http://jeffwallach.com Fri, 16 Dec 2011 17:12:15 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en If you think wine goes well with food, how about the perfect combo of the right cigar with the right golf course?  On the recent Golf Road Warriors Scottsdale we were lucky enough to partner with Certifresh Cigars, who package some of the world's best smokes in a way that outsmarts even the laziest humidor owner.  The cigars are housed individually or in groups of two or four and sealed with their very own personal ... ]]> http://jeffwallach.com/golf/lifestyle/3262/pairings-the-best-cigars-for-the-right-golf-course   For me, it's easier to picture dinosaurs roaming the earth than to imagine that just 25 years ago, even seasoned travelers actually lugged wheel-less suitcases through airports.  But just as  sea-dwelling creatures eventually evolved onto land, so too did luggage develop wheels.  Say happy 25th birthday to Travelpro's Rollaboard, the suitcase that marked a Darwinian leap forward for travelers across the planet. It began with Northwest Airlines pilot Robert Plath, who first changed the physical orientation ... ]]> http://jeffwallach.com/golf/lifestyle/3269/happy-birthday-modern-travel-era   This in the parking lot of We Ko Pa Golf Club, one of the best courses we played on the recent Golf Road Warriors (GRW) trip to Scottsdale.  I'm posing with my 28-inch T-Pro Bold Expandable Rollaboard, which is ready for action as I head for Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport directly from the golf course parking lot. We Ko Pa was a perfect last hurrah as Peter Kessler and GRW videographer Jamie McWilliams joined me on ... ]]> http://jeffwallach.com/golf/courses-and-travel/3234/last-warrior-standing We suspected the elves were playing the new Callaway Tour I(z) when we saw how long the little guys were off the tee.  The balls are pictured here with a few foursomes of our favorite smokes from Certifresh. The elves asked us to tell you that Santa never liked your cookies, anyway.         ... ]]> http://jeffwallach.com/golf/lifestyle/3227/what-golf-road-warriors-want-under-the-tree Former LPGA TOUR pro and current golf and yoga instructor Dodie Mazzuca joins us on the TPC Scottsdale Champions Course to offer a few yoga poses that will help your game.  Mazzucca teaches at the Four Seasons Resort Scottsdale  . . . http://youtu.be/pv_56TYNr90 http://youtu.be/JN9ZXkfumcQ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHeU4k9A2S8 ... ]]> http://jeffwallach.com/golf/instruction/3222/golf-road-warriors-stretch-their-limits Here's what happens when the we let videographer Jamie McWilliams come out from behind the lens . . . http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJ7buz5vOsw&feature=channel_video_title ... ]]> http://jeffwallach.com/golf/lifestyle/3213/kessler-and-the-canary The Golf Road Warriors head off the fairway with Desert Wolf Tours, north of Scottsdale.   http://youtu.be/n0_jZ2AVRog ... ]]> http://jeffwallach.com/golf/lifestyle/3209/golf-road-warriors-go-off-road Please don't tell our wives, but the Golf Road Warriors have been known to smoke a few cigars-- daily, that is-- in our adventures in the world's best golf destinations.  But there have been many occasions on which I went to my little leather cigar case in my golf bag to discover a dry stick that was a shadow of its former self due to having been in the bag since a round played several ... ]]> http://jeffwallach.com/adventure-travel/3197/golf-road-warrior-discovers-new-way-of-lighting-certifresh-cigar Peter Kessler is the only golfer I know who can talk in the middle of his own backswing, though much of what he says to himself cannot be repeated here for fear of scaring small children.  It's often an admonition aimed at himself, his putting stroke, a stranger who coughed three miles away during Kessler's set-up, or something unintelligible even to those of us who know and love him. Today during an afternoon round at The ... ]]> http://jeffwallach.com/golf/personalities/3194/peter-kessler-earns-new-nickname   Photo by John and Jeannine Henebry Is this a great country, or what?  In the span of one long day today the Golf Road Warriors enjoyed the municipal magnificence of the McDowell Mountain Ranch Golf Club early in the desert morning chill with the sun just coming up over the sagauro-studded peaks, an afternoon round amidst the refinded desert finery of The Boulders Resort, and finished the evening watching amateur bull riding at the Buffalo Chip ... ]]> http://jeffwallach.com/golf/courses-and-travel/3184/from-the-boulders-to-barbecue-in-seven-miles I am not a golfer who thinks that rangefinders are a good idea, or who enters my greens-in- regulations and putts-per-hole into a phone application.  In fact, I usually leave my phone in the car during golf rounds. But this week, during the epic Golf Road Warriors siege of Scottsdale, we agreed to use a scoring app provided by Grow the Game Golf, which recently debuted real-time leaderboard scoring and other features. Today we took on Troon ... ]]> http://jeffwallach.com/partner/scottsdale-cvb/3168/grow-the-game-golf-the-golf-app-you-actually-want At the Four Seasons Scottsdale Resort, former LPGA TOUR professional Dodie Mazzuca will stretch your golf boundaries-- literally-- in a class that combines traditional yoga poses, sports stretches, and deep breathing in a calm, focused, and encouraging effort to improve your range of motion for the golf swing. I took the class this afternoon with fellow Golf Road Warrior Tom Bedell, who grunted his way through the poses in a way that led me to ... ]]> http://jeffwallach.com/golf/lifestyle/3164/warrior-pose-yoga-for-golf-road-warriors The Golf Road Warriors have begun gathering in the desert from various points on the compass.  Day starts early tomorrow with massages at the Four Seasons spa to get golf ready, as someone once put it.  Then off to Troon North to test our mettle on the famous monument course. Here's a quick view of a few things that awaited the warriors upon arrival . . .   ... ]]> http://jeffwallach.com/golf/courses-and-travel/3152/warm-greeting-at-four-seasons-resort-scottsdale As a professional travel writer I'm supposed to be cat-like in my stealthiness, moving through the world with nothing bigger than a Ziplock bag to hold a week's worth of clothing, toiletries, electronics, reading material, and enough Ibuprofen to numb a pack horse.  But the fact is-- as I've learned from my many trips to Bandon Dunes for warrior-like golf outings-- that the guy who's most prepared for a trip, usually performs best on the ... ]]> http://jeffwallach.com/golf/lifestyle/3143/packing-for-golf-road-warriors-more-is-more In the depths of the gear closet, secreted underground in an undisclosed Portland location, I must decide upon what gear to take on the Golf Road Warriors trip to Scottsdale, departing tomorrow (which reminds me-- gotta go check in for my flight)! I start with golf shoes  (two pair, one white, one black); golf towel (I'm going with a brand new Sunriver towel in a rich blue that matches my golf bag); a dozen golf balls ... ]]> http://jeffwallach.com/golf/courses-and-travel/3136/like-the-bat-cave-for-golf-writers I have been told that these don't belong here . . . ... ]]> http://jeffwallach.com/golf/lifestyle/3131/callaways-in-the-kitchen Somehow he managed to talk about it without saying anything negative.  Or laughing.  The new Callaway Razr X Irons, Jaws Wedges, Odyssey Putter, Razr Hawk Woods, and a secret weapon I'm not allowed to talk about yet arrived today.  Be afraid, Scottsdale.  Be very afraid. http://youtu.be/ZsLK0baW9bs ... ]]> http://jeffwallach.com/golf/equipment/3118/callaway-golf-clubfitter-gerritt-pon-on-my-swing Callaway Golf's Gerritt Pon talks club fitting at the undisclosed location where Phil goes to get fit. http://youtu.be/stL9_MBsDH4 ... ]]> http://jeffwallach.com/golf/equipment/3108/get-fit-like-phil One word: Scottsdale. Which the Robb Report once called the best place to live in the US for golf. I’ll fly business class and begin my trip with a warm-up round on the Kierland Golf Club just because it’s fun, then make my way to a Kiva suite (outdoor shower, fireplace, plunge pool) at the Four Seasons Resort, where I’ll walk the two terrific Troon North courses at least twice or until I’m out of golf ... ]]> http://jeffwallach.com/golf/courses-and-travel/2100/how-i-would-spend-10-000-on-golf Not that you would ever watch golf on television, but if you did you’d likely see Tour players executing the occasional shot that might cause you to reflect: ‘I’d be as likely to grow antlers as make a shot like that.’  And I’m not just talking about 300-yard drives or high, perfect five-iron shots that plunge to the green and jump into the hole.  I’m talking about shots that seem to defy physics and appear ... ]]> http://jeffwallach.com/partner/scottsdale-cvb/2364/talking-stick-pro-tim-mahoney-solves-the-downhill-bunker-shot-puzzle Players venturing south to the desert for a warm, dry fall or winter golf trip will face a unique challenge: how to hit shots that hang in the air longer than Superman showing off for Lois, and that land softer than the final notes of a Kenny G song.  Desert courses such as the beloved layouts at Troon North, in Scottsdale, are often target-style, meaning that fairways and greens present lonely islands of grass in ... ]]> http://jeffwallach.com/golf/instruction/2367/troon-north-pro-doug-hammer-helps-golfers-tame-the-desert A lot of resorts-- particularly those built back in the boom of the 1980s-- have grown tired enough to be forced into retirement, especially with all the great new boutique properties popping up  full of eco-engineering, flat-screens t.v.s as thin as the 600-thread cotton sheets, and animatronic deer walking past your room on cue (okay, I'm making that up). Which is what makes a visit to The Boulders Resort, north of Scottsdale, so refreshing (I mean, ... ]]> http://jeffwallach.com/golf/courses-and-travel/2627/the-boulders-still-awesome-after-12-million-years During the same month that Oregon, my home state, has garnered the honor of being home to the #1 golf resort in the US (according to the recent listing in Golf Digest that would be Bandon Dunes), there's other good news for Beaver State golfers as well (though being the Beaver State, in the first place, isn't such good news).  The Oregon Golf Association (OGA) just announced a spanking new deal called the ExploreOregonGolf VIP ... ]]> http://jeffwallach.com/golf/courses-and-travel/3078/best-golf-deal-in-the-great-state-of-oregon In honor of an upcoming visit to the renowned La Costa Resort, outside San Diego, to have a look at the newly-renovated property, I felt nostalgic enough to post this La Costa story written several years ago.  The names have not been changed to protect anyone.  And I'm still waiting for my dollar. All photos are post-renovation.  I'll write an update of my more recent visit in the next few weeks.     Even if you watched this year’s ... ]]> http://jeffwallach.com/golf/courses-and-travel/3067/playing-with-matches-at-la-costa   The farther I can get from the obvious trophy courses when visiting Scotland, the more authentic my visits always prove to be (and the less likely it will take more than 3.5 hours to play). I hesitate to mention 120-year-old Brora Golf Club in northern Scotland, and only do so because you are unlikely to venture 52 miles north of Inverness, past Dornoch, to play a 6,156-yard course that isn’t particularly famous. But Brora is the ... ]]> http://jeffwallach.com/golf/courses-and-travel/3060/my-favorite-course-in-the-uk Just for starters, Ireland's Tralee Golf Club may have the single best yardage guide I've ever seen-- with actual aerial photographs of every single gorgeous hole, with yardages to major features superimposed on the photo in color-coded numbers representing the distances to these features from the various tees.  The photos are good enough that you want to tear them out, frame them, and stick them up on the wall above your desk to remind you ... ]]> http://jeffwallach.com/partner/perrygolf/2987/tralee-golf-club-the-golf-road-warriors-closing-round-and-new-warriors-opening-shots http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XUOL7s3T6c ... ]]> http://jeffwallach.com/golf/equipment/2982/peter-kessler-demonstrates-the-adams-six-hybrid-as-great-chipping-club   Killarney's The Malton.  And Good-bye to the van!   Even in Ireland, in July, it eventually gets dark outside.  And even the golf road warriors must eat and sleep at some point.  I can think of few cities that provide a better place to golf, eat, and sleep than Killarney.  And after five days of changing hotels each night-- which required packing when we finished work at 2 a.m. and grabbing a quick continental breakfast as we ... ]]> http://jeffwallach.com/partner/perrygolf/2964/golf-road-warriors-reach-final-resting-place One is the US Open Champion.  The other is Rory Mathews, the champion of the golf road warriors, the most patient, capable, and warm-hearted host you could hope for, representing Failte Ireland, who arranged our ten-day Irish golf adventure.  I'll let you figure out which has the better golf swing. ... ]]> http://jeffwallach.com/golf/personalities/2958/the-two-rory-m-s Well, it wasn't pretty out there for me today, although it sure was pretty-- the Killarney Golf & Fishing Club provided a meticulously maintained venue for the pro am for the Irish Open this morning.  We teed off at 8:25 on the eleventh hole and faced daunting challenges early, as the course played long and wet and I played like I was underwater. By the time we'd warmed up fans began to gather, and I was ... ]]> http://jeffwallach.com/golf/courses-and-travel/2948/quick-hits-from-the-irish-open-pro-am Between shaking hands with constituents along the fairways (and allowing one fan to caddie for him for a few holes), crushing drives with a lovely curving draw, and occasionally wandering a bit toward both the right and the left (with his golf shots, that is, not politically speaking), Artie Spring Jr. proved a delightful pro-am partner at Killarney Golf & Fishing Club this morning. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxBvenMqeHc ... ]]> http://jeffwallach.com/golf/personalities/2946/irish-member-of-parliament-arthur-spring-jr-on-great-irish-golf-and-my-chances-at-the-irish-open Tough day in the pro-am this morning as the course set up long and wet-- starting on number eleven our first three holes were par fours of nearly 500 yards.  I don't like to go that far on vacation!  The Killarney Golf and Fishing Club's Killeen Course should prove equally challenging to the list of top European pros gathered for the event, even if they're not forced to play with me.  Here's a quick clip ... ]]> http://jeffwallach.com/golf/personalities/2944/european-touring-pro-john-parry-on-the-killarney-golf-and-fishing-club-and-my-chances-at-the-irish-open At the pro-am for the Irish Open, held at Killarney Golf & Fishing Club this morning, I was joined by journalist Steve Habel, European touring pro John Parry, and Irish member of parliament Arthur Spring, Jr., who also brought along his dad as caddie and coach.  Arthur Sr. recognized a student in need of a teacher right away with me and offered some help.  Keep an eye out for a golf course he's designing that ... ]]> http://jeffwallach.com/golf/instruction/2940/former-european-senior-tour-player-arthur-spring-helps-me-get-a-grip The last time I played Ballybunion's Old Course-- one of the world's premier links courses-- rain was falling so hard I barely looked out from under my rain hat.  Today our caddie rued the suntan he'd gotten on a day that must have hit 75 without a cloud in the sky. We started on possibly one of the best opening holes in golf-- a graveyard protects the right side, quite literally meaning death for slicers.  To ... ]]> http://jeffwallach.com/golf/courses-and-travel/2930/at-ballybunion-the-old-is-new-again Okay, so he's misidentified as Ben Windsor, because Windsor is actually where he's from.  But Ben Smith most certainly does not play golf like a journalist-- he actually has game and kills the ball off the tee.  And he can parse a sentence like nobody's business. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-WAoSDalPw ... ]]> http://jeffwallach.com/golf/equipment/2927/ben-smith-london-times-writer-tests-adams-four-hybrid     Welcome to the modern era, where—armed with a TEP wifi device and a Canon G11 camera) I can post several stories onto the golf road warriors website from the backseat of our VW Transporter while Peter Kessler snores beside me in the back seat and Hal Phillips and Tom Harack argue about directions up front. We’re on our way from the outpost of Carne Golf Links via a five hour drive to Killarney, where we’ll meet ... ]]> http://jeffwallach.com/golf/courses-and-travel/2863/carnivorous-carne-golf-links http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjKD8tG9UIA ... ]]> http://jeffwallach.com/golf/equipment/2917/jeff-wallach-actually-making-a-good-golf-swing-and-its-captured-on-video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kQbH4QqArM ... ]]> http://jeffwallach.com/golf/equipment/2914/peter-kessler-speaks-out-about-adams-golf-at-carne-golf-links http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=so3uuCdYBaQ ... ]]> http://jeffwallach.com/partner/perrygolf/2874/carne-golf-links-and-adams-golf-3 Hear a quick comparison between Ballybunion's Old and Cashen golf courses from someone who knows.  And he's a great reader of greens, as well! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpGRi_MBpl4 ... ]]> http://jeffwallach.com/golf/courses-and-travel/2924/adrian-carr-senior-caddie-at-ballybunion http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oij0P3u0Pg4 ... ]]> http://jeffwallach.com/golf/equipment/2868/carne-golf-links-and-adams-golf-2 The golf road warriors take their custom set of Adams Golf hybrid irons to one of the most remote golf links in Ireland-- Carne in the northwest corner, a land of high dunes and sheep, wind, fog, and other elements all working to evoke the most rugged aspects of the game.  The clubs were originally built for fellow-traveler Peter Kessler but an injury prevented him from field testing the clubs so the other members of ... ]]> http://jeffwallach.com/golf/equipment/2849/carne-golf-club-and-adams-golf-1   After midnight on day four, cool and crisp with salt on the light breeze here at the modern and luxurious  Diamond Coast Hotel just up the road from Enniscrone Golf Club. The day began many hours ago with a trip to Letterkenny General Hospital to retrieve ailing golf road warrior Peter Kessler.  After a few hours of driving we reached the Enniscrone golf links early—nearly unheard of for the warriors—just in time for our 4:20 tee ... ]]> http://jeffwallach.com/golf/courses-and-travel/2844/2844 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DyE6NJNxEY ... ]]> http://jeffwallach.com/partner/perrygolf/2842/kessler-from-hospital-to-putting-green-in-one-day   Seeing how the golf holes at Donegal sit so contentedly in the low dunes beside a round bay you'll think they've been tramped and played upon for centuries.  But these sublime links were actually designed with the help of Eddie Hackett in the 1970s, proving that you don't have to be old to be great.  Donegal has the wide, open, inviting feel of the great Panmure in Scotland, with surrounding pines and a feel somewhere ... ]]> http://jeffwallach.com/golf/courses-and-travel/2833/donegal-golf-club-the-purest-of-inland-links-golf It's a long story, which we'll tell over the next few days, as we get caught up on our golf rounds-- five in the past two and a half days following overnight flights-- and head for the beloved Eniscrone this afternoon. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwDwZLlFsg0 ... ]]> http://jeffwallach.com/partner/perrygolf/2831/road-warrior-peter-kessler-released-from-letterkenney-hospital If you've taken any kind of road trip you know that by day two or three it will already look like a plane crash in the back seat.  Just try to find your wallet amid the soda cans and candy and chip wrappers, the empty boxes of golf balls, and club covers, shoe bags, computer cases, day packs, GPS devices, road maps, assorted bandages and braces, hats, and more. Here's a quick tour of the Golf ... ]]> http://jeffwallach.com/golf/courses-and-travel/2827/meet-the-irish-van-volkswagen-not-morrison http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBtzOMHLmds ... ]]> http://jeffwallach.com/golf/courses-and-travel/2824/quick-intro-to-the-great-narin-portnoo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Gfg8yHrSQ4 ... ]]> http://jeffwallach.com/golf/courses-and-travel/2816/ballyliffin-superintendent-andy-robertson Nearly eleven in the evening here at Rosapenna in northern Ireland and the sun is just setting over the golf course and the round bay beyond my window at the Rosapenna Hotel.  We've just finished a fabulous four-course meal in the dining room, met some nice locals at the next table who were eager to trade golfing tales, and now, finally, it's time to get to work!   A long day for the warriors began in Ballyliffin ... ]]> http://jeffwallach.com/golf/courses-and-travel/2792/road-warriors-become-road-weary