Thoughts for the fall season

So often I am asked, "...what is your favorite course?"...my answer is consistent. None. Golf is about the people you are with. I would gladly play golf at any local municipal course, if I had a group of friends with me. Of course, if your round of golf is played at a great facility, so much the better, but the defining memory of the day shall be the interaction with your fellow golfers. As we all know, golf is the most humbling sport but one must keep it all in perspective. Enjoy the camaraderie of the sport...the banter, the competition...and the terrific people you will doubtless meet.

Golf Travel Bags - Whether traveling around the globe or for a short weekend trip, what is the best Golf Bag Travel cover...without question, a cover which provides sufficient protection with a strong flexible cover along with some component which is hard sided, e.g. Club Glove or ArmorGear. While the hard sided covers looks safe and secure, they are thoroughly useless when you arrive at your destination...they do not fit in rental cars/vans, etc. During 20 years of traveling the world, I have not encountered any problems with well made soft sided covers.

Caddies - Often times, an integral part of a great golf experience is the caddy. Knowledgeable caddies are a wonderful asset to any golf course. However, it constantly amazes how poorly some golf clubs operate their caddy programs. In today’s economy it is grossly unrealistic and unfair to expect any person to sit and wait all day in the caddy shack in the hope they MAY get work. A fair caddy program must be in place if a club expects to retain qualified caddies. Either the caddies are assigned to players the day before or thereafter the golfer is liable to pay the caddy fees, or a club rule which requires caddies to be employed if they are available when you start your round. There are any number of solutions which work...but, as with anything, they must be fair to both parties to be successful.

On the theme of caddies, my favorite caddy story is from Lewis Grizzard, the Southern columnist who traveled with us on a few occasions...playing golf (poorly) at Nairn in the north of Scotland he hit yet another bad shot on #17, slammed his club down and taking his frustration out on his caddy, said, "you could be the worst caddy in the world"...to which his caddy said, without flinching, "...nae sir, that would have been to great of a coincidence".

Frequent Flyer/Loyalty Programs - As a frequent traveler and also involved in the travel business I have a curious view of loyalty programs. I have finally come to the conclusion that with the current turmoil of legacy airlines, the very best program is Starwood Hotel Program. Reason being, that they do not have blackout dates for rooms....if one is available, you can book. You can also transfer points to frequent flyer programs as needed. As the legacy airlines struggle and point to point (domestic USA fares) fall, you can generally buy flights cheaper than using your accumulated miles to find scarce (reward) seats. An article in the Economist magazine two years ago confirmed the view that airlines are adding significantly more miles to travelers accounts, than they are providing in redeemable opportunities to spend these miles.