Why I joined the USGA

Last week, I received my initial membership packet from the USGA, which included my bag tag, hat, and slightly warped copy of the Rules of Golf.  As I gleefully unwrapped my new toys, the question of why had I joined the USGA bubbled to the forefront of my mind.  At first, panic crept up on me as…

Westchester Golf & Country Club, Boynton Beach – Florida Swing 2013

When I think of residential golf course developments in South Florida, Westchester Golf & Country Club in Boynton Beach, FL is precisely what I envision.  The 1989 Karl Litten designed golf course contains 27 manicured holes nestled among a bustling development full of really nice houses, all of which included at least one Florida room…

Ironhorse Country Club, West Palm Beach – Florida Swing 2013

Palm Beach County Florida is widely regarded as the “Golf Capital of the World” due to the more than 170 golf courses, the headquarters of the PGA of America in Palm Beach Gardens, and the tremendous number of golfing legends, past and present, that maintain a residence in one of the county’s many golf-centric communities. …

January Question of the Month: A Winter Beard

I traditionally grow a beard during the cold Kentucky winter between Christmas and my birthday (January 20).  This year, with the early cold snap upon us well before Christmas, I unleashed my inner Highlander Scotsman the week after Thanksgiving.  The picture to the left is the current state of affairs on my face. On the…

Dubsdread – Cog Hill No. 4 – A lesson in humility – 2013 Revisited

Cog Hill No. 4 in Lemont, Illinois, named Dubsdread, an aptly named golf course if ever there was one, was my initial foray into the list of Top 100 Public Golf Courses in the United States.  Chris invited me up to Chicago if I would be interested in playing golf at Cog Hill with him…

Heritage Golf Links, Tucker, GA – 2013 Retrospective

One of the wonderful things about my annual pilgrimage to Atlanta for the Thanksgiving holiday break is the 15-20 degrees gained on the journey south from Lexington.  Typically, despite whatever the temperature is back home, the warmer Georgia weather is usually enough to induce a desire to golf on that Friday.  This year, I was…

Silver Lakes Revisited – Day 2 of the 2013 Golf Trip Retrospective

For the Saturday half of our golf trip, we traveled 87 miles up the highway from Hoover to the greater Anniston/Gadsden, AL area to play the RTJ Trail at Silver Lakes.  Silver Lakes has three full nine hole courses, aptly named the Heartbreaker Mindbreaker, and Backbreaker.   The Silver Lakes property is beautiful, sprawling across the…

RTJ Oxmoor Valley Golf: Valley & Ridge Courses Revisited – 2013 Golf Trip Retrospective

As we prepared for this year’s getaway to beautiful Hilton Head Island and wait for Winter Apocalypse 2014 to pass , I’m taking this opportunity to look back at our “Inaugural Guys Golf Trip” from 2013. In late April, four of us headed to “scenic” Birmingham, Alabama to tackle four area courses on the Robert…