60 Stories In 60 Days: Road Trip

COUNTDOWN TO THE ROAD TRIP

Two weeks until the Golf Digest 60th Anniversary Road Trip kicks off. I've booked a one-way ticket to San Francisco, where I'll pick up my loaner car and make tracks for the first destination on April 2nd: Pebble Beach Golf Links. I've never played America's Greatest Public Course, and to say I'm excited would be like saying a two-month road trip across the country to file 60 stories is a decent assignment.

Before I tee it up with head pro Chuck Dunbar, I'll take a walking tour of the resort with resident environmentalist Thomas Quattlebaum, a former paleo-oceanography/climatology researcher who will guide me through some of the initiatives that earned Pebble Beach Co. one of our magazine's inaugural Green Star Awards. Apparently the compost pile has an ocean view that will take your breath away.

After I putt out on eighteen, I'll crack open my laptop, find a reasonable place to sit, and then draft a story encapsulating the day (or maybe cut a short movie if I'm feeling energetic) to post on golfdigest.com. That night, it'll be a short 295 miles south, to Moorpark, CA, to play the next morning with Bob Roth of Saticoy Country Club. Bob has a statistical log of every round of golf he has ever played (over 8,400) he wants to show us. Bob shuns computers so I'm curious to see what the paperwork looks like, as well as what tendencies and anomalies he's uncovered. Bob raised Champions Tour player Jeff Roth, so I'm betting the elder has some real knowledge about this game to impart.

After Bob and I knock back an iced tea or two, I'll post a story about him and then drive to the next destination. On and on this will continue until there are 60 stories and I arrive at our magazine's home offices in New York City. Even if I don't visit you at your course, you can still ride shotgun by visiting www.golfdigest.com/go/maxtrip. You'll find a map updating my route and an interactive diary of the latest stories and videos.

Where will we go? For now the itinerary shall remain secret. Already lined up are some truly fantastic people to meet and places to play, but I expect we'll stumble upon many more in the back roads of America. It's going to be epic.

And it's just two weeks away.

-- Max Adler

60 STORIES IN 60 DAYS

March 2010

On April 2 I hit the road. Crossing the country from the West Coast to Golf Digest's New York City offices, I'll make 60 stops in 60 days. Or roughly 60 days. If there's one thing I know about road trips, it's to not burden oneself with too strict an itinerary. Things happen: flat tires, emergency nines and strangers with amazing stories who need to be taken to the nearest clubhouse, served a drink and interviewed--because the work output of this dream assignment also ties numerically to Golf Digest's 60th anniversary. I'll be filing 60 stories, complemented daily with photo and video from my satellite office (car, phone and laptop--what else does one need in this digital age?) on the rarest people and places in American golf.

It's natural at anniversaries to ponder the causes of one's longevity. For us the answer is self-evident: our readers. Without your collective passion for golf, we never would have grown from a circulation of zero in 1950 to 1.65 million today. What better way to celebrate this passion, we figured, than to get behind the wheel and visit the most passionate among you? And heck, if there's time, even play a few holes together.

We selected many of the destinations for this road trip by going through our archives, a collection of records doggedly maintained over the careers of several of our librarians. However, there are still some spots left. Have you, or someone you know, carried out a golf feat worthy of our anniversary recognition? Would we be missing out on a critical part of golf folklore if we failed to visit your home course? Let us know. You need not be highly skilled. If we just wanted scoring records, we'd go talk to PGA Tour players. Our goal is to find people as crazy about the game as we are. For example, Jerry Worsham of Fort Walton Beach, Fla., who teamed with friends to write a computer program to solve our 1969 word puzzle and win a lifetime subscription: You're getting a visit.

What are some of the other stops? Well, to name a few, we've got the University of Denver professor who made a 517-yard hole-in-one, the retiree from North Carolina who posted 711 rounds in one year, the Ohio foursome who walked 296 holes in 24 hours and a Massachusetts golf course that measures 8,325 yards from the tips.

Do I have the stamina to complete this undertaking? I've lived through enough close calls on the Interstate system, eyelids closing under their weight, tires alarmingly rubbing the shoulder grooves, to believe I do. And from these past personal trips I've learned a few things that will help me prepare for this one. First, I've got to revamp my music collection. (My iPod has more than 1,000 songs, all loved enough to purchase, yet in shuffle mode I can't seem to stomach more than one in every 10.) To prevent a heart attack, I've got to keep tabs on my fast-food intake. Our national landscape is often one of tempting convenience.

Even if your course isn't one of my 60 stops, there will be other ways to join the fun. Bookmark this page to follow my progress, see where I've explored and learn details about special promotions, like daily prizes for spotting me. Because what good is an anniversary without presents?

IS MAX STOPPING BY YOUR HOME COURSE?

If you or someone you know has accomplished a rare golf feat, or your course has a highly unusual feature, send a nomination letter to roadtrip@golfdigest.com. Include your name, contact information and all the good reasons we should come hang out. The below list of 14 stops will give you an idea of the kind of things we have in mind.

1. LONGEST HOLE-IN-ONE DENVER
Michael Crean aced the 517-yard, par-5 ninth at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club in 2002.

2. LONG-DRIVE PROVING GROUND / LITTLE ROCK
Long Drive champ Sean (The Beast) Fister poses the same challenge to any upstarts who think they can make it in pro long drive: Carry the Arkansas River from the lawn of the Clinton Presidential Library & Museum. (It's 360 yards.)

3. MOST COMPETITIVE CLUB MESQUITE, TEX.
Dallas Athletic Club topped our 2008 ranking of the golf clubs with the best players by handicap.

4. BIGGEST PRIVATE GOLF LIBRARY / CLEVELAND
Alastair Johnston has more than 16,000 volumes, and his goal is to collect every golf book ever published.

5. OLDEST MASTERS CONTESTANT / STUART, FLA.
Errie Ball, age 99, is the only living golfer from the first Masters, played in 1934.

6. LONGEST PUTT ROCHESTER, N.Y.
Bob Coughlin sank a putt of 149 feet, two inches at Schalamar Creek Golf Club in Lakeland, Fla., in 1992. It was on the ninth hole, which shares a double green with the 18th.

7. LOWEST SCORE USING ONE CLUB / DURHAM, N.C.
Thad Daber carried just a 6-iron when he shot 70 (two under par) to win the World One-Club Championship in 1999.

8. LIFETIME-SUBSCRIPTION WINNER / FORT WALTON BEACH, FLA.
Jerry Worsham is one of 241 wordsmiths who found the names of 72 pro golfers in our 1969 puzzle contest.

9. MOST CLUB-CHAMPIONSHIP TITLES CINCINNATI
Joan Comisar has won the Ladies Club Championship 29 times at Kenwood Country Club and 18 times in California (17 at Springs Country Club and one at the Club at Morningside), for a total of 47.

10. LONGEST GOLF COURSE BOLTON, MASS.
The par-73 Pines Course at The International is 8,325 yards from the longest tees. The Course Rating is 80.0.

11. MOST TIRELESS TEACHER ALBUQUERQUE
Jack Hardwick has died, but a statue honors the pro who gave an estimated 2,000 lessons annually.

12. LOWEST ELEVATION COURSE / DEATH VALLEY, CALIF.
The Furnace Creek Golf Course is 214 feet below sea level.

13. THE 100 PERCENT ORGANIC GOLF COURSE EDGARTOWN, MASS.
Vineyard Golf Club superintendent Jeff Carlson uses bio-stimulants and composted fertilizers instead of conventional pesticides.

14. MOST PROLIFIC COURSE RATER / LECANTO, FLA.
Terry Inslee, a member of the Golf Digest Course Rating Panel since 1984, has played 2,532 courses in the United States.