Green Travel: Golf Odyssey’s David Baum
While most discussions of green travel these days are of the earth-saving variety, we know there are plenty of travelers out there hankering for a different kind of green travel this summer - you know, the kind that involves a little white ball and a scorecard.
Who better to answer our questions than David Baum, publisher and editor-in-chief of in-the-know subscription newsletters for golf enthusiasts Golf Odyssey and Golf Vacation Insider?
Read on for David’s destination suggestions for families, tips for avoiding pesky overweight baggage fees and where he’d play if he had to choose one course for the rest of his life.
For a family with young children, can you suggest a golf destination that offers parents fun on course, but plenty of diversions for kids, too?
One great choice is Colonial Williamsburg, as not only do you have some fantastic golf options, but a visit to Colonial Williamsburg is a great way to get your kids interested in American history. The vast Colonial Village is filled with in-character colonists and revolutionaries who bring the past to life and go about their day as if they really were in colonial times. That means they make things using late 18th century technology, and they speak as people did back then. The historical interpreters actively engage visitors as they go about their chores or business. The Colonial Village stays active day and night. Evening events include lantern tours, trial reenactments, and music, magic, and gambols (games) at Chowning’s Tavern.
For a kid-friendly escape of a different type, head to Busch Gardens, a theme park full of its own historical fantasy (Old World Europe) as well as thrilling rides, including state-of-the-art roller coasters.
For golf, Colonial Williamsburg’s Golden Horseshoe Golf Club offers the classic Gold Course by Robert Trent Jones, Sr., the Green Course by Rees Jones, and the 9-hole executive-style Spotswood Course. The Spotswood is still good golf, but the 1,865-yard par-31 layout, with it two par fours and a par five, is great for a family outing. Just show up—there are no tee times here. Kids under 17 accompanied by a paying adult play for free.
Pete Dye’s illustrious River Course heads the course roster at Kingsmill Resort & Spa. More player friendly are the Woods and Plantation Courses. Bray Links is a scenic 9-hole pitch ‘n putt right on the James River. It’s for resort guests only, and on Saturday evenings in summer it is the scene of night golf with glow sticks.
By sheer coincidence, Williamsburg is one of three feature stories in this month’s issue of Golf Odyssey, The Insider’s Guide to Sophisticated Golf Travel. One can get the entire inside perspective on Williamsburg (and access to all of our intelligence reports since 2000) as part of our free trial offer.
What’s your favorite golf course located in a major metropolitan area within the U.S.?
Tough question. As it relates to public-access courses, one of the best is Harding Park in San Francisco. This 1926 vintage course had fallen into a terrible state of disrepair, but underwent a brilliant restoration earlier this decade. In fact, it played host to the World Golf Championship in 2005 (Tiger just nipped John Daly) and will again take the world stage as host of the 2009 President’s Cup. We actually have the privilege of distributing the book, Return to Glory, which provides a detailed account of the history of Harding Park and chronicles the 2005 World Golf Championship. It is available, free, at Golf Vacation Insider.
What’s the most remote or off-the-beaten path course you’ve ever played?
The Links of North Dakota which is one of three courses that comprise North Dakota’s Triple Threat. Bargain priced at $135 for all three plus cart fees, these are three of the best courses out there – the other two being Bully Pulpit in Medora and Hawktree. Be forewarned however. While you fly into Bismark, each of these courses requires a several hour drive, albeit quite scenic as you travel through the lonely western reaches of North Dakota, where the beautiful broken landscape of the Badlands echoes with Lewis and Clark, buffalo hunts, cowboy culture, Sitting Bull, George Armstrong Custer, and Theodore Roosevelt.
After driving nearly three hours north from Medora to Williston and then 28 miles east on Highway 1804, one comes to The Links of North Dakota . Stephen Kay’s wonderfully natural windswept layout commands nearly treeless sand-based terrain high above Lake Sakakawea and the Missouri River. The lake is in view of every hole, but there’s nary a water hazard in play. Principal hazards include 82 strategically-placed sand traps, tall prairie grasses, and the stern North Dakota wind. In true links fashion, the turf plays hard and fast with plenty of run. Many holes accommodate run-up shots. If you come on a weekday, even in the heart of summer, you may literally have the course to yourself. From the first looking at the endless blue sky, Lake Sakakawea and the Missouri Breaks, you’ll be grateful you made the journey to get there.
If you were stuck playing one course for the rest of your life, which one would it be and why?
It would have to be the Old Course at St. Andrews. It is just such a pure golf experience. To the think that you are playing on ground where people have been playing the game for more than 500 years is truly incredible. With its unpredictable winds, you never know what you might find from one day to the next.
If you were sending a golfer and an avid foodie to a U.S. golf vacation destination, where would you send them?
Believe it or not, Las Vegas. In recent years, it has become a culinary mecca with virtually every major chef having, in many cases, multiple eateries in town – Charlie Trotter, Michael Mina, Wolfgang Puck, Charlie Palmer, Thomas Kelleher, Alain Ducasse – the list just doesn’t end. As for golf, two of the best public access courses in the country are Shadow Creek and Cascata. The only downside is that they each will set you back up to $500 if you aren’t being comped by one of the casinos.
With airlines starting to charge for first checked bags these days, do you have any suggestions for travelers who also need to transport sporting equipment on their journey? For example, have you ever tried shipping your clubs instead?
We actually wrote about this phenomenon recently on Golf Vacation Insider. Not only do golfers need to deal with the fees for checked baggage, they need to be very careful not to exceed the 50 pound weight restriction, or they get hit with additional surcharges. To get around this problem, one can turn to the traditional package companies or to specialized companies for golf bag shipping, such as Sports Express (ed note: a Golf Odyssey travel partner). For the complete story on golf bag shipping, click here.
Personally, I have turned to golf bag shipping many times and - save for one occasion when FedEx botched the delivery - I never had a problem. Note: Sports Express guarantees that if your bag doesn’t arrive on time, they will pay for all incremental costs such as bag rental, balls, shoe rental, clothes, etc.
What course is next on your list?
I’m on my way out for a return visit to Red Sky Ranch in Vail, Colorado. It has two fine courses, one by Greg Norman and the other by Tom Fazio.
Where did you play your last round of golf?
The Bog, a better-than-expected Arnold Palmer layout located about halfway between Milwaukee and Kohler. Despite all the recent (and tragic) Midwest rains, The Bog was relatively dry while other courses were literally under water. Who would have thought that the driest course in the area would be called, “The Bog”?