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Ambush update: The Ponce is going across The Pond

Friday, May 18, 2012 Comments
Ponce.jpgThe Ponce was, and always will be, the first Ambush. It was 16 guys colliding with the courses of Sea Island, boyish camaraderie, enjoying the comforts of the Lodge, shoulder-season specials and a few bottles of wine on behalf of Golf Digest.

Now I can see why Geoff Shackelford made fun of my Ambush videos:


Anyway, I've kept in contact with both planners of The Ponce, Michael Palmore and Neil Thomson, and as they prep for their 10th annual buddies trip, I received this email from Thomson:

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This winner of the Major Championship Challenge is going to Ireland

Thursday, May 3, 2012 Comments
If there’s an easier way to win a $9,000 all-expenses-paid golf trip to Ireland, we haven’t heard about it.

“I was in shock!”

That was Brendan Fehr’s reaction when he found out he was the winner of an all-expenses-paid golf trip for two to Ireland thanks to his entry in Golf Digest’s Major Championship Challenge.

“I’ve subscribed to Golf Digest long enough to know that it’s owned by Conde Nast, so when Conde Nast came up on my caller ID, I answered the phone.”

Brendan.jpgFehr, 35, of West Valley, Ariz., picked Bubba Watson to win the Masters. “I love Bubba,” says Fehr. “He’s an amazing person. He has such imagination around the golf course, and that’s the reason he won.”

Fehr was one of 953 who entered the first leg of Golf Digest’s Major Championship Challenge, a fantasy golf competition based on the “five majors.” (We’re counting the Players Championship as the fifth major.)

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Trip Report: Ireland

Monday, April 30, 2012 Comments
Roger Schiffman, managing editor of Golf Digest, was on vacation playing golf in Ireland last week. When he got back, I put him to work, managing the following pictures and captions for this blog.

Here's Schiffman's trip report:

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Trip Report: The East Course at Dorado Beach in Puerto Rico

Friday, March 16, 2012 Comments
Colleague Mike Johnson is back from a recent trip to Puerto Rico. I asked for his thoughts on the East Course at Dorado Beach, so he filed this report:

Dorado.jpgThere are few things better than a buddies golf weekend in Puerto Rico. Unless it’s a buddies golf weekend in Puerto Rico that includes playing Dorado East. (Pictured: fourth hole.) Re-opened in November after an extensive renovation that included removing a massive amount of trees and vegetation allowing for views of the ocean on 14 holes, Dorado is worthy for the quality of its layout and conditioning as much as its views.

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Idaho’s Circling Bargain

Tuesday, February 28, 2012 Comments
When I visited the Coeur d’Alene Casino Resort two summers ago, I came away thinking it was one of the better bargains around, with peak-season green fees maxing out at $95 on its Circling Raven Golf Course.

Circling Raven.jpgManagement has announced a new deal that makes it even more attractive, in my view. Its All Inclusive Stay and Play Package costs $299 a person (double occupancy) for two nights, a round of golf each, a $50 per person spa credit, $25 a person dining credit and $15 of “casino cash.” Pretty good deal!
 
Or if you’re just interested in golf, basic stay-and-play packages start at $99 a person double occupancy. That includes a round of golf each on the Gene Bates-designed course, plus use of a GPS-equipped cart and the course’s expansive practice area.
 
I’ll admit I wasn’t DAZZLED by the casino’s accommodations when I was last there; I preferred staying at the more upscale Coeur d’Alene Resort just up the road (it’s the one with the famous island green). The casino was busily adding 100 higher-end hotel rooms, known as the Spa Tower, during my visit. They’re finished now and, on the website at least, they look like an improvement. This is where you stay as part of that All Inclusive deal.
 
The resort’s web site doesn’t have a lot of details about the All Inclusive Stay and Play deal as of this writing, but you can call 208-769-2600 and they’ll know what you’re talking about.

--Peter Finch

(Follow Pete on Twitter @Pete_Finch; follow me @Matt_Ginella.)

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Notes & Best of Booth Babes from the PGA Show

Sunday, January 29, 2012 Comments
Yes, I had a good show.

Back from my second PGA Show in Orlando, it's not unlike most conventions: meetings, meals and martinis. There were no beverage cart girls, but I did make a few minutes for the best of the booth babes.

My notebook (and iPhone) dump:

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Travel Tips for Playing, Parking and/or Attending the AT&T

Friday, January 27, 2012 Comments
If you’ve ever been to Carmel, Calif., you know it’s simultaneously one of the most beautiful and expensive places on earth. I got an email this week that served as a reminder there are some bargains there. It was pitching a twofer of reasonably priced offerings during the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, Feb. 6-12:
 
1. You can park for $20 a day in nearby Pacific Grove and take a shuttle over to the tournament. A five-day parking pass: $60. Click here for more details.

PacificGrove.jpg2. More important, you can play golf that week on one of my favorite little courses, Pacific Grove Golf Links, for a non-exorbitant fee. The course, whose back nine was laid about Pebble Beach architect Jack Neville and which runs right alongside Monterey Bay, has weekday tee times for as little as $29 and, at most, $57 per player. You read that right. More details here.

3. Also in this price range: The Bayonet and Blackhorse courses on the old Fort Ord site, just down the road in Seaside. Here, weekday tee times can be had for $51- $55.
 
Need tickets for the tournament itself? They’re just $10 for Monday’s practice round and $20 for Tuesday and Wednesday. They climb to $50 for the tournament days. Think of it this way: You could take a group of 10 for the cost of one Pebble Beach green fee!

--Peter Finch

(Follow Pete on Twitter @Pete_Finch; follow me @Matt_Ginella.)
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The Who, What, When, Why (and how) of Waialae's "W"

Thursday, January 12, 2012 Comments
Let’s say you’re a member of the board at a private Hawaiian club full of rich tradition. Your course is a classic design by Seth Raynor and Charles Banks that opened in 1927. You host a PGA Tour event, won by some of the biggest names in golf. In other words, all is good in the not-so-mad world of Waialae Country Club on Oahu.

Then along comes a member with respect for all of the above, but he also wants to discuss the dreaded topic of change. No, not to a bunker, or the routing. He’s happy with the conditions and doesn’t dabble in decisions about the color of the proposed rug in the clubhouse or the artwork on the walls. But drawing from one of his favorite movies, the ensemble comedy “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World,” Ethan Abbott has an idea of what to do with the four palm trees behind the seventh green (below). He wants to make them into the form of a “W.”

W_before.jpg He Wants to do What?!

Wait. Before you whack the idea, watch this video he put together to help his cause:

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Q&A: Catching up with Tiffany Crystal, tips from The Beverage Cart Girl

Friday, December 9, 2011 Comments
Have you seen the GolfDigest.com slideshow featuring The 18 Most Annoying Golf Partners? It’s one of the most popular features we’ve had on the site all year.

I tweeted that I’m the Delusional Cell Phone Sandbagger who Schmoozes with the Cart Girl. I also tweeted that almost every successful buddies trip has at least one of each, and then some. A buddies trip is like a salad: The more color, the better.

One might argue that part of the slideshow’s popularity can be attributed to Tiffany Crystal, who posed as the hot beverage cart girl.

cartgirl_0.jpgBecause I love you, I was able to get my hands on a few extra photos and a behind-the-scenes video of the shoot:


Then I called Ms. Tiffany Crystal for a quick Q&A. (It's my job. It's what I do.)

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Q&A: Donald Trump on his new course in Scotland and his contributions to golf

Friday, December 2, 2011 Comments
Donald Trump. I’ve met the man a few times. The first time was in the late 90s, when I was the golf photo editor for Sports Illustrated. As I recall, Trump was writing an article for the Golf Plus section of the magazine, and I went over to his office in New York to help coordinate the photo shoot. Simon Bruty was the photographer, and when we arrived, Trump wasn’t there. We were allowed to go into his office, overlooking Central Park, to set up lights, etc. As Bruty was doing his thing, I couldn’t help but look around. Trump’s desk was a mess. Not unlike the desk of Tiger Woods, which I saw when I was once allowed into his house. Papers everywhere.

Among the items on Trump’s desk was a note from George Steinbrenner: “Enjoy the game,” it said. And there were four tickets attached. I remember a Shaquille O’Neal basketball shoe. And a large collection of putters in the corner. One was all gold. Or, so I assumed. I picked that one up and started putting with it. At one point I picked up his phone, and in front of a wall of magazine covers, all featuring Trump, I did my best impersonation. At which point, Bruty snapped this photo:

Matt_Trump.jpgWhen Trump arrived he ducked into his private bathroom to wash his hands and fix that magnificent head of hair. When I suggested he remove his coat for the photo, which looked a lot like the photo of me, he declined. He said he wanted to conceal his love handles.
 
Like him or not, and there’s rarely any in between, Trump has pumped a lot of time, energy and money into the game of golf. And whether you like his courses or not, you have to respect his passion for whatever he does. Personally, I’m a Mike Keiser guy, which is to say I like a minimalist approach to course and clubhouse design. And therefore, I guess I’m not a Trump guy. 
 
Or, so I thought. 
 
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