Every trip we've shared since 2011—filter by where we went, when we traveled, or what we explored.
Showing 21 of 236 posts
United StatesThe last leg, with Janice's sister Connie and her husband Lee in Derry, New Hampshire. We outran Hurricane Henri up from the Cape, ate our way through a New England boiled dinner and the famous 'Stan potatoes,' visited Janice's parents' graves at Lake Sunapee, and played a friendly nine with Lee's buddies before the long drive home.
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United StatesNorth from Pinehurst to Cape Cod, to see Janice's Uncle Bill and Aunt Margaret in Harwich. Along the way, Plymouth Rock and, at the Barnstable courthouse, the statues of James Otis and Mercy Otis Warren, two Founding-era figures who happen to be Janice's own ancestors. Then eye-watering lobster rolls, the Mooncussers Tavern, and a round of golf with ninety-three-year-old Uncle Bill.
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United StatesA return to the North-South Senior at Pinehurst, a redo of last year, so this time we lingered on the history: a stay at the Holly Inn, the first hotel James Walker Tufts built when he founded Pinehurst in 1895, a wander through the village, and the bronze statues by the clubhouse, the Putter Boy, Donald Ross, and Payne Stewart.
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United StatesA week in Raleigh with the family, the opening leg of a longer trip north. At its heart was a celebration of the life of John's brother Will, who passed in July, a gathering full of love, sorrow, and the kind of laughter only Willie could inspire. There was time too for Falls Lake, a round at Wildwood Green, a USGA qualifier, and a Shabbat dinner to send us on our way.
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United StatesOur first trip in about a year, a golf vacation through Mississippi with our friends Pete and Bunny Warenski. A stop in Troy, Alabama, then West Point for Old Waverly and Gil Hanse's remarkable Mossy Oak, then the Choctaw's Dancing Rabbit at Pearl River Resort, a place whose name carries a hard and important history. We turned for home a day early, ahead of a storm.
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United StatesOn to Pinehurst, by way of the Donald Ross courses at Mid Pines and Southern Pines, and a shared rental mansion called Symphony. Both of us had been accepted to play the 2020 North-South Senior Championship across Pinehurst's famous numbered courses, John on the legendary No. 2, Janice first off the tee at No. 8 in the morning fog. A thrill of a tournament, however the scorecards came out.
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United StatesOn the way east to Janice's cousin in Williamsburg, we stopped for a round at the Pete Dye River Course of Virginia Tech in Radford, one of the state's top courses, laid out along the New River. We met head pro John Norton, who told us how the place came to bear Pete Dye's name, and shared the story of Pete's Revenge, the howls the pros let out when Dye first unveiled his Stadium Course at Sawgrass. Small, unforgiving greens and tiny deep bunkers are the Dye signature, and the River has them in abundance.
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New ZealandWill Owen - Playing Around New Zealand As we bid adieu to New Zealand there are many thanks to our many hosts along the way. Staying in the various Bed and Breakfasts along the way gave us a great appreciation for tra...
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New ZealandWe arrived at Terrace Downs on time, but the wind was blowing about forty miles per hour with gusts up to sixty, so golf was out. The course sits in a beautiful valley surrounded by mountains, and the wind comes howling through. The staff at the clubhouse kindly moved our tee time to the following morning and pointed us toward Methven, a small village nearby with a few cafes. We poked around the stores (hardware first, of course) and had a lovely lunch at Cafe 131. We were booked into the Quickenberry B&B, where we were greeted with the news that we had been 'upgraded' to a villa at the golf course. We suspected an overbooking. Will Owen had told us the previous week's guests had been there with no issues. We did drive back to Quickenberry for dinner and the next morning's breakfast, both of which were exceptional. The villa had nice views over the course and a beautiful moon that evening. The next morning the wind had calmed enough to play. The course was in decent shape, the greens slow, a few blind shots, and the vistas of the mountains and rivers were stunning. By the last five holes, the wind was back at thirty-plus and the golf got a little crazy. Lunch at the clubhouse, where Bunny ordered the Green Lip Mussels. Then on to Lake Tekapo.
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New ZealandAfter a fantastic breakfast at Millhills, we took the road south for Wellington. The drive ran along the coast, through small beach towns, on routes 56 and 58. We pulled into Wellington and checked into the Museum Art Hotel for two nights. The hotel has a restaurant called Hippopotamus, and sure enough, from our balcony there was a very large Hippo looking back at us. The National Museum is across the street. An entire floor is given over to the social history of New Zealand, and we spent the afternoon on the Māori exhibits and the Treaty of Waitangi, signed February 6, 1840. Some patterns there felt familiar from US history. The next morning we drove up the coast for a round at Paraparaumu Beach Golf Club, a true links course. It was raining. Then it was raining harder. We walked in after nine holes, took hot showers, and caught up on the blogs. For dinner the concierge sent us to Chow's, an Asian-fusion tapas place two blocks away, up three floors in an old-fashioned elevator. We ordered most of the menu. Next morning, the ferry to the South Island.
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New ZealandFrom Millhills Lodge to Cape Kidnappers, the Tom Doak course on Julian Robertson's six-thousand-acre former sheep farm on Hawke's Bay. The TomTom got us to the entrance in thirty minutes. Then we learned it was another fifteen-minute drive on the inside road just to reach the clubhouse, narrow and winding and lined with speed bumps. Like Kauri Cliffs, we were among only eight players on the course that day. The staff was mostly young Americans on their post-college golf years, one from Penn State, all on their way back to the US to take jobs at courses there. We played the first two holes. We arrived at the third. Peter, Janice, and John all missed the green. Then Bunny stepped up and put it in the cup for her first hole-in-one. From there the course winds in and out of the fingers of land that drop straight off the cliffs, with cows as our gallery and electric fencing going up around us. At the turn the lodge brought down sandwiches. The back nine plays along the cliff edges, with the danger signs to match. Back to Millhills Lodge for Penny's gourmet dinner.
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New ZealandThursday morning, one more goodbye to Pat and Russell at Ambleside, and on to Kinloch Golf Club. Kinloch was designed by Jack Nicklaus, about seven years before our visit, for a wealthy New Zealander who knew nothing about golf. Phil, the club's golf professional, joked that the owner probably googled 'best golfer in the world,' found Jack, and asked him to build a course. Whatever the path was, the result is exceptional. The land itself does most of the work. Nicklaus barely moved any of it. The course is links-style, with carries that punish the wrong club, but it is one of the most beautiful layouts we have seen on the trip so far. We chose the white tees at 6,500 yards. They were a little too much for our games, but we did not care. Of the four courses we had played in New Zealand by this point, Kinloch was the most interesting and the most challenging. For a low handicapper it would be a great test. For us it was difficult, beautiful, and worth playing again. After the round we packed up and headed for Hawke's Bay and Millhills Lodge, with Cape Kidnappers on the schedule for the next day.
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New ZealandExtra, extra, read all about it. Bunny made her first hole-in-one on the third hole at Cape Kidnappers. Some backstory. The day before, on the practice range at Wairakei, Bunny had set her clubs down on the grass. When she picked them up, there was duck poop on her clubs, her arm, and a little on her shirt. We all told her: bird poop is good luck. We had no idea how right we would turn out to be. The next day, on the third hole at Cape Kidnappers, with a Callaway ball that had a 3 stamped on it, on the 30th day of the month, on the third day in a row of New Zealand golf, Bunny put it in the cup. Cape Kidnappers later sent us a photo of the plaque with her name engraved on it. Bunny's was the second hole-in-one of the year on that course. The first one belonged to a PGA pro.
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New ZealandGoodbyes after breakfast at Swallow Ridge, then south back toward Auckland for our second round of New Zealand golf at Gulf Harbour, the Robert Trent Jones design that hosted the 1998 World Cup of Golf. Jones likens the course to Pebble Beach. Pete and Bunny had been with us on the Robert Trent Jones Trail in Alabama in 2012, so we were happy to be playing another Jones course together. An early afternoon tee time, a clubhouse sandwich, a few range balls, and out we went. The front nine was a pleasant layout, challenging in spots but not punishing. The back nine climbs up to the cliffs above the Hauraki Gulf, with views back across to Auckland and the Sky Tower in the distance. We absolutely loved the back nine. Off to Panorama Heights in Western Auckland for the night, then south in the morning to our next golf course and our next B&B.
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New ZealandA ten o'clock tee time at Wairakei Golf and Sanctuary, just up the road from Pat and Russell's place in Taupo. The course is owned by a wealthy Taupo dairy farmer the locals refer to as Smiley, because no one has ever seen him smiling. The course was designed by the British architect Commander John Harris, who routed it through one of the most active geothermal landscapes in the country. It was in the world top 100 in the 1970s, fell on hard times for years, and has been pristine since Smiley took it over. The entire course is fenced as a wildlife sanctuary, to keep out the rodents that would eat the kiwi birds and other native species. You drive your cart up to a gate, the gate opens, and you are in. Beautiful entry, beautiful Maori totem at the gate, and a round of golf with pheasant, quail, and the occasional mother bird and chick wandering across the fairway. Back to Ambleside for another evening with Pat and Russell.
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New ZealandOut of Auckland early Saturday morning, heading north for our first New Zealand golf round at Kauri Cliffs. The hostess at the Whangarei information center sent us out on the first "Loop" to Tutukaka, two hours of cliffside driving that returned us to within ten kilometers of where we had started. We did it again on the second Loop. By the time we reached Russell it was too late to look around, so we caught the short ferry across to Kerikeri and our B&B at Swallow Ridge, where Mike and Chris welcomed us in. Mike and Chris had moved from London seven years before and built the place themselves in 2009. The bedroom slider opened directly to the Bay of Islands. Sunrise was something. After Kauri Cliffs the next day, Mike booked us into a local restaurant, and we came back to Swallow Ridge for one of the better nights' sleep of the whole trip.
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New ZealandA thirty-five-minute drive from Kerikeri took us off the main road and onto a mile of dirt road that had us wondering if TomTom had us lost. Then the gate appeared. Cameron, the assistant golf pro, met us in the drive, loaded our carts, and pointed us out to the course. Seventy-five degrees and sunny, a soft breeze, and only six other players on the course for the whole day. The course was designed by David Harman of Orlando, Florida, who died of lung cancer at fifty-one not long after completing this design. The owner is Julian Robertson, the Tiger Management founder, who fell in love with New Zealand as a young man on a writing year and later built both Kauri Cliffs and Cape Kidnappers on cliffs above the Pacific. The front nine plays over fantastic vistas out to the Bay of Islands. On the back, John birdied ten, birdied eleven, and parred twelve before reality returned on thirteen. Janice shot eighty-three from the men's tees at six thousand-plus yards. Pete and Bunny had a blast. Back to Swallow Ridge for rum and Cokes by the pool and a quiet dinner.
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MichiganAcross the Upper Peninsula on the UP Golf Trail. Mackinac Island with the Grand Hotel, the red phone booth, no cars since 1898, and clubs hauled between the front and back nine by horse-drawn carriage. Sleeping Bear Dunes with Pat and Anna Carney, who were also on the long road home from Alaska. Traverse City with our friend Robin Vaught and her family. And on to Noblesville, Indiana, where Janice took a swing at qualifying for the USGA Women's Senior Amateur.
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AlaskaAfter Denali, a few days in Fairbanks: camping on the Chena River, eighteen holes with Pete and Bunny Warenski and Patrick and Anna Carney at the most northern USGA course in America, the story of Fairbanks' swindler founder E.T. Barnette, our 12th anniversary at the Pump House Restaurant, and the Aurora Ice Museum at Chena Hot Springs.
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British ColumbiaFrom a casino parking lot in Prince George up over a snowy Pine Pass, then a chance find that turned into the best three days of the trip so far: an RV park with a golf course, run by John and Melanie Rigsby, who pulled us into their opening weekend like we were old friends.
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British ColumbiaFrom the ferry at Vancouver up through Hope and the Okanagan wine country, with stops in Kelowna and a round at Tobiano Golf Club outside Kamloops, then north through Cache Creek to Prince George. Three days now until we meet the Walkabout group at Dawson Creek.
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