconfigured on the site of the original St. Simons Island Club course.

Although I had the first tee time of the day, a twosome snuck out in front of me.They soon found out they would be pushed hard and allowed me to play through on hole 4. As is usual with a first tee time, I encountered many grounds crew workers and had no issue. I don't think they did either.

The front nine plays back towards the clubhouse in case golfers need to make a stop. The 13th green and 14th hole are really the only holes along the sea.

If nothing else, the slideshow depicts the flatness of the land, the prevalence of marshland, the gorgeous vistas, and its impeccable condition.

The Pro Shop at Sea Island is one of the best I have ever seen. It has a little of everything and its selection of hats and shirts is a golf tourist's dream. Needles to say, I got my money's worth there.

I had only one small issue during my entire stay. On the morning of my round, I received no direction from anyone at the facility and wasted time trying to find Seaside's first tee.

​That said, you will love this resort. It has everything for the golfer and the golfer's family.

The May River Golf Course at Palmetto Bluff has been on my radar for many years. Opened in 2004, this Jack Nicklaus Signature design made its debut on Golf Magazine's "Top 100 Courses You Can Play" list in 2006. It sits at number 52 on the current list. It is rated even higher on Golf Digest's "America's 100 Greatest Public Courses" 2019 list at number 40.

The course is in Bluffton, SC, just west of Hilton Head Island along the May River in the Lowcountry of South Carolina. The drive to the golf course through the May River Forest is picturesque over winding roads lined by centuries old Live Oak trees.

While you may read that the golf course is private, it is actually open for play to guests of Montage Palmetto Bluff resort. Caddies are required.

​The course features tee boxes and fairways of Paspalum, the newest eco-friendly turf. And Mr. Nicklaus chose to fill his bunkers with sand from his home state of Ohio since the angular grains adhere better to sloped surfaces, holding up better to the coastal weather.

My drive through South Carolina from Indiana featured many powerful bursts of rain and I had some doubts about the course being open for play given the forecast for that Saturday evening and Sunday morning. Storms did move through during the night but by early morning, sunshine was plentiful.

Needless to say, the golf course was soaked and played long. While the grounds crew did a marvelous job draining the bunkers, the sand was hard and wet.

Taylor Sanders was my caddie and after a warm-up on the range and a few putts, I was first off at 8:30 as a single.

​There are many things I like about May River. One is the absence of paved cart paths. A second is the food at the Comfort Stations. On each nine is a cooler with water, apples, and hard-boiled eggs. A very nice touch. And finally, the practice area is large with a separate area for short game work at the back of the driving range.

I really like the creativity of May River's logo. My caddie, Taylor, pointed out that it is taken from the very large and very old Live Oak tree just short and to the left of the 18th green. As you can see in the picture, there is a Palm tree centered in front of the Live Oak. These trees are incorporated into the logo as can be seen above in the picture of May River's logo ball. Taylor made sure I took several photos of the trees from various angles.​​

Interestingly, I hooked my second shot on this par five hole under that very Live Oak tree.

There is no question this course deserves its accolades and lofty ranking on the Top 100 lists. I had a fabulous day and caddie Taylor, an accomplished player himself, really knew the course and was quite helpful.

One very minor quibble: the selection of merchandise in the Pro Shop is very average as compared to most courses as highly rated as May River.

​​​The 2020 Memorial Tournament began the next day, Thursday, May 30 in Dublin, Ohio at the Muirfield Village Golf Club

This was my second trip to the Memorial as I also attended the 1998 tournament.

As nearly every golfer knows, Muirfield Village Golf Club was designed by Columbus, Ohio native Jack Nicklaus and he is the tournament's host. Each year, the tournament honors a golf legend. The 2019 honoree was Judy Rankin, LPGA Hall of Famer and Golf Channel/NBC golf broadcaster.

John and I were guests of his financial adviser and we began the day at a home to the right side of the par 5 11th hole. We were not shy about partaking in the food and beverages provided by our hosts. Our goal was to walk the entire golf course and of course, make frequent stops to watch tournament play.

Now John has resided in the Columbus area for many years and as a local football, basketball and baseball official, knows a lot of people! As we made our way around the golf course, we stopped frequently to chat with friends of John and a few times, were invited to join parties at other homes.

And again, we were not shy about partaking in the offered beverages.​

After day one, Ryan Moore led the field after shooting a seven under par 65 with Jorndan Spieth one back after a six under 66. Five players were tied for third after rounds of five under par.

Ultimately, Patrick Cantlay won the tournament by two strokes, banking a cool $1.638 million with Adam Scott as the runner-up. Cantlay was the only player in the field to shoot four rounds in the 60's.

The Memorial Tournament has a history of poor weather. Luckily, John and I had temperatures in the low 80's, overcast skies with a threat of rain and very few sprinkles.

All in all, it was a good short trip. I got a closer look at The Ohio State University, watched John enjoy his sports officiating, walked the entire Muirfield Village Golf Course, watched many of today's great players and enjoyed cold beverages and excellent food. Perfect!