Letter From The Publisher

Reflecting On Another Year And Decade

As we start a new year and a decade, I want to look back and reflect on the past year and a decade of memories. There are many places I’ve visited, many golf courses I’ve played, and new friends I’ve made. I have also reconnected with old friends, loves of my life, and epic moments of happiness with people who have touched my life over the past 58 years with laughter, love, joy, tears, heartache and health issues. The past ten years have been a roller coaster of a decade, but the last half has been great.

Starting in 2010, I wasn’t feeling well and learned I was in renal kidney failure. I spent the next four years on dialysis -- three days a week, four hours each day. In March 2014, a special woman in my life with a huge giving heart offered me the “gift of life”-- her kidney. It gave me a better quality of life and I was not on dialysis again I am forever grateful to her for her selfless act of love and support and all she endured in going through that process with me. Learning in 2010 of my condition, I soon realized was nothing to go through after getting a call that summer that my son Joey a month before turning 21 jumped in the ocean down the jersey shore hitting his head in the sandbar and became paralyzed from the neck down. He spent the next six months in Magee Rehab on a ventilator in downtown Philadelphia -- eventually coming home six months later just before Christmas. I will never forget that sinking feeling and the many tears and heartache of knowing his life was forever changed. But through it all, he has shown such courage, endured so much and still, to this day, shows such a positive attitude with a smile on his face every time you see him. He’s taught me a lot about life and what to be thankful for.

In 2013, the U.S. Open returned to ‘my backyard’ -- to the Merion East Golf Club in Ardmore, Pennsylvania. That Open is better known as the ‘boutique Open,’ as Merion is long considered the best course on the tightest acreage in America. Lee Trevino once quipped after winning the 1971 Open there, “I love Merion and I don’t even know her last name.” Jack Nicklaus once said this of Merion: “Acre for acre, it may be the best test of golf in the world.” I’ve played Merion a number of times. It’s one of the best walks I’ve experienced, especially the nerve-racking opening tee shot with everyone watching while eating lunch on the patio next to the first tee. The acreage reminds me of Wannamoisett in Rumford, Rhode Island, where I grew up and caddied, beginning as a nine-year-old. Two-time Masters champion Ben Crenshaw was once quoted as saying this about Wannamoisett: “The best greens I’ve ever putted on.”

I also went to Pinehurst, North Carolina for Thanksgiving finding treatment there for dialysis and to the Talamore Resort and Mid South two great golf courses that for all golf travelers with the Pinehurst Village is well worth a buddies trip.

In 2014, I also traveled to one of my one of my favorite courses in the country -- to FarmLinks at Purcell Farms in Sylacauga, Alabama. I tell anyone who heads down to play the Robert Trent Jones Trail courses in Alabama to be sure to fit in FarmLinks into the schedule. It’s a must-play and you may just find yourself staying and playing there for your entire trip next time you travel to Alabama to play golf.

In 2015, I went to Prince Edward Island, Canada for the first time. I have great memories of the beautiful stunning views of The Links at Crowbush Cove. One hole that always stands out is the 13th hole, which is called ‘Stairway to Heaven’ where you have to walk up 47 stairs to get to the top of the tee box. Once you reach the top, it is ‘heaven’ up there and the stunning panoramic views leave you staring in disbelief. You just take it all in and reflect on Mother Nature’s beauty.

In 2016, the theme of my golf travels was Michigan. My trip started at Forest Dunes in Roscommon, Michigan, which is now one of my favorite golf courses in America. While at Forest Dunes, I also played The Loop - Red, which was designed by Tom Doak. The Loop opened in 2016 and is located adjacent to Forest Dunes. At the Loop, you can play it one way on any given day and the next day, you play the course in reverse. It’s a wild experience, but my recommendation is go play both versions. After golf, retreat to the clubhouse at Forest Dunes. On the patio, located behind the clubhouse, enjoy the fire pits while having a cocktail and your favorite cigar. While in Michigan, I also played the nine-hole, par three course -- Threetops at Treetops which was fun and memorable. While in Michigan, I also played The Kingsley Club which was outstanding. My first impression at the first tee was jaw-dropping and the little par-3 ninth hole is diabolical. If you miss that ninth green, the up-and-down is impossible. I call it “a beautiful little hole that can turn into a date with the devil.” The Kingsley Club is one place I have to play again in my lifetime.

Also in the summer of 2016, I reunited with some old Louisville friends and we attended The Travelers Championship in Connecticut. Then, we headed to play TPC Boston the next day and played Wannamoisett the day after that. My Louisville friends said this was special and if you can get to play there it truly is. I ended that year in Las Vegas with another close friend who invited me to play in his member-guest at TPC Summerlin which is the host of the PGA Tour’s Shriners Hospitals for Children’s Open. 2017 was a trifecta of a year, as it featured trips to Kentucky, Indiana, and Michigan. After going back to Churchill Downs, home of The Kentucky Derby, I was on my way to French Lick, Indiana to play at The Pete Dye Course and the Donald Ross Course at the French Lick Resort. If you have no reason to visit Indiana, but you are an avid golfer that loves the game and you are looking for somewhere different to travel and play, go to French Lick It’s impressive, pristine and the hotel is fabulous. If you like to gamble a little, they have a casino on site. I can’t wait to get back to French Lick because it’s that good. Later that summer, I visited the Boyne Resort in northern Michigan for the first time. I fell in love with Boyne Golf: Ten Courses. Three Resorts. One Destination. In the summer, you can be on the 18th hole of any course at 9:30 pm and still have enough daylight to finish your round.

Northern Michigan’s Boyne Golf Resort and the Bay Harbor Golf Club have 10 spectacular golf courses, a few of which border Lake Michigan. The Inn at Bay Harbor is perfect for a golf buddies trip or for a getaway with your significant other. There’s nothing better than staying at the Inn at Bay Harbor -- perched alongside Lake Michigan -- and sitting out back on the deck, having dinner at Vintage Chophouse, and watching the sun set over Lake Michigan with your favorite glass of wine. After booking a trip here, you will fall in love with this destination. Also, don’t forget tell your friends. It’s that spectacular.

It was onto Trump National Bedminster, New Jersey. The golf course was in amazing condition along with a men’s locker room which is so nice that you could have lived there. In all my year, I’ve never been in such a palace of a locker room with the marble, amazing fixtures, cherry wood, and every toiletry you could need. I’ve seen more than a few locker room. This one was over the top. Later that year, I was at Teeth Of The Dog in the Dominican Republic. The ocean views on that golf course and the Punta Espada Golf Club are visually stunning.

In 2018, I started the year with 18 stiches in the crown of my head to remove skin cancer. All that golf over the years, and not wearing a hat, had caught up with me. In the spring, I had another media trip to Grand Rapids, Michigan -- a town known for its breweries and some really good golf courses. In the late summer, I attended the BMW Playoffs at Aronimink Golf Club, which is close to my house. That was a highlight to have an inside the ropes media credential and having the freedom to walk up on every tee and down every fairway with Tiger Woods, Rickie Fowler and Jordan Spieth on Thursday and Friday. 2019 ended the decade better than it started and I hope to keep that momentum going forward. I visited Muscle Shoals, Alabama where I played a golf course known as the Fighting Joe. The13th hole is a par five which measures 713 yards from the tips. Looking back, I wish I had played it from those back tees. Instead, I played a more forward tee, which was closer to 600 yards. Not being as long as I once used to be, age has caught up with me, but just a little bit!

A highlight of the trip to Muscle Shoals was the stop at the FAME Music studio where anyone who’s anyone in the music recording industry has been there. It’s a small place with the old panel on the walls, but the sound and acoustics are perfect. I can see why so many greats in music have recorded there. The only thing I would have done differently before going there was to watch the documentary on “Muscle Shoals.” It’s a tribute to an Alabama city that holds a prominent place in music history and the FAME Music studio. We watched the documentary on the tour bus after leaving and I was glued to it. It was a moving segment. Trust me, it’s worth going on demand and watching.

I then revisited FarmLinks. Since my last visit, they have added the Estate-style Inn that is beautiful. Again, those of you traveling to play Alabama’s Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail should include FarmLinks on your list of courses to play.

I then went back for another visit to Boyne Golf Resort and stayed at the Inn at Bay Harbor. I’d live and play golf there every summer if I could. In August, I was in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. I stayed at the Island Resort Casino. Our group played Sage Run and Sweetgrass Golf Course, which are two very good golf courses. I didn’t realize how cold it gets up there at that time of year. We played wearing layers. We had a special tour stop along the way after golf and it was a real treat as we went to Lambeau Field to see the Packers and Chiefs play a preseason game in 73-degree weather. It was warmer in Green Bay at night than it was in the Upper Peninsula during the day. The visit to Lambeau Field was a ‘bucket list’ checked. In October, it was onto Horseshoe Bay Resort, which is about an hour outside Austin,Texas -- in the surrounding hills. I can tell you that’s another place that’s a ‘bucket list’ destination. From the golf to the accommodations, boating, yacht club, and canoeing, Horseshoe Bay is a place not only for golfers but your entire family. The food is delicious. I highly recommend the chicken fried lobster.

I ended the year in southern Alabama, which is featured on the (see pages 12-15) cover of this issue. That trip was a phenomenal couples media trip. You won’t be disappointed with a trip to southern Alabama.

I’m looking forward to 2020 -- another new year and new decade to see old and new friends. It all starts with the PGA Show in Orlando, January 20-25. I also plan to travel to historic Newport (Rhode Island) County Club in late June (23-28) for the U.S. Senior Open and I will be spending some time at the 2020 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship (June 23-28) at Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania. Hopefully, I will be in the UK in the fall and will have time to visit new resorts which I will publicize in the 2021 Golf Resort & Destination Issue.

I wish you a happy and healthier New Year and New Decade. Cheers!

Safe travels,

JOE BURKHARDT

Publisher, Golf Resort & Destination Magazine