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A Quest to Play the Top 100 Public Golf Courses in the United States
A Quest to Play the Top 100 Public Golf Courses
MULLIGANS
... (CONT'D) ... ... With summer in full swing, the urge to pull off impulse golf outings is topping the charts. After enjoying a trip to Crosswater Golf Course (#28) in Oregon a couple of weeks ago, it was time to cash in some Southwest flight coupons for a return trip to the Portland area.
The plan was for Mark Suzda and I to impose on Mike Werner's hospitality and have him host us for an impromptu Golfest fly-by. On tap were events at the Williamette Valley Country Club, the Reserve, and #48th ranked Pumpkin Ridge Golf Course. We were treated to three distinctly different golf courses in three distinctly different weather conditions.
Williamette Valley was a tight and pretty flat tree-lined number played in hot humid 90-degree weather. Let me mention "tree-lined" again. Any hole played at the WV where your ball didn't get an extreme case of bark-rash was considered a good hole.
Pumpkin Ridge was a more open scenic track, designed through rolling hills played on an absolutely perfect day. One of the side shows of this event was a regional REMAX long-drive competition taking place on their practice range. As we played, we could hear the PA announcer reading off the lengths of the drives ... 352 ... 347 ... 366 ... 372. That last number turned out to the winning
yardage. Just in case we needed to be humbled out any more, the woman topped out at 266 yards. Heck, I need a 30 mile per hour tail wind to do that.
We concluded the trip with a round at the Reserve Vineyard and Golf Club, which reminded me of the Lakewood Shores-Gailes Scottish-Links course played in Michigan during Golfest 2008. Coincidentally, it was cool and drizzly so we could fully enjoy that Scottish experience. Just in case you are wondering, that experience is overrated, even though all of us scored well. By the way, this place has an absolutely massive clubhouse to support its two courses.
Golfest 2005 Bandon Dunes attendee Dan Hecht, Mike's father-in-law, joined us at WV and served up a killer
steak dinner at his riverfront home afterwords. We ate so much that we almost slipped into a coma. Mike's brother-in-law Dave Glad, a 
new but avid golfer, hooked up with us for the other two. Mike and Dave are partners in four PLAY N TRADE video game stores in the Portland area. That came in handy because we used some of our down time to hang out in their stores and play video games -- including some Tiger Woods 2009 on PS3. Mark quickly got hooked on the Nintendo Wii golf game. It also has become very apparent that Mike spends a lot of time playing Guitar Hero.
And of course, we can't possibly have a golf trip without the obligatory trip to P.F. Changs. One more bite there and all of us would have had to be resuscitated with the paddles ... CLEAR!!! ... ZAP!!!!
Special thanks to Dan & Laura Hecht, and Mike and Julia Werner for their great hospitality. Now it's time to get back on the treadmill. ...
... Speaking of paddles -- how about that segway(?) -- Golfest charter member Rickey Berger had a heart scare this past week. He was admitted into the hospital because his the top part of his ticker was racing at 150 bpm, causing his body to fill with fluids. Once they got his heart to beat normally, they eventually diagnosed the Bergermeister with some diabetic issues. Rickey told me that it provides him with ample incentive to get healthy again -- which will ultimately return his golf game to its previous form.
... Speaking of improving ones golf game -- yet another great segway -- Jim Dee managed to finally play at the Brickyard Golf Course in Indy. This course is literally integrated into the layout of the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The day he played, GP motorcycles were roaring around the track at 210 mph. How's that for different? ...
... Just in case you missed it, we added four pages -- that's right -- FOUR pages of new golf jokes. Check them out HERE. More are on the way. ...
... (7/26/08) ... We are proud to announce that Golfest member Mark Suzda has officially added his first course review to GolfestOnline.com. Read on about his adventures at the exclusive Cascata Golf Club in Boulder City, NV.
... By the way, Crosswater Golf Course proved to be a very enjoyable experience. The 28th rated course in the United States lived up to its reputation, playing strong in all attributes from playability to memorability. Like its title suggests, water criss-crosses the course and comes into play on at least seven holes. Special thanks to members Jack and Connie Fox for their company, course knowledge and tips, which came in extremely helpful in navigating this course. Crosswater is unique in that it is designated as a certified Audubon Sanctuary, one of only 150 golf courses in the U.S. to fall into that category. Throw in a white water rafting trip, and about 50-miles on the bike paths at the Sunriver Resort, and it makes for a nice long weekend. A course review is in the works.
... Golfestians Tony Fernandes, Mark Suzda, Joe Arellanes, and I played at the Doral Desert Princess in Palm Springs, CA in a scrambles tournament. It was a pretty nice course. ... Here is a Golf Oxymoron: An easy par-3.
... (MORE)
The plan was for Mark Suzda and I to impose on Mike Werner's hospitality and have him host us for an impromptu Golfest fly-by. On tap were events at the Williamette Valley Country Club, the Reserve, and #48th ranked Pumpkin Ridge Golf Course. We were treated to three distinctly different golf courses in three distinctly different weather conditions.
Williamette Valley was a tight and pretty flat tree-lined number played in hot humid 90-degree weather. Let me mention "tree-lined" again. Any hole played at the WV where your ball didn't get an extreme case of bark-rash was considered a good hole.
Pumpkin Ridge was a more open scenic track, designed through rolling hills played on an absolutely perfect day. One of the side shows of this event was a regional REMAX long-drive competition taking place on their practice range. As we played, we could hear the PA announcer reading off the lengths of the drives ... 352 ... 347 ... 366 ... 372. That last number turned out to the winning
yardage. Just in case we needed to be humbled out any more, the woman topped out at 266 yards. Heck, I need a 30 mile per hour tail wind to do that.We concluded the trip with a round at the Reserve Vineyard and Golf Club, which reminded me of the Lakewood Shores-Gailes Scottish-Links course played in Michigan during Golfest 2008. Coincidentally, it was cool and drizzly so we could fully enjoy that Scottish experience. Just in case you are wondering, that experience is overrated, even though all of us scored well. By the way, this place has an absolutely massive clubhouse to support its two courses.
Golfest 2005 Bandon Dunes attendee Dan Hecht, Mike's father-in-law, joined us at WV and served up a killer
steak dinner at his riverfront home afterwords. We ate so much that we almost slipped into a coma. Mike's brother-in-law Dave Glad, a new but avid golfer, hooked up with us for the other two. Mike and Dave are partners in four PLAY N TRADE video game stores in the Portland area. That came in handy because we used some of our down time to hang out in their stores and play video games -- including some Tiger Woods 2009 on PS3. Mark quickly got hooked on the Nintendo Wii golf game. It also has become very apparent that Mike spends a lot of time playing Guitar Hero.And of course, we can't possibly have a golf trip without the obligatory trip to P.F. Changs. One more bite there and all of us would have had to be resuscitated with the paddles ... CLEAR!!! ... ZAP!!!!
Special thanks to Dan & Laura Hecht, and Mike and Julia Werner for their great hospitality. Now it's time to get back on the treadmill. ...
... Speaking of paddles -- how about that segway(?) -- Golfest charter member Rickey Berger had a heart scare this past week. He was admitted into the hospital because his the top part of his ticker was racing at 150 bpm, causing his body to fill with fluids. Once they got his heart to beat normally, they eventually diagnosed the Bergermeister with some diabetic issues. Rickey told me that it provides him with ample incentive to get healthy again -- which will ultimately return his golf game to its previous form.
... Speaking of improving ones golf game -- yet another great segway -- Jim Dee managed to finally play at the Brickyard Golf Course in Indy. This course is literally integrated into the layout of the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The day he played, GP motorcycles were roaring around the track at 210 mph. How's that for different? ...
... Just in case you missed it, we added four pages -- that's right -- FOUR pages of new golf jokes. Check them out HERE. More are on the way. ...
... (7/26/08) ... We are proud to announce that Golfest member Mark Suzda has officially added his first course review to GolfestOnline.com. Read on about his adventures at the exclusive Cascata Golf Club in Boulder City, NV.
... By the way, Crosswater Golf Course proved to be a very enjoyable experience. The 28th rated course in the United States lived up to its reputation, playing strong in all attributes from playability to memorability. Like its title suggests, water criss-crosses the course and comes into play on at least seven holes. Special thanks to members Jack and Connie Fox for their company, course knowledge and tips, which came in extremely helpful in navigating this course. Crosswater is unique in that it is designated as a certified Audubon Sanctuary, one of only 150 golf courses in the U.S. to fall into that category. Throw in a white water rafting trip, and about 50-miles on the bike paths at the Sunriver Resort, and it makes for a nice long weekend. A course review is in the works.
... Golfestians Tony Fernandes, Mark Suzda, Joe Arellanes, and I played at the Doral Desert Princess in Palm Springs, CA in a scrambles tournament. It was a pretty nice course. ... Here is a Golf Oxymoron: An easy par-3.
... (MORE)
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