Kingdom 15

$20 where sold Issue 15—Winter 2009

Arnold Palmer A Legend Honored Tom Watson / Vince Gill / Bay Hill

Feel ike ou’ve arived ven efo ou get the.

w w w. w i n d s t a r c r u i s e s . c o m Ships’ Registry: Bahamas

Discover pampering and privilege, Windstar style.

exploring little-known ports of call that are off-limits to larger ships. Having your favorite cocktail appear at precisely the right moment. Delighting in a relaxed style that makes you feel like you’re on your own private yacht. Welcome to the singular world of Windstar. elegant yet intimate, our ships are right at home among the private yachts sailing to some of the world’s most exclusive beaches and exotic locales. as one of only 148 or 312 guests, it’s easy to indulge your every wish while being endlessly pampered. along the way, you’ll find yourself feasting on exquisite wines and five-star cuisine. Count yourself among the privileged few to experience the freedom and romance of sailing, Windstar style.

The exclusive world of Windstar awaits. Contact your travel professional today,or call us at 1-87-STAR SAIL ext. 098.

Caribbean

}

C o s ta r i C a

}

Pa n a m a C a n a l

}

Greek isles

}

euroPe

magazin e ar nieskingdom . c o m

SOME WORDS

OF ENCOURAGEMENT

FOR THE LAST PEOPLE

WHO REALLY NEED THEM.

Call them contrarian. Label them renegades. Or visionaries.

They refuse to follow the naysayers into misery’s pit. If you are one of them, you are already on your mission. While others flail dull weapons, you hone yours, carefully considering your flight department’s efficiency. Painstakingly matching aircraft to mission. Cessna will be here for you at every step of the way, with a full range of aircraft and flight solutions. Recognizing that victory doesn’t go only to the strongest or the swiftest, but to those with the best laid plan. So, in spite of today’s daunting economic uncertainty, or perhaps because of it, you will slip failure’s tenuous grasp. And emerge even stronger than before.

RISE.

May we help you develop your plan?

Visit www.kingdom.cessna.com or call 877.410.8667

a r n o l d pa l m e r fo r e wo r d

A year of celebrating and remembering

christmas is almost upon us and it seems as though my feet have hardly touched the ground all year. To say I’ve had a busy time of it, especially over the past few months, is something of an understatement.

Along the way, I’ve managed to turn 80 in September and enter my ninth decade. Certainly the celebrations before, during and after the week of my birthday left me catching my breath somewhat.

We started off the festivities at Bay Hill Club & Lodge and also with many of our good friends and colleagues at the Arnold Palmer Medical Center in Orlando before flying up to Latrobe for two more golf events and some baseball ‘fun and games’ with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

However, the icing on the birthday cake, as far as I was concerned, was the huge honor bestowed on me at the White House by President Obama on September 30 when he signed the Act which made me the 141st recipient of the Congressional Gold Medal in the history of our great country. To realize that George Washington was the first recipient back in 1776 is truly humbling.

But 2009 also has been a landmark year for quite a few of the enterprises with which I’m involved as well as myself and my family.

Also in September, we celebrated the 20th birthday of the Arnold Palmer Medical Center which consists of the Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children and the Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women & Babies. The staff at the Center can be extremely proud of their achievements over the past two decades—helping to deliver almost 180,000 babies and providing treatment for more than a million patients.

Our double birthday celebration in the Portofino Bay Hotel at Universal Studios was a wonderful party, and my thanks go to Vince Gill and his delightful wife Amy Grant for the concert they gave us that night. Vince, surely one of country music’s greatest stars, is the subject of one of the articles in this edition of kingdom. His story, I’m sure you’ll all agree, makes for fascinating reading.

We also profile my good friend and trusted business adviser Alastair Johnston in a somewhat unusual light—as the proprietor of the world’s largest library of golf books. At the last count, Alastair had more than 19,000 volumes on the shelves at his home in Cleveland!

We also pay tribute to Tom Watson’s astonishing feat in almost winning the British Open at Turnberry just six weeks before turning 60—in fact, his birthday is just six days before mine. Alas, the fairy tail did not have the happy ending that all Tom’s fans were hoping for, but in Stewart Cink we have a worthy champion for whom a major win was long overdue.

Another pleasant preoccupation for me in 2009 has been overseeing the renovations we have made to the championship course at Bay Hill. These were completed during the summer and the course reopened for play in September. I have been delighted with the results and I hope our members, future visitors and the players in the Arnold Palmer Invitational next March find the changes to their satisfaction as well.

Finally, all that remains is to wish you all a merry Christmas and successful 2010.

Happy reading,

Arnold Palmer

9

kingdom 15 winter 2009

A S

P U R E

A S

G O L F

G E T S

Kingdom magazine Issue 15—Winter 2009

Arnold Palmer Foreword—Hello from The King Publisher’s Letter—A grateful look back Editor’s Letter—Didn’t win, didn’t lose

20

44 20 30 38 44 50 56 60 64 70 76 82 89 98 104

50

98

Arnie Answers—Our Q&A with the legend Playground in Paradise—Golf clubs and Gosling’s Rum, Bermuda has it all Playing Country—Kills it on stage, kills it on course: Vince Gill Chasing the Aurora Borealis—The Editor stumbles around in the dark Watson in his Element—Huckleberry Dillinger on The Open loss and what’s next It’s Party Time— Arnie’s absolutely amazing 80th birthday Fighting Time—A look at golf and the Great Wars From the Top Down—Bentley’s new GTC Speed is phenomenal Fly, Drive, Putt—London resorts that keep you playing near the action Golf Fit for a King—Castles and courses for regal sportsmen Golf Course Photo 101—Tips on capturing frame-worthy course shots Life in Pictures: Part 15—The pictorial life of a legend Bay Watch—Refurbishing Bay Hill: a gentle task with strong results We Wanna Be Connected—Running a golf club ain’t as easy as playing a course

11

kingdom 15 winter 2009

Kingdom magazine Issue 15—Winter 2009

120 110 116 120 124 126 134 138 142 148 152 156 164 168 170 178

12

126

138

178

Track Record—An argument for America’s trains. We think. Maybe?

Holiday Table—Chef Brett Maddock makes a festive menu for you and yours Carry On—You may think you don’t need him, but your caddy knows better Trump On Golf—The Donald checks in Two Sides to Mexico—“Sunrise, Sunset”; Now sing it in Spanish Flying High—Russ Meyer is rewarded for piloting aviation through years of change Cognac—Gold in a glass, some say. What we think of the after-dinner treat Man of Letters—Alastair Johnston’s incredible golf library Tea for Tee—The story of the iced Arnold Palmer classic Take a Rain Check—Golf gear to keep you dry Top Tinsel—Sparkling gifts fit for any holiday celebrant On Fire—Stoves to warm your hearth and home Golf in any Language—The Arnold Palmer Design Company is on the road again Course Directory—A must-play list of great golf destinations The Ultimate Medal—Arnie makes history with Congressional Gold

kingdom 15 winter 2009

See details below

Asmara & Tenaga—Unlock the secrets of the rainforest for a more energetic, exciting, and dynamic you.

No matter how many years have passed since you met, with Asmara and Tenaga your relationship can be as dynamic and exciting as your first kiss. Supported by traditional use, the herbs in these daily herbal supplements unlock the secrets of the rainforest to provide an all-natural way to fulfilled living.* Asmara supports women’s energy and vitality while Tenaga promotes healthy testosterone levels that help men stay ready for action whenever the moment strikes.* Together, Asmara and Tenaga help couples keep their relationship going strong.

Buy Tenaga, Get Asmara Free promotion available online at AsmaraAndTenaga.com Enter coupon code: KINGDOM at checkout.

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

publisher’s

foreword

Publisher’s greeting as we reach the end of 2009, I look back with mixed emotions.

Undeniably, businesswise it has been a tough year with, sadly, many in the leisure and golf magazine sector having to close their doors.

However, the fact that we are still here—and with my outlook revised to see “flat” as the new “up” on the line chart—bears great testament to the integrity and global appeal of Arnold Palmer, for whom it has been an amazing year. Never, perhaps, has more love been shown for a man on his birthday than the amount directed towards Arnold on his 80th. A tremendous week of celebrations (not to mention salutations from a few world leaders) managed to remind Mr. Palmer just how loved he is—a fact conveyed to us here at his magazine on a daily basis.

We speak to many people from many different walks of life and, yes, they have all heard the name Arnold Palmer. Let’s face it: If you haven’t you must have been living in a cave for the last 50 years! But most of them know Palmer the golfer, not Palmer the philanthropist, charitable fund raiser, loving family man, prolific aviator and founder of modern sports marketing, to name but a few of his great achievements. But, for those that haven’t heard, a recent event really brought home Palmer’s incredible accomplishments. On the 30th of September Arnold Palmer stopped in at the White House, where President Barack Obama signed into law The Congressional Gold Medal.

The award made Palmer the first sports person in history to receive all three of the United States’ highest civilian honors, including the National Sports Award from former President Bill Clinton in 1993 (a one-time award) and the Presidential Medal of Freedom from former President George W. Bush in 2004.

No doubt this award will be as well received abroad as it is at home—good thing, as Palmer’s course design work is going strong overseas. He and the excellent team at the Arnold Palmer Design Company (APDC) are hard at work in such far-off places as China, Cambodia, Brazil and beyond. Of course they’re working at home as well—right at home in fact, having recently renovated the course at the Bay Hill Club & Lodge to great acclaim. Great things lie ahead for 2010 as well, and we can’t wait.

But before this year is over, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you, Arnold, and your great staff for all of your time, help and support. You have given so much to us over the years, and no matter if it is a spectator watching you on the golf course or the President of the United States commending you for your work, you continue to give and to win the love and affection of people worldwide.

In fact, as you can see from the photo above, just about the only thing Arnold hasn’t helped with this year is my putting—now where’s his phone number…

Matthew Squire Publisher

15

kingdom 15 winter 2009

Purchasing solutions designed with you in mind!

Entegra delivers value by continually developing solutions that fit the unique needs of our customers.

With more than $3 billion in food and related supply purchases in the U.S. alone, we provide competitive pricing, extensive product selection, leading brands and responsive supplier service to a large segment of the golf industry throughout the U.S. Over 850 U.S. clubs, from companies such as Arnold Palmer Golf Management, Century Golf, American Golf, EAGL and Billy Casper, are utilizing the entegra Program today. For a procurement program designed to meet your needs – with the flexibility to be updated as your business goals change – count on entegra. Call 866-ENTEGRA today for additional information.

entegraPS.com • 1-866-ENTEGRA • info.USA@entegraPS.com

editor’s

letter

Letter from the Editor an aging warrior returning to battle against younger, stronger opponents has long been a compelling plot line, framing the action in many a poem, book and Hollywood film. When it comes to real life I would guess the story’s most common setting is a boxing ring—indeed, the list of champions who’ve climbed through the ropes to re-establish their dominance against a younger opponent is long, with a somewhat shorter list of those who won. And even those, if they do not retire, eventually fall.

The unexpected drama of Tom Watson’s amazing play at this year’s British Open brought this oh-socompelling plot line to the golf course. But unlike boxing—which is so very black and white, with only one man’s arm raised at the end of the fight—I cannot for one second consider that Tom Watson lost the British Open.

Watson feels a bit differently about it of course, and says as much in our interview with him on p50. But after thinking this one over, I’m convinced that Watson’s warrior has more in common with Hemingway’s old man (of “and the Sea” fame) than with a character from a medieval epic. He didn’t really lose the fish exactly, even if he didn’t bring it all the way home intact.

I should pause to say—truthfully—that I have the utmost respect for Stewart Cink. He’s a true competitor who worked hard and won the day, and no one can take that away from him. He and his family have to be thrilled, and deservedly so.

But for me, Watson built the 2009 British Open. Even if he didn’t crack the champagne across the bow, it was his ship. Watson wasn’t the reason I tuned in on the first day, but he’s the reason I tuned in every day thereafter—and he’s the reason I’ll be watching next year, which in plot-line terms will be his “last stand” at The Open, he says.

I’m looking forward to that, and to seeing some of you on course soon. In the meantime, let me take this last opportunity of 2009 to wish you Happy Holidays from the staff here at kingdom. May the season’s end find you all happy, healthy, wealthy and warm, surrounded by family and friends, with a couple of plane tickets to a warm golf destination tucked under your tree.

Festively,

Reade Tilley

17

kingdom 15 winter 2009

reade tilley

matthew squire

Contributing Editor

art director

designer

special thanks / contributors

editor

publisher

Paul Trow

Leon Harris

Matthew Halnan

Special Contributors

Arnold Palmer, Donald Trump, Doc Giffin, Cori Britt

Contributing Photographers Getty Images, Arnold Palmer Picture Library, USGA, Robbie Haines, Evan Schiller, Leon Harris, Britt Runion, Chris John Photographic, Scott Spangler, Howdy Giles, Karen Ollis

VP, Operations Joe Velotta

VP, Advertising Sales Jon Edwards

Advertising Sales Michael Sullivan Andy Fletcher Keith Kay Marc Humphrey Tony Hogg

Executive Assistant Carla Richards

Production

Alison Auerbach Chris Byrd Alexis Dyson Ray Easler and all his team at Bay Hill Kelly Frai Vince Gill J. Graham Richard Horweger Doug Howe Janet Hulcher Rand Jerris Alastair Johnson Patrick Jones Ellie Kaiser Jane Kozich Brett Maddock Russ Meyer Polly Peak Alain Roby Chris Rodell Adam Schame John Strege Jessica Sweeney team apdc (as always!)

Dr. Thomas Dan Waters Tom Watson

Enquiry Addresses

Advertising—ms@tmcusallc.com Subscription—joe@tmcusallc.com Editorial—jh@tmcusallc.com

tmc usa llc

Reproduction Colourscript

published by TMC USA Llc, 323 DANIELS ROAD, SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY 12866 Founders: John Halnan, Matthew Squire and Steve Richards. Commercial Enquiries—ms@tmcusallc.com Tel: (866) 4–TMC USA Fax: (888) 237–3144 arnieskingdom.com

TMC USA

© 2009 TMC USA Llc

Reproduction without permission is prohibited. The articles appearing within this publication reflect the opinion of their respective authors and not necessarily those of the publisher.

No responsibility is taken for unsolicited submissions and manuscripts.

Cover image: Stephen Shankland

Arnie A 20

kingdom 15 winter 2009

Answers One day after watching President Barack Obama authorize awarding him The Congressional Gold Medal, the nation’s highest civilian honor, and one hour after having a decaying molar yanked, Arnold Palmer sat down with kingdom correspondent Chris Rodell at his Latrobe office

kingdom: Well, you’ve certainly had a busy last few months.

Arnold Palmer: It’s been really busy. I’ve been going crazy. There was my birthday and all the things that happened in Florida and Pennsylvania and then Washington. It doesn’t appear to be winding down any either.

K: Vince Gill and Amy Grant were a surprise act at one of your birthday celebrations and we have

interviewed Vince later in the publication. How long have you known him and what is he like as a golfer?

AP: That was in Orlando and that was on the occasion of the birthday party for me and for the hospital. He’s a very good golfer. Amy plays, too. They are good friends. They’ve done a lot to help support charity and I have been to their event in Nashville. We met after I’d invited him to come and entertain at Bay Hill way back.

K: The Arnold Palmer Hospital turned 20 on your 80th birthday. During those 20 years the hospital has proven a phenomenal success. What plans do you have to build further on that success?

AP: We don’t really have any plans to build further as far as the hospital is concerned. We do have plans to expand the present facilities. We’re going up a floor on Winnie’s hospital, we’re expanding the cancer research center and we’re also expanding the Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children and Women. By expanding, that means the floors will be going up another floor.

K: Are you ever sorry you didn’t give that paint salesman thing in 1954 more of a chance?

AP: No. There was some thought I’d need to persevere with that occupation. You never know and I needed to have a back up plan and that’s just what that was until I won the U.S. Amateur that same year. Was I a good paint salesman? Obviously not! If I’d been really good, I’d still be there selling paint, wouldn’t you think? I’m thinking I chose the right path for me.

21

kingdom 15 winter 2009

>

INTRODUCING THE ALL-NEW

GOLDEN BEAR LODGE & SPA CAP CANA.

JACK’S STYLE.

BOOK NOW AND GET YOUR

3 RD NIGHT FREE .

PLUS,

A

FREE ROUND OF GOLF AND MUCH MORE. PROMO CODE FREEGOLF.

Golden Bear Lodge & Spa Cap Cana is an all-suite oceanfront resor t inspired by the life and legacy of Jack Nicklaus, perfect for family gatherings, romantic escapes, business hideaways... and of course, incredible golf. Ideally located between two Nicklaus Signature courses, Las Iguanas, opening in 2010, and Punta Espada, named “Best Golf Course in the Caribbean and Mexico” by Golfweek magazine.

As part of The Zoëtry Collection, Golden Bear Lodge & Spa provides the same incomparable standards as Zoëtry Wellness & Spa Resorts — luxury destinations offering unique recreational experiences, gourmet dining and an emphasis on wellness and active leisure.

ZOËTRY PARAISO DE LA BONITA RIVIERA MAYA

ZOËTRY CASA DEL MAR LOS CABOS

Visit ZoetryResorts.com/kingdom or call 1888 4ZOETRY now. ©2009 AMRESORTS.

ZOËTRY AGUA PUNTA CANA

Palmer with longtime friend President Dwight D. Eisenhower

K: Other athletes put HOF after their names to illuminate their status. Are you going to one-up them now by putting CGM for Congressional Gold Medal winner after yours?

AP: No! Nothing even close. You know me better than that! I’m not that kind of guy. It was the most prestigious honor I’ve ever received. Its recipients are among the most impressive people in American history. George Washington was first and I won’t be the last. There’s John Wayne, Roberto Clemente, Byron Nelson, George Washington, Ronald Reagan, Colin Powell, Bob Hope, Louis L’Amour—a lot of great Americans. I don’t have the medal yet. They’re making it at the U.S. Mint. They don’t make it until it is signed into law and that’s what President Obama did the other day. I’ll display it here in the office.

K: President Dwight D. Eisenhower will be posthumously inducted into World Golf Hall of Fame shortly. What was, and is, your involvement in this induction?

AP: I’m going to make that induction and that will be a pleasure for me. We’re really looking forward to that.

K: Could there be yet another still higher honor out there for you?

AP: I guess not. I wish somebody would give me a PGA Championship, but that’s not going to happen. [Note: the PGA is the only major championship that eluded Palmer’s grasp.]

K: There’s been a lot of criticism of Tour players that they’re too satisfied with finishing 10th or worse. Some golfers have made great careers without winning. Is too much money a problem for today’s competitive golfers?

AP: That’s a good subject. I don’t know. The fact is a man can become a multi-millionaire and never win a tournament. I thought about that a little yesterday when I read in the paper that Tiger had earned over a billion dollars playing golf. A billion dollars. Well, I was the first one to make a million, but you think, man, a billion! That’s a helluva lot more than a million.

K: How did the SportsCenter promo shoot go for ESPN up in Bristol?

AP: Oh, I was very impressed by their organization. The physical layout, the studios, the entire program was impressive. It was a nice day. I really enjoyed seeing what they’re doing. And I’m happy to say Golf Channel is still doing well. I don’t think they’re going to get as many channels as ESPN, but they’re doing a great job.

K: There’s a popular clip making the rounds on the Internet of you from that day at ESPN chipping a golf ball into a glass of Arnold Palmer Tea. It’s a thrill to watch. How many shots did that take?

AP: I hit a number of shots and lucked one in. The crowd gave a great reaction. It was a lot of fun.

23

kingdom 15 winter 2009

>

K: Are you at all surprised that many younger folks know of the Arnold Palmer drink, but not that you’re a real person with a real history?

AP: No, I did not know that. Is that true? That’s funny! (Photographer Scott Spangler says he was showing some students of his a picture of Arnold Palmer and one of the young ladies said, “You mean that’s the iced tea guy?” Spangler says he informed her that Palmer had some notable escapades in his life long before he became the “iced tea guy.” Palmer erupts with laughter.)

K: What were your impressions of Barack Obama?

AP: He was very polite and has a very nice personality. He’s very interested in golf. He told me that he had watched me with his father when he was just 6 years old. So that goes back a while. Because of that he said he’d watched me all his life. He was quite nice. Very hospitable. We talked about golfing together and it may happen.

K: You know your way around the White House pretty well by now. Do you still feel as awestruck as the first time you entered? When was that?

AP: I’ve been there a number of times on official business and have been to numerous receptions there. I’ve been to elegant state functions with Presidents Nixon, Reagan and both Bush 41 and Bush 43. My friendship with President Eisenhower was just getting started when he was leaving office, but we did so much together outside of the White House. And he came here to visit me for one wonderful weekend on my birthday.

K: Do you still feel awestruck walking in there?

AP: Certainly. There’s something about it. There’s an air, a little nervousness. I think anybody who walks into the White House feels that. It’s just natural. You get a real sense of America and what the country stands for. It’s quite awesome.

K: Tell us about Arnold Palmer Night at PNC Park?

AP: The Pirates got whipped pretty good, but except for the baseball, it was a great night. I thought my 80mph fastball on that first pitch was pretty good. Then the Pirates took the field and gave up eight consecutive hits to start the game. It tied a record. I joked to Kit that they should have left me in. I blame her for startling pitcher Zach Duke. She insisted we have a picture taken with him before he went to the mound. I think she got him so shook up it took him a long time to regain his composure.

K: The Boo Weekley MasterCard commercial about dream foursomes is so much fun to watch. His dream foursome included you and his father Tom. Golfers and their fathers share such a loving and intense bond. How often do you think of your father and what inspires those thoughts?

AP: I still think about him all the time and remain very thankful for all the things that he taught me. For all the advice and the feelings he gave me in my youth. He was great. And for that reason I do think a lot about him. I was lucky to have him for a father.

K: I understand you have two new courses in China. Any signs that business here at home is improving?

AP: We do. We’re building courses in China as we speak. We’re very pleased about that. I may go there and check them, but I’ll wait and see. I may go. Not many signs that business is improving here. I was in Los Angeles recently to look at our Rolling Hills course. Then I went up to Pebble Beach for a look around. We have some potentials, but we’re just waiting for the green light to move forward.

The King airs out his fastball with the pittsburgh pirates at PNC Park’s Arnold Palmer night

K: What kind of special obligation to history does APDC feel when it updates a course like Pebble Beach?

AP: I suppose the only thing I think about is not getting too carried away and trying to stick to the tradition that has been so historical there. You need to respect the traditions of that fine club and all the great golf that’s been played there over the years. It’s a real national treasure.

K: How about the renovations at Bay Hill? How satisfied are you about the outcome?

AP: I’m very pleased. It’s open and being played. I hope what we did will be regarded as something

24

kingdom 15 winter 2009

>

Yes, you can

overcome obstacles and come out a winner.

Administaff can help.

- Arnold Palmer

Golf Legend, Small Business Owner & Administaff Client

When the economic forecast begins to look up, naturally, you want to be ahead of the pack. That’s where Administaff can help you take action now, with a complete package of HR solutions that can position you to beat the odds and gain a distinct competitive advantage. To set your sights on a solid upswing – and to get your business on course for lasting success – call 866-715-3553 or visit Administaff.com.

Administaff ’s comprehensive HR Services package includes: Payroll / Employment Administration • Employer Liability Management • Retirement Services • Government Compliance Performance Management • Training and Development • Recruiting and Selection • Health Benefits Management

very traditional and historic that will set Bay Hill aside from most of the other courses on tour. It was already highly regarded. The renovations were exceptionally well done and I’m grateful to all the people who worked on it.

Up and down the line, everyone did fantastic work there.

I’m very proud of the results and I think others will be just as pleased as I am.

K: Golf has been admitted to the Olympic Games. How would you organize the tournament?

AP: With so many countries involved, I think it would have to be a medal play event with maybe five or six members from each country. They would play a medal play event using maybe the top two or three or four scores from all the nations. There could be some real surprises. There are some very good golfers from different countries all over the world now. It ought to be interesting.

K: You tinker with golf clubs and on a grander scale with golf courses. Do you find it hard to resist making design suggestions at every course you play?

AP: No, I just make them! If I see something I think will improve a situation, I’m not shy about making suggestions.

K: Do you ever spend any time with Alastair Johnston at his home, mulling through his extraordinary library of golf books?

AP: Alastair and I work very closely with one another. He’s sort of my representative with IMG and he is a good friend. We’ve done a lot of things together. His collection is number one in the world.

It’s quite an achievement.

K: You’ve been all over the world? Where are you eager to take Kit that she’s never been?

AP: We have some thoughts about where we’d like to go. One of the places I have been, but not to really enjoy, is Alaska. We’d love to go there and do a little sightseeing, maybe some salmon fishing. I don’t think I want to go there to play golf, but I might.

K: While you’ve had some nice ceremonies recently, your man Doc Giffin’s been honored at several ceremonies both here in Latrobe and in New York. Has any of it gone to his head?

AP: (laughs with Giffin, who is in the room) Oh, absolutely! He’s been impossible. No, Doc is great.

He’s been a real asset to me for all these years. Obviously, or he wouldn’t be here. He’s been with me 43 years and it’s been a real pleasure. I treasure his advice and his friendship.

K: Tom Watson almost won the British Open a couple of months shy of his 60th birthday.

What did you make of his performance?

AP: I was very sorry to see he didn’t win. He was right on the verge of doing something that had never been done before and I was very sorry it didn’t happen. Him winning would have been just a fantastic occasion. I felt bad it didn’t happen.

K: You will be acting as honorary starter again at next year’s Masters with Jack Nicklaus. How will that work and do you think Gary Player might also join you both in due course?

AP: I think it’s very possible that Gary will join us. I’m looking forward to teeing it up with Jack this year at Augusta. We’re going to have a lot of fun.

K: Jerry McGee says he wants his ashes sprinkled from a plane onto the 12th green at Augusta.

He says he never hit the green in life and wants to do it in death. Why do so many old golfers end up scattered on famous courses?

AP: Well, what more pleasant atmosphere could you want to be for eternity? A golf course is something that is very pleasant out in the environment. It’s the most pleasant place on earth. Who wants to spend eternity in a cemetery surrounded by dead people? n

26

kingdom 15 winter 2009

palmer, ed seay and alastair johnston bringing golf to china

Unique. Stylish.

Like You.

Our seats are beautifully designed and exceptionally crafted for the Ultimate in: Style Ergonomics Comfort Quality

.

.

.

The finest in materials and detailing together create a seat that supports your back in style. We offer a selection of colors and custom embroidery so your seats are unique and stylish. Like you.

Whether you drive a Club Car, E-Z-GO or Yamaha, our seats mean an unforgettable riding experience.

At Ultimate Golf Seating, we have your back.

(888) 989-9887

ultimategolfseating.com

There is so much that can be attached to the name Arnold Palmer.

An easy smile and a wicked swing.

A true sportsman’s style and sophistication.

A genuine approachability.

A trendsetter and a traditionalist.

A man of his word.

The gentleman athlete.

The pilot and the businessman.

The father and the friend.

The champion.

The icon.

The King.

And today, with Arnold Palmer Design Company you get much more than a name. You get the personal involvement and expertise of the man himself — Arnold Palmer.

Designers of Arnold Palmer Signature and new Palmer Premier golf courses and clubs.

www.arnoldpalmerdesign.com (407) 876-1068

Bermuda has more golf courses per square mile than anywhere else in the world. Paul Trow and Jon Edwards marvel at how this delectable quart has been squeezed into such a delicate pint pot

“Go to Heaven if you want,” Mark Twain once wrote, “I’d rather stay in Bermuda.” the creator of tom sawyer and huckleberry finn knew a thing or two about the great outdoors, but while his novels tended to have an expansive setting he also had a keen eye for life’s minutiae.

Occupying just 22 square miles, this scorpion–shaped string of islands in the Atlantic some 650 miles east of North Carolina is undeniably minute, but like all great miniatures the detail is magnificent. Bermuda has been described by a local writer as “a coral jewel set in a turquoise sea.” If so, its seven golf courses are emerald studs on a coronet lined with rose–quartz pink sandy beaches.

Bermuda does not come cheap—something else it has in common with expensive gems—but that has not stopped it from becoming a popular playground for wealthy Americans.

However, its hallmark is largely British and dates back to 1609 when Sea Venture, skippered by Admiral Sir George Summers, was shipwrecked there—earning it the sobriquet Devil’s Island from the surviving sailors and reputedly inspiring Shakespeare’s mystical masterpiece The Tempest.

Playground in

Its culture is best described as quaintly traditional—a pleasing mixture of English colonial gentility (its seven parishes have classic British names like Warwick and Devonshire) and Yankee conservatism, but with a dash of calypso thrown in for good measure.

Yet, from the Dark ’n’ Stormy rum cocktails—which help the evenings go with a swing—and the peerless fish chowder that sets up many a memorable meal, through to those eponymous shorts worn by the island’s males almost like a uniform, Bermuda definitely has a distinctive flavor.

We should tee off our golf tour of Bermuda with Port Royal, the island’s youngest and westernmost course, which opened in 1970. Its stunning signature hole is the par–three 16th, chiseled into the side of a cliff. With shrubbery lining the dry land to the right and the ocean yawning 100 feet below to the left, there is precious little room for a bailout shot, though at least the green, bunkered on both sides and viewed across a kaleidoscope of cliffside heathers and gorses, is agreeably flat.

As the result of a recent $15 million redesign overseen by Roger Rulewich, a former colleague of the original architect Robert Trent Jones, Sr., this government–owned layout has been transformed into one of the world’s finest public courses.

Anyone who has played Port Royal on a previous pilgrimage is in for a (pleasant) shock. More than 1,000 trees have been removed to open the course up to the prevailing sea breeze and 84 new bunkers have been put in. >

para 30

kingdom 15 winter 2009

the new, colonial-style clubhouse at tucker’s point is at the heart of a $350m development

adise 31

kingdom 15 winter 2009

port royal’s facelift began at the 7th (above) but the signature 16th beside the ocean (below) is largely unchanged

Director of Golf Andrew Brooks describes the modern Port Royal as a “subtropical links” and from the 7th onwards every shot has an ocean view. As a result of this facelift, which is being sustained by chief agronomist Steve Johnson, formerly at the fabled Green Monkey course in Barbados, Port Royal was awarded the 2009 Grand Slam of Golf, contested in October by the year’s four major winners and won by U.S. Open champion Lucas Glover.

The island’s most exclusive golf club, where guests can generally only be introduced by members, is Mid Ocean, laid out on the southeast shore in 1924 by Charles Blair Macdonald and updated in 1953 by Trent Jones. Mid Ocean’s setting is often compared with Turnberry or Cypress Point, but in reality few of its holes run hard by the sea—its landscape is more a collage of valleys, crests, woods and shrubs with water only intermittently a threat. One exception is the 5th tee where golfers must decide how much of Mangrove Lake to cut off as they drive down towards a fairway that doglegs sharply to the left.

Mid Ocean and the rest of the island’s courses are carpeted with Bermuda grass, the strong, sharp, broad–bladed greenery that has become a worldwide standard for durability wherever golf is played in a warm climate.

A near neighbor of Mid Ocean is Tucker’s Point where the course, originally opened in 1931, is the centerpiece of a $350 million, 200–acre development that features a five– star hotel and spa along with dozens of luxury villas and apartments. Previously known as Marriott’s Castle Harbour, this immaculately manicured course was originally created by Charles H.Banks in 1931, modified by Trent Jones a couple

32

kingdom 15 winter 2009

of decades later and re–routed a few years ago by Rulewich.

With its steep elevation changes and generous runoffs, Tucker’s Point requires precision shot–making if you are to pick your way successfully around the course. The delightful 17th hole (originally the 1st) provides a round–defining, drivable green that offers a superb vantage point overlooking Tucker’s Town, but be warned: It is also fraught with danger.

Far shorter—though by no means easier—is Riddell’s Bay which juts out into Little Sound on the island’s southern prong. Riddell’s Bay, built in 1922 on a peninsula no more than 600 yards wide, stretches to barely 5,700 yards from the back tees, but its condition is immaculate throughout.

The part of the course that sets the heart fluttering and the camera clicking is the loop from holes 8 to 12. The 8th, a 360–yard par–four, stroke index No.1 and very much the >

Deal.

No deal.

25-Hour Flight Options JetPASS Select (Hawker 400XP)

$97,025

25-Hour Marquis Jet Card (Hawker 400XP)

$139,900

At up to 31% less than our competitors, JetPASS Select combines the low hourly rates of charter with the safety and consistency of private jet ownership.

JetPASS Select from Flight Options.

No long term commitment.

No middleman upcharge.

No share purchase.

No broker fee.

Just pure value.

877.703.2348 | www.flightoptions.com

the spectacular view from the 17th tee at tucker’s point is of a short par-4 which used to play as the 1st hole. below is the

signature hole, doglegs sharply right around Little Sound and poses the agonizing question of how much of the sea to cut off with the drive. Take the brave line and stay dry and you should be rewarded with a mere flick to the green; but a telephone number score beckons should you find a watery grave.

The 9th and 10th, shorter par–fours, both necessitate accurate drives across apparently harmless yet quite treacherous expanses of water. The 11th is a short par–three across a valley, but it is the 12th, with another carry over water to a sloping, tapering, tree–lined fairway, that really catches the eye. The tee has a luxury villa backing onto it while the owner’s motor–powered dingy is moored (seemingly) to the right–hand tee marker.

Bermuda’s oldest course, Belmont Hills, a mile or so east of Riddell’s Bay, dates to 1915. At less than 5,800 yards and with only one par–four longer than 400 yards, it is on the short side, but its calling card is a selection of spectacular views of the capital’s coastline across Hamilton Harbor.

Golfers invariably approach Belmont Hills (the original Belmont was designed by Emmitt Devereaux) expecting to devour it, and invariably discover they have bitten off more than they can chew. Numerous two–tiered greens, blind second shots and tight fairways make it a subtle test, especially for good players who invariably find themselves embarrassed by missing green after green with wedges.

The only nine–hole course on Bermuda is Ocean View, which, like Port Royal, is government owned. Set on the north shore near to Hamilton, each hole has two tee positions to provide sufficient variety for an 18–hole excursion. Despite

34

kingdom 15 winter 2009

stretching to fewer than 3,000 yards, Ocean View’s rambling terrain makes it doggedly resistant to low scoring, especially over a full round.

The final layout is the 18–hole par–three course designed

by Theodore G. Robinson on the grounds of the luxurious Fairmont Southampton Princess Hotel in the south of the island. The hills on which it is built ensure both exposure to

there is no shortage of water at pompano beach club

Where to stay and dine

approach to the two-tiered green on the 14th hole at belmont hills

the wind and a succession of exceptional views. And, with the holes ranging from the 110–yard 6th to the 216–yard 14th, every club in the bag will be needed. One word of warning, though: the course advertises an average playing time of two hours, yet, with many hotel guests firmly in the “rabbits” category, rounds can infuriatingly last up to twice that length.

Visitors can also use the floodlit Bermuda Golf Academy, next door to Port Royal, where there is a 40– bay driving range, chipping bunker and 18–hole putting green. Open from 7:30am to 10:30pm, the Academy offers professional tuition for players of all abilities.

Apart from playing golf, visitors are recommended to take a stroll around St. George’s, the original capital in the northeast of the island and a UNESCO world heritage site.

Like the port of Lyme Regis in Dorset, England, with which it is twinned, a trip to St. George’s is akin to stepping two generations back in time, so meticulously are its buildings and appearance preserved.

The capital, Hamilton, is geared to younger tastes with an impressive array of shops, bars and restaurants, but overall Bermuda (speed limit: 22mph) is innately sedate. McDonald’s was repeatedly turned down when applying to open an outlet while a proposed Jack Nicklaus course on reclaimed land at Morgan’s Point near the historic Royal Naval Dockyards in the northwest also received the thumbs–down.

Despite the inevitable groans that references to the Bermuda Triangle always elicit from this idyllic island’s otherwise good–natured inhabitants, there can surely be few better places for golfers to lose themselves.

Pompano Beach Club is an intimate family–run hotel located just a 9–iron shot from your breakfast table to the 8th green at Port Royal.

The Lamb family have run this luxury resort since 1956 and brothers Tom and Larry Lamb, the sons of the original owner, display a passion and enthusiasm for the property that is positively infectious. Each new arrival is welcomed with a tour of the property and the level of personal attention extended to guests throughout their stay is exceptional.

Benefiting from a dramatic oceanfront setting, Pompano Beach Club has its own private beach with access to stunning coral gardens and a shallow sandbar, which is the only one of its kind on the Bermuda coast.

The cuisine is superb, blending fresh local fare with a traditional U.S. menu, while the view from the Ocean Grill restaurant on top of the cliffs overlooking the ocean is truly special.

The recently completed Tucker’s Point Hotel & Spa is fast cementing its reputation as the finest accommodation in Bermuda. When first confronted by the beautifully decorated lobby and its grand staircase, you can almost feel the hand of history on your shoulder.

Previously Marriott’s Castle Harbour Hotel, Tucker’s Point is now the “Beverly Hills of Bermuda,” according to Jason Epstein, director of golf. Certainly, no expense has been spared on rooms and suites, which have been finished to exacting standards.

Only a two–hour flight from the Eastern seaboard, Tucker’s Point is the ideal long–weekend destination. With a high–quality spa, private beach, sumptuous restaurants and access to the Tucker’s Point golf course, it provides guests with the most stylish of escapes.

Its Michelin–star restaurant The Point (which requires a jacket for dinner) is set in a grand dining room decorated with murals depicting the world’s ports in the 1880s. These were originally displayed in the Pan Am (now MetLife) building in New York before being purchased by Tucker’s >

35

kingdom 15 winter 2009

pompano’s private beach accesses a shallow sandbar

Point president Ed Trippe for the resort in 2005.

The six–course tasting menu with a different wine each course is justification alone for the esteem in which executive chef Serge Bottelli is held throughout Bermuda.

Despite the abundance of luxury real estate on the property, it does not encroach on the golf experience and can be bought outright or as a fractional option.

Newstead Belmont Hills offers guests and owners a “home away from home” consisting of 60 elegant waterfront suites and commanding sunset views across the harbor to Hamilton.

Adjacent to the property, recently restored to its former glory, is the house where Mark Twain lived until two years before his death in 1910—indeed, he may well have uttered those famous words from the opening paragraph one evening while looking out to sea.

Guests can enjoy the delightful Samadhi Spa and the award–winning Beau Rivage French restaurant as well as use their luxury suite with private balcony to entertain clients or friends.

The resort—chic, stylish and with a large infinity pool that melts into Hamilton Harbour—is the place to be when Happy Hour comes ’round each Friday.

Again, owners can buy the properties outright or take a fractional share. For those who opt for the latter, the concierge will retrieve your personal items from storage and stock your fridge in time for your arrival.

Newstead also runs its own complimentary water taxi to ferry guests over to Hamilton, to work or down to the golf course.

In addition to its award–winning cuisine, Beau Rivage stages a Jazz Buffet each Sunday while the sushi served in the Blu Bar & Grill at the golf club is absolutely first–class. n –––– www.pompanobeachclub.com www.portroyalgolf.bm www.tuckerspoint.com www.newsteadbelmonthills.com

36

kingdom 15 winter 2009

It’s Got to Be Gosling’s For seven “stubborn generations” spanning more than 200 years, the Gosling family and their highly–regarded rum has been intertwined with Bermuda’s history and national identity.

In 1806, when sailing for the American mainland, James Gosling, son of English wine and spirits merchant William Gosling, was forced by 91 days of calm seas and the nearby presence of enemy ships to land his £10,000 cargo at St. George’s.

Since then, the company has had a colorful history while patiently distilling and blending some of the world’s finest rum, particularly the oak barrel–aged family reserve “Old Rum” which is often compared to fine XO cognacs for its depth of flavor. It still comes in a champagne–style bottle sealed with the black wax from which the more famous Black Seal rum derives its name.

The delicious and refreshing Dark ‘n’ Stormy, Bermuda’s national drink, is made with a mix of ginger beer and Gosling’s Black Seal rum and is the only trademarked cocktail in the world. In other words, you can make a Screwdriver with any of the myriad vodka brands out there, but unless you use Gosling’s Black Seal, it’s certainly not a Dark ‘n’ Stormy!

Over the years, the brand has won much acclaim and many awards, but it has not been widely available outside Bermuda. Now this is all about to change as CEO Malcolm Gosling has moved his family to Boston and is tirelessly developing distribution channels through America’s bars and high–end golf club and resort facilities.

Once you have guzzled an ice–cold Dark ‘n’ Stormy after a hot round on any of Bermuda’s courses, it is guaranteed that you will yearn for its unique taste again and again. And when you recreate it at home, you will be transported back to the 19th hole in paradise.

Designer: Dan McFadden Photographer: Saverio Turuglia ®QCCI. All rights Reserved

For Master Chef Alain Roby, passion and pastry are a natural pairing. So when he remodeled his own kitchen, he wanted to infuse the olde world charm from his youth into an efficiently designed space. He wanted cabinetry made with the highest quality materials and craftsmanship.

He wanted...

Quality Custom Cabinetry.

But Alain’s passions extend outside the kitchen. He has authored a new cookbook, American Classics, Casual and Elegant Desserts.† The proceeds will benefit the Saving tiny Hearts Society (StHS).

Alain first became aware of StHS when his son collapsed on the football field from a heart defect. StHS’s sole purpose is to raise funds for congenital heart defect research. 100% of donations go directly to funding this important research.

At Quality Custom Cabinetry, we share Alain’s commitment to StHS, so we are donating a portion of proceeds from all cabinetry sales* in 2010 to the Saving tiny Hearts Society. *For more details, visit qcc.com/sths

Chef Alain Roby

Visit the Quality Affiliated Designer nearest you for our case study DVD, A Slice of Life, and our brochure, Designers Guild Collection.

For designer listings, go to– www.qualitycustomcabinetry.com or call– 1.800.909.6006

Certified Master Chef of Pastry & Sugar Artistry World-renowned pastry chef, as well as Senior Corporate Pastry Chef for Hyatt Hotels, Alain has been featured in numerous publications and on television.

In addition to more than 20 culinary awards, his accomplishments include: induction into Pastry Art & Design and Chocolatier magazine Pastry Hall of Fame in 2007; and the Guinness Book of World Records award for the World’s Tallest Cooked Sugar Sculpture and the World’s Tallest Chocolate Building. † Alain’s new cookbook is available by request: www.chefroby.com

38

kingdom 15 winter 2009

Playing Countr y “Anything you want to add?”

I ask, preparing to put my notepad and recorder away. Relaxing backstage before a gig in Santa Ynez, California, country music star Vince Gill thinks for a second, then lights up and enthusiastically offers,

“Long live the King!”

Famous as a musician and humanitarian, Vince Gill is also a killer on the golf course. This October, he spared us a few minutes for a preshow chat about golf, life, music and his favorite celebrity golf partner.

Long live the King, indeed. there’s a moment in vince gill’s set in which the singer pauses to recount an anecdote that involves golf.

It’s a telling break in the music, because it appears that even in the middle of a show the country music legend can’t get the game completely off his mind. That makes sense, because to maintain a 1 handicap in a life filled with concerts, television appearances, family and numerous humanitarian efforts, if you weren’t playing golf you’d have to be thinking about it. Vince Gill thinks about it a lot.

“The running joke is that you’re not allowed to book us where it’s under 55 degrees,” says the energetic performer, who hits the course as often as possible when he’s touring. “I’ve stayed consistent. I played a lot, just because I really love the game and because a music career is mostly a nighttime event.”

If you haven’t heard of Vince Gill, you haven’t turned on a radio or television in a long, long time. The genial Oklahoman with a beautiful tenor and fantastic skills on guitar has sold more than 26 million albums, earned 19 Grammy awards and 18 awards from the Country Music Association. His songs are the kind of honest, straightforward country your granddaddy liked (though he’s happy to push the envelope) and his personality is effortlessly comfortable. He’s married to top Christian singer Amy Grant, tours with his daughter Jenny Gill (who has a lovely voice as well), he’s a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame and—as we’ve already mentioned—he’s one heck of a golfer, playing to a 1 handicap and setting a course record at Tennessee’s GreyStone Golf Club with a 62.

39

kingdom 15 winter 2009

>

whether he’s playing for charity or for fun, vince gill plays to win

“The first place I ever played golf, was with my dad,” says Gill. “He took me to this little 9-hole place, and the greens were made out of cottonseed hulls—the consistency of mulch, a real fine mulch.”

Gill said the groundskeeper had rolled a section of the green flat and hard so it would be playable. A string tied to the flag was used to measure the distance from the pin to where the ball landed on the unplayable mulch-like green, and then the ball was moved to the relative position on the playable bit.

“I’ve played Pebble Beach and Augusta and all of the great places in the world, and that’s always going to be the neatest one of all, I think, just because it was with my old man. It was funky, and it was pasture pool at its finest.”

“the first golf i ever played was with my dad”

40

kingdom 15 winter 2009

A Knack For It Gill’s father was an administrative law judge who moved the family from Norman to Oklahoma City when Gill was 4 years old. According to the singer, “he was a weekend warrior… He probably liked shooting pool more than he did playing golf.”

That said, he encouraged Gill to pick up the game—and to pick up a guitar. By the time Gill reached high school, he was proficient not only on guitar, but on banjo, bass, mandolin, dobro and fiddle. His game was doing as well, with Gill playing competitively at the age of 10 and breaking 80 before junior high, mostly playing on the local Lake Hefner Golf Course.

“We had a big playground across the street from our house growing up, so I could stand in our yard and hit balls over to this big empty schoolyard. I just had a knack for it and a love for it,” he says.

“And as a junior golfer, we started competing in the third grade. We had these play dates two or three times a week, and you’d go out and play nine holes and somebody would be a medalist, get your name in the paper. All of the public courses were supportive… If you were a junior golfer, you could have a

daily green fee for 50 cents or 75 cents or something like that.

“My mother still talks about what a great babysitter the golf course was: ‘I gave you $2 for the green fees, a cheeseburger and a Coke and you could play 36 holes and I’d pick you up when it was dark. That’s pretty cheap babysitting.’”

Career Any thoughts of going pro were eclipsed by his focus on music, a pursuit that became official when, after graduating from high school, Gill packed up his guitar and left home to play with a bluegrass band in Louisville, Kentucky. Later came Los Angeles, along with stints as a musician for a host of bands, including Ricky Skaggs’ Boone Creek band and Rodney Crowell’s Cherry Bombs.

“my mother still talks about what a great babysitter golf was”

A deal with RCA in 1983 got his solo career rolling, a couple of Top 10 hits followed soon after on his debut record, and it’s been gangbusters ever since. In addition to his prolific solo career, he’s recorded numerous duets with such artists as Reba McEntire, Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris, Barbra Streisand, and wife Amy Grant, among others. In 2006, he released a four-CD set featuring 43 new recordings split among four musical styles.

He hosted the CMA Awards for 12 years in a row—a testament to both his affability and to his work ethic—tied legend George Strait for the most CMA Male Vocalist Awards (five) and, if that wasn’t enough, he once turned down an offer from Mark Knopfler to join rock group Dire Straits as a full-time member.

The Vinny Through it all, he never stopped golfing. And in 1993, Gill found a way to bring his two worlds together when he created the Vinny Pro-Celebrity Golf Invitational, which raises money for the Tennessee Golf Foundation. In addition to being a labor of love for junior golf, the tournament was created to be a lot of fun. >

41

kingdom 15 winter 2009

two country legends: vince gill and a telecaster guitar

“I played in so many pro-ams… And I remember a tournament that [guitarist] Glenn Frey and [pro golfer] Mark Lye did, and it was one of the first times I went to a tournament that was really a blast. Sometimes they can be a little corporate… And then they did this tournament where they had a concert afterward and the whole town came, fifteenor twenty-thousand people, all to see Glenn and Jimmy Buffett, and we all played music. I said, ‘this is a fun way to do this.’”

Thus, the Vinny was born. Now in its 18th year, the tournament and Gill’s efforts have raised money for Tennessee junior golf and for a host of other programs, including the First Tee and, in at least one case, a small rural course in need of a crucial piece of grounds-keeping equipment.

“One of the first years we raised a little bit of money and we spread it around how we saw fit. A little 9-hole course somewhere called and said, ‘We could really use a mower.’ So the money went to buy a mower for this golf course. And the goal was not to turn out the next Arnold Palmer or Tiger, it was just to give the kids an option.

“I really believe in young people, that if you give them an option that’s a good one, they’ll take it,” Gill says. “A lot of kids get in trouble because they make bad choices, but they also are not presented with any good ones. So if all you’ve got are bad choices to make, you’re not going to have much of a chance.”

42

kingdom 15 winter 2009

Celebrity & The King With Gill’s enormous success and popularity (and his skills on course) you’d think he’d be able to golf with just about anyone he likes—and you’d be right. Gill has played with a number of Tour players and says he enjoys the challenge, but you might be surprised to find that most of his regular golf partners are just his buddies, not a bunch of celebrities. Of course, there are exceptions…

“I can’t believe that I’ve had the opportunity to play golf with as many of the greats as I have, but the days that I’ve played with Arnold, they’re easily my favorite,” says Gill.

“So I’m out there playing pretty hard, and I don’t know how many years ago, maybe 20 years ago, I played really well that day but I missed a putt on the last hole, and I think I shot a 68—you shoot four or five under par playing with the King it’s a heavenly day. So I missed this birdie putt and shot a 68. Arnold had about a 10-footer for birdie, and he ran it in and looked at me and winked. He’d shot a 67! He knew that I knew what he’d shot, and he knew that I knew that he knew what I’d shot. And it’s just that kind of thing—when I get those opportunities, I just pinch myself and go back to the days when I started beating balls and wanting to play golf, and did I ever dream I’d get to play with some of those guys?

No I didn’t, but it sure has been fun.” n

Call it a blue chip investment with world-class greens

“i have a few horses and one cow called dolly”

Generations of families and connoisseurs of exquisite seaside beauty, have found their homes at John’s Island – a private tropical paradise surrounded by the aquamarine waters of the Atlantic Ocean and Indian River. John’s Islanders cultivated an unparalleled community spirit, rich with traditions and activities. World-class amenities include a new oceanfront beach club, state-of-the-art health & fitness center, 18 Har-Tru tennis courts, air-conditioned North American doubles squash court and three championship golf courses.

It’s your lifetime. Spend it wisely.

L U X U R Y E S TAT E S

:

CONDOMINIUMS

:

HOMESITES

800.327.3153

:

Ve r o B e a c h , F l o r i d a U S A :

:

TO W N H O U S ES

:

C O T TA G E S

www.JohnsIslandRealEstate.com

Exclusively John’s Island

Priests and gods if you didn’t know it, 3a.m. in alaska isn’t warm, at least not tonight. It wasn’t last night, either. Or the night before. It’s mid September about two hours’ drive from Fairbanks and I’m standing on a small, unlit runway at a semi-remote resort with my camera pointed at the sky, stocking cap pulled low, hands shoved deep in my jacket. At the other end of the runway there’s a crowd of Japanese. It’s dark enough that I can’t see them, but from the murmuring and occasional giggles I’m guessing there are near 30 milling around. Must be the student group I saw yesterday, I figure, and look back at the sky. The stars are beautiful, but they don’t stop me from uttering an expletive under my breath.

My girlfriend is warm in bed and I’m standing in the cold “like an idiot,” she’d said, when I insisted on heading out again tonight. More than a week of this, looking at the sky waiting for something extraordinary. And it never comes.

The prophet Ezekiel is thought to have been describing the Northern Lights in chapter 1, verse 4 of his contribution to the Old Testament, when he wrote: “And I looked, and behold, a whirlwind came out of the north, a great cloud, and a fire unfolding itself, and a brightness was about it, and out of the midst thereof as the color of amber, out of the midst of the fire.”

Sounds great, and I was bound and determined to compare notes, but more than a week in some of Alaska’s most remote country had produced nothing but clear, starry skies and plenty of excuses for hot chocolate—and what a jerk I must seem, writing it like that: “nothing but clear, starry skies…” But nobody wants to read about what you didn’t see.

What the call-it-like-it-is types among us refer to as the Northern Lights were given their more elegant name, Aurora Borealis, in 1621 by a Frenchman named Pierre Gassendi.

Known primarily for his work as a philosopher, Gassendi was also a mathematician, astronomer and priest. In a nod perhaps away from the latter vocation he named the mysterious lights in the northern sky for the Roman goddess of dawn, Aurora, and the Greek name for the north wind god, Boreas.

Though visible from most places north that require a parka at least part of the year, the absolute best place to see the Northern Lights (according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) is exactly where I was standing: in the dark outside in Alaska, from Fairbanks north past the Arctic Circle during the months of September and October.

The Lights’ most typical manifestation is as a kind of luminous green smear across the sky or glow on the horizon, but they can explode into tremendous displays of color, disappearing and reappearing in dynamic patterns and shades—or so I’m told.

This night turned out like all the rest, and after the Japanese gave up I found myself alone in the cold at 4a.m. There’d been a moose ambling around my cabin earlier, and it occurred to me that standing in the dark on a runway wasn’t the brightest idea I’d ever had anyway, so I folded up my camera gear and tripod and shuffled off to bed. Unintentionally half-waking my girlfriend, I subsequently ignored her “did you see any lights?” which I swear she delivered with eyes closed and the faintest of smirks upon her pretty, dreaming lips.

Chasing the Au The editor spends more than a few nights standing outside alone in the cold staring at the sky and waiting for something he wouldn’t see.

It wasn’t a waste of time. Trust me

a picture of the northern lights, not taken by the editor

44

kingdom 15 winter 2009

Macroscale Interactions

The Dalton highway

Long believed to be the result of ethereal activity, the Aurora’s Walking out of the airport in Anchorage, you pass under a actual cause was confirmed in a 2008 NASA mission when more modest kind of northern display: a row of colored lights five THEMIS satellites (short for Time History of Events and flashing on cloud shapes mounted on the ceiling. It seemed a Macroscale Interactions during Substorms) recorded energy charming and encouraging (if folksy) show of local flavor. In releases in Earth’s magnetosphere. These releases cause what any case, my girlfriend and I collected our car, spent a quick are called substorms, which can affect satellites in space and night, and drove 400 miles to Fairbanks the next morning. power grids on the ground, disrupting communications and My plan was to drive as far north as possible, all the wreaking electrical mayhem—not everyone likes the Northern way to the Arctic Ocean, and that meant the Dalton Highway.

Lights. Basically, charged particles from the sun build up in the Trouble is, most rental companies won’t let you drive it because, magnetosphere (which itself was only discovered in 1958). The though it offers an unparalleled experience as it winds from more these charged particles build, the closer to each other they’re Fairbanks to Prudhoe Bay, it’s mostly unpaved; 414 miles each drawn until finally they reconnect and release a tremendous way on a rental-car-thrashing dirt road. I couldn’t wait. burst of energy. That energy rides the Earth’s magnetic field lines There are a small handful of companies that rent trucks like a fireman’s pole straight down, screaming toward the planet for the journey, all of them have pictures of the Northern until it collides with our upper atmosphere—and then BOOM! Lights on their brochures. One company—and only one— Ezekiel writes his verse. makes a case for the family sedan. From their literature: I’d long been fascinated by the Northern Lights, mostly “Contrary to popular belief, four-wheel-drive vehicles are not because (despite the empirical observations of THEMIS) necessarily required or even preferred for travel on the Dalton there’s a grand and overwhelming sense of mystery about Highway. While the additional clearance provided by a truck them. Standing under an explosive collision of charged can sometimes be useful... this feature can be offset by the particles from a solar wind that originated 92.5 million miles higher center of gravity and reduced gas mileage.” away has to be life-changing, I figured. And I love Alaska, Ignoring this nonsense, I grabbed a 4x4 pickup from someone having visited before (on behalf of this magazine in fact). So else and set off to cross 828 miles of rock, ice and mud. It’s no wonder when I had a chance to chase the Aurora, and the timing was the sedan rental place advertises that every one of its cars comes with right, I grabbed it. a CB radio, jumper cables, a first-aid kit, tire changing kit and two full-size spares. Over the next three days, I passed very few couples in sedans on the Dalton; none of the women in the cars was smiling, and the men were only grinning because what else are you going to do when you’re rattling along next to an angry woman in a sedan and some guy races by in a truck? >

urora Borealis

45

kingdom 15 winter 2009

“deadhorse is as attractive as its name suggests” Whistling Some time out of Fairbanks driving north through forest, we hadn’t seen a car or building in over an hour when we passed an attractive but clearly upset woman in her 20s walking alone in our direction of travel. I turned the truck around and pulled up next to her. “You ok?” I offered. Breathing hard, she asked if we’d seen a kid on a bicycle. “She’s run away; her name is Cindy. Please tell her to call if you see her,” the woman said, giving us a number and telling us she lived just up the road. A look of hopeless fear on her face, we left her walking alone. Both of us were quiet for a while, me focusing on avoiding the larger holes in the road, my girlfriend watching the thick forest roll by. “A person could disappear forever out here,” she said.

The Saami people (often called “Lapps,” though they consider this derogatory), from the areas of Northern Finland, Sweden and Norway, traditionally believed the Northern Lights were souls of the departed. When the Lights appeared, people were to be quiet and solemn, risking misfortune if they disrespected the spectral display. If you whistled under the Northern Lights, it was said, you would summon the souls closer and they would steal you away into the sky forever.

Proper North Wiseman, Alaska, has a year-round population of 15 or so. We added two to the number with our first night on the Dalton, staying at the town’s Boreal Lodge, which featured a photo of an amazing Aurora display on its Web site (boreallodge. com) and more than a few pictures of the Northern Lights on its walls. The Lodge is really a small collection of tidy cabins built and run by Scott and Heidi Schoppenhorst, a charming couple with an amazing knack for hospitality. The main house and dining room is the old community center for Wiseman, which received its name in 1923 courtesy of gold miners who’d abandoned claims in nearby Coldfoot. In 1930, traveler Robert Marshall wrote that Wiseman was “the happiest civilization of which I have knowledge,” and in fact the place is remarkably pastoral, situated on the middle fork of the Koyukuk River.

Heidi grew up here, and had more than a few stories to share.

The odd tour group comes by, she said, and because Wiseman is so small tourists often view the entire place as a kind of living museum, walking on properties and taking pictures through the windows of homes even while families are having dinner.

Scott said he’d awakened one morning to find people with cameras walking around in their kitchen, mere steps from the bed in which Heidi was still sleeping.

During our night there, I dutifully walked outside after 1am and looked skyward for a burst of color, but a fog had come in and there was nothing to be seen except leaves hanging on branches, dripping cold, clear drops onto more

46

kingdom 15 winter 2009

leaves below. Seventy-five miles north of the Arctic Circle, the forest here is still thick.

We made an early start the next morning and, after some delicious pancakes from Heidi’s kitchen, doubled back to Coldfoot—basically a mud-lot truck stop with a kind of hotel on site—to fuel the truck. I saw an absolutely defeated sedan mired low in the mud next to a row of tall trucks and again did not regret my decision to rent the pickup.

It wasn’t too long and the trees started getting shorter, eventually disappearing altogether. Once we hit the tundra it was all land and sky, with some wildlife as well. In addition to the occasional caribou (and the more-than-occasional caribou hunters, which my girlfriend despised) we saw an Arctic fox, a bear, a lazy beaver paddling around a pond with a mouthful of lunch, a large number of birds and even a few clusters of musk ox, which look as prehistoric as they are, having crossed onto our continent from Asia during the Pleistocene era. Later, on our return trip, we stopped by the nonprofit Musk Ox Farm in Palmer (Jeopardy host Alex Trebek is a big supporter) and learned more about these incredible creatures, which because of their cashmere-like qiviut (kiv-ee-oot) can withstand temperatures of 100 degrees below zero.

Cookies At the top end of the Dalton, 412 miles from Fairbanks, we finally reached Prudhoe Bay and Deadhorse. Deadhorse isn’t a town per se, just an oil camp that exists for “Slopers” working the North Slope. Facilities here are not designed to be attractive, and they’re not. Mobile building units bolted together sit stuck in the mud, creating blocks of temporary housing for the workers and doubling as accommodations for the few tourists that make it this far north. Everyone’s a transient; as of the 2000 census, the official population of the area was five. The thousands of workers who rise early, walk through their respective lodgings’ buffet lines for coffee and breakfast, work a 10- or 12-hour day and return to sleep are here only for two, four or six weeks at a time, during which they work seven days a week. The oil companies fly them back to Anchorage or Fairbanks for two weeks off, then they’re back for another shift. The airport at Prudhoe Bay is large, with jumbo jets full of workers coming and going constantly.

There’s mud everywhere, no alcohol allowed anywhere, and Purell dispensers at every turn reminding people that if one > jeopardy’s alex trebek is a huge fan of the musk ox

Imagine this...

A highly responsive, cost-effective information technology solutions company • Custom software development • Web development with in-house design • Project management • iPhone and Blackberry application development • Secure email and file transfer solutions • Systems integration, data protection, operating systems, servers and data storage

Let’s talk...

For a friendly, informative conversation, please call us.

518 275-4820 president@garnetriver.com

garnetriver.com

person here gets a cold, everyone here gets a cold. Rooms in the bunkhouses are expensive, hundreds of dollars per night, but are set up to be little homes away from home. Seemingly untouched since they were installed in the early 1970s, there’s wood paneling, carpet and the kind of furniture that made Laz-E-Boy a household name in the Mean Joe Green years.

To visit the Arctic Ocean, you have to take an official tour given by the oil companies. This runs several hours, most of which is spent watching a film describing the benefits of drilling on the North Slope, and then take a bus ride that tours such riveting sites as a tire repair facility, a maintenance equipment garage and the like. A quick stop at a security checkpoint and the bus finally pulls up to a rocky little inlet next to an equipment storage yard. On a small jetty that stretches 20 yards or so into the water, you have 15 minutes to dip your feet in the Arctic Ocean—or, as one of our bus-mates did, to strip down to your Fruit of the Looms and jump in, then shiver on the bus later while proclaiming how great it was. “Not planning a family any time soon?” I offered.

But hey, whatever makes you happy.

Fifteen minutes at the Arctic Ocean, one night in a 1970s mobile home and a full tank of gas at near $7 per gallon.

Again, between the clouds and the lights from the 24-hourper-day drilling operations, there were no Northern Lights to be seen. That said, I wouldn’t trade the experience of the drive for anything. And the cookies in the work camp kitchen were good. Really good.

light sculpture The next few days involved getting back down the Dalton Highway, stopping in at Coldfoot for more gas and a quick conversation over a beer with a truck driver from Minneapolis who didn’t know what to make of Brett Favre: “I mean, I grew up hating the guy, but if he wins games for us I think I have to…

I have to… like him, right?” I told him I was a Tampa fan and couldn’t help. He said he felt bad for me, and we left it at that.

We stopped in at Talkeetna, gateway to Mt. McKinley, and took a “flightseeing” tour of the mountain, which advertised a glacier landing as well. I figure that if I got closer to the sky, it might reward me with a view of the Lights.

Ironically, I was even denied a view of the ground as the clouds were so thick we could see only the very tip of the tallest mountain in North America. And we didn’t land on the glacier, which was a shame.

The Ancient Greeks—for whom the Northern Lights were a rare sight indeed—held the Lights to be fallen heroes battling it out in the world beyond, and saw the displays as portents of war and death. Many other cultures shared a similarly fearful view of the Lights, believing them to be spirits of the dead playing games, fighting or simply traveling.

I like the Scots’ take, which has them as the spirits of maidens dancing and waving. Or the Algonquin Indians, who told a story that the Creator, having completed the Earth, traveled far to the north where he builds great fires that reflect southward to remind all of creation of his everlasting love.

That warmth didn’t reach me while I was standing on a runway outside of Fairbanks, and it didn’t offer any comfort as I walked under the display of cutout clouds and flashing colored lights at the airport for a second time. But the lights

48

kingdom 15 winter 2009

the only northern lights i saw were in the airport

“some believe the lights are a show of love” I couldn’t see did manage to help me find my way up a dirt road to the Arctic Ocean and to more than a few beautiful conversations with fascinating and hard-working people.

Terrestrial pleasures, to be sure, but no less illuminating.

There’s an ice sculpture museum at the resort outside of Fairbanks, and because we didn’t want to spend our last day there on a trail ride with a large group of Japanese students, my girlfriend and I decided to check it out. Housed in a big metal warehouse on the edge of the property, the ice sculptures include two life-size jousting knights on horseback, an ice bar with ice glasses, a large bear (for a Coca-Cola promotion that didn’t work out), a handful of baubles, a woman (who had melted slightly and looked rather sad) and four ice bedrooms, which you can stay in overnight for a hefty fee. Almost every carving in there is illuminated by a series of flashing, rainbow-colored lights—inspired, our guide said, by the Aurora Borealis. My girlfriend took a picture. n

EXTREME BENTLEY, REDEFINED.

THE CONTINENTAL SUPERSPORTS. This is the new Bentley. Distinctive. Muscular. Extreme. A supercar propelled by revolutionary FlexFuel technology*. Greater power and agility in a car without compromise, authentic in every sense. A two-seater with distinctive exterior and interior styling. New sporting materials Carbon Fiber and Alcantara™ blended perfectly with traditional leather hide and brightware.

A car created through the desire to explore new limits. This is the Continental Supersports. *FlexFuel available in USA from mid 2010.

For more information visit www.BentleyContinentalSupersports.com The name ‘Bentley’ and the ‘B’ in wings device are registered trademarks. © 2009 Bentley Motors, Inc.

Potentially the greatest sports story ever came within an eightfoot putt of being told after the 2009 British Open. Just six weeks shy of his 60th birthday, one of the game’s true champions was poised to eclipse his finest hour 32 years earlier on the same stretch of Scotland’s west coast. Alas it was not to be, but what a show he put on! Paul Trow interviews the serial winner who will now also be remembered for coming second photography: leon harris

Watson in h does any of this sound familiar? One of the finest golfers in the history of the game celebrated a landmark birthday in September this year. He was a country boy with an infectious smile and an attacking approach which immediately endeared him to fans and fellow competitors alike.The man in question triumphed once, thrillingly, in the U.S. Open while recording multiple victories in both the Masters and British Open. Infuriatingly, he drew a blank in the PGA Championship, but since passing 50 he has also won five ‘majors’ on the Champions Tour. And his biggest rival throughout much of his career was Jack Nicklaus.

50

kingdom 15 winter 2009

His name? Well it could easily be Arnold Palmer, who ticks every one of the boxes outlined above, but the correct answer on this occasion is Tom Watson.

Thomas Sturges Watson was born on 4 September 1949 in Kansas City, the son of Raymond Watson, an insurance salesman, and his wife Sally. He has won eight major championships—one more than Mr. Palmer, as it happens—and these break down into one U.S. Open (in 1982 at Pebble Beach), two Green Jackets (1977 and 1981) and five Claret Jugs (1975, 1977, 1980, 1982 and 1983). Four of those titles were claimed when Nicklaus was runner-up.

watson, holding a one-shot lead, finds the middle of turnberry’s 18th fairway. a mid-iron and three putts later he found himself in a playoff with stewart cink

his Element Yet Watson may be destined to be remembered most readily generations from now for a remarkable feat in the twilight of his playing career—one that defied logic, history and Father Time himself. Six weeks short of his 60th birthday and less than six months after undergoing hip-replacement surgery, he came within an eight-foot putt of becoming the oldest major champion by more than 11 years.

The scene was Turnberry on the west coast of Scotland where, back in 1977, he had prevailed in one of the most compelling head-to-head contests witnessed in any sport,

finishing 65-65 to pip Nicklaus by one solitary stroke with the rest of the field absolutely nowhere.

Six years ago he won again over the Ailsa Course, this time chalking up the first of his three victories in the Senior British Open. To say he is something of a course specialist is clearly an understatement, but nothing could possibly have prepared the golfing public for the events that unfolded during the third week of July.

Quite simply, he led for most of the tournament and held firm throughout the final day as his rivals, one by one, >

51

kingdom 15 winter 2009

fell away. In the end, he needed a par-four at the 18th to lift in 2011 to Royal St George’s which has never been a happy the Claret Jug for a sixth time, 34 years after first doing so at hunting ground. “I’ve always had a hard time at Sandwich Carnoustie and 26 years after his fifth success at Royal Birkdale. and I’ve never gone into an Open there when I’ve been An iron off the tee followed by another crisp strike from the playing well.” middle of the fairway seemed to have sealed the deal. His ball Turnberry wasn’t the only tournament in 2009 where bounced on the front of the green and the grandstand roared. Watson had a gilt-edged chance snatched from his grip at the Seconds later, the Greek Chorus hit a discordant note when death. A couple of months later he led the final Champions his ball took a freakish second bounce and hopped through Tour ‘major’ of the season, the Constellation Energy Senior the back of the green into light rough. Watson was just 25 feet Players Championship at Baltimore Country Club, by four from the cup and only needed to get down in two to complete shots after 54 holes only to miss out by the narrowest margin his miracle. But, having chosen to putt rather than chip, his as Jay Haas shot a closing 64. lag charged eight feet by and his subsequent stab at sporting “I got ambushed by a great last round from Jay. It was a immortality was always wide of the mark. As he tapped in for tough day for the final round and the wind was blowing. The a sorry five, he was crestfallen and, for the first time that week, golf course was especially tough and very few players broke 70. he looked his age. Needless to say, the four-hole playoff against I shot 70 and didn’t play too badly—not as well as in the third fellow American Stewart Cink was one-way traffic—all in round, but well enough I thought to win the tournament.” favor of the younger man. The golfing gods had tantalised In truth, being pipped at the post is nothing new for Watson right to the door of Valhalla only to slam it in his face. Watson. When he turned pro after an amateur career that was But it is the dignified and deserving Cink’s misfortune distinguished but hardly stellar, he swiftly acquired a reputation that the crowning glory of his career to date could turn out as a gifted player whose nerve was suspect. The critics, eager for to be most significant as the correct answer to a quiz question. blood, jumped on him when he blew an outstanding chance to Who was the blighter who stopped Tom Watson from...? win the U.S. Open at Winged Foot in 1974.

Perhaps drawing on classroom lessons learned as “I had a chat with Ben Hogan shortly after that week a psychology graduate of Stanford University, Watson is and I asked him—the ‘Ice Man’, remember—if he had ever philosophical about the outcome. “I’ve always believed that got nervous. I recall Ben waited a moment, then looked at me it’s onward to the next week and forget what you did in the and said: ‘Nervous, Tom? Sometimes I was jumping out of past, except where it might help you play better golf,” he said. my skin’. I asked Lee Trevino the same question and he said: “But the old fogey almost did it. It would have been a hell of ‘Some days I wake up and I’m so nervous I can’t hold the fork a story, wouldn’t it? I hit the shot I meant to [at 18]. When it steady at breakfast’. Those guys’ honesty helped me.” was in the air I said, ‘I like it.’ And then all of a sudden it goes Hogan wasn’t the only ‘great’ to take pity on Watson. over the green and I just didn’t get it down after that.

“Byron Nelson contacted me and told me to keep doing what “Yes, it’s a great disappointment. It tears at your gut as I was doing and to believe in myself. His words helped me to [losing] has always torn at my gut. It’s not easy to take, but win the Western Open, my first PGA Tour title, a short while I’ll always remember coming up the 18th hole and hearing the later. He set the most wonderful example to all golfers with crowd’s cheers. That warmth makes you feel human. It makes the caring way he treated people.” you feel so good.

Hogan, Nelson, Trevino, Palmer, Nicklaus—Watson “Turnberry suits my game better than some of the other acknowledges the influence of all. “To that list you can add Open courses, although Muirfield is also a favorite of mine. Gene Littler, Frank Beard and Sam Snead, who was still I wasn’t pushing myself at any stage but I was trying to win playing when I came out on Tour. I asked my local pros, ‘what the golf tournament. should I do when I get out on Tour?’ They all said to make “I knew I had a good chance because the course was sure I took every opportunity to play with the best players, in suited to me and I knew how to play certain holes if the wind practise or whatever. There was no video tape in those days, were to blow. Saturday [day three] was the most serene round so teachers had to look at your swing with the naked eye and I’ve ever had in a major. Sunday I felt more pressure but I’ve teach you that way.” dealt with that before and tend to play better with it.”

Drawing on this advice, Watson has just completed an Watson intends to tee it up at St. Andrews next July for instructional DVD called Lessons of a Lifetime which will be the 150th anniversary of the Open, and expects that to be his final released early in 2010. “It’s a distillation of ideas from all those appearance in the game’s oldest championship. “Unless I finish in people from whom I’ve learned. Some people learn from the top 15 then it will be my last year of exemption because they’ve magazines and teachers, or simply by trial and error. Others changed the rule so you can’t play after the age of 60. practice a lot, but in reality most people learn by watching “At St Andrews in 1978 and 1984 I had a good chance both others play. times, but I haven’t played well there since, largely because my “My game is based on certain fundamentals. If you putting wasn’t very good. No matter how you play there, you’re understand the motion of your body, your arms will follow going to face a lot of lengthy putts in the 30-80ft bracket— and you will be a good golfer. This I learned by observation. more than on any other course you’ll play. Tiger Woods won My epiphany was at 3.15pm on the day before the pro-am for there the last two times because he found his touch to leave the 1994 Hertiage Golf Classic. You could say I learned the nearly all these long putts within two feet of the hole.” swing late in life and since then the game has been easy.

If he achieves a top-15 finish—not so fanciful in light “I have no teacher today. I know my own swing and I of this year’s performance—Watson will then face a return really haven’t had too many problems over the years.” There is,

52

kingdom 15 winter 2009

golf fans in scotland have long regarded the dignified and personable watson as one of their favorite adopted sons

“i knew i had a good chance because the course is suited to me” of course, one exception to that statement. “My short putting stroke wants to go outside the line. I’ve been fighting it over the last 10 years. On the longer distances, the stroke works fine,” he confides tersely.

Watson took up golf at Kansas City Country Club where his father, who died in 2000, was a prominent player.

“When I started playing I caddied for him and learned a lot about the game from him and his friends—they were all good golfers—and from the pro there, Stan Thirsk.”

However, his father’s contribution extended way beyond setting a good example on the course. “He and my mother are the reason my playing career has lasted so long. Joking aside, I’ve got good genes from my parents that keep me very supple and in good shape.” Without such inherited attributes, which no doubt he has passed on to his two grown-up children, it would surely have been impossible for him to recover so quickly from the replacement operation he had to his left hip in October 2008.

“My femur was sitting in the socket with no labrum between the bones. It was bone on bone, thus making it very stiff at times. It never really hurt badly, but it ached quite a lot when I was in bed at night. I didn’t need to do too much

physio after the operation, but I was able to put 100 percent weight on my foot as soon as I got out of bed and I was off crutches after a week.

“I was back playing golf within two months. I asked my doctor—Joel Matta, founder and director of Saint John’s Health Center Hip and Pelvis Institute in Santa Monica, California—about the healing process and he said it would be six weeks so I added another two weeks before hitting a ball. Then my first day back I hit 200 balls straight off, one after the other.

“It’s been a very successful operation. I can’t tell you how good that feels.”

And his ball striking feels good too. “I hit it about five percent further today than I did in my prime but that’s because of advances in club technology and especially the golf ball.

“They’re now making softer balls that won’t fly, but that’s because of the impending changes to the rules governing grooves. Going back to square grooves means you won’t get so much control out of the rough and the ball will fly more.

The changes will have a definite impact and I’m very much in favor of them.”

Seamlessly, the conversation had switched to a Watson hobbyhorse. “If I was in charge of the equipment rules, I’d do four things: ratchet back the ball by 10 percent; make long putters no longer than a standard driver; make grooves that impart less spin; and reduce the head of the driver to 240cc and limit its length to a maximum of 48 inches.

“The current size of driver heads (up to 460cc) makes a big difference and makes them very forgiving. Tests prove that >

53

kingdom 15 winter 2009

By then Watson’s thoughts will inevitably be turning towards a summer week in St. Andrews when he locks horns once again with the winner of the last two British Opens staged over the Old Course, a player he admires without reservation. “Nobody has dominated the sport like Tiger Woods. He must be the best player that’s ever lived. When he doesn’t win he nearly always finishes in the top three.

“I was watching him not long ago in the company of Jack [Nicklaus] and I said, ‘Jack, he’s the best ever don’t you think?’. Jack said ‘yes’. Then I felt a bit embarrassed because I’d just said this to Jack Nicklaus, so I added, ‘mind you, you were quite good yourself ’, and Jack smiled that way he does and replied, ‘yeah, I suppose I was quite good looking back’.”

It was Watson who accompanied Nicklaus on his long walk out of the British Open when he played for the last time at St Andrews in 2005. When they stopped for photographers on the Swilken Bridge that sunny Friday afternoon and took in the extraordinary scene as players and public lined the 18th fairway on the Old Course, it was Watson who broke up.

“I was just thinking about all the great times we’d had but Jack turned to me and said in that stern way of his, ‘pull yourself together Tom, you’ve got a hole to complete and a cut to make in The Open’.” He did both, tying for 41st. Next year, the throng will be equally vociferous in their appreciation of this adopted son of Scotland when he marches up the 18th for the last time. As he pauses on the bridge, there will be tears yet again, but they won’t just be his. n

“i have a few horses and one cow called dolly” watson attributes his supple swing to ‘good genes’

if you strike a ball as much as three-quarters of an inch away from the center of the face, or sweet spot, you will on average only lose four yards of distance. If you get an old persimmon driver and miss the sweet spot by the same distance it will cost you 49 yards, or 20 percent of your overall distance.”

Other interests that hold his attention during the 37 weeks of each year he spends away from the tournament scene include course design, charity work, maintaining the 400-acre farm just outside Kansas City where he lives with his second wife Hilary, and cutting horses.

Cutting horses? “The horse is trained to cut a cow and keep it from going back to the herd. I’m not involved in training the horses, just riding them. At present I’m learning the controls, but I can only ride sparingly because of my hip.

I’m improving and I’ve started competing locally.

“The farm also takes a bit of looking after—I do everything from mowing to driving tractors. We have quite a few horses and one lonely cow called Dolly—she’s a Corriente, which is a Mexican breed.”

Watson’s skills as a course designer are currently focused close to home as well. “I’ve only got one design project in full production: Loch Lloyd Country Club right here in Belton, Missouri. I’m designing a new nine and renovating the existing 18. It should be playable by June next year [2010].

54

kingdom 15 winter 2009

Watson’s Good Causes Much of Watson’s time is spent working for the charity which raises funds to fight amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), the neurological condition which killed his longtime caddy Bruce Edwards in 2004 at the age of 49 and is also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease after the Yankees’ baseball star who also succumbed to it.

“My contribution is to take part each year in the Bruce Edwards ALS Celebrity Golf Classic. It was held for the fifth time in September at Galloway National Golf Club near Atlantic City, New Jersey,” he said.

Nearly $2.85 million has been raised by the event so far for the Robert Packard Center for ALS Research at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore.

Watson’s caddy since 2003, Neil ‘Ox’ Oxman who was also a close friend of Edwards, leads a double life—when not caddying on Tour, he works as a political lobbyist and campaign organizer based in Philadelphia..

Watson’s other altruistic activity is his commitment to Operation Links, which takes place each November, to give golf clinics to the American troops stationed in Iraq. “I went there two years ago and we visited 10 U.S. military bases, met our troops, talked golf, heard about their lives and their work over there.”

Become a part of the legend Once in a generation comes the opportunity to be a part of something truly unique and extraordinary. To own a part of the landscape of legends.

Firstlight, the global shared ownership specialist, is delighted to be able to offer ownership at one of Europe’s finest five star Golf and Spa Resorts, The K Club. Shared ownership incorporates luxurious homes, full family membership of two world-class golf courses and a wealth of country club amenities including the world class K Spa. A development without compromise in a place without equal.

FURTHER INFORMATION: +353 1 610 7111 WWW.FIRSTLIGHTKCLUB.COM

It’s Party Time

Arnold Palmer’s 80th birthday was marked by a fanfare of events and celebrations that reflected many different dimensions of his fabled life. kingdom was close at hand to record some of the more memorable moments as the King passed his milestone Top From Left: Vince Gill, AMY GRANT, SAM SAUNDERS. middle: PGA TOUR COMMISSIONER TIM FINCHEM, THE HONORABLE TOM RIDGE, JIM NANTZ. Bottom: THE KING, DOC GIFFIN AND BRAD FAXON, MR AND MRS LARSEN

photos: howdy giles & britt runion

as birthday celebrations go, it was one heck of a party!

On Thursday, September 10, 2009, Arnold Palmer turned 80, but by then the King had already presided over a hectic six days of festivities which began in Orlando, Florida (his winter home), continued in his native state of Pennsylvania and concluded at the end of the month in the White House (see Page 178).

The whole program teed off with a special breakfast on Friday, September 4 to mark the 20th anniversary of the Arnold Palmer Medical Center in downtown Orlando.

Originally opened in 1989 as the Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children & Women, it became a children-only project in 2006 when the Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women & Babies, in memory of Mr. Palmer’s first wife, was created with expanded obstetric, neo-natal and gynecological services.

Over the past 20 years, the hospital staff have delivered 179,000 babies and cared for well over a million patients.

The main event came the following evening in the Portofino Bay Hotel at Universal Studios and the highlights of this double birthday celebration included a concert from country music superstar Vince Gill and his wife Amy Grant, and the unveiling of a giant birthday cake presented to Mr. Palmer by former patients in recognition of his sustained commitment to the hospital.

“Most people think of the golfer, Arnold Palmer, but he is a wonderful philanthropist.

Arnold lent his name to the hospital more

than 20 years ago and said he would help us build a children’s hospital in Orlando. Back then he took a tour of our old facility and said we can do better than this for our children,” said John Bozard, president of Arnold Palmer Medical Center, to enthusiastic applause from hospital officials and dozens of the children who had benefited from the Center’s firstclass medical care.

The following week Mr. Palmer flew his own Cessna Citation X to Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in Latrobe, Pennsylvania and on Tuesday, September 8 he was at PNC Park in Pittsburgh to throw out the ceremonial first pitch before the Pirates’ game against Chicago Cubs and to attend a fund-raising dinner.

The night was styled Arnold Palmer Bobblehead Night at PNC Park and was the first time Mr. Palmer has been honored with a bobblehead created in his likeness.

Mr. Palmer couldn’t stop grinning as he walked to the mound. Sometime before or during his build-up, he had made a switch and threw a golf ball, not a baseball, to Jim Rohr, the chief executive officer of PNC Bank. After a laugh from Palmer and the other on-field celebrities, Palmer threw a real baseball for his second pitch.

CBS announcer Jim Nantz emceed the ceremonial first pitch, which actually delayed the start of the game by 11 minutes.

Surprisingly, it was the first time Mr. Palmer had ever thrown out a first pitch. “I feel a little slow,” he said. “Eighty miles-an-hour is about all I can get.” >

57

kingdom 15 winter 2009

That evening, eighty was certainly a popular number. There were nine chairs set up near the home plate, all draped with Pirates’ jerseys bearing the number ‘80’ and the name ‘Palmer’ on the back. The King eventually put one on.

Then came an unusual golf contest. The Pirates’ mascot, the Parrot, stood centerfield with a flagstick as three celebrities took aim from the home plate with wedges.

Broadcaster Steve Blass and the Pirates’ current pitcher Paul Maholm were aiming for a small circle where the Parrot was stationed. They got three tries each and came relatively close. Then former PGA Tour winner and Ryder Cup player Peter Jacobsen, a long-time friend of Mr. Palmer’s, took dead aim and bounced a low, looping shot off the Parrot’s posterior, winning $5,000 for charity and earning a hearty round of applause.

A video was played on the stadium scoreboard, narrated by Nantz and featuring grainy black-and-white footage of highlights from Mr. Palmer’s playing career.

Mr. Palmer also received a proclamation from Pittsburgh city officials declaring it “Arnold Palmer 80th Birthday Day” but the most significant moment of the evening came when Rohr made a surprise announcement that PNC would donate $1 million in Mr. Palmer’s name to the Pittsburgh Children’s Hospital.

The 17,000-plus crowd then watched the Cubs start the game with eight consecutive hits and seven runs in the top of the first inning. When that marathon finally ended and the Pirates came to bat, the Parrot approached Mr. Palmer in his box seats with a cake, and Blass led the stadium in a brief rendition of “Happy Birthday.”

“It’s great to be in Pittsburgh,” said Mr. Palmer who revealed he had been in attendance at old Forbes Field when the Pirates’ Bill Mazeroski hit his famous Game 7-winning home run to beat the New York Yankees in the 1960 World Series.

The Pittsburgh Steelers also invited Mr. Palmer to celebrate with them as well on Thursday night when they kicked off their NFL season against Tennessee Titans, but he simply had too many other activities already scheduled.

On the Wednesday, the day before he turned 80, Mr. Palmer participated in a golf outing and dinner in his honor at Laurel Valley Golf Club where he captained the United States Ryder Cup team to a memorable victory over Great Britain & Ireland in 1975.

And to celebrate his actual birthday when it finally arrived on September 10? Mr. Palmer and some of his closest friends teed it up at the course where he grew up and which he now owns—Latrobe Country Club.

Understandably, Mr. Palmer’s landmark birthday was the subject of more than eight hours of programming by the Golf Channel, which he helped to found some 15 years ago.

“As a founding father of Golf Channel, Arnold Palmer’s contributions to the growth of the sport and our company are innumerous,” Golf Channel president Page Thompson said. “His imprint can be found in every aspect of our Channel, and we are very proud to carry on the traditions of excellence he established.”

The network’s website, GolfChannel. com, ran a host of editorial pages featuring trivia, photography, anecdotes and tributes and during the week of his birthday senior writers Rex Hoggard and Randall Mell respectively examined his career from a player’s perspective and his love affair with the camera as he helped to expand golf ’s popularity through the medium of sports television.

One of the programs shown was Playing Lessons From The Pros: Palmer and Saunders in which Mr. Palmer was joined by his grandson Sam Saunders, the 2004 Florida state high school champion, for a round at Bay Hill Club and Lodge.

In an interview shortly afterwards, Mr. Palmer told CNN that he hopes to play for another ten years. “I still love playing,” he said. “I get out and I like to hit the golf ball and I would like to be playing at 90, although I’m a little disappointed right now with my game. I’m not hitting the ball now very far and that is the one thing that is kind of holding me back from playing more golf [socially].

“I’m working on building a little muscle and hitting the ball a little further, but without a great deal of success right now.”

And after displaying astonishing stamina throughout this uplifting array of celebrations and tributes, who would bet against Arnold Palmer at 80 finding an extra few yards off the tee in 2010? n

FROM TOP: ARNOLD WITH HIS TWO DAUGHTERS PEGGY AND AMY, HIS WIFE KIT, AND NO. 1 FAN HOWDY GILES

Fighting Game

Whether it’s troops playing on an improvised course in Iraq or WWII POWs who played between the Stalag barracks, golf has a history in uniform. For this issue of kingdom, John Strege, noted golf writer and author of the book When War Played Through, looks at the game’s role on the front lines of the World Wars normally he would have been standing on a golf course in the sun, but on June 7, 1944—D-Day Plus One— Bobby Jones was going ashore at cold, wet Normandy. Part of a mission to secure an airfield 20 miles inland, the 42-year-old married father of three could easily have remained stateside, far from the line of fire. But that would not have been a reflection of the man, nor the game he had come to represent.

Through both World Wars, the U.S. found an unlikely ally in a relatively tranquil pastime: Golf. Not a largely popular game in the first half of the 20th century, nor one regarded as particularly egalitarian, the sport nevertheless proved to be a substantially benevolent friend. So much so that in World War II it ultimately contributed more to the Allied war effort than any other sport, and did so in a variety of ways; private members planted victory gardens on golf course properties, the likes of Army Capt. Ben Hogan gave lessons to wounded soldiers, and so on.

In fact, at almost every turn golf was there: on government letterhead, in Stalags and certainly in war-zone conversations. When Bob Hope took his USO show to North Africa early in 1943, Gen. Dwight Eisenhower greeted him with the question, “How’s your golf ?”

Games—notwithstanding Eisenhower’s infatuation with one of them—tend to be frivolous by nature, a point that can go missing in a sports-crazed nation. War is an emphatic reminder that when your country is on the line games belong

60

kingdom 15 winter 2009

a bit lower on the priority rack, though there are always a few people in dire need of a dose of perspective. Case in point: A few members of the media expressed their unhappiness that, in response to America joining the war, the United States Golf Association canceled the 1942 U.S. Open. “But, in gentlemanly Ivy League accents,” wrote renowned golf writer, Herb Graffis, “the USGA silenced criticism by the rebuttal, ‘What to hell, don’t you guys know your country is in a war?’”

for the troops If the professional game was off, there was no widespread objection to playing the game on a recreational level. Indeed, golf was officially sanctioned by the government, represented

by John B. Kelly, the assistant director of civilian defense in charge of physical fitness and an Olympic gold medalist in rowing. (Also, we should note, father of Grace Kelly.)

“Eight million people will be going into the armed forces,” Kelly said to the USGA. “My job is to look after the 124 million who won’t or can’t go. They can keep fit by playing golf.” On Dec. 24, 1941, he sent a letter to golf associations, urging them to expand their golf programs “to meet the requirements of individual and collective physical fitness. No work can operate efficiently without regular periods of recreation. And America, now more than ever, cannot risk inefficiency when wartime production requires peak performance.”

red cross benefit golf tourney paraphernalia at the USGA museum

So America played on, for a cause greater than its own simple enjoyment. And in addition to gaining fitness, golfers found creative ways to earn money for the war effort—paying friendly on-course wagers in war bonds, for instance, or agreeing to pay small fines for hitting balls out of bounds. Nearly 3,000 tournaments were hosted by more than 500 private clubs, public courses and golf associations, all for the benefit of the American Red Cross. In 1942, golf raised in excess of $1 million for war relief agencies, the PGA contributing a quarter of that. The National Golf Foundation, meanwhile, estimated that the government would collect $30 million in taxes on money spent on golf in 1942 alone.

The game had taken its cue from World War I, when golf focused on raising money for the war effort in myriad ways, among them auctioning the services of celebrity caddies.

Bobby Jones, Chick Evans, Walter Hagen and Francis Ouimet were among those who hoisted bags on behalf of the war effort.

Walter Travis, a three-time winner of the U.S. Amateur, played an exhibition match with Finlay Douglas that netted $5,000 toward helping win World War I, then auctioned the putter he had used in winning the British Amateur and raised an additional $1,700. Evans, the reigning U.S. Open and U.S. Amateur champion at the time, played more than 50 exhibitions in six months, traveling more than 26,000 miles in the process. Evans’ exhibitions helped raise $250,000, according to the Western Golf Association’s estimate.

Thus, when World War II arrived, golf quickly identified its responsibility and acted on it. Courses across America devoted portions of their property to victory gardens in which vegetables were grown to help alleviate food shortages brought on by the war. Many of these gardens were situated precariously close to fairways, putting them in play for wayward shots. Some have even claimed that these gardens begat the familiar refrain for a ball settling into any overgrown patch: “Hitting into the cabbage.”

Exclusive country clubs that typically were sealed tight to keep the outside world out leapt at the opportunity to contribute however they could, many of them warmly opening their courses to armed service personnel. Congressional Country Club outside Washington, D.C., was given over to a new government agency, the Office of Strategic Services, the forerunner to the CIA. The OSS used Congressional as a training ground.

The prestigious Philadelphia Country Club readily agreed to allow the Army Corps of Engineers to use its Spring Mill Course, site of the U.S. Open in 1939, to test a chemical it had developed to discolor grass as a way to camouflage it. >

Then there was Augusta National, which after the Masters in 1942 closed for the duration of the War. At Bobby Jones’ urging, the membership built a practice range and putting green at Camp Gordon, then supplied it with equipment. It was subsequently dubbed the Bobby Jones Driving Range.

The game even became a lifeline for those captured or injured. Stalag Luft III, the prisoner-of-war camp for flying personnel made famous by the film “The Great Escape,” housed captured Allied Air Force officers, one of whom received a woman’s mashie in a Red Cross parcel one day. Some of the prisoners, including Pat Ward-Thomas, an Englishman who later would become a renowned golf writer, began to fashion their own golf balls from whatever scrap materials were available, including crepe rubber from the soles of shoes. The covers typically were made from shoe leather cut into figure eights and stitched with homemade thread.

The prisoners laid out a rudimentary golf course between the barracks on which they wiled away the days playing matches, helping to fend off boredom and even insanity.

Ward-Thomas, incidentally, brought one of those golf balls home with him. In the ’60s, he once asked Jack Nicklaus to hit it with a driver. Nicklaus declined. “I was afraid I might break it,” Nicklaus said, concerned that he would destroy an historic artifact that today sits in the USGA museum in Far Hills, N.J. national treasures: golf balls made from combat boot rubber and leather by prisoners of war at stalag luft iii

62

kingdom 15 winter 2009

when fighting’s done Dale Bourisseau was a recreational golfer who lost a part of his right leg in a land-mine explosion in the Battle of Monte Cassino in Italy in 1943. An active athletic man, Bourisseau fell into a depression from which he emerged only when a friend brought a golf club to him in the hospital. Anyone who has played the game can’t resist the urge to pick up a club and waggle it, and neither could Bourisseau. When he was fitted with a prosthesis, he ventured out to a course to see whether he might still be able to play. He could. It occurred to him that the game might similarly snap other amputees from their lethargy or depression. In 1947, he invited a group of them to a course in Aurora, Ohio, an outing from which the National Amputee Golf Association was born. Today, its membership numbers more than 2,500.

Golf, both during and after the World Wars, has proved a strong ally indeed. Whether through fund raising for the war effort, emotional support for those in need or direct involvement—as in the case of Bobby Jones—the game and its players continue even today in maintaining dignity and strength in the face of overwhelmingly difficult challenges.

Hemingway defined that as “grace”—certainly an attribute of our game to which we might also add, “patriotic.” n

®

Lamarite Composite Roofing

®

MetalWorks Metal Roofing

WHEREVER THE JOB TAKES YOU, WE’RE WITH YOU.

®

Heritage Laminated Asphalt Roofing

On the roof, frame, foundation or deck,

3-Tab Asphalt Roofing

you can count on TAMKO for the ®

performance you need to get the job done right. It begins with established roofing favorites, and it continues with Commercial Roofing

durable composite decking and railing systems, waterproofing membranes, asbestos-free cements and coatings, ventilation products and more. Mixed truckloads and nationwide delivery help

®

EverGrain Composite Decking

assure convenience and affordability.

And the TAMKO commitment to customer service is second to none.

Call or visit us online to learn more.

Designer Railing

®

Tam-Rail Railing

Waterproofing/Cements & Coatings

1-800-641-4691 tamko.com

©2009 TAMKO Building Products, Inc. TAMKO, Heritage, MetalWorks and Tam-Rail are registered trademarks of TAMKO Building Products, Inc. Lamarite and EverGrain are registered trademarks of Epoch Composite Products, Inc.

from the top down

In broad terms, 1919 was a good year for England. The Great War was over, a British dirigible crossed the Atlantic—becoming the first airship to do so—and the British House of Commons welcomed its first female MP, the American-born Lady Astor.

In October of that year, in a small garage on London’s New Street Mews, the man who’d built the motor for the Sopwith Camel fired up a newly designed 3.0-liter engine, heard it roar, and fulfilled a dream he’d put on hold for the war. Bentley Motors, as they say, was born.

The cars Bentley builds today may not look much like the company’s first effort, which was sold to a sporting playboy named Noel van Raalte in 1921, but they still hold to W.O. Bentley’s original standard of being fast and beautiful.

There are a handful of Bentley models to choose from, all of them as known for their price tags as for their quality. Among the offerings, the Bentley Continental is the company’s sports car.

And among Continentals, the 2010 Continental GTC Speed is the most powerful convertible the company has ever built. If you’re after wind-in-yourhair excitement, this is the car for you.

64

kingdom 15 winter 2009

as kingdom’s editor i’m fortunate indeed to work with a pool of great writers, which occasionally leaves me with a dilemma over who should receive one assignment or another. But when the Bentley piece came along, I had the perfect writer in mind immediately: ME. Early this fall, thanks to the generosity of Bentley Motors, I was able to spend a few days with the new GTC Speed, rolling around California wine country in high style and learning to appreciate what a six-figure price tag gets you. Turns out it gets you quite a lot—a lot of luxury, a lot of engine and a lot of turned heads.

Performance Bentleys are big, no question about it. The GTC Speed is almost an inch longer than a Range Rover Sport, a hair over seven feet wide and weighs in just under 5,500 pounds (kerb). The weight is moved—quickly—via a 600hp 6.0-liter twin turbo, a W12 that’s been refined for the 2010 GTC Speed with a few lower-weight components, a new crankcase design and a substantial increase in airflow thanks to a redesigned front grille.

Handling is improved as well, due to a redesigned suspension that offers a variety of settings tuned to cover jaunts to the local market as well as spirited adventures on canyon roads. A rear spoiler helps hold things down, a gingerly tuned power steering system makes it easy to stay on course and Bentley’s Continuous Damping Control does an amazing job of controlling body roll through the turns. When it’s time to stop, huge disc brakes work with almost alarming efficiency.

We don’t understand the genius mix of components and computer madness that ties it together, but when all’s said and done Bentley has managed to make a beast of a car that’s positively agile. It flies through turns confidently and stays balanced and firm over undulations and through S-turns.

Under acceleration, the car feels more solid than heavy, the power waiting on the other side of the pedal eager and endless.

You’ll get from 0–60 in 4.5 seconds and from 80 to 100+ in a blink (not that we did that, of course). Bentley claims a top speed of 200mph, and we believe them. But it’s the handling that can’t be over-emphasized. Simply astonishing. >

“This beast of a car is positively agile”

65

kingdom 15 winter 2009

Looks In my current home of Los Angeles, Bentley Continentals are a relatively regular sight, and I have to confess I’ve become rather accustomed to the design. That said, I hadn’t spent much time studying a GTC up close, and I’d certainly not spent much time appreciating the interior. I walked away from my few days in the car with a new appreciation for Bentley’s subtleties—but it doesn’t take a discerning eye to ascertain that the car is beautiful, inside and out. Long lines and sloped curves don’t completely soften an imposingly elegant overall effect that has a bit of bulldog in it, though it’s certainly pedigree. The paint (ours was Ghost White Pearlescent) is deep and lovely, the flying “B” badge on the tip and tail as elegant and inspiring as ever.

When it comes to the interior, the GTC’s heritage becomes even more apparent. Premium leather abounds, covering the excellent seats, tonneau and top roll, handstitched around the multi-function steering wheel and elegantly worked around the shifter. Pedals are surfaced with stainless steel, the dash and doors with stunning wood trim.

The attention to detail is fantastic, evoking an old world essence from this decidedly modern machine.

A sizeable screen in the dash displays an array of information, while an efficient selection of knobs makes adjustments easy: radio and sound settings, GPS navigation, ride settings (including ride height), a built-in iPod interface and other vehicle data are all displayed and controllable via this system.

Many of the aesthetic components on the GTC Speed can be tailored to suit a customer’s taste, making the experience of owning a Bentley that much more personal. >

66

kingdom 15 winter 2009

“There’s a bit of bulldog in the car’s stance—though it’s certainly pedigree”

67

kingdom 15 winter 2009

Finally

2010 Bentley continental GTC speed

If you didn’t know it already, California’s Central Coast has beautiful weather. Morning fog usually burns off by noon to reveal sun-splashed vines, verdant fields and bronze, rolling hills. Getting the GTC’s top down was quick and easy—a flip of a single switch on the center console set off a sufficiently impressive amount of automated goings-ons, and the top was neatly stowed beneath the leather-trimmed tonneau in no time at all. The girls managed to squeeze into the rear seats, which truthfully can’t be meant for long-distance travel (unless you’re carrying small children) while a friend and I sat up front and kicked on the seat heaters to help with a bit of late-morning chill. No way we were keeping the top up. Carving down small, twisty roads among vineyards and farms, I considered how effortless it was driving the GTC Speed. Smooth, substantial and surprisingly responsive. I didn’t expect this from such a big car, but considering the marque’s heritage I suppose it makes sense. Bentley’s early creations, which dominated racing through the early 20th century, weren’t exactly small but were renown for their handling. Likewise, his clients were among the wealthiest anywhere, so the attention to luxury has been there from the beginning. In fact, New Street Mews held more than a few luxury garages and automakers and Bentley set out to best them all. Things change: Volkswagen owns Bentley, New Street Mews is now a wealthy residential area called Chagford Street (there’s still a Lancia garage on the block) and modern electronics invite the occasional quirk. But if the GTC Speed is any indication, Bentley is still committed to the founder’s vision of building “a good car, a fast car, the best in class,” as W.O. is reported to have said. Whatever the particulars, I have to believe the man who fired up his 3.0-liter engine so many years ago would be happy with the cars rolling off the line at the factory in Crewe today. n

Price as tested: $253,285 6.0 Liter Twin-Turbocharged 12-Cylinder engine making 600bhp; 6-Speed automatic transmission with tiptronic shift; continuous all-wheel drive; adjustable air suspension; DVD satellite navigation, power roof and boot; keyless entry/ ignition; full premium hide interior; 12 speaker sound package; Bluetooth phone system with privacy handset—and lots more.

Visit www.bentleymotors.com for more information

the cockpit view, blue sky included free of charge

68

kingdom 15 winter 2009

*Based on a severe sludge clean-up test using SAE 5W-30. ©2009 SOPUS Products. All rights reserved.

CLEAN OUT UP TO 15% OF SLUDGE IN THE 1ST CHANGE *. Nothing feels better than a clean-running engine. But over time, sludgy deposits can rob you of that clean feeling. So choose an oil that’s packed with active cleansing agents that not only help prevent sludge, they clean out up to 15% of sludge in your first oil change.

Time for an oil change? Change with Pennzoil® and Feel The

Clean. Learn more at Pennzoil.com.

Fly, Drive, Putt

Visitors to London are spoiled for choice when it comes to playing and staying at top-class golf resorts. North, south, east or west, the UK capital offers plenty of options to the discerning golfer on vacation. Paul Trow acts as your guide

70

kingdom 15 winter 2009

tiger woods had one of his biggest wins at the grove

like many cities, london is ring-fenced by an orbital freeway that links up its four main international airports. In medieval times, settlements were surrounded by a moat with drawbridges at each quadrant. Even today, when the traffic is congested or gridlocked, traversing the M25 resembles wading through a stagnant waterway while dressed in chainmail.

Like an elongated elastic band the M25 stretches fully 120 miles—from the airports of Heathrow in the west, past Luton in the north and Stansted in the east to Gatwick in the south.

Love it or loathe it, the M25, opened nearly 30 years ago

by Margaret Thatcher, is the artery that pumps automobiles and people in and out of the United Kingdom’s capital city. It also circulates golfers from these airports to the resort destinations of their choice. Of course most sightseers still swing on into the metropolis but those more focused on fairways and greens should find what they’re looking for round the periphery.

From Heathrow, where most transatlantic flights land, a short journey north leads to The Grove. Chiseled by American designer Kyle Phillips from 300 acres of mature parkland near the dormitory town of Watford, The Grove is only six years old but has already provided the setting for one of Tiger Woods’ more commanding victories. The world No.1 glided across the rolling, tree-lined landscape that was once home to the Earls of Clarendon to win the WGC American Express Championship by eight shots in 2006. Augmenting this superb public course, playable all year round, is a five-star hotel and spa with more than 200 guest rooms and suites.

Other courses worth sampling within a short distance of The Grove include: The Hertfordshire, a Jack Nicklaus design in Broxbourne; Hartsbourne G&CC in Bushey; The Shire, an imaginative Seve Ballesteros creation near Barnet; and Playgolf Northwick Park, a tribute to nine of the world’s most famous holes from former GB & Ireland Walker Cup captain Peter McEvoy. Hadley Wood, Moor Park, Porters Park and Sandy Lodge are also notable golfing escapes.

A few junctions northeast delivers one of London’s gems: northwick park (left) and The grove (above)

grandest golf centers—Brocket Hall. Two 18-hole courses named after 19th century British Prime Ministers—the Melbourne, designed by Peter Alliss and Clive Clark, and the Palmerston from Donald Steel—dominate the 540-acre estate that also features a luxurious clubhouse, an historic stately home, Europe’s only Faldo Golf Institute and an old hunting lodge that now houses the Michelin-star Auberge du Lac restaurant. The River Lea runs through the property which is carved out of mature woodland that features Hornbeams, and Scots and Corsican pines along with 300-year oak trees.

A short distance from Brocket Hall is the first of three Marriott five-star golf resorts in southeast England, Hanbury Manor near the Hertfordshire town of Ware. Its fragrant walled gardens, stately Jacobean country house and 161-room hotel notwithstanding, the core of this historic 200-acre property is an 18-hole Nicklaus design which opened in the early 1990s and has already staged tournaments on both the men’s and women’s European Tours. It is a case of contrasting nines at Hanbury Manor: the front half is open, exposed and undulating while the flatter homeward stretch weaves its way through woodland and a variety of water hazards.

The nearest golf resort to an airport—five minutes’ drive away—is Luton Hoo, where a luxury hotel has been fashioned from the 18th century mansion house built by neoclassical architect Robert Adam and a challenging 18-hole course sculpted within grounds originally laid out by landscape designer Capability Brown. Not one tree on the 1,065-acre estate was removed to accommodate the recently re-opened course which began as a nine-holer in Victorian times but was closed during World War II when Winston Churchill commandeered the land for military training. It meanders through the shadows of giant oak and beech trees to sweeping open ground and back again, and, unusually, it has no bunkers.

From Luton Hoo, it’s a short hop up the M1 freeway to Woburn G&CC, scene of many a European Tour event.

Its three excellent courses thread through a pine forest on a 3,000-acre estate owned by the Dukes of Bedford since 1547.

Back on the M25 and heading east, we soon arrive in Essex.

Three resorts stand out in this afforested county with Stokeby-Nayland on the border with Suffolk leading the way. Just 20 minutes from Stansted and spread over 300 acres of woodland, lakes and rolling countryside are two 18-hole courses—named after the celebrated Romantic painters, Thomas Gainsborough and John Constable—plus an 80-room hotel and spa.

A similar range of facilities is on offer at Five Lakes near the coastal town of Maldon, though the two courses could not be >

71

kingdom 15 winter 2009

few people play the 5th hole on the heritage course at the london club without being acutely aware of water

more different. Exposed to the elements and with few trees on site, the style of play is more akin to links golf; the main hazards are the eponymous quintet of lakes and an abundance of penal sand traps.

Another 80-room hotel near to Stansted can be found at Manor of Groves where a delightfully strategic course wends its way through an idyllic setting, partly within an old manor garden and across a nearby hillside. Other courses in the vicinity worth a visit include Bishop’s Stortford, the Harry Colt-designed Thorndon Park and a charming heathland layout at Woodbridge near the Suffolk town of Ipswich.

We are now heading south and cross the River Thames into the county of Kent on the Queen Elizabeth II (cablestayed) Bridge at Dartford. The main golf resort in this self-styled Garden of England is Marriott Tudor Park in Maidstone whence historic attractions like Leeds Castle, dating back to 1119, and the even older Canterbury Cathedral are easily accessible. The best inland golf in the county, though, is further west, around the town of Sevenoaks. Knole Park, laid out by James Braid and J.F. Abercromby in England’s largest deer park in 1924, has more recently been joined by The London Golf Club on the North Downs where both 18-hole courses were designed by Nicklaus, with the ‘Heritage’ staging the European Open over the past two years.

The most famous clubs in Kent, though, are on its south coast—Royal St George’s, where the 2011 British Open will be held, Prince’s, also in Sandwich, Royal Cinque Ports just outside Deal and Littlestone. These four traditional links have recently rebranded themselves as the Regal Golf Coast and hope eventually to involve Rye, just across the border in East Sussex. Those wishing to sample this experience are advised to stay at the Blazing Donkey Country Hotel near Sandwich where the resident chef , along with his colleagues at the nearby Harvey’s Fishmarket & Oyster Bar and Dog Inn at Wingham, have been trained by multi-Michelin-starred John Burton Race.

Moving back inside the M25, south-east London offers two real gems. Royal Blackheath, England’s oldest golf club with a 17th century clubhouse formerly known as Eltham Lodge, is teeming with history while those seeking a sterner

72

kingdom 15 winter 2009

kent’s top links are on the regal golf coast test of their on-course skills are advised to spend a day playing the 36 holes on offer at Sundridge Park in Bromley.

A few miles west, near Croydon, lies Selsdon Park where the scenic 18-hole course designed by five-time British Open champion J.H. Taylor in 1929 has elevated greens and luscious fairways bordered by banks of sycamore, beech, oak, cedar and silver birch. Its 200-room hotel retains an Elizabethan aura despite many facelifts, the suit of armor in the lobby and copious tapestries depicting former glories.

The Addington, another Abercromby creation, and Colt’s Dulwich & Sydenham Hill, where CBS analyst Peter Oosterhuis learned the game, are both located nearby.

Back to the M25 we continue clockwise into Surrey, golf ’s heartland in southeast England and a county abounding with century-old courses that are always in pristine condition.

The most prominent are St George’s Hill, Burhill, Walton Heath, RAC Epsom, West Hill, Woking, Worplesdon, The Wisley and New Zealand while further back up the river towards London are Royal Mid-Surrey, Royal Wimbledon and Coombe Hill. Heading in the opposite direction down into Hampshire, the options boil down to Royal Winchester, Hankley Common, Hindhead, Liphook, Old Thorns and North Hants. We are now in Gatwick territory and due south leads to Mannings Heath, located in 500 acres of rolling Sussex downland with two courses—the Waterfall (1905) and the Kingfisher (1996)—and the five-star South Lodge.

A scout around Sussex reveals several other potential rounds—Goodwood, Royal Eastbourne, Seaford, East Sussex National, Royal Ashdown Forest (again no bunkers) and West Sussex. The ideal base for such an odyssey, surely, is Dale Hill, home to a well-appointed four-star hotel and two 18-hole courses of its own, the more recent of which >

was designed by former Masters champion Ian Woosnam.

With stunning views across the High Weald, the Woosnam Course is partly linksy and partly parkland in design, while overall a buggy is recommended for those who don’t fancy the numerous steep inclines that must be negotiated.

The Nick Faldo-designed Chart Hills, a truly fascinating test of golf little more than 20 minutes’ drive away in west Kent, is also owned by Dale Hill’s proprietors, the Leaderboard Group, as is the U.K.’s only Rees Jones design, The Oxfordshire, which nestles just off the M40 freeway, to the west of the M25, near the picture-box town of Thame, 15 or so miles south of Oxford. Previously under Japanese ownership (the clubhouse has a massive sunken bath), this one-time European Tour venue will hope for a swift return to the big time once its new hotel has opened next summer.

Another imminent five-star (350-room) unveiling—next October—is part of an $80 million project at Heythrop Park, the former home of the Duke of Shrewsbury, half an hour’s drive northwest of Oxford towards William Shakespeare’s home town of Stratford-upon-Avon. The 18-hole Bainbridge Course is already open on the 440-acre estate.

Before returning to the M25’s immediate environs it’s worth heading due south towards Newbury in Berkshire where a friendly welcome is guaranteed at Donnington Valley which has an 18-hole hillside course, Victorian clubhouse and four-star hotel and spa. The portfolio of owner, electronics tycoon Sir Peter Michael, also includes a 2-Michelin-star restaurant, The Vineyard at Stockcross.

Descending back into Heathrow, we come across Stocks, housed in a Georgian mansion near the Buckinghamshire village of Aldbury. This 182-acre estate, the U.K. weekend retreat of the Playboy Club during the 1980s, has a course which, at 7,015 yards from the tips and routed across rolling hillside with panoramic views, is not for the faint-hearted. At least the only Bunnies seen there these days are furry rodents scurrying across the greensward!

Stocks also has some serious neighbors—Frilford Heath, Burnham Beeches, Ashridge, Berkhamsted (no bunkers here either), Bearwood Lakes and The Buckinghamshire.

Finally, we’re back at Heathrow. Six nearby courses are dale hill

did sir nick faldo overdo the bunkering on the 9th at chart hills?

what’s to stop you coming over again? among the U.K.’s poshest: Sunningdale and Wentworth, acclaimed for staging great championships; The Berkshire, a prolific venue for society and corporate days; the reclusive Swinley Forest; and the ultra-expensive Queenwood and Windlesham.

Now we must bid farewell to the M25 and check into Heathrow.

Our journey might have seemed like a cross between The Beatles’ Magical Mystery Tour and an outtake from the film Speed, a fantasy which cannot be realized in one visit. But what’s to stop you coming over again, and again? n

Key websites thegrove.co.uk brocket-hall.co.uk marriott.co.uk lutonhoo.co.uk stokebynaylandclub.co.uk fivelakes.co.uk manorofgroves.com blazingdonkey.co.uk selsdonparkhotellondon.co.uk manningsheath.com dalehill.co.uk heythropparkresort.com donningtonvalleygolfclub.co.uk stoxgolf.com

INTRODUCING THE ALL-NEW

GOLDEN BEAR LODGE & SPA CAP CANA.

JACK’S STYLE.

BOOK NOW AND GET YOUR

3 RD NIGHT FREE .

PLUS,

A

FREE ROUND OF GOLF AND MUCH MORE. PROMO CODE FREEGOLF.

Golden Bear Lodge & Spa Cap Cana is an all-suite oceanfront resor t inspired by the life and legacy of Jack Nicklaus, perfect for family gatherings, romantic escapes, business hideaways... and of course, incredible golf. Ideally located between two Nicklaus Signature courses, Las Iguanas, opening in 2010, and Punta Espada, named “Best Golf Course in the Caribbean and Mexico” by Golfweek magazine.

As part of The Zoëtry Collection, Golden Bear Lodge & Spa provides the same incomparable standards as Zoëtry Wellness & Spa Resorts — luxury destinations offering unique recreational experiences, gourmet dining and an emphasis on wellness and active leisure.

ZOËTRY PARAISO DE LA BONITA RIVIERA MAYA

ZOËTRY CASA DEL MAR LOS CABOS

Visit ZoetryResorts.com/kingdom or call 1888 4ZOETRY now. ©2009 AMRESORTS.

ZOËTRY AGUA PUNTA CANA

Andrew Marshall and Paul Marshall travel to Scotland to sample some world-class golf and cast themselves in the role of ‘Kings of the Castle’ there is no more scottish an image than that of a castle surrounded by swirling mist. Most of Scotland’s castles ooze a colorful and turbulent history … the stuff of swashbucklers, legends and ghost stories. All the classic imagery can be found in abundance: secret passageways, spiral staircases, dungeons, haunted rooms, four-poster beds, old oil paintings, chandeliers, suits of armour, stuffed game and roaring log fires.

The good news is that you can spend the night at many castles and several have top-drawer golf courses right on their doorsteps or a short drive away. Here are six of the best castle and golf course combinations in different regions of Scotland:

AYRSHIRE stay: Culzean Castle. There’s a sense of anticipation as you drive the twisting wooded laneway towards the front door of this storybook castle. In a truly spectacular setting, Culzean stands dramatically on a rocky promontory on the Ayrshire coast, commanding views across the sea to the mountains of Arran and the Mull of Kintyre. Designed by noted Scottish architect, Robert Adam, Culzean is considered one of the finest examples of a Georgian castle in the country, the Oval Staircase and Circular Saloon being standout features of his work.

The castle has strong connections with the U.S., and the Scottish National Trust gave the top floor to General Dwight D. Eisenhower after World War II, as a token of their appreciation for his role in the Allies’ victory. Besides Eisenhower memorabilia and fine 18th century furniture, there’s an extensive collection of armor and weapons dating from the 17th century.

The luxury Eisenhower apartment has six double/twin bedrooms that are available as either individual accommodation or for groups of up to twelve. Fine Scottish cuisine is served in the dining room and guests can relax in the drawing room offering dramatic sea views. Culzean is a unique choice for the discerning golfer. www.culzeanexperience.org

play: Turnberry. A few miles down the coast awaits the world-class links of Turnberry, venue for the British Open Championship 2009. The Ailsa course came to international prominence with the infamous ‘Duel in the Sun’ between Tom Watson (champion) and Jack Nicklaus over four sweltering days during July 1977. Since then, Greg Norman (1986), Nick Price (1994) and Stewart Cink (2009) have lifted the Claret Jug there, and polls now regularly acknowledge the Ailsa as one of Britain’s top three courses with regular rankings within the world’s top 20.

“In preparation for the 2009 British Open, the course underwent a major revamp. Additional fairway bunkering was put in along with several new tees that increased the length to over 7,200 yards,” says head golf professional Richard Hall.

The 9th (Bruce’s Castle) is a contender for Turnberry’s trademark hole. Adjacent to the famous lighthouse and the remains of Robert the Bruce’s Castle (Scottish King from 13061329), this 452-yard par-4 has no bunkers yet is a daunting test, especially from the Championship tee which is perched on a rocky promontory on the edge of the sea. www.turnberry.co.uk Other golf courses: Royal Troon, Prestwick, Western Gailes. >

Golf fit 76

kingdom 15 winter 2009

culzean castle has strong links with the u.s. and The top floor was given to president eisenhower

for a King

EAST COAST stay: Ethie Castle. An ancient sandstone keep dating from the 14th Century, Ethie Castle is reputed to be Scotland’s second oldest permanently inhabited castle, and was immortalized by Sir Walter Scott as ‘Knockwinnoch’ in the novel The Antiquary. In recent years it has been meticulously restored and maintained and is currently the residence of the de Morgan family.

Husband-and-wife team Keith and Yvonne Braid are live-in castle keepers at historical Ethie. “First and foremost, this is a family home,” says Yvonne, “but we have three rooms available and can accommodate up to eight people.” While Yvonne serves famous Arbroath Smokies (smoked haddock) in the breakfast room, Keith, a member of nearby Carnoustie Golf Links, likes nothing more than entertaining guests with his golf yarns. www.ethiecastle.com

FIFE stay: Myres Castle. Is a 5-star exclusive-use castle only a 45-minute drive from Edinburgh in the Kingdom of Fife. Set within a 44-acre estate of gardens and parkland, the original Myers Castle was a Z-plan fortress dating from around 1530 and has been altered and extended over the years. The square tower of grey ashlar was added in 1616, providing a striking contrast to the ocher harling of the rest of the castle.

There are nine guest bedrooms in total, and groups as small as 12 may rent the castle and all it contains for a minimum two-night stay. The full-time staff includes an award-winning chef, who is equally adept at rustling up a casual supper around the solid oak table of the cosy Victorian kitchen to something grander in the formal setting of the magnificent dining room.

Guests can enjoy clay pigeon shooting, croquet on the front lawn, cooking lessons with the chef, watch a falconry display or simply relax in the library with a good book and a glass of single malt. Myres is well situated for playing the outstanding golf courses to be found in and around St Andrews’, including the Links Trust’s Old, New, Jubilee, Eden and Castle Courses, Kingsbarns, the Fairmont Torrance and the Duke’s. But don’t be surprised if the real highlight of your trip turns out to be the castle itself. www.myrescastle.com play: Kingsbarns Golf Links. Designed by American architect Kyle Phillips, Kingsbarns is a tribute to classic Scottish links and has really matured since opening in 2000. The course meanders along more than a mile and a half of rugged seashore and offers ocean views from almost every hole. Featuring spacious fairways rolling and twisting through dune ridges and hollows, true links turf and large greens, this beautiful layout is challenging yet playable. “At Kingsbarns it’s all about risk and reward,” says David Scott, Director of Golf. “You can play to a safe area but it’s likely to be a tough angle to the green. If you take a gamble and go for the Tiger line, you will have the choice of playing a running shot or one through the air.” www.kingsbarns.com Other golf courses: St Andrews Old Course, Gleneagles.

78

kingdom 15 winter 2009

Guests can enjoy clay pigeon shooting, falconry displays and croquet as well as golf ethie castle dates way back to the 14th century

Interior photo © Myres Castle

myres castle started life as a fortress around 1530

play: Carnoustie Golf Links. A 30-minute drive down the Angus coastline is the town of Carnoustie and home to the renowned Championship Course, originally laid out in 1840

by Allan Robertson, with major changes being introduced later by Old Tom Morris and James Braid.

There’s nothing to match the experience of playing one of the most famous and challenging courses in world golf and the finishing hole, with the clubhouse in the background, is a highlight. A scene of major drama in the 1999 and 2007 British Opens, this 510-yard par-4 will play as a par-5 for most golfers even from the front tee markers. Faced with a tee shot most likely into the wind, you must negotiate the notorious Barry Burn that winds across the fairway like an agitated snake. A five is good here and a six would have given Jean Van de Velde the Claret Jug in 1999. www.carnoustiegolflinks.co.uk Other golf courses: Royal Aberdeen, Murcar Links, Cruden Bay. >

CHARLOTTE, north c arolina

BEHIND EVERY GREAT ESTATE IS A GREAT VISIONARY. F OR AWA R D - W I N N I N G D E S I G N & C O N S U LT I N G , c a l l ( 8 0 0 ) 3 0 8 - 5 0 5 4

J I M P H E L P S , L U X U R Y E S TAT E D E S I G N E R jimphelpscollection.com

dornoch castle hotel crackles with tales of witchcraft, secret passageways and even a harmless ghost

EDINBURGH/EAST LOTHIAN

HIGHLANDS

stay: Fenton Tower. Originally built in the mid-16th century, this ancient monument was in virtual ruins when Ian Simpson and his life-long friend John Macaskill decided to start the Tower’s restoration in 1998. Because it’s a listed ancient monument and a Category A-listed building, Historic Scotland supervised the meticulous restoration, which included using the identical materials when it was originally built.

Today, the tower combines 16th century history and 5-star luxury with the informality of a private home and is available for exclusive rental by eight to 12 guests or individually rented rooms on a nightly basis. Located just 20 miles east of Edinburgh, Fenton Tower is the castle of choice if you are interested in playing Muirfield or any of the 15 or so other courses within a 10-mile drive. There’s even room to practice before you go out, with some golfing guests spending many happy hours chipping balls onto a nearby island. If you are interested in shooting or fishing, then grouse, partridge and pheasant shoots for up to eight guns, and fly fishing on the nearby rivers, can be arranged. www.fentontower.co.uk

stay: Dornoch Castle Hotel. The 15th century Dornoch Castle Hotel is situated in private and beautifully manicured gardens opposite the inspiring 12th century Dornoch Cathedral.

Steeped in Scottish history with stories of witchcraft, a secret underground passageway connecting the Castle and Cathedral and a harmless ghost—an unhappy sheep stealer by the name of Andrew McCornish who was imprisoned in the vaulted dungeons below the Tower and was reputedly seen by the Minister of Avoch towards the end of the last century.

The 24 en-suite bedrooms are tastefully decorated with four deluxe rooms located in the original 15th century castle, together with the bar and reception. Dornoch Castle Hotel still bears an air of magnificence and is perfectly situated for playing the hallowed links of Royal Dornoch, only a wellstruck drive and a 5-iron away. www.dornochcastlehotel.com

play: Muirfield. Home to the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers and most recently the 2002 British Open Championship, this highly exclusive seaside links course features long narrow fairways, fast undulating greens, innumerable pot bunkers and thick rough. Architecturally it’s a gem. A clockwise outward half surrounds the inner anticlockwise holes, an arrangement that ensures that players have to make incessant adjustments for wind direction.

It can be quite tricky securing a tee time at Muirfield and, currently, visitors may play only on Tuesday and Thursday mornings with the 1st tee reserved for twoballs and the 10th tee reserved for fourballs. Times fill up very quickly during the peak season from May to September, but the good news is Muirfield enjoys ideal full-course playing conditions all year round. www.muirfield.org.uk Other golfing options: North Berwick,Gullane,Royal Musselburgh

80

kingdom 15 winter 2009

Muirfield is a gem with its clockwise outward half and its anticlockwise back nine play: Royal Dornoch. Golf arrived here in 1616 when the Earl of Sutherland ordered clubs and balls to take up a game that was already popular further south. Dornoch, thus, is Scotland’s third oldest golfing community. “After the 2nd hole, you round a corner, pass a hedge and golfing heaven breaks loose.” These words are temptation enough, but once you go around said corner, everything is right in front of you. Framed between mountains to the left and the North Sea is a tapestry of undulating fairways and plateau greens interspersed with flowering yellow gorse. further information Magical! www.royaldornoch.com www.visitscotland.com/golf Other golf courses: Brora, Nairn. n

CHARLOTTE, north c arolina

BEHIND EVERY GREAT ESTATE IS A GREAT VISIONARY. F OR AWA R D - W I N N I N G D E S I G N & C O N S U LT I N G , c a l l ( 8 0 0 ) 3 0 8 - 5 0 5 4

J I M P H E L P S , L U X U R Y E S TAT E D E S I G N E R jimphelpscollection.com

Golf Course Photo 101

A bit of advice on capturing a frame-worthy shot of your favorite course

82

kingdom 15 winter 2009

your epic trip to one of the world’s most breathtaking courses is over and you’ve returned home with the requisite logo sweater, golf shirt, towel and cap—and several memory cards full of digital pictures you shot on the clever little pointand-shoot you bought before your vacation. But as you sit with your friends in front of your hi-def TV or laptop displaying your visual record of the grand fairways, impossible greens and stunning landscapes of the course you just left, it occurs to you that your buddies aren’t nearly as excited as you are about your photos. Looking more closely at your images on the screen, you realize that, in fact, your pictures don’t do the place justice.

Fairways don’t appear quite as green as you remember, the greens all seem flat and you can’t even figure out what some of the pictures are supposed to be. You end up saying, “Well, you just have to go there. The place is really amazing!”

Welcome to the 21st century’s version of the boring holiday slide show.

The digital age has been great for photography, taking the guesswork out of what you’re getting and allowing snappers to fire away with relative abandon—remember the days of film and 12, 24 or 36 exposures? Even the smallest memory cards hold hundreds of jpegs now. But the price of this carefree approach to photography is that we tend to be less careful framing and setting up our pictures. As a result, there are simply piles and piles of horrendous pictures clogging up hard drives everywhere.

Here’s kingdom’s quick guide to taking pictures you’ll enjoy—and more importantly, pictures that will make your friends green with envy.

The Trouble With Landscapes It’s human nature that we tend to enjoy looking at pictures of other humans. The shots have a natural point of focus for a viewer—the person standing in the photo. (Whether or not the person is interesting to look at is another matter completely.) When you’re taking a photo of a landscape, as with most golf course pictures, you run the risk of someone staring at your picture and asking, “So what exactly am I supposed to be looking at here?”

For example: The difference between Ansel Adams’ pictures of mountains and trees in Yosemite and your dad’s holiday photos of mountains and trees in Yosemite is that Adams’ pictures are breathtaking shots that capture the grandeur of the American landscape. Your dad’s pictures are poorly exposed boring reminders of long days in the backseat on the family road trip.

Likewise, when you’re looking down that long, beautiful fairway, you’re probably thinking that it’s so beautiful you don’t have to do anything but point and shoot to capture what you’re seeing. The problem is that when your experience is reduced to a print—even a large print—it’s just not going to be the same as when you were standing there with the sun on your skin and the cool breeze coming off the mountains/ sea/whathaveyou. If you’re not careful, all the drama you wanted to capture—the reason you took the picture in the first place—will be lost in the print.

When you’re taking a photo—digital or film—you’re recording the visible light. While certain films respond differently to similar light conditions, many digital cameras are pretty much “what you see is what you get.” That means if you’re standing on a golf course at noon, you’re going to get a whole heck of a lot of light, blowing out colors and making for a static shot. If you have to shoot at this time of day, try not to shoot directly into the sun. If you do, you’ll most likely end up with lens flare (the little rainbow spots caused by lens elements reflecting) and the main subject of your photo will likely appear dark. That said, a little lens flare can be interesting, but too much will distract from the picture as a whole. A better option—especially if you’re staying at a resort—is to come back to the course during what photographers call the “golden hours,” dusk and dawn.

It’s often said that National Geographic photographers only work two hours a day—sunrise and sunset. There’s a reason.

These are the two times during the day when the sun is at the sharpest angle. The resulting light is very soft and creates long, beautiful shadows. There’s a magical element to pictures captured during this time; they just have a little more texture, more interesting dimensions and patterns. Not to mention that the golden light is absolutely stunning and can turn a boring picture into a beautiful one all by itself. >

83

kingdom 15 winter 2009

Viewpoint Another thing to take into account is the angle at which you’re shooting. The vast majority of people see the world at eye level—typically near six feet from the ground. Don’t be afraid to explore other angles. What would the fairway look like if you sat down? Or if you put the camera directly on the grass? Or if you were able to stand on something to capture it from a higher angle? Anything out of the ordinary in terms of our perception of the world is interesting to look at. It can take an ordinary scene and make it more intriguing.

Composition

All right: You’re standing on a fairway at a point where you like the view and you’ve adjusted the camera to eye level (if you’re ignoring suggestion No.1, you’ll have raised the camera to eye level). Before you take the picture, really look at what you see in the viewfinder. Imagine it printed and framed in your home. Is there any drama to the shot or have you set it up to be rather static? Think about railroad tracks: Shoot them from an angle, there’s a sense of perspective as the rails appear to be either getting wider apart or closer together. Shoot them from the side, you can’t even see the tracks; it just looks like a line.

Steady As She Goes If there were a person in this picture, that person would Use a tripod. Even if you’re shooting with a little point-and- most likely be the focal point (the point in the image that your shoot digital, the photos will look a lot better if they’re level eye goes to first when you look at it). Even though there is no and completely in focus. Image stabilizers on modern digitals person in this shot, you still need to have a focal point, otherwise help, but you can’t beat good old-fashioned immobility. And on viewing the image may look flat. With nothing to draw the eye before you press the shutter button, set the self-timer to the in, there’s no reason to look at it for any length of time. The focal shortest time possible—usually 2 seconds—to eliminate the point in a landscape picture can be a large tree, an interesting rock, little bit of shake you create when pressing the shutter. an architectural element or even the flag near the end of the shot.

Once you have your focal point, try and position it in the most Clean Your Lens interesting place in the frame. Typically, photographers use the It should be intuitive, but even the best of us forget this from “rule of thirds,” which basically has it that objects placed one-third time to time. What might appear to the naked eye to be of the way into a frame (from either side) result in photos that are miniscule bits of dust will, on your resulting image, appear to more interesting than ones in which the focal point is dead center. be giant boulders looming over the fairway. Get a lens cloth Now that you have the basic frame of the picture and give your camera a quick wipe before shooting. you want in your viewfinder, really consider it in detail.

Remember: This is going big on your wall. First of all, is the Exposure horizon straight? Make sure it is. Now look at the edges of The great thing about a digital camera is that immediately the viewfinder. Have you included a ball washer or trashcan— after taking the shot, you can glimpse at the screen on the even just a little bit? Can you see part of your finger on the back and see what you’ve got. Don’t be afraid to use the bottom edge? Now work your way toward the center of the manual settings on the camera (most all cameras allow you frame, examining each area of the viewfinder in detail. to manually adjust the exposure). Look at the snapshot on How does the sky look? If the sky is dramatic, maybe raise the screen: Have the clouds been blown out of the sky? Set or tilt the camera up a bit and move the horizon into the bottom the camera to underexpose a little. Alternately, is the fairway of the frame, capturing more of the sky. Likewise, if the sky is or green too dark? Overexpose just a bit. Playing with these boring but the forested edge of the fairway is particularly nice, settings will often yield infinitely better results than relying perhaps lower or tilt the camera down. If possible, pay attention on the factory presets. to the foreground and see if you can get anything interesting in that. It could be a shadow, some long grass, the edge of a bunker…

Anything that draws your eye into the picture. >

84

kingdom 15 winter 2009

Fine Gifts • Bridal Registry • Interior Design • Corporate • Trophies

Cherchez la Femme A breathtaking glimpse of a world where beauty is never tarnished.

Limited edition crystal sculptures from the French studios of Daum.

Sensitivity, serenity and grace.

Aphrodite #164 of 475

Persane #43 of 375

Après L’Amour #275 of 375 Eléonore #122 of 425 Official Provider of Trophies for the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games & Arnold Palmer’s 2009 Kingdom Cup Tournament

531 WesT shoRT sTReeT BeFoRe BRoaDWay

866-225-7474

www.lvharkness.com

Expert Advice

Vision Lastly, make the shot your own. Everyone knows what No.7 at Pebble Beach looks like. We’ve got the posters on our walls; we’ve got the screen savers. You are more than welcome to take another picture of it, but we can’t guarantee yours will bring anything new to the table. It’s certainly fine to grab a couple of snaps of an iconic hole for your scrapbook, but also try to find pictures that are unique to you. Better yet, capture images of the holes that mean the most to you. The ones you liked the best. It might be a hole at St. Andrew’s where you birdied in a windstorm; it might be a fairway on a muni where you used to golf with your dad. It’s going to be your memory, your picture on your wall. Make the most of it. And with a little time and patience, your holiday slide show will be a must-see presentation, not the stuff of yawns and groans.

Best of luck. n

86

kingdom 15 winter 2009

Professional golf course photographer Evan Schiller regularly shoots for Kingdom (he shot Bay Hill for this issue). Here’s are a few words from the expert on shooting your favorite course: My intention when I’m shooting is to make all of it interesting, if you can. Stand in the middle of the fairway, or just off to the side. A little rough coming through that cuts into the foreground can be nice.

A lot of times people think the best light is when it’s behind you, but it’s the worst. The best light is from the side, generally speaking. It’s what creates the shadows. Everything looks flat when the sun is behind you.

It’s all about the light. It makes all the difference in the world, where it is, where the sun is can make a difference in the color, everything.

I like some clouds; they change the light, soften it.

You realize that when you’re taking a picture, you’re taking this life-sized image that your eyes see and you’re putting it onto a much smaller canvas. You have to take that into account. You’re responsible for everything in that eyepiece.

PGA West—Palmer Private Course, CA, hole #9

The CFB A1000 automatic caliber with peripheral rotor. Leaves conventional movements behind.

The CFB A1000 caliber, developed and produced by Carl F. Bucherer, writes watchmaking history. Innovative use of traditional watchmaking expertise transforms this unique micro-mechanical device into the movement of the future. The ingenious self-winding system with its peripheral rotor provides an unimpeded view of the detail inside. This is craftsmanship at its finest, expressed through state-of-the-art technology and, in the Patravi EvoTec DayDate, set off to its best advantage. Its unmistakable design, with the large date and day-of-the-week display, places it firmly in the Carl F. Bucherer tradition of only making watches as unique as the people who wear them. www.carl-f-bucherer.com

941-388-3711 路 St Armands Circle 路 22 N Blvd of Presidents, Sarasota, FL 34236 941-966-5878 路 South Bay Shopping Ctr. 路 3976 Destination Dr., Osprey, FL 34229

It’s amazing how much you can grow when you care.

What started 20 years ago as a dream to bring lifesaving healthcare to the families of Central Florida is today one of the few medical campuses in the nation dedicated exclusively to both women’s and children’s services, Arnold Palmer Medical Center. Together Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children and Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women & Babies provide highquality, compassionate care and specialized services to the families of Central Florida.

Help us continue providing leading-edge pediatric care. Visit arnoldpalmerhospital.com or call 407.841.5114 to make a gift to support the Arnold Palmer Medical Center. Together, we can change the lives of our future’s most valued hope... our children.

arnoldpalmerhospital.com

winniepalmerhospital.com 09ORA255

arnold palmer ’ s

Glimpses from behind the scenes of the most celebrated career in the history of the game

part 15

89

kingdom 15 w i n t e r 2009

Mr. Palmer (back, right) poses with fellow golfers during the 1947 Hearst Jr. Tournament. Standing beside him is Buddy Worsham who played with Mr. Palmer at Wake Forest

90

kingdom 15 w i n t e r 2009

Peggy and Winnie Palmer count the dollars after Mr. Palmer won the 1957 Houston Open. Joel “Hal� Berry, the Houston Golf Association president, presents the $7,500 prize

91

kingdom 15 w i n t e r 2009

Time for a cuddle with Dad! Arnold Palmer shares a precious, loving moment with daughter Amy

92

kingdom 15 w i n t e r 2009

Arnold Palmer lines up a putt at a PGA Tour event in May 1962

93

kingdom 15 w i n t e r 2009

Arnold Palmer and Bing Crosby reflect on another successful round during the Bing Crosby Celebrity Invitational at Pebble Beach during the 1960s

94

kingdom 15 w i n t e r 2009

Sand man! Arnold Palmer splashes out of a bunker at the Doral Eastern Open in Miami in 1970

95

kingdom 15 w i n t e r 2009

Arnold Palmer playing in the Vantage Championship at Tanglewood Country Club in Winston-Salem, North Carolina during the 1980s

96

kingdom 15 w i n t e r 2009

“Best Spa in the world!”

Gallivanter’s Guide 2008

Living in the legend.

Spa

Domaine de Terre Blanche has continuously and successfully established its reputation as one of the finest golf resorts around the world. But what is it that actually seduces Terre Blanche property owners, members and outside visitors to the golf club to unwind and play golf in this resort? It might be the pristine beauty of Provence amidst which you will find this international golf club extending membership by invitation only. It might be its two golf courses ranked among the most renowned in the world. It might be the David Leadbetter Golf Academy and the Biomecaswing Centre both of which invite golfers to bring their swings to perfection. It might be the five star hotel and spa operated by Four Seasons. Either way, you should experience it personally in order to thoroughly appreciate what it might mean to you – therefore pamper yourself by living this legend during its 300 days of sunshine.

For further information and to make a reservation: Phone +33 (0) 4 94 39 99 15 or visit www.terre-blanche.com | www.terreblanchegolfclub.com www.biomecaswing.com

Provence. Côte d’Azur. First Class.

www.fischerziegler.com

Golf

BayWa Every great structure needs renovating from time to time, and this is also true of even the finest and most famous golf courses.

And so it was that the 18-hole Championship layout at Bay Hill, Arnold Palmer’s pride and joy, underwent a major facelift during the summer of 2009 photography: Evan Schiller

98

kingdom 15 winter 2009

bay hill club & lodge, situated just a few minutes’ drive from Orlando’s major tourist attractions, has been a haven of privacy and charm since its opening in 1961.

A few years ago, this exclusive Florida resort, which doubles as Arnold Palmer’s winter home, underwent a $7 million renovation to all guest rooms and public areas. Once that project had been completed, Mr. Palmer, who purchased the property outright back in 1976 and has hosted the PGA Tour there every spring since 1979, turned his attention to improvements he felt needed to be made to the golf course.

So, shortly after Tiger Woods sank the putt that sealed his sixth victory in the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard last March, the course was closed until September for an extensive facelift. “Bay Hill is a great golf course. We don’t want to change it; let’s tweak it,” said Mr. Palmer to

Highlighted Changes Hole #1 (left) Tees widened and shifted right to provide a better angle to access the fairway. Bunkers 180 yards off the tee to the right converted to rough.

Bunkers outside the dogleg enlarged to provide visibility from the tee and define the turning point of the fairway. Greenside bunkers moved closer, deepened, and flashed higher to frame the green. Interior of the old green surface replicated and the edges softened to provide better hole locations closer to the bunkers. plots grown at Bay Hill prior to construction,” said course superintendent Matt Beaver. “It requires less maintenance than the previous grass and the new irrigation heads around the greens provide a more precise application of water.”

Mr. Palmer’s experience of designing courses around the world, dating back to when he helped his father Deacon build greens at Latrobe Country Club in Pennsylvania, meant he was hands-on with the entire project from start to finish.

“I love the Bay Hill course. It’s my home, which is why it was so important to me to be involved with everything,” he said. “The renovations really add some new dimensions of play for Tour players and our members. I’ve introduced firm, fast playing conditions on slopes around greens mowed at fairway height that run away from the green surface and take the ball farther away from the intended target instead of stopping it, like the previous heavy rough did. With these new conditions we hope to add creativity to recovery shots.”

Eliminating some of the thick greenside rough and introducing run-offs should, in theory, make the course easier for amateurs as they can putt more often from off the green, but potentially harder for Tour pros by giving them a decision to make about the best club to use.

Bay Hill’s general manager Ray Easler is delighted with the modifications. “It really hasn’t changed an enormous amount the last 40 years. A lot of newer courses are designed for longer hitters. Bay Hill is suited to shotmakers. That is Mr. Palmer’s style. Also, the way we set it up is along the lines of Augusta. We are the tune-up for Augusta. ” Brandon Johnson takes up the story. “PGA Tour Shotlink data was used to site bunkers and now reflects the new distances of the modern game. Over time the edges of the greens had shrunk significantly and a few greens had too much slope to place a pin. The new greens allow us to increase the ‘pin-able’ areas for the Invitational.”

Bay Hill’s tees also came in for attention. “We really improved the turf conditions and playability of the tees by making them all consistently level,” said Thad Layton. “Some of the narrow ‘runway’ tees are now more visually appealing and large enough to handle wear from high golf traffic.”

Most importantly, Mr. Palmer is also very pleased. “I’m very proud of everyone involved to make the Bay Hill course renovation a success,” he said. “I know the 2010 Invitational will be very exciting to watch.” >

atch Arnold Palmer Design Company architects Erik Larsen, Thad Layton and Brandon Johnson during initial project meetings at Bay Hill, where APDC and the Invitational’s tournament offices are also located. “Let’s get the greens closer to the water, break up the long tees and fan them out, and get the sand up where you can see it.”

The overriding principle of the renovation was to inject more versatility into how Bay Hill plays without dramatically changing the character of the golf course, while the specific goals were focused on three distinct areas: agronomy, playability and aesthetics. The previous greens needed to be replaced because of small parasitic pests in the soil that made it difficult to maintain good turf quality. “To improve the turf conditions on the greens, new Emerald Bermuda grass was installed after proving the best performer in test

99

kingdom 15 winter 2009

Hole #5 Tees realigned and moved closer to the cart path opening up an unobstructed view of the fairway.

Bunkers enlarged and repositioned to force decisions off the tee. New fairway cut beyond the left bunker provides the opportunity for a drivable par-4 from the forward tee. Steep slope on the front right of the green will defend the front pin location.

Hole #7 Tees expanded and fanned out to left. Fairway cut short of the green and steepened to repel shots short of the green to the bottom of the slope. Greenside bunkers deepened and pushed tight to the green. New front-right pin location will be quite a test.

100

kingdom 15 winter 2009

Hole #9 Tees widened. Fairway bunker to the left shifted 40 yards further from the tee. Two fairway bunkers on the right converted to rough. Green rotated to the right to engage the re-configured bunker complex.

101

kingdom 15 winter 2009

Hole #10

Hole #15

Left fairway bunkers slightly expanded and shifted to the right. The right fairway bunker was moved 50 yards forward to bring it more into play. Subtle green modifications made by squaring off the edges to introduce pins on the corners. The approach and side slopes of the green surrounds made sharper to introduce a tightly mowed slope.

A new back tee can add 50 yards to the hole and will bring the reshaped bunker protecting the inside right corner of the fairway more into play. Green reduced to move it out of shadows cast by surrounding trees and away from the cart path. The front and back greenside bunkers have been reshaped and moved closer to the putting surface and the right greenside bunkers replaced with a tightly-mown grass slope.

Hole #12 Three hidden fairway bunkers eliminated and replaced with two bunkers—one protecting the inside right corner at around 270 yards off the tee and one protecting the outside left corner at approximately 300 yards from the back tee. The mounding that blocked views into the bunkers and green complex was removed and the greenside bunkers were reshaped and moved closer to the putting surface.

Hole #14 Front right bunker complex replaced by a tightly mown grass slope along the right side of the green.

The left greenside bunkers were reshaped and moved closer to the green. Greenside bunkers behind the green reshaped, made visible and shifted closer to the putting surface which has been smoothed out to allow for more ‘pin-able’ space but with a hint remaining of the old contours.

102

kingdom 15 winter 2009

Hole #17 (below) Visually this hole will look different and slightly more intimidating but strategically should play better with increased pin locations along the perimeter of the green and reshaped bunkers that are closer to the putting surface. The most dramatic change is the expansion and reshaping of the beach bunker.

All the photos in this article were taken by renowned golf photographer Evan Schiller, for these and other great shots visit golfshots.com

For more, see www.bayhill.com

Baterbys ART AUCTION GALLERY

Orlando’s Premiere Art Gallery & Art Auction House

Our exquisite art collection is comprised of ��th Century and Contemporary Art that span from Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali & Joan Miro to Peter Max, Isaac Maimon, Yaacov Agam & Elena Bond amongst many others.

We hold Quarterly Live Art Auctions and Art Exhibits. Our art gallery is open for viewing everyday, including Sundays. For event schedules, artist information and to avail of our specialized art services such as custom-framing and art appraisals visit www.baterbys.com, email moreinfo@baterbys.com or call �-���-���-����.

Gallery Hours: Monday to Thursday - �pm to ��pm | Friday & Saturday - ��pm to ��pm | Sundays - �pm to �pm

www.Baterbys.com

POINTE ORLANDO | Suite ���� ���� International Drive, Orlando, FL �����

We Wanna Be Connected 104

kingdom 15 winter 2009

the club at sonterra, century golf’s flagship

Ninety days. That’s all it takes to lose a recent recruit to a golf club’s ranks if the welcome is lukewarm or indifferent. In the current economic climate, member retention is an even harder trick to master than member recruitment. Paul Trow talks to some experienced executives who have learned the importance of making their flock feel at home hands up, readers, if you think you know what it takes to run a successful golf club. Most of you will have considerable experience of being on the receiving end of the services and facilities on offer, so surely it won’t take much to flip the coin and work out what the priorities should be for those providing said services and facilities. Or will it?

The truth is that if you’re a member of a smoothly-run club that lays on an abundance of on- and off-course activities entirely for your benefit you are probably being spoiled compared to the majority of us.

More pertinently, you’re probably unaware of the effort that’s going into making your time at the club so enjoyable.

Above the water, the duck seems calm and serene, yet below deck its legs are working overtime just so it can hold its position.

Human nature being what it is, most of us tend to notice what’s happening only when something goes wrong, or is done in an obviously incorrect way. Otherwise, it’s water off a duck’s back.

“members need to feel connected as soon as they join”

The secret to recruiting members and retaining them is to show them a good time, and few organizations are better at achieving this than Century Golf Partners, an investment company that either owns or manages for third-party owners well over 50 courses in the U.S. alone.

Most types of golf course—country clubs, resorts and pay-to-play facilities—are found in the company’s portfolio, which annually generates around $200 million in revenues.

Century Golf is also tied in with the King through Arnold Palmer Golf Management and accordingly operates all its courses under the Arnold Palmer name.

Led by former ClubCorp president Jim Hinckley, Greg Adair, Doug Howe and former ClubCorp executives Ken Story and Larry Galloway, Century Golf employs approximately 3,700 people and is expanding club membership levels at a time when elsewhere the industry trend is on a downward spiral.

Kathryn Comfort, a regional membership specialist, has no doubts about the key to the company’s success. “We are one of the very few businesses right now that is growing its membership at a very difficult economic time,” she says. “We talk to other companies and their numbers are down quite a bit.

“I think our results are to do with our philosophy of forming a partnership with our members and educating our staff, and the Boards of investors at the clubs we don’t own outright, into what our philosophy is.

“First, our staff have to buy into this philosophy. Then our approach is to get everyone working hand in hand with each other—staff, members, management and vendors. It’s the right way but not exactly the easiest to achieve.

“It’s important to remember that the driving force of every club is its membership. Every role in the management of a club—be it Director of Golf, Director of Operations, Director of Food and Beverage—should be focused on supplying the needs of the membership and the privileges to which they are entitled.

“The bottom line is that members need to feel connected to the club from the moment they join, and everyone plays a part in that process, not just the staff. Fellow members and those serving voluntarily on the committees must be welcoming as well and make sure new members are invited to join in all the activities and become involved.

“In our experience, the first 90 days are crucial to this. It’s during this period that most new members decide whether they’re going to stay or going to walk. We say to our staff that you don’t have to have a perfect club with the >

105

kingdom 15 winter 2009

kathryn comfort was general manager of the club at sonterra (above) before becoming a regional membership specialist

shiniest of everything—it’s what you make the member feel like on the inside that makes the difference. Members don’t stay at a club because everything looks pretty but because of the people who are there.

“In essence, it’s very hard to leave anywhere where you’re involved and have been made to feel welcome, but it’s very easy to leave if you’re not connected.”

Kathryn, who is equally involved in the group’s programs and strategies for recruitment, certainly goes the posts within a golf club. Heading that roll call of skills, extra mile to remain connected both to members and the staff inevitably, is that of course superintendent, and Kathryn is who look after them. Having served for three years as general quick to agree that if there are problems with a course then manager of one of the company’s flagship properties, the all the other neat touches around the club count for very little.

Club at Sonterra in San Antonio (TX), she is now in charge “If your golf course is in good shape, then the hamburgers of a region which includes such diverse localities as New York, served in the clubhouse taste that bit better too. The reverse is Baltimore, Connecticut, Nashville (TN) and Hawaii. “I get true as well, so as far as our management strategy is concerned, on a plane every week and head out in a different direction, you’ve got to start off with the quality of the golf course. but I tend not to go to Hawaii more often than once every There’s no getting away from this.” other month,” she admits.

Mike Akeroyd, regional vice-president of operations, “When I get to them the clubs’ needs do vary. We look places particular emphasis on the contribution of the group’s after a wide range of different amenities and they don’t all golf professionals to the task of recruiting and retaining have the same problems. Some of our clubs are simply courses members. “Everyone in the company has a responsibility with members while others are like Sonterra with a wide for getting and keeping members, and as far as the pro is range of facilities in addition to 36 holes of golf. ” concerned that’s about organizing programs and activities Another responsibility shouldered by Kathryn and her that will appeal to each specific section of the membership— fellow executives at Arnold Palmer Golf Management is the low-handicappers, high-handicappers, ladies, juniors. That’s ability to identify the right people for the important technical the way to ensure members become more connected. >

“if your course is in good shape, then the hamburgers taste better”

106

kingdom 15 winter 2009

These shops stock all the usual high-end names—Titleist, TaylorMade, Nike, Callaway, Cutter & Buck, Fairway & Greene and Ashworth. The company has agreed rates with these brands, but the local pros have the autonomy to order what they think their members want. “Golfers’ tastes in styles, fabrics and color schemes, for instance, will be wildly different in Connecticut to Texas,” Akeroyd explains.

“On the agronomy side, we buy all our big machinery from Toro and we have other relationships with suppliers of fertilizers and smaller equipment, though that part of the maintenance program is left to the superintendents who each know exactly what their particular course needs from day to day.”

Bulk ordering leads to significant savings on food, beverage and kitchen equipment as well, though the procurement tends to be carried out by outside contractors.

Tracey Ranallo, senior director of brand management for Entegra Procurement Services which supplies all the clubs under the Arnold Palmer Golf Management umbrella, takes up the story.

“We have a good relationship with the national Golf Course Owners’ Association (NCGOA), so we have a very mixed portfolio of close to 1,000 golf clients—resorts, public courses and private members’ clubs,” she says.

“Before procuring goods and services for clubs, we sit down with the food and beverage management to help them plan their ordering and then get them a better deal financially.

Also, working through us means they don’t have to deal with distributors. We specialize in achieving competitive prices in the marketplace on quality, chef-treated produce, but we can

“the people here are dedicated to service” competition is provided for every standard of golfer

“We also need activities and events in and around the clubhouse that create a fun, vibrant atmosphere to encourage members to stay after their rounds or in the evening. You could have the best food in the world but an empty restaurant is not a fun and happy place. Sometimes these events have to be value-oriented, say $9.99 for a two-course buffet, nothing special, but we’ll have a room full of people having a great time.

“Yes, we will probably sell a few bottles of wine and beer on such occasions, but our aim is for our members to become friends with each other because they will then stay with us for much longer.

“In the long run you know you’re being successful when your existing members are proposing new members to join the club.”

Akeroyd, who started out at private clubs as a cart attendant and greeter before training as a PGA professional, has also worked as a membership director and general manager at private clubs, so his range of experience is considerable to say the least. But he has not lost touch with his roots as a pro. “The golf pros at our clubs work for Arnold Palmer Golf Management and the only independent contractors we have are the teaching pros. The shops at the clubs are part of our business and the pros that work in them are our employees.”

108

kingdom 15 winter 2009

also supply a whole range of equipment and fittings—stoves, fridges, patio furniture, carpets, etc.

“Entegra’s team of regional account executives provides ongoing support for each club to help educate them in how to maximize the benefits of our programs. After all, we have to make decisions that resonate with consumers—decisions on behalf of not only our customers but also their customers.”

There you have it—satisfying the end user is, indeed, the nub of the matter. Ray Easler, the highly respected general manager at the Arnold Palmer-owned Bay Hill Club & Lodge, says: “Our No.1 goal is to give the best service we possibly can both to our members and to our guests. We look on Bay Hill as Mr. Palmer’s home and we want to treat them as we would if they were members of his family.

“Throughout our different departments we have a great group of people who have mostly been with us for a long time and pay careful attention to detail. We’re very structured here and promote our message through training which we see as extremely important.

“The people who work here are dedicated to service. We take care of our people and they take care of our business.”

The clues, readers, are all in that last sentence: service, people, business. This surely is the formula that makes for a well-run golf club! n

TurF Chopper Golf’s Next Generation

Speed up your game, always take the right club no matter whatever the lie, and enjoy yourself.

Available in your favorite color and weighing a mere 150lb, this fun cart gives a smooth ride and raises smiles everywhere along the way.

The Turf Chopper’s next-to-silent 600-watt electric motor is a match for any course—a well balanced beauty that can go everywhere the “big boys” go and many places they can’t.

For prices, options, information and purchase, visit: www.bridgeburggolf.com

A 36-hour train trip in the U.S. leaves the editor pondering how something so seemingly overpriced and uncomfortable can provide such a compelling and wonderful experience the winter of 1909 wasn’t chicago’s worst, not by a long stretch. Sadly, the relatively balmy temperatures didn’t prevent Frank A. Vanderslip’s mother from contracting pneumonia that year. Frank, who lived roughly 800 miles away in New York City, was desperate to rush to his mother’s bedside. So, on March 27 he caught a train. A June 20, 1912, edition of The New York Times reported that Frank’s journey from New York’s Pennsylvania Station to Chicago’s Union Station took 16 hours and 7 minutes—a record-setting trip that got him home in time.

Today, a century later, Amtrak’s Lakeshore Limited takes two hours longer—a minimum of 19 hours—to make the NYC to Chicago run. And it costs more than the plane.

How far we’ve come.

“i’ve allowed myself to re-romanticize the idea of the american train”

Buying the Ticket With high ticket prices and long travel times, it’s a wonder why anyone would want to take an American train, but that’s exactly what I did this August. I decided to ride Amtrak’s Coast Starlight from Los Angeles to Seattle because, among other reasons, Amtrak’s press representative essentially told me not to.

“I would also prefer you do a shorter leg such as LA Santa Barbara,” she wrote in an email. “You don’t need an overnight trip to capture the full train experience.”

Baloney.

Anyone who’s spent a day on a train watching the world roll by, then fallen asleep to the rocking of the car and the sound of wheels on a track, knows that “the full train experience” takes more than a couple of hours to capture. I learned this during years of multi-day rail trips overseas—and on one back-breaking ride here at home. Fresh out of college, the first story I ever sold was about a ride from Tampa to New York on Amtrak’s Silver Palm, an experience I wasn’t considering repeating—until this year.

When I’m overseas, I love traveling by rail. And in the many years since my first paid story, I’ve allowed myself to re-romanticize the idea of the American train. That’s why, when I needed to get to Seattle, I decided to take the Coast Starlight. I wanted to see how—or if—Amtrak’s full train experience had changed since my college days, if the purity and beauty of traveling America’s rails was readily available or, as was the case so many years ago, if that was just a romantic notion of mine. Furthermore, after the email from Amtrak I wanted to see what they were hiding.

It didn’t take long to find out—though some of it was good. Great even. >

110

kingdom 15 winter 2009

Track

art deco influences abound at the impressive union station in los angeles which opened in 1939

k Record

111

kingdom 15 winter 2009

train travelers cannot be clock watchers. allow plenty of time as journeys take longer than a century ago

All Aboard I could go on about the cramped, dated and somewhat dingy roomette; the fact that Coast Starlight veterans onboard complained that the train is almost always late (though ours was basically on-time); the relatively meager dining options served on plastic plates, even in the first-class dining car; Amtrak’s financial woes; its Congressional challenges; and a million other niggling bits that make the cost of the ticket seem even more fantastic than it actually is (two roomette tickets for my girlfriend and myself cost $96 more than a pair of one-way first-class plane tickets would have, and the flight is less than three hours).

It would be easy to bemoan the whole trip and the entire operation as an expensive waste of time—but I can’t, because it’s not. Not really.

It’s often said, and in the case of trains often true, that the journey is the destination. In the case of Amtrak specifically, it’s so true that they should write it on your ticket.

My Amtrak journey began at Union Station in Los Angeles.

I have to confess I’d never visited the station before—and that was a mistake. First opened in 1939, it is perhaps the last of the great railway stations built in the United States. It’s stunning, and has served as a backdrop for a number of films, including 1950’s Union Station (with William Holden), Blade Runner, the American remake of The Italian Job and several others. The ornate and vast waiting area is stop No.1, and for first-class Coast Starlight passengers there’s a special meeting area with juices and coffee— no waiting in long lines. A conductor in a sharp, classically styled uniform rounded us all up and led us to the train rather than let

112

kingdom 15 winter 2009

us stumble to it ourselves, a nice touch. With the grand Deco surroundings and the well-attired and professional staff, at this point the romance of the trip was well intact. That changed upon boarding, but, as I mentioned before, I’m not going to dwell on the negative, which is basically limited to the dated rail cars and the price. Instead, I’d like to focus on the positive, which boils down to three things: the Amtrak staff, the view out of the window, and the other passengers.

Amtrak Staff Fantastic. Wonderful. Professional and adept at their jobs, smiling during my whole trip. Working four-day shifts with only a couple of hours’ sleep per night, the level of service they consistently offered was all the more amazing for the challenges they face: namely, outdated equipment and the occasional difficult passenger. While we were sleeping, a refrigerator broke in the first-class parlor car, ruining a day’s food and compelling everyone to eat day two’s meals in the more basic coach diner. While this ruffled a few feathers and might have become a problem, Barbara, who managed the parlor car, handled things so well that most of us were completely unaware there was any problem at all; or at least we were so content that we didn’t care, which is as good. Likewise, the steward who looked after our bunks was attentive and friendly, offering top service, good conversation and terrible jokes in liberal supply. Every Amtrak staff member I met both in the station and on the train left me feeling good about the trip—an absolutely monumental difference from the common experience of modern air travel. >

Go For The Green EGGcept No Substitute!

The Best Outdoor Cooking Starts With An EGG®

This Original American Designed Ceramic Cooker is derived from an ancient Oriental clay “kamado.” Millions of enthusiastic Americans fire up an EGG daily. Shouldn’t you be one of them?

Unmatched Cooking Flexibility

The EGG grills, smokes and bakes at exact temperatures that remain consistent for hours. It produces 750 degree steakhouse searing, or smokes low-and-slow to transform less expensive cuts of meat into exquisitely flavorful “Pit barbecue-tender” fare. And it bakes a mouthwatering, crispy-crust pizza or a golden apple pie. Foods retain their moisture so there is little or no shrinkage. No matter what you cook, the EGG makes it effortless.

The Egg Fits Today’s “Green” Lifestyle

Space-age ceramics make the EGG durable, double-wall construction makes it fuel efficient for year around cooking in all climates. It burns natural lump charcoal which results in minimal ash. The heat burns off any inside grease build-up, like a self-cleaning oven. And the EGG is a lifetime purchase which won’t be discarded to clutter up the waste stream.

For more information visit www.biggreenegg.com

The Passengers

all corridors on the train led to the parlor car

The View At 30,000 feet going hundreds of miles per hour, there’s no sense of what’s below you. From a seat on a train, not only can you have a proper look at the country through which you’re rolling, you have the time to notice details. Museum-quality graffiti on overpasses and abandoned buildings; a smiling kid with a red balloon; people working in fields; couples holding hands in a trackside park; even someone sunning themselves in backyards hidden from street-level view. The Coast Starlight offers all of this along with a privileged view of the California coastline, namely a long stretch of the otherwise inaccessible Central Coast that lies within Vandenberg Air Force Base. It is entirely unspoiled land complete with Pacific waves crashing against tall bluffs. Seals and sea birds enjoy it all, but the only way to see this pristine area is to join the Air Force or to ride the train.

By the time the Coast Starlight heads into the Pacific Northwest you’re glued to the window, Oregon’s mountain passes and lush valleys replacing the bold California coast.

Washington State is as lovely, and by the time the train stops in Seattle you’re sated with visions of beauty. Equally astounding is what you don’t see out of the train windows: flashing billboards and the endless stream of advertisements that assaults motorists every minute. This fact didn’t even occur to me until weeks after my trip when I read an article about another man’s train experience (more on this below), but the novelty of it is unavoidable: the train offers an unspoiled view.

114

kingdom 15 winter 2009

While some people enjoyed watching the world roll by from their roomettes and larger cabins, most on our Coast Starlight eventually found their ways to the parlor car, a comfortable lounge-type setting that offered, among other things, that great conversation starter known as the bar. If conversation on a plane runs the gamut from forced interaction to stoic silence (with the rare good chat occasionally thrown in), the train is more like a small cocktail party on wheels with people meeting and greeting in the first hour or so of travel. Ours was a mixed crowd indeed.

Most obviously, there were a number of Brits on a package holiday headed for an Alaskan cruise out of Vancouver. Almost without exception, the men all had sophisticated, brand-new photo equipment that likely cost a mint. Many of them kept their cameras around their necks the entire journey, fondling the buttons or polishing the lenses in-between occasional “clacks” of the shutter.

I had to smile at the sight of two “out” middle-aged homosexuals and a rather golden-aged transvestite in a skirt who got on in Northern California. They enjoyed a long conversation directly across from an outspokenly conservative retired Houston police detective and his family. While the detective may have sat with his arms crossed and thrown the occasional glare their way, in truth there was no real tension on either side and everyone was smiling soon enough. The train is neutral territory.

Two of the first travelers we met included a grandmother shepherding a precise 11-year-old girl from Los Angeles back to Klamath Falls, Oregon. The girl was a proper conversationalist, and told a hilarious story about her brother and a friend playing in the family’s above-ground pool. “They were rough-housing,” she said, being rough enough that one of the pool’s walls collapsed, launching a small tidal wave— and the boys—out of the hole and smack into a fence. She said her dad couldn’t stop laughing.

Another couple we met included a writer/photographer named Lee and his fiancé with whom we shared an enjoyable lunch, learning about his work and talking about politics, the journey and all manner of other topics.

One unfortunate passenger spent the entire trip motion-sick in her roomette, while another 30-ish woman entered the parlor and announced rather loudly that her husband wasn’t joining the crowd because he was stuck in the bathroom suffering from horrendous… well, you can guess.

When the poor guy entered the parlor 30 minutes later, he had no idea why everyone was trying to hide a smile.

“The train is more like a small cocktail party on wheels with people meeting and greeting in the first hour or so”

the coast starlight’s privileged view of the california coastline makes up for the dubious comfort provided by its chairs

Final Stop This March, a writer named Andy Isaacson wrote a piece for The New York Times in which he chronicled his first rail trip across the United States. Like me, he’s ridden trains in China and other far-off foreign locales but according to his article this was his first long-distance trek in the States. Like I did in my first U.S. train article, Mr. Isaacson tended to romanticize the trip overall, eventually finding that any actual sense of romantic tradition remains solely in the people on the train and the scenery rolling by. When it comes to the train itself, Mr. Isaacson mentioned it only to point out that the china in the dining car has been replaced with plastic plates, that the heat in his roomette failed and the attendant call button was broken so he froze all night, and that there’s no Wi-Fi—the last point a valid observation in that it is a rather commonplace (if modern) amenity, now available on many planes.

In the story of my first Amtrak ride, I mentioned the cost of the ticket was “only $18 more than the plane—and you get an extra 20 hours’ travel!” and compared the chair in which I spent the trip to a dental chair from the 1920s, with minor modifications: “There was, for example, a board that folded out behind my legs. This board ended at the calves, thus cutting off circulation to my feet. The board was dropped back in place by throwing the stick shift into first. The shifter, a ball-headed lever to my left, had no other purpose. It was all quite impressive and pointless.”

In the end, even with the chair, I concluded that the view out of a train window is remarkable indeed and that the people you meet on board make the trip worthwhile. That hasn’t changed a bit since I left college—but neither has much else, and that’s a problem.

The solution? Personally, I’d like to see a handful of multi-day trains run more like luxury cruise ships with cars designed and retrofitted to romantically classic standards but

offering modern luxury amenities with points-of-interest stops and day excursions. I wouldn’t mind paying a bit more for such a service, but maybe I’m alone. Creating a modern and profitable train system in the U.S. is a problem better suited to smarter heads than mine.

But until the romance returns to the rails, it seems writers like Mr. Isaacson and I will continue to draw similar conclusions. That is, for the money and compared to other developed countries’ passenger railroads, long-distance train travel in the United States has a lot to offer and remains a worthwhile experience in spite of one key factor: the train itself. n

Holiday Table

116

kingdom 15 winter 2009

The holiday meal is a sacred affair for most Americans. Except for an NFL Sunday barbeque, there may be no meal that produces as much expectation of culinary excellence, creates as much opportunity for failure and ultimately, if successful, garners as much praise, whether for Thanksgiving or for Christmas. In an effort to help you set your holiday table right, we turned to Chef Brett Maddock at the Arnold Palmer Restaurant in La Quina, Calif., who serves a holiday meal every Thursday of the year—meaning he knows how to talk turkey.Throw in a sweet from the award-winning dessert chef Alain Robert and a cocktail from our friends at 360 Vodka and we’re sure your holidays will be festive indeed.

chef brett maddock’s turkey dinner

Serves 8

My kitchen has seen a lot of turkeys! Here at Arnold Palmer’s Restaurant we prepare the “Traditional Thanksgiving Dinner” and it has been a hit with our customers for 6 years. While everyone has their little touches they like to do when preparing for this massive feast, I keep it pretty traditional…

Roast Turkey, Stuffing, Cranberry Sauce, and I like to prepare a special Sweet Potato Brulee. The Brulee is so popular that it

is on the Dining Room menu as a side dish.

We always start on Wednesday evening preparing the turkey by rubbing it with kosher salt and pepper, and then leaving it overnight in the refrigerator. Also, we prepare the cranberry sauce the night before because it will not only be one less item to make Thursday, but also the flavor is enhanced the next day.

for the cranberry sauce

for the turkey

(prepare the day before) 4 cups frozen cranberries 1 cup orange juice 1 cup sugar 1 teaspoon salt

One 8 to 10 pound turkey, seasoned 4 ounces butter, melted 2 white onions, chopped 2 carrots, peeled and chopped 2 celery stalks, chopped

In sauce pot add all ingredients and place on medium heat, cook 30 minutes stirring occasionally. Use a hand mixer, or stiff whip to break up the cranberries. I like the berries on the chunky side.

Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees, brush the bird with butter. Lay the chopped vegetables on a sheet pay and then place a wire rack in the center with the bird breast down. Place in oven, and cook for 1 hour. Then flip the bird and cook for another 1 to 1½ hours. 15 minutes before you remove the bird, baste it with butter. Take out of oven and let rest so you keep the juices in the meat. If need be, you can always place it back in the oven for 10 minutes to warm before you serve and slice.

for the stuffing

for the sweet potato brulee

2 cups celery, small diced 1 cup onions, small diced 1 cup water chestnuts, small diced 10 cups plain croutons 3 cups chicken stock 1 tablespoon salt 1 tablespoon ground sage 1½ teaspoon ground thyme 1 teaspoon white pepper 4 ounces whole butter 6 ounces mild Italian sausage, pre cooked (optional) We prepare the stuffing outside of the bird as follows: Pre heat oven to 300 degrees. Sauté the onions, chestnuts, and celery in 2 ounces of butter on medium heat. Once the vegetables are tender add the salt, pepper, sage, and thyme. Put the croutons in a baking pan and add the cooked vegetables, chicken stock, sausage, and whole butter, cover the pan and place in the oven, bake for 45 minutes.

5 medium yams, peeled and sliced 1½ cups half and half 4 ounces soft butter Salt and white pepper to taste Sugar in the raw or brown sugar

Pre-heat oven to 300 degrees. Place yams in sauce pan and fill with water. Place on high heat and bring to a simmer.

When yams are tender drain water and put yams through a ricer. Add the butter, salt and pepper to taste. Whisk with a spatula and slowly add the half and half until the mixture is the consistency of a creamy mashed potato (you may not need to use all the cream). Place the mixture in a casserole/Brulee dish that’s about 1 to 2 inches high and spread out smoothly.

Place in oven for 15 minutes. Sprinkle the top with sugar and use a torch to burn the sugar. If you don’t have a torch you can use your oven broiler. >

117

kingdom 15 winter 2009

CARAMEL PUMPKIN FLAN Serves 6 Pumpkin pie is well and good, but if you want to upscale your holiday dinner, take a lesson from Chef Alain Roby and offer your guests this incredible alternative.

for the caramel 1/2 cup sugar

In a stainless steel pan, melt sugar over low heat, stirring constantly until the sugar has completely melted and turned a light golden brown color. It should have a thick syrupy consistency. Pour a small amount of the melted sugar into each ramekin. Use extreme caution as the melted sugar will be hot.

for the flan

3/4 cup sugar 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1 tbsp brandy 14 1/2 ounces evaporated milk 1/2 split vanilla bean 8 oz pumpkin puree 5 eggs

1. In a bowl, mix sugar with eggs and beat well. Add the pumpkin puree and dry ingredients to your bowl. Scrape the inside of the vanilla bean to remove the seeds into the bowl.

Add the brandy to your ingredients and mix well until smooth.

2. Pour the flan mixture into the ramekins, filling to the rim.

Bake in a Bain Marie 45-50 minutes in a 350˚F oven.

3. When the flan is bouncy to the touch, remove from the oven and cover with plastic wrap. Let cool overnight in the refrigerator.

4. When ready to serve, slide a knife around the inside perimeter of the ramekin and turn upside down to remove the pumpkin flan. Serve with a dollop of fresh whipped cream and accent with crystallized ginger (available in most specialty food stores).

Cookbook: Chef ALain Roby Pastry Chef Alain Roby knows a thing or two about sweets. Executive Pastry Chef of the Hyatt Hotel and Resort in Chicago, Roby holds three Guinness World Records: Tallest cooked sugar sculpture (12’ 10”), tallest chocolate sculpture (20’ 8”) and tallest Orchid Chocolate Christmas Tree (22’, built in Hong Kong). More than just a celebrity chef, Roby can bring the goods when it comes to tablesized confections as well. He’s won more than 18 top culinary awards, including The Grand Prize Gold Medal of Paris offered by the French First Mnister. He was the private pastry chef to the Shah of Iran and is a Certified Master Chef of Pastry & Sugar Artistry. Not satisfied yet? You will be after you try out a few of the recipes from his book, Alain Roby’s American Classics: Casual and Elegant Desserts. Oh how sweet it is…

118

kingdom 15 winter 2009

HOLIDAY LIBATIONS 360 silk

Holiday drinks run the gamut from fun and fruity to spicy and hot. This one from our friends at 360 Vodka falls somewhere in-between, offering a bright mint taste accented by the crispness of 360 Vodka but also adds a comforting bit of creaminess. We reckon this could be served chilled or warm, and either way would be perfect apres ski or in front of a fire at home.

1 oz 360 Vodka 1 oz McCormick Irish Cream 1/2 oz Green Creme de Menthe 6 oz Milk

maker’s mark cattail

Chestnuts roasting on an open fire go nicely with a splash of hazelnut in your glass—or so we found out when we tried this concoction from the mixmasters at the storied Maker’s Mark.

The top bourbon brand makes a great addition to any holiday party, whether you serve it neat or prepared as follows: 2 parts Maker’s Mark 2 parts DeKuyper’s Hazelnut Bliss 1 part Ginger Ale Delicious shaken or stirred.

119

kingdom 15 winter 2009

we’ve all heard the jokes and to be fair they still raise a chuckle, even at the third or fourth telling.

A hacker plays poorly all day and when he reaches the 18th tee he spots a lake. “I think I’ll drown myself in that lake,” he sighs. Quick as a flash his caddy retorts: “I don’t think you can keep your head down that long, sir.”

When a golfer declared after a particularly frustrating round, “I’d move heaven and earth to be able to break 100 on this course,” his caddy—a Scot called Mac (inevitably)— replies: “Try heaven, you’ve already moved most of the earth.”

Then there was the caddy who, when told, “you’re the worst caddy in the world,” fashioned the immortal riposte: “I doubt it, sir. That would be too much of a coincidence.”

The put-downs, staple material for standup comedians at golfing functions, paradoxically cast caddies in a doleful light—people whose place it is in life to suffer endlessly in the cause of deference and subservience. Sardonism is their only weapon of retaliation after being subjected to a good walk spoiled, and insufficiently recompensed.

In reality, the caddy’s principal duty is to befriend his (or her) clients and exhort them in every way imaginable to improve their game, score competitively and derive maximum enjoyment. The caddy who succeeds in enhancing a client’s round does so, no doubt, out of professional pride but also in the hope of landing a hefty tip from a suitably grateful golfer.

Too often these days, though, caddies and their skills are being made redundant by the use of golf cars and distancemeasuring devices. At most clubs, more money can be made from hiring out machines than human beings, yet at some well-heeled establishments caddies accompany golfers on carts in order to jump off at various stages to run ahead and ball-spot.

Most caddies are independent contractors rather than actual employees and country clubs that use them charge a bag fee before the start of the round. People are often under the erroneous impression that the caddy is the sole recipient of the fee when in fact the club and caddy master each receive a percentage—usually leaving the smallest cut for the caddy.

The upshot of this practise is that tips represent a large part of a caddy’s income and the size of these is certainly dependent upon the quality of service. So what exactly is that service, and to what degree is it physical or psychological?

Jim ‘Bones’ MacKay, who has been on Phil Mickelson’s bag for the best part of two decades, says: “I think that one very important thing a caddy does is to present options.”

Even though MacKay is talking ostensibly about his role on tour, prompting his extravagantly talented master to hit a cut 7-iron rather than a hard 8-iron into a rightto-left wind to a pin perched on a precipice, the idea about presenting options applies throughout the caddying fraternity.

As well as supplying yardages, reading greens, cleaning balls, raking traps, replacing divots, fixing pitch marks and attending flags, caddies should, in the words of Wikipedia, be able to give “insightful advice and moral support.”

This definition must cover the technique of keeping a

120

kingdom 15 winter 2009

golfer focused so his (or her) concentration doesn’t waver from the task in hand—clearly a tough skill to learn that requires considerable experience and a deep understanding of the game. But when it comes to making observations or suggesting potential solutions for a round that’s going wrong, it helps if the caddy knows the player, and their swing, well.

Most clubs use a ranking system for caddies. They start at trainee level before progressing to intermediate, captain, honor and finally championship status. Intermediate, captain and honor can usually be achieved within the first

Carry on

A generation ago, employing someone to haul your bag, read putts and dispense course-management advice was common practise. Nowadays it seems only the super-rich or Tour pros bother, though Paul Trow feels most golfers would still benefit from such skills two or three years of caddying; championship, though, takes at least six years to attain and sometimes as long as 10 years.

By that stage in their career development, many caddies have turned their attention to working on the professional tours. The financial rewards potentially outstrip anything on offer from even the wealthiest country-club members. On tour, players often pay their caddies a salary plus a bonus from their winnings. The usual scale is 5 percent for making the cut, 7 percent for a top-10 finish and 10 percent for a win.

Relationships between the great players and their

preferred bagmen, at the British Open in particular, were as fascinating as they were enduring. Back in the 1970s, pros would often employ three regular caddies: one on tour, another at the Masters, and a third at the British Open. Tom Watson, whose caddy on the PGA Tour and for his early years on the Champions Tour was the late Bruce Edwards, only had eyes for Alfie Fyles when it came to mastering the great links of Scotland and England.

Before the 2000 Open at St. Andrews, Lee Trevino telephoned Willie Aitchison to say, “Willie, I’m coming to my last >

121

kingdom 15 winter 2009

tip anderson (left) and jim ‘bones’ mackay have escorted arnold palmer and phil mickelson to major titles

dance. Can you make it too?” They had trudged 25 Opens together, including two victories. “Try and stop me,” Aitchison said.

Across the Atlantic, Jack Nicklaus’s choice of caddy was Jimmy Dickinson and was rewarded with three Claret Jugs.

When he finished building Muirfield Village in Ohio, he brought Jimmy over to provide a touch of authenticity, but the gnarled Scot was like a fish out of water.

The first caddy in this mould was James Anderson Jr., the irrepressible “Tip.” Like almost everything in modern golf, he started with Arnold Palmer at St. Andrews in 1960.

“You’re Tip Anderson?” Palmer asked when they met. “I was expecting a much older man.” “Aye,” said Tip, who was 28.

“That’s my father. You’ve got me instead.” Tip Sr. had caddied for Walter Hagen and Henry Cotton, but Tip Jr. didn’t set out to be a lifelong bagman. Rather he hoped to be a player having won the St. Andrews Boys’ Open and Fife Boys’ Championship at 16. On leaving school he worked in a golf shop but soon got bored. Then he headed out onto the Old Course and lost himself in the bracken and broom.

Famously, Palmer’s first tilt at the British Open fell one stroke shy. “I blew it,” he said. “The 17th did for me in every round till the last when I finally took Tip’s word on the 5-iron.”

Palmer had hit his second shot onto the road in every round but the last when he finally held the green. Loyally (another trait shared by all successful caddies), Tip would never be drawn on the topic other than to say: “We played a 4-iron in the first three rounds and a 5-iron in the last round.”

Palmer, who tried unsuccessfully to get Tip to caddy for him in the U.S., described him as a “sea of calm in the storm of an Open Championship.” After subsequent wins at Troon

122

kingdom 15 winter 2009

and Birkdale, their partnership was interrupted in 1964 when Palmer was unable to play at St. Andrews. So he recommended Tip to his friend Tony Lema who had never even played in the Open before, let alone over the Old Course. Lema’s subsequent five-shot victory ahead of Nicklaus thus ranks as one of the more remarkable feats in major championship history. Lema described being caddied for by Tip as a “humbling and rewarding experience,” thus turning traditional perceptions of the player-caddy relationship completely on their head. For relationship, read partnership.

Some partnerships were quirky to say the least. One unlikely combination was that of Nicklaus with the late Angelo Argea on the PGA Tour. According to his master, the colorful Greek dreamer from Ohio “never read a putt or got a yardage in his life, not for me.” This beggars the question, what exactly did he do? Nicklaus says that when he was feeling a little down, Angelo would whisper, “isn’t it about time for a song?”

And under his breath, Nicklaus would start to hum. “He was a conman, but a genuine one, if you know what I mean,” Nicklaus said. “He was fun. I enjoyed being with him.”

Staying loose in the face of adversity is a crucial attribute, according to Pete Coleman, the most successful European Tour caddy of the last 25 years with 59 victories to his name attending to nine different players, including Seve Ballesteros, Bernhard Langer and Lee Westwood.

“Any good caddy helps by giving the correct yardage and knowing what club the player should hit,” says Coleman. “But there’s nothing you can do to stop players pull-hooking or missing greens by 20 yards. You have to keep calm, keep giving the yardages and suggesting things. You watch it happen, but you can’t show

the new zealander steve williams (left) has been carrying the bag of world No.1 tiger woods since 1999

it’s affecting you. Hopefully the player gets back on track.”

Fanny Sunesson is another caddy who clearly puts her charges at ease. Her most famous liaison was with Sir Nick Faldo, and she is currently enjoying more of the limelight in harness with Henrik Stenson, winner of the 2009 Players Championship.

For Faldo she was “the 15th club in my bag” while she brings a touch of ‘home away from home’ to Stenson by conversing in Swedish with him as they go about their business.

Like Sunesson, Steve Williams was seemingly born to caddy. “From the age of ten I spent all my weekends caddying at my home club of Paraparaumu Beach [in New Zealand],” he said.

“Despite getting down to a two-handicap by the age of 13, I found myself enjoying caddying more than playing.” Prior to the ‘marriage’ of his life (now 10 years’ old) to Tiger Woods, he built up an impeccable C.V. working for Peter Thomson, Greg Norman, and Raymond Floyd. “I had 10 great years with Raymond, [but then] I received a call from Tiger inquiring whether I’d be interested in caddying for him. It was an easy decision to join Tiger, but a difficult one to leave Raymond who was like a father to me. As they say the rest is history.”

Another ‘marriage’ currently blossoming is a genuine one—that of Mark Calcavecchia and his second wife Brenda Nardecchia. Whether their on-course partnership lasts as long as that of Woods and Williams remains to be seen. After all, Calc is not exactly known for his sang froid.

One can only speculate about their working dialog, but chances are it won’t be anything like this exchange...

A golfer, playing dreadfully, found his ball lying 180 yards from the green. “Do you think I can get there with a 5-iron?” he asked. Came the withering reply: “Eventually.” n

“you have to keep calm and keep giving yardages” pete coleman

Caddy or Caddie?

The word ‘caddy’ derives from the French word ‘cadet’, meaning ‘boy’ or the youngest of the family. Cadets de Gascogne, captains serving in the French army in the 15th century, were the youngest sons of the aristocratic families of Gascony. The word ‘cadet’ appears in English from 1610 and ‘caddie’ or ‘cadie’ appears shortly after that in 1634.

The first caddy whose name is recorded by history was Andrew Dickson. He became an Edinburgh clubmaker but caddied for the Duke of York as a boy in 1681.

General-purpose porters or errand boys in Scottish towns, particularly those delivering water, were known as caddies from 1730, but the first reference to the carrying of golf clubs was recorded in 1857.

In those early days there were no bags and the clubs were carried in bundles, which can be clearly seen in paintings of the time.

123

kingdom 15 winter 2009

124

kingdom 15 winter 2009

Trump on Golf October 27, 2009 since i’ve always advised people to find work they love doing, I’ve been especially pleased that my golf courses have met with such acclaim. That’s definitely walking the talk, and every time I walk onto one of my golf courses I realize that the passion I have for golf has been very well translated into reality.

I have seven golf courses at this point, and several have been rated in the top 50 in the country, with the Clubhouse at Trump International Golf Club in Palm Beach being No.1 in the country and Trump National in Bedminster, New Jersey, being ranked No.5. Several properties have recently received great accolades from Golf World, Golf Digest and Golf Magazine. It’s been an exciting and rewarding time, and the best is yet to come.

I know that if you are reading kingdom Magazine, you are more than likely a golfer and I don’t have to go into the pleasures of the game. You golf for a reason and so do I, and the great thing about golf is that its appeal is as broad as it is historic. So I’d like to share a bit of trivia relating to the birthplace of golf with you, which goes along with the theme of kingdom.

Golf originated in Scotland, and Mary, who was later to become known as Queen of Scots, loved and played the game. When she went to France as a young girl, Louis, King of France, knew that Mary played the game, so he had a golf course built for her enjoyment. It was the first golf course outside of Scotland.

As he was concerned for her safety, King Louis had cadets from a military school accompany her for protection while she played. Mary liked this idea, and when she returned to Scotland she brought the idea with her. While her return to Scotland was ill-fated (to put it mildly), the practice of having ‘cadets’—or caddies, as they became known—wasn’t. To this day they are an important part of golf and a part of golf history as well.

From now on, I’ll be checking in with you via this column in kingdom Magazine. Until next time, play with passion, be sure to visit one of my beautiful courses—and always remember: Arnold Palmer is KING. With best wishes,

Donald J. Trump

125

kingdom 15 winter 2009

Whether you’re an early riser or someone who lives for sunsets on the beach, Mexico is a place for luxury adventure

Two Sides to

MEXIC 126

kingdom 15 winter 2009

punta sur golf course

CO

In-between making films, the rakish actor Errol Flynn used to escape to Mexico in high style, sailing down the California coast on his yacht and living it up south of the border. If Flynn were around today, he’d want to pack his golf clubs along with his sense of adventure. Long described as an “emerging” golf destination, the day is drawing near when Mexican golf will be described as having arrived—indeed, that day may be here. Excellent courses are on offer in a number of locales, along with the always-present great beaches, sailing, fishing, cultural opportunities and delicious food. If you want to live it up like royalty, Mexico may be just what you’re looking for. Here are our suggested stops: One for those who like sunrises, and one for those who like sunsets. Buen viaje!

SUNRISE Whether on a guided tour of the ruins at Chichen Itza or via an ill-remembered college spring break, many Americans’ first experience with Mexico comes via the Yucatan peninsula. In fact, the peninsula’s beaches hold more than just inebriated collegians, and the historical offerings are among the best in the world, boasting perhaps the finest concentration of ancient Mesoamerican archaeological sites to be found anywhere. This is a place for kings—and a place for kings to play.

Golf As one of Mexico’s most popular regions, it’s not surprising that there’s a course or two on the Mayan Riviera that will put your clubs to good use. Among these, El Manglar Golf Course is an excellent first stop [www.vidantagolf.com]. A Jack Nicklaus design run by Vidanta Golf, which operates a handful of top courses in Mexico, El Manglar’s 18 holes wind around 28 bunkers, two lakes and the natural vegetation of the Mayan jungle—all of which adds to the challenge of this lush beauty. Hole 7 puts players into the wind facing three bunkers around the green; Hole 17 adds a lake to its sand and helps >

127

kingdom 15 winter 2009

Michael O’Bryon

Mayakoba golf classic

golfers prepare for El Manglar’s final hole, which features an island-like green guarded by a white-sand filled trap. And of course there’s always the wind.

El Camaleón Golf Club at the exclusive and lovely Mayakoba Resort in Playa del Carmen is another great option.

It’s not just good, it’s the site of The Mayakoba Golf Classic— the first PGA TOUR event to ever be contested outside of the United States and Mexico (mayakobagolfclassic.com). In the three years since the tournament began, Greg Norman’s Great White Shark Enterprises has turned it into one of the finest events on the entire schedule (Norman designed the course and his company runs the event). The 7,039-yard layout bends through three distinct landscapes: mangrove jungles, limestone canals and picture-perfect oceanfront sand.

A massive underground canyon features into the opening fairway, while access to the course is via a convenient ferry. A Fairmont Hotels & Resorts property, everything is first class.

While top golf could be considered a relatively recent addition to Mexico, the Cancun Golf Club at Pok-Ta-Pok is what might be termed an early example—from all the way back in 1976. A Robert Trent Jones, Jr., design, it’s just 20 minutes from the airport and absolutely beautiful. Other Yucatan options include the Moon Palace Golf Course in Cancun, the Cozumel Country Club (on the island of Cozumel, a quick ferry ride away), and the Golf Club of Playacar, in the town of the same name.

Other Attractions Before golf—before anything—there were the beaches. Today, the most desirable stretch of waterfront real estate runs from Playa Tortugas at the north end of Cancun to Playa Delfines at the south. Between the two, swimming, water sports, restaurants and bars abound. New government projects are securing the famous white sands and ensuring the wide expanses of romantic beachfront remain for all visitors.

Among them, Playa Las Perlas offers some of the safest swimming, with small waves and plenty of crowds. Playa Juventad, on the other hand, is lesser known and more popular with offshore snorkelers and scuba divers.

The Eastern-facing beaches are the most luxurious, with amazing Caribbean aqua waves and postcard scenery.

That said, they’re also among the roughest for swimming.

The party set will head for Playa Chac Mool, across from the infamous Señor Frogs bar and restaurant. Great fun and crowd-watching abound.

No trip to the Yucatan is complete without a stop

by Chichen Itza and its famous stepped pyramids. Dating from the 7th to the 13th centuries, these ruins cover approximately six square miles and hold a wealth of Mayan history. More than 30 buildings in this ancient kingdom still exist to visit, while many more have been reduced to little more than mounds. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, this is one to see. >

129

kingdom 15 winter 2009

Food & Shelter If you’re after a Mexican vacation that’s more James Bond martinis than Animal House tequila shots then the Grand Mayan Riviera Maya near Cancun is for you. Exclusive, luxurious and dramatically elegant, the Grand Mayan Riviera Maya is a private escape that blends cultural history with top-drawer modern amenities to create a world fit for kings of any age. A full-service Brio Spa soothes the kinks out of a day on course—or a late night out and about. Accordingly, dining at the property is as good, with an array of top-tier restaurants and bars on-site. We like Tramonto, a relatively formal Italian/ American experience that offers a welcome alternative to the inevitable tacos and enchiladas you’ll be enjoying. Likewise, when you feel the urge for local flavor, Frida’s Grill features an extensive Mexican menu and a selection of tequilas you won’t believe. Thankfully for all who enjoy the finer things in life, there are several Grand Mayan Resorts throughout Mexico.

Information on these and their sister properties can be found at mayanresorts.com or directly on the excellent management Grupo Vidanta’s Web site: grupovidanta.com.

130

kingdom 15 winter 2009

From Top: the moorings, grand luxxe and Grand Mayan. Above right: baja’s beautiful coast

SUNSET

Food & Shelter

After seeing what the Yucatan has to offer, a trip to the Pacific side of things might well be in order. Many of the more dramatic photos of Mexican adventures are taken on the sunset side of the country, in the rugged romance of the Baja Peninsula or among the romantic beauty of Nuevo Vallarta.

On Baja, the city of La Paz offers old-world charm with modern amenities and is a nice alternative to some of the better-known Baja destinations. Likewise, with activities that range from the inland rain forest to the endless beaches, it’s no wonder Nuevo Vallarta (near Puerto Vallarta) is attracting not only visitors, but residential opportunities as well.

The Moorings Baja location frequently works with the superb CostaBaja Resort—convenient because, in addition to the fantastic accommodations, CostaBaja will soon offer a great round of golf as well (costabajaresort.com). Steps from the shimmering Sea of Cortez and a 10-minute shuttle ride from the fascinating city of La Paz, this resort is the complete ticket to living it up. The resort’s Marina Village—Pueblo Marinero—features galleries, boutiques, and gourmet dining.

We like the Shell Museum, and its unbelievable collection.

An extensive trail system on property makes for great hiking, while the resort’s Espiritu Spa will sort out any tired muscles.

There are a few options for dining, but those in a festive mood will find the CostaBaja Beach Club Bar & Restaurant to their liking. When the Gary Player Signature Golf Course opens here in 2010, we’ll be there with clubs waiting. The course is meant to be a stunner.

Down the coast things are as beautiful. Grupo Vidanta should have their new Grand Luxxe Nuevo Vallarta open by the time this comes out, and it’s going to be incredible. High ceilings, spacious rooms featuring the finest materials— white leather, imported wood, polished stone and top amenities—and white-glove service will be the norm at this lifestyle resort.

After visiting one of these properties, it’ll be tough to leave Mexico—and the good news is that you don’t necessarily have to. With purchase options from the likes of BBVA Compass bank, owning a home in Mexico has never been easier (see sidebar).

Sailing If you can picture yourself on the deck of a luxury yacht, standing tall with your face to the wind while someone mixes you a tropical drink, then you can make it happen.

The Moorings Baja location offers luxury yacht charters that can turn any vacation into the experience of a lifetime. With numerous locations around the world, Moorings has a charter fleet of top vessels and makes sure each is outfitted with all the gear you’ll need, right down to the snorkeling gear and a BBQ grill. Yachts can be chartered for self-sailing or with a skipper and cook—the absolute height of luxury cruising.

Find out more about The Moorings locations and services at www.moorings.com.

If you’re down the coast in Nuevo Vallarta and fancy getting on the water, the definitively named Nuevo Vallarta Tours offers sailing voyages that include snorkeling and even whale watching (nuevovallartatours.com). Good fun, naturally.

131

kingdom 15 winter 2009

>

Golf If you can’t wait for the new Player course, Paraiso del Mar is open now (paradiseofthesea.com). An Arthur Hills design, this links-style course will remind golfers of courses in the British Isles—with fantastically better weather. If that’s not enough for you, or if you feel like getting out of La Paz, the Grand Mayan Los Cabos, on the southernmost tip of the peninsula, offers fantastic accommodations and the Punta Sur Golf Course (mayanresorts. com). For a change of scenery, Sonora is just across the top of the Sea of Cortez (also called the Gulf of California)—worth the trip because of the lovely Península De Cortés golf course. With nine of its 18 holes on the startling blue ocean, the rest playing among golden dunes and deep green paspallum grass, the experience is as visual as it is top quality golf (vidantagolf.com).

FINALLY Whichever side of the country you choose for adventuring, we’re confident you’ll enjoy your time in Mexico—whether you stay for several weeks or for a lifetime. And while the fishing, dining, sailing, culture and food have always been first-class, we’re glad that in addition to swimsuit and a sunblock, it’s now imperative that you remember to pack your golf clubs. Play hard, then siesta. Que bueno. n

your dream home in Mexico is easier than ever with BBVA Compass While some visitors to Mexico stay only for a few days, others want the experience to last a lifetime. If you fall into the latter crowd, you should know that owning a second home in Mexico is easier than you might think— thanks to BBVA Compass. The bank takes all of the guesswork out of real estate financing in Mexico with its Bi-National Mortgage loans.

“It’s providing a turnkey product for the customer,” says Jose L. Pascual, Senior Vice President at BBVA Compass. “And it starts with a contact person in the U.S.” Rather than going through a number of contacts on both sides of the border, a single BBVA Compass representative walks you through all steps of the purchasing process, from your initial contact with realtors all the way through to closing.

“One contact,” Pascual says. “The same person talks to you about everything.”

In addition to all of the financial aspects, BBVA Compass partner, BBVA Bancomer, helps with the necessary permitting and with the establishment of a trust for home financing—a legal requirement in Mexico that can prove daunting without the aid of an in-country representative. BBVA takes care of it all, ensuring your purchase is safe, secure and hassle-free.

Fixed and adjustable rate programs are available for purchase or refinance of a condominium, single-family residence or lot in Mexico. If you’re looking for a safe and direct second home purchase south of the border, a Bi-National Mortgage loan from BBVA Compass is the best option.

——— For more information on Bi-National Mortgages and how to apply, email BBVA Compass at: yourdreamhomeinmexico@bbvacompass.com

peninsula

132

kingdom 15 winter 2009

Flying Russ Meyer has seen the aviation industry though plenty of ups and downs—now he’s a member of the National Aviation Hall of Fame.

Here’s a look at the man, and his take on changes in the business...

134

kingdom 15 winter 2009

as a young boy in davenport, iowa, russ meyer used to sit on the roof of his family’s home and watch planes fly by.

This July, just shy of his 77th birthday, the pilot and aviation business leader was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame (NAHF), honored for his pioneering work through decades of seismic changes in the flight industry. In fact, from Meyer’s beginnings as a fighter pilot through his three decades at the helm of Cessna, the business of aviation has had almost as many ups and downs as the planes themselves.

The technologies, the styles and notion of private aircraft ownership all shifted with the movements in the economy and trends of the times. The result is today, better aircraft are available to more people than ever, and Meyer is largely to thank for that—hence the NAHF induction. Presenting the award at the ceremony, was Meyer’s longtime friend and fellow pilot, Arnold Palmer. “It was the icing on the cake,” says Meyer. “Forty-eight years as friends.”

The two met while Meyer, a Harvard Law grad, was working at the firm of Arter & Hadden in Ohio. Palmer was already working with the firm’s Mark McCormack.

High “We met shortly after I joined the firm and realized we shared a lot of common interests, like golf and aviation,” Meyer said. “I helped him buy or lease all of his aircraft over the years. I can name every one of them—and he’s had a lot of them.”

Most of those have been Cessnas, including Palmer’s current ride, a top-of-the-line Citation X—his second.

More than just a friend of Meyer’s and fan of the Cessna brand, Palmer has been active on the business side of aviation as well.

“We’re awfully proud of our relationship with Arnold, which goes back to 1975 when he took his very first Citation 1,” said Meyer. “He’s really worked closely with us. He’s respected as an aviator, and when we announced we were developing a Citation 3, he would help us host engineering briefings to customers and prospects. Same thing with the Citation X.” And while the technology and planes have changed dramatically since Meyer got into the business, so has the nature of aircraft ownership. Essential to many companies but expensive, aircraft became more accessible with the advent of fractional ownership programs, which allow customers to purchase portions and use of an aircraft or even just flight hours.

“The fractional share industry really began to blossom in the 1990s,” said Meyer. “It made business jets available to people who could not buy a whole airplane.”

It took the industry a few years to work out the kinks, but a few leading companies have emerged and today are offering a service that, as they say, is a bit of a “no–brainer” to business leaders. “For the same amount you’d spend on a new airplane, you’d get a better class of airplane,” says Flight Options VP of Sales and Marketing Jay Heublein.

Heublein’s company offers top-drawer aircraft to corporate buyers and high net worth individuals who want the access to business jets but who don’t want to, as Heublein puts it, “burden themselves with ownership—there’s maintenance, flight crews and all kinds of things you have to manage.”

Flight Options (flightoptions.com) takes care of all of that and more, and has evolved with the market to present ownership options that fit current conditions. Most recently, that has meant an increased emphasis on Flight Options’popular Jet PASS program.

“What we’ve seen in the last year with the economy, people don’t want to buy assets, they want to lease,” said Heublein. “Our Jet PASS Select program, which allows customers to buy time in 25-hour increments, has been an extremely appealing product.”

Additionally, as Heublein points out, customers enjoy newer technology and better aircraft with fractional ownership programs. For example, Flight Options recently started offering the new Embraer Phenom 300 as part of

the phenom 300 is being offered exclusively in fractional ownership by flight options

its fractional ownership program. State-of-the-art in every way, the jet has a range of nearly 2,000 miles, holds seven passengers with golf clubs and luggage and flies high—up to 45,000 ft—and fast, cruising at 518 mph.

“We’re excited about the aircraft,” Heublein says. “It outperforms everything in its class, coming in at by far the lowest operating cost per hour.”

Meyer, who served as Chairman and CEO of Cessna from 1975 to 2005—producing near 67,000 aircraft in the process—says that technology has always driven the industry.

“When I came into the industry in the mid 1960s, for the next 10 to 15 years the industry we were still primarily building propeller airplanes—high volumes, 18,000 in both 1977 and 1978, and we built more than half of them here at Cessna.”

As jets came onto the market, Meyer said the industry grew steadily. “We had a bump with the recession in the middle 1980s, but since then we’ve had almost 20 years of steady growth.”

Along with that growth, Cessna developed its own fractional ownership program. The newly renamed CitationAir (citationair.com, formerly Citation Shares) is a division of Cessna that exclusively flies Cessna’s Citation aircraft. Its products go beyond fractional ownership, as well, offering blocks-of-time purchases with Jet Cards, Jet Shares, Jet Management and most recently, Corporate Solutions. The last aims to help corporations looking to reduce capital expenditures and operating costs maintain the travel needs of their executives. One of their solutions is the Supplemental Lift program, which gives companies access to CitationAir’s entire fleet, including the Citation Bravo, Citation CJ3, Citation XLS, and the Citation Sovereign, without the financial commitment >

135

kingdom 15 winter 2009

Russ Meyer A look at the incredible resume of the National Aviation Hall of Fame’s latest member: required by traditional programs. Additionally, CitationAir’s other programs are incredibly flexible, offering a range of options to fit all needs with great savings. Of course, the benefits of fractional ownership aren’t limited to costs, Meyer says. Avoiding the major airports and airlines is another plus.

“The hassle of getting to the airport early, security, transportation on the ground,” he said. “I never go to LAX; but I might land at Van Nuys, John Wayne, Santa Monica… There are so many general aviation airports, even in cities like Wichita.”

As a matter of fact, the small airport benefit—which can both save time outside of larger cities and get flyers into areas not otherwise serviced by the bigger airlines—is one of the key points of a new “No Plane, No Gain” campaign in which Palmer is participating with the National Business Aviation Administration and the General Aviation Manufacturers Association. The King is lending his voice as an industry spokesman, lauding the benefits of business aircraft. In a cable TV ad that’s part of the effort, Palmer will talk about the fact that he’s been able to compete in both golf and business and still live in Latrobe, “an area not serviced by the airlines,” Meyer points out.

As for the Palmer’s commitment and involvement in aviation, Meyer has only praise: “He’s an excellent pilot,” he says of Palmer. “If he had not been a professional golfer, he would have been a professional aviator.”

Strong words, coming from a man who was inducted into the NAHF on the same day as Jimmy Stewart and Neil Armstrong. n russ meyer

• • • • • • • • • • •

• • • • • • • • • • • • • •

136

kingdom 15 winter 2009

•

july 19, 1932: Born in Davenport, Iowa.

1954: b.a. degree, Yale University 1955-58: Jet fighter pilot, U.S. Air Force 1958-61: Jet fighter pilot, U.S. Marine Air Corps Reserves (Meyer is one of the few pilots to have both Air Force and Navy wings) 1961: Law degree, Harvard Law School 1961-1966: Attorney for Arter & Hadden, Cleveland, Ohio. Met and befriended Arnold Palmer 1966-1974: President and Chief Executive Officer, Grumman American Aviation Corporation.

1974: Joined Cessna Aircraft Company.

1974, 1982, 1994: Chairman of the Board, General Aviation Manufacturer’s Association (GAMA).

1975: Became Cessna’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.

1986: Conceived of and helped create the Citation Special Olympics Airlift to take thousands of Special Olympians to and from International Summer Games, an event that became the largest peacetime airlift in aviation history.

1986: Meyer and Cessna receive the Collier Trophy for the worldwide safety record of the Cessna Citation fleet of business jets.

1986: Forced to downsize Cessna’s workforce to 3,000, from the 12,000 they had employed in 1981.

1987: Appointed by President Ronald Reagan to the Aviation Safety Commission; also appointed to Reagan’s Commission on Executive, Legislative and Judicial Salaries.

1991: Received the George S.Dively Award for corporate public initiative, from Harvard University. The award was presented for creating Cessna’s 21st Street Training Program.

1993: Appointed by President Bill Clinton to the National Commission to Ensure a Strong and Competitive Airline Industry.

1994: The key figure behind passage of the General Aviation Revitalization Act, which revived production of piston-powered aircraft.

1995: Receives the Wright Brothers memorial Trophy, and the Meritorious Service to Aviation Award, for his work on the Revitalization Act. 1996: Cessna again receives the Collier Trophy, for developing the Citation X, the fastest business jet in the world.

1996: Inducted in the Kansas Aviation Hall of Fame.

1997: Hosted President Bill Clinton in Wichita, having persuaded him to visit the training program.

1998: Named Kansan of the Year.

2004: Appointed by U.S. Secretary of Transportation to the FAA’s Management Advisory Council. He is still a council member.

2005: Retired from Cessna as Chairman Emeritus, having produced 67,000 Cessna aircraft.

2007: Completed fundraising and building the new Boys and Girls Club in Wichita; hosted President George W. Bush in Wichita to dedicate the club.

2009: Inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame.

FEBRUARY 16 – 21, 2010

Live out your golf fantasy by teaming up with one of the world’s premier PGA TOUR professionals during the Mayakoba Golf Classic, Mexico’s Only PGA TOUR Event.

Experience what it is like to be a PGA TOUR professional for a day while competing inside the ropes at El Camaleon Golf Club in Playa del Carmen Mexico.

Buy your Pro-Am position today for $4,000 dollars and receive 25% discount on a second position when you mention this Ad.

w w w. M a y a k o b a G o l f C l a s s i c . c o m PHO NE: (8 88 ) 6 6 SHARK

Cognac:

Refinement in a glass Exotic woods, fine tobacco, tropical flowers and no excuse needed; cognac is the perfect expression of elegance in a glass, whatever the occasion

138

kingdom 15 winter 2009

the best cost upwards of $6,000 per bottle, and if it’s authentic there really isn’t a “worst.” Cognacs may vary in price, but if it’s the real deal—that is, if it’s produced in the small region of France known by the same name—the cognac in your glass is likely an elegant, beautiful way to celebrate appreciation, no matter the cost.

Cognac is the best-known variety of brandy, and is named for the southwestern region of France in which it’s grown. Strict legal criteria exist for the drink officially named cognac, which must be produced according to a three-centuries-old process, which involves two distillations in copper pot stills and at least two years of aging in French oak. Nearly all modern cognac is made from the Ugni Blanc grape, though Folle Blanche and Colombard grapes are also permitted. The wines made from these grapes are known as “eaux de vie,” which means “waters of life.” By itself, the wines aren’t great—dry, acidic and thin, first discovered as the product of grape waste and meant as wine for the poor. But what makes for poor drinking turns out to be excellent for distilling. The necessary two distillations result in an eau de vie without color and near 70 percent alcohol. These are aged in French oak for at least two years and eventually blended to create cognac. The duration of aging will determine the eventual quality rating, which is calculated as the youngest eau de vie used in the blend. (Eaux de vie from different periods are often blended, with the goal being a consistency of taste among an estate’s offerings, no matter the year of production.)

Whatever one’s personal taste, better cognacs are often complex affairs, incorporating woods, flowers, tobacco and other soil characteristics into their flavors. Offerings from Hennessy, Remy Martin and other well-known marques remain fine options, but the following boutique cognacs are great for special occasions, even if they require a bit more effort to find. Congratulations to you should you pour one of these, even if the occasion is nothing more than the end of the day. (Prices are per bottle.)

Basic Grades of Cognac

—— VS, very special The youngest brandy is stored for the minimum required two years.

—— VSOP, very special old pale Youngest brandy stored at least four years in a cask, though the wood is likely older.

—— XO, extra old Youngest brandy stored at least six years, usually more than 20.

Frapin

Established in 1270 as wine growers, the Frapin family has maintained its position as premier distillers for more than 20 generations. Including at least one famous Renaissance humanist in the family tree, the Frapins are best known for their excellent cognacs, which come from the crumbly, chalky soil on the estate. The “Cuvée 15 ans d’age” is relatively young but offers a startlingly light and pure essence. Likewise, the traditional V.I.P. X.O. is a floral example of the genre. For a true taste of the family’s genius, Frapin’s 1888 Vintage is a rare treat; only 1,888 bottles were created, sold in a wooden box with a block of perfume and gilded gold fob watch included.

Presented in an exceptional hand-made crystal carafe, some cognacs in this blend pre-date the 1888 on the label. The elixir came about as a tribute to Pierre Frapin and the gold medal he won for his cognac at the 1888 Universal Exhibition in Paris, for which Gustave Eiffel had just completed his tower.

Hard to find, this complex mix of subtleties is well worth the search.

—— frapin cuvee 1888 As the family describes it: “Dried fruits, nuts, raisins, prunes, candied oranges and cacao, tonka beans and coffee… vineyard flowers, a flash of scents of the lime tree, pepper, soft spices, white honey, vanilla, leather and tropical woods.” More than a mouthful at near $5,400 when it was first available, expect higher prices from collectors that snapped up the original 1,888 bottles. www.cognac-frapin.com >

139

kingdom 15 winter 2009

Ragnaud-Sabourin

Léopold Gourmel

The Ragnaud-Sabourin family owns approximately 123 acres of Most cognacs have histories, some dating back to the 13th century. vineyards in the Grande Champagne region, which they’ve put Léopold Gourmel is a bit different. Created in 1972 by two to good use for more than a century producing their beautiful Frenchmen, Pierre Voisin and Olivier Blanc, this house was named cognacs. Notably, the estate is today managed by the family’s for Pierre’s grandfather. Gourmel’s care for his garden, his healthy female descendants: Denise, Annie and Patricia Ragnaud- lifestyle and regard for nature fit the pair’s vision of a natural Sabourin. The family’s mission has been the same since 1850: cognac and an environmentally responsible house. No chemicals only produce the best quality, in limited quantities. They do or pesticides of any kind are used to tend the vines on this firstso in the family cellars with a substantial stock of eau-de-vie growth vineyard, which features roots going down more than 100 and excruciating patience. Among the estate’s best offerings, feet. Non-toasted barrels made from old French oak are used, no L’Heritage Ragnaud and Le Paradis both comprise brandies additives or caramel colorations are added, vintages are not mixed, dating from the turn of the last century, the latter blended and filtering and bottling are done with minimum temperature with pre-1870 distillations (preserved before a plague of aphids change. Léopold Gourmel thus stands apart from other cognacs.

While all of the house’s offerings are worth exploring, we like the wiped out nearly 40 percent of France’s grape vines).

Cognac Age des Éspices. Contemporary and elegant packaging —— complement the flavor, which is round, leathery and worthy of a heritage ragnaud cold evening in a deep forest lodge.

Wood and spice in perfect balance at near $900.

—— le paradis cognac age des épices Complex, rich and rare; near $970.

Woody sweetness with pepper, coriander, ginger and www.ragnaud-sabourin.com butterscotch lingering in a complex finish for near $525. www.leopold-gourmel.com

Kelt Cognac

While most cognacs are happy to age quietly in barrels tucked away in caves, Kelt Cognac is not. Perhaps the best-traveled spirit sold today, it spends three months at sea before it’s even ready to go to market. After a Kelt master blender combines cognacs from the estate’s cellar, some of which date back to 1842, the blend is returned to the oak cask in which it has been aging—then it’s put to sea. All Kelt Cognac circumnavigates the globe on a three-month voyage, the “Tour du Monde” allowing for what Kelt calls a vital “ocean maturation” step in the aging process. The idea comes from the notion that the voyage from Europe to the New World was a crucial step in the aging process for 18th century cognacs. The constant rolling motion of the ship combined with temperature extremes and changes in air pressure compel the wood to impart unique aspects of its character into the flavor and cause the blend to bond in a way not otherwise possible. Following the tour du monde, the cognacs rest in stone structures called chais before being bottled. Kelt claims the resulting character makes it appear the spirits have aged additional years, “or even a decade.”

Whatever credence you lend to the cruise, there’s no denying Kelt Cognacs are superb. Their best is the Petra, a mahogany-colored gem that maintains a pleasant flavor on the palate.

—— kelt petra Jasmine and honeysuckle meet vanilla and cedar with a bit of tobacco and tropical wood. Stunning at roughly $1,000. www.keltcognac.com

140

kingdom 15 winter 2009

Paradise is more than an idea. In fact, it’s welcoming owners. Introducing Luma, Vallarta’s

premier luxury beachfront enclave. Step out onto its terraces and imagine calling this soulful community home, with its saltwater infinity pools, lush landscaping, wellbeing center and lifestyle concierge, and access to championship golf, tennis, spa and marina of Paradise Village.To learn more visit lumaliving.com.

N O W O P E N . Move-in ready beachfront homes. TOWER ONE IS 60% SOLD. Tower Two now selling.

FROM THE $50 0,0 0 0s. Visit our on-site mo del at Paseo de los Cocoteros 56 Sur, Nuevo Vallar ta.

From US/Canada call 1.866.554.LU M A or visit lumaliving.com

Man oF Letters 142

kingdom 15 winter 2009

Libraries are full of book worms, while the real world has more than its fair share of hyperactive go-getters. Rarely, though, do the same names crop up on both spreadsheets. Sport business guru Alastair Johnston, as Paul Trow discovered when reading between the lines, is the exception who proves the rule alastair johnston sure is a busy man. in addition to acting as Arnold Palmer’s principal representative in business negotiations, fulfilling a similar role for The Royal & Ancient Golf Club, serving as executive vice-chairman of International Management Group and maintaining an 18-handicap, he has just become chairman of one of the world’s leading soccer clubs. You know what they say? If you want something done in a hurry, ask a busy man. The busier the better as far as Glasgow Rangers’ silverware-hungry fans are concerned.

But the 61-year-old Scot, born in the post-war tenements of Scotland’s biggest city, is likely to be remembered by generations to come for a completely separate reason to his astonishing capacity for multi-(millionaire)-tasking on both sides of the Atlantic.

For someone whose hectic lifestyle involves jetting across continents to seal mega-deals on behalf of his (already) well-heeled clients, it is doubtful whether he finds much time to read a book, let alone write one. And as for collecting the things—isn’t that something quaint old folks liked doing centuries ago? Well, yes and no, actually. Johnston is very much rooted in the present, yet his target is the pursuit of a 100 percent complete library of golfing literature—something that was, for any number of reasons, beyond the wildest dreams of all previous (and most contemporary) collectors.

While balancing the books for Palmer, IMG founder Mark McCormack and numerous other clients in his day job, it seems accountancy-trained Johnston manages to balance books in his spare time as well—on shelves, in cupboards, on desktops, in nooks and crannies—all around his home in the affluent Cleveland, Ohio suburb of Pepper Pike, in fact.

Johnston’s next golfing bibliography (only 10 copies published per year, each with a value at auction in excess of $1,000) will tell the tale of a product that is now not far short of 20,000 individual components.

Fortunately, given an annual purchasing habit that can stretch to 800 books and hundreds of thousands of dollars, Johnston has expanded the physical dimensions of his house at approximately the same rate as his library. The storage space added up to 2,800 sq. ft. at the last count.

However, it is doubtful whether, no matter how much he extends his home, it could ever match the value of its contents.

Without exaggeration, Johnston’s collection is a priceless asset, an unparalleled snapshot of the game’s history. Inevitably, this realization prompted my opening question: does he insure his library? “Yes,” came the answer, “but insurance is expensive. A lot of this is irreplaceable and thus too valuable to insure.”

The collection is, indeed, unparalleled, but how did Johnston, rugged in a Springsteen sort of way when we met, manage to become the black-tie master of his own parallel universes? And how could he possibly have afforded it? The story he tells is unique to an era that has already long been remaindered.

“I started doing this [collecting golf books] before it became trendy and expensive,” he says. “Now the financial requirements are massive and it would be very difficult, nigh on impossible, to assemble the collection I’ve got. I also acquired a lot of different publications from an older generation of collectors.

“In those days [the early 1970s], these items weren’t sold much through auctioneers like Phillips and Sothebys. Now, it would be impossibly expensive to buy many of the items I acquired when I started. My main aim is to get every book published in English. I am what you might call a ‘completist’, with a drive to collect everything. That’s a big challenge.

“Now we’re in a recession, there might only be 300-350 golf books published per year for the foreseeable future whereas in previous years that figure could be twice as many.

That said, I probably know 25 percent of the authors personally.

From day to day, I’m never far away from this subject.”

And never was, it seems. It all started for Johnston back in 1968 when he was helping to keep the crowds at bay as a golf-mad Strathclyde University student on summer vacation during the Open at Carnoustie [won, as it turned out, by future client Gary Player].

“I was just a kid doing a job holding the ropes when I saw this guy in a raincoat with a briefcase—as I learned, over the years, a typical Mark [McCormack] stance. I went up to introduce myself and tell him I wanted to work for him. I had 90 seconds to get my message across and he then gave me his business card.

“When I contacted him a few months later, I wasn’t sure whether he’d remember me. But he did—this is Mark we’re talking about because he remembered everyone—and >

“My main aim is to get every book published in English.

I am a ‘completist’ with a drive to collect everything”

143

kingdom 15 winter 2009

the 1457 scottish acts of parliament, left, contain what is thought to be the first published reference to the game of golf

144

he suggested I came out to Cleveland on a student visa. So I asked him whether he knew anyone who’d give me a posting for the duration of my visa, and he just told me to come.

“So I went to America to work for Mark in the summer of 1969. I spent four months in Cleveland, working in the mail room and store room. There were dozens of books on the shelves, original copies, just about everything from the old days to the Big Three—Palmer, Player and Nicklaus—and I started reading them. Mark, having noted my interest in them, told me to take the books with me when I returned home.

“Back in Scotland, I realized I had the nucleus of something here. I trained as a chartered accountant with Arthur Andersen and they sent me travelling everywhere. Wherever I went I’d look in the Yellow Pages for antiquarian book shops and then jog down there with a rucksack on my back.

“It was perfect for me, combining jogging with collecting—though the book-shop owners weren’t always that pleased to see a sweaty Scot burst through the door.”

These days, he is more reliant on Googling than jogging to keep the library up to date. “Unlike my predecessors as collectors, who had to do it the hard way, I can sit in front of my computer and trawl Amazon and eBay.” He doesn’t confine his collection to books and has a number of antique documents under lock and key as well, but even a collector as voracious as Johnston has his parameters.

“I don’t collect magazines, tournament programs or course guides. In reality, I have to draw the line somewhere.”

Rare artefacts in his possession include a letter written in 1680 by King James II extoling the pleasures of golf to his niece, the Countess of Lichfield. He also has a copy of the 1457 Scottish Acts of Parliament, thought to be the first mention of golf in print, and an original copy of The Goff, the first book devoted to the game written by Thomas Mathison in 1743.

kingdom 15 winter 2009

He doesn’t say what he paid for The Goff, but someone reputedly offered $100,000 for it in 2003. It is clear Johnston could make a fortune by selling up, but he’s resisted the temptation for decades and has no intention of cashing in—ever!

“I’m in the fortunate position of having no reason to sell.

It would be impossible for anyone to build this collection again, and my friends have prevailed on me not to break it up. It’s the magnitude of it when congregated that makes it unique.”

So, after marveling at the industry and attention to detail that achieved such magnitude, the obvious question is: what will happen to his library long-term, where does its destiny lie? “Developers are building golf resorts all over the place and some ask how much I want for the library so they can relocate it in their clubhouse, but in all honesty I’m not interested. As long as I’m relatively active, it will stay here [in Pepper Pike]. But [ultimately] I have plans for it to come back to Scotland and I want to provide for it financially— after all, it’s part of our country’s history and heritage. The vast bulk of these books are focused on Scotland and the people should be able to enjoy them, have access to them, look after them and add to them.

“That’s where the library should be. With a vibrant and loving collector who has the capacity to expand it and keep it as complete as possible. I’m fortunate to have been able to add wings and adjuncts to my home at Pepper Pike, and these generally look compatible with the architecture of the house.

“We have rows of shelves—the look and feel of these books is very important to me. Indeed, an aim of mine is getting better copies of books I already have, but with better covers—admittedly quite an expensive exercise. These days the going rate might be $50 only for the book and $500 for the dust wrapper. I’ve created something that’s the best in the world and friends come from all over to see it, but there

johnston’s library fits compactly within his own home but there is still space to display first editions like the goff, right

are others who couldn’t give a damn. When they come to my house, they go straight to the bar!”

Johnston is clearly a driven man with a variety of passions. He is equally consumed with Rangers, the club he has supported since childhood and first watched live as an eight-year-old. His auto registration numbers, RFC1 and 1BROX (Rangers play at Ibrox Park), testify to this, along with his ‘other library’. “I also have the complete collection of books about Rangers—just over 600 of them. I will give them to the club, probably sooner rather than later, though I’d like them to build a library first.”

This keen sense of legacy, which helped turn the sweaty hobby of his youth into a back-breaking obsession, had already led him into a whole world of antiquarian golf activity.

His muse was Joseph Murdoch whose 1968 volume, The Library of Golf 1743-1966, was a milestone. Murdoch used a simple numbering system, listing books in alphabetical order by the author’s last name, from 1 through 899. For example, the citation “M408” refers to Bobby Jones’s Down the Fairway, which was the 408th book listed in the bibliography. Another frequently cited reference book was a collaboration between Murdoch and Richard Donovan, listed as Donovan and Murdoch’s The Game of Golf and The Printed Word 1566-1985 and published in 1987. It organizes 4,800 books alphabetically by author as well as within four golfing eras, corresponding to the type of ball used at that time. The last and most comprehensive reference book was produced in 2006 by Donovan and Rand Jerris, director of the USGA Museum in Far Hills, New Jersey. This two-volume set catalogs more than 15,000 English-language titles published between 1566-2005.

Aside from his bibliographies, Johnston is also an author having published Vardon to Woods: A Pictorial History of Golfers in Advertising and The Chronicles of Golf: 1457-1857

“Ultimately, I have plans for the library to come back to Scotland – after all, it’s part of our history and heritage.” about the origins of the game in collaboration with his late father James, who made his living working for the Sun Alliance insurance company. “We wrote The Chronicles of Golf together as a transatlantic project. It ran to 800 pages and took eight years to complete. Dad did a lot of the donkey work—he had the patience to keep trekking from Glasgow to Edinburgh to trawl the vaults of the National Library of Scotland and wade though countless documents. He was much better at research than me. I was a disciple of Mark—if it didn’t happen in five seconds you were incompetent. We were a formidable combination—I’d get things done and he made sure they were accurate.

“We produced only 900 copies, priced at $100 each, and they sold out instantly—and my biggest customer, believe it or not, was Arnold Palmer. I was with Arnold and Joe Gibbs for a meeting in Birmingham, Alabama in 1992 to discuss the concept of the Golf Channel which they eventually co-founded. I’d just finished The Chronicles of Golf and I was telling them about it. Straight away, Arnold said ‘I’ll take 100’. He then asked [his first wife] Winnie for his checkbook and wrote me out a check there and then for $10,000. I was astonished but very flattered. He gave some of them away to clients, contacts, family and friends, but kept the rest. It >

145

kingdom 15 winter 2009

alastair johnston, right with mark mccormack and tiger woods, has a bust of arnold palmer at his home in cleveland, left

“From the White House to coalmines, [Palmer] opened all the world’s doors for me”

146

turned out to be a shrewd investment as copies now change hands for as much as $2,000 on eBay.” By then, Johnston was close to Mr. Palmer as COO of Arnold Palmer Enterprises, but during his early days at IMG he never envisaged such a role for himself.

“I’d been there for three or four years when Mark decided he wanted to expand IMG from being a personalservice, client-representation operation into a global sportsmanagement company. The big problem he faced was how to keep Arnold happy and serviced because as our biggest client he needed a lot of attention. At the Masters in 1976, Mark said to me, ‘let’s go for a walk,’ and he outlined his strategy for IMG. His ultimate aim was for me to work for Arnold.

“This was one of the most momentous days of my life.

It took a while for Arnold to accept me fully—you have to earn his respect and trust. My remit was to reflect his views and wishes, and represent him in a way that was consistent with his standing in the game. It was quite a transition in my working circumstances, a culture shock.

“From the White House to the coalmines he opened all the world’s doors for me. My gravitas and credibility was all earned through Arnold Palmer. Mark took me to the party and I went home with Arnold Palmer. I still work for him every day in this role. He has gone to the University of Life.

In private, he is everything you think he should be based on his public demeanor. People who meet him for the first time and have only known his public image are never disappointed.”

kingdom 15 winter 2009

People are rarely disappointed when they meet Johnston for the first time either. Certainly not Tiger Woods for whom he negotiated a $60m deal with Nike at the age of just 20. “Do you know how we got so much for Tiger? Because we asked for it. We knew what he was worth to the right people.”

Fully aware of Johnston’s worth to him, Tiger had no hesitation in taking his advice and basing himself at the gated community in Isleworth near Orlando, Florida. “Tiger was my next-door neighbor for a while, Shaq O’Neal also lives nearby.”

Johnston’s clients have also included Serena and Venus Williams and F1 driver Michael Schumacher along with the Wimbledon tennis championships and the R&A. After taking up the reins at Rangers, Johnston looks set to spend more time in the country of his birth. “I’m in St. Andrews once every six weeks anyway because the R&A are my biggest corporate client, so I can easily fit Rangers into my schedule. I advise the R&A on TV, media, merchandising and image rights, and I’ve just negotiated a new five-year deal for ESPN to screen all four rounds of The [British] Open.” His position at IMG has varied somewhat since McCormack’s passing in 2003. “I was CEO of IMG for two years after Mark died, but then his family decided to sell the company and it was bought by [private equity firm] Forstmann, Little & Co. Quite understandably, Ted Forstmann decided he wanted to be chairman and CEO, so now I’m vice-chairman.

“Contrary to what a lot of people thought, Mark was more interested in the company’s legacy than making money.

Everything he made over the years he reinvested in the company. We had 60 offices and 2,900 employees worldwide at our peak in 2002. To be honest, we were in businesses that Mark wanted to be in even though some weren’t remotely profitable.” An element of downsizing has taken place since then—something Johnston would never countenance with his books. “It’s my way of relaxing: Arnold Palmer regrips his clubs, I potter around in my library.” n

148

kingdom 15 w i n t e r 2009

Tea for Tee History

tea time is happy hour for arnold palmer and chris byrd

The late 1950s and early 1960s witnessed Arnold Palmer making professional golf his own personal showcase. Winning seven majors in six years, he was well on his way to legendary status. As his popularity rose, so did his fan base, which became known as Arnie’s Army Not only did people want to golf like Arnold Palmer, but they wished to model their lives on their hero too. This included drinking the beverages he ordered.

One evening after a long day of designing a course in Palm Springs during the 1960s, Arnold Palmer stepped up to a bar and asked the bartender for a mixture of lemonade and iced tea. A woman sitting next to him overheard what he ordered and told the bartender, “I’ll have that Palmer drink.” From that moment on, this refreshing lemonade-iced tea beverage became known as an “Arnold Palmer,” and its name gradually spread throughout the golfing world and beyond into mainstream America.

Living the dream

Chris Byrd, founder of Innovative Flavors and marketing inspiration behind Arnold Palmer Tea, provides his personal behindthe-scenes account of developing the world’s fastest growing ready-to-drink iced tea brand “chris, we’ve got to go out to firestone this weekend and watch this young man named Palmer,” my father said to me. “He has a heck of a swing and can hit the ball a mile!

He’ll probably even win this weekend.”

That was 1964 and I was 14 years old. I remember standing alongside my dad on the 16th fairway, a monster of a hole, at Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio. We watched Mr. Palmer lash at the ball, and hit his drive further than anyone else that day.

After the tournament, we went to the clubhouse, where my mom happened to be employed waiting tables. Shortly thereafter, the players started to arrive. One by one they began to file into the club. Mr. Palmer arrived and my mom went to take his order. As they were talking, I saw him give her a hug.

He did that because her name was “Birdie”.

Fast forward to 2001. My family and I were now living near Bay Hill Lodge & Club. I was playing a lot of golf. And, by now, I’ve ordered a lot of “Arnold Palmers.” There were many times over the years I wondered about packaging this iced tea-lemonade mix.

Over time, the idea began to take shape. During a golf outing rain delay, I shared my idea with my food and beverage industry associates Charley Beck and Mark Dowey. With a golf course as our backdrop, and as I sipped on an Arnold Palmer, we formulated the business plan that would become Arnold Palmer Tea. We worked with our design team to develop the visuals and our flavor house to develop a great tasting formula. The original concepts took the famous Palmer umbrella and replaced it with a lemon wedge skewered by a golf tea. Our cartons were bright blue, making them like no other currently in the grocery aisle. And, of course, Arnold Palmer’s image was prominently displayed.

The brand was developed and the prototypes were made.

Now we had to sell Mr. Palmer.

I was granted a meeting for the Monday morning after the 2001 Bay Hill Invitational—now the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

The place was abuzz, as Tiger Woods had won the tournament for the second year in a row. I was meeting with Mr. Palmer and IMG executive Alastair Johnston. I arrived with a business plan under my arm and some samples in my hands. It was the biggest presentation of my life, and it was raining. >

149

kingdom 15 w i n t e r 2009

Mr. Johnston and I met first, then Mr. Palmer was brought into the room. He shook hands with me and said, “young man, I understand you have something very interesting for me.” And with that, Mr. Palmer was briefed on our plan, and given samples to try. The meeting ended with Mr. Palmer saying, “let’s get this done.” We shook hands and left. Two months later the contracts were signed and the real work began.

We formed our management company, Innovative Flavors LLC. Our plan was built around the idea that we could license dairies and tea manufacturers throughout the country to process and package the product under strict quality assurance guidelines, and market the product using the Arnold Palmer name and images. In return, Innovative Flavors would provide the formula and the ingredients to sell to the dairies and/or the iced tea manufacturers, creating a revenue stream to pay royalties to Arnold Palmer Enterprises.

Our goal was to sell Arnold Palmers in every convenience store, supermarket, golf club and restaurant around the world.

We started first with the refrigerated product marketed to dairies—where Charley, Mark and I all had connections.

Soon there were half-gallon containers of our Arnold Palmer Tea in grocery stores from California to Connecticut.

Everything was moving along nicely. Shortly thereafter, we received an inquiry from the Arizona Iced Tea Co. Arizona was interested in producing a shelf-stable version of the tea and selling it through their distribution channels.

The next year resulted in about a half-dozen dairies being licensed and producing the refrigerated version in halfgallon containers. We were on our way.

Today One of the largest dairy processors is Heartland Farms in the Los Angeles/southern California market. Today, Arnold Palmer Tea is the number one refrigerated iced tea drink in that market, selling in most, if not all, the supermarket chains in southern California.

The agreement with Arizona Beverages started with the licensing and manufacturing of the shelf stable, 23-ounce commemorative can. Currently, Arizona is close to a billion-dollar, privately held company and the marketer of the nation’s number one ready-to-drink tea. But back in 2001, we were a much smaller entity and readily admit we were merely guessing (based on our enthusiasm) the product might see some success. Good guess.

Arizona has experienced multiple years of 100 percent growth in the line of Arnold Palmer beverages, with an estimated wholesale value of annual sales approaching $50 million. They also sell to stores in Asia, Europe, South Africa, Mexico, Canada and South America. The line now consists of the original flavor (made from five select black tea blends and a lemon extract), along with Green Tea/Lemonade products as well as a Pomegranate/Black Tea version.

Packaging ranges from 12-ounce cans in refrigerated 12-packs, 23-ounce cans, 20-ounce plastic golf ball shape bottles, 34-ounce bottles, 42-ounce bottles, 64-ounce and gallon jugs, as well as the newer mix sticks for mixing into a bottle of water.

The line is, by far, the fasted growing iced tea flavor in America and is expanding from a niche drink to a mainstream beverage.

As of June 2009, Arizona’s Arnold Palmer Teas were the fastest growing ready-to-drink iced tea brands in the country.

150

kingdom 15 w i n t e r 2009

arnold palmer tea drinkers are spoiled for choice

Conclusion When we started Arnold Palmer Tea, I was at a point in my life where my food career was peaking and I needed something new on which to focus, keep me busy and support me in retirement. Well it’s certainly done that, and more!

At lunch a few weeks ago at a Manhattan barbecue joint, my buddy ordered iced tea and lemonade mixed. “You mean an Arnold Palmer,” our young waitress said. When she returned with the drink, I asked her on a hunch if she knew who Arnold Palmer was. “I didn’t know it was a person, I thought it was just a name for iced tea and lemonade,” she replied.

Mr. Palmer has been such a deeply imbedded part of American culture for so long that it’s not surprising some people—especially, those too young to have known him as a golfer—mistake him for a product rather than a person.

In my case, I have spent my whole life watching Mr. Palmer. I lived in a neighborhood close to Bay Hill, his winter home. My children attended school with his grandchildren. I was a huge golf enthusiast, and had ordered many an Arnold Palmer in restaurants. To think all this could come together as one of the greatest tea brands ever is, to me, simply amazing.

I also get the feeling that somehow Mr. Palmer knew it would work and was not as surprised as the rest of us involved.

Consumers of all ages love the beverage. College students collect the cans and stack them on the walls. Golfers revive their senses on hot days on the course. Families enjoy it from the gallon jugs while dining on their decks and patios. The drink has a Facebook page with more than 65,000 friends. And soon, Arizona will announce the launch of the Arnold Palmer KidZ line in 10-ounce containers with some of the proceeds, appropriately, going to support the Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children.

It keeps getting bigger, and it keeps getting better. n

His name is on tHe course, as well as His signature.

Don’t miss the grand re-opening of Bay Hill’s legendary Championship course. With architectural and aesthetic enhancements made by the King himself, Bay Hill now proudly bears the distinction of an Arnold Palmer Signature Course. And with our new golf packages, it’s one of golf’s most memorable experiences.

1.888.422.9445 • bayhill.com/km

Stunning Dunning Fueled by both an athletic and authentic country club heritage, Dunning sportswear claims to be built on premium-quality, clean silhouettes and classic colors.

Dunning was founded by Toronto native and athlete Ralph Dunning. A road rider and Ironman competitor, and neither shy nor retiring by nature, Dunning first attracted notice in the 1990s for his Rip n’ Hammer line of premium technical clothing for triathletes and cyclists.

Dunning’s 2009 Golf Collection consists of 45 styles—technical polos, performance wool sweaters, thermal pullovers, Tour Stretch outerwear, Stretch Performance bottoms and compression undergarments.

One item we particularly liked, if not the $250 price tag, is their Thermal Performance Wool Sweater, in wood, tocatta, cole, black and camel. In addition to being machinewashable, the fabric blend, Dunning says, ‘won’t pill up when being carried inside your golf bag’. For more information, visit dunningsportswear.com

Take a Rain Check Winter is upon us and the need to stay warm and dry will be uppermost in northern-based golfers’ minds as temperatures plummet and clouds gather. kingdom samples some of the latest garments to have found their way from the designers’ drawing boards to pro shop shelves

152

kingdom 15 winter 2009

Annika from Cutter & Buck Cutter & Buck’s fall collection features a new range of women’s golf gear designed with, and named after, former women’s world No.1 Annika Sorenstam. And, as you would expect, the results are of the highest standard.

The idea is that the collection provides the same level of performance that Sorenstam herself aspired to on the golf course. A highlight this fall is the CB Drytec United Polo. It is a stylish and elegant long-sleeve polo and typical of the range’s design, with a fresh, clean style and elegant lines for a classy Scandinavian on-course look.

The polo is made from a polyester/spandex blend, which has impressively effective moisture and temperature control, while still leaving the golfer free to make a full swing.

The piece has a half-zip, contrast piecing accent at side seam, straight hem and open-pieced raglan sleeves. It retails at $78.

For more on the Annika range, visit the not-so-easyto-navigate cutterbuck.com

Do Battle with Under Armour Counter-intuitive it maybe, but logic suggests when looking for protection against the outside elements it is best to start with the inner layers. In fact Under Armour have come up with an ingenious solution for golfers who like to stay warm in colder conditions without having to don layer upon layer of sweatshirts and jackets.

These tight-fitting but super-flexible garments are worn beneath your golf clothes, and keep you incredibly warm without inhibiting your swing in the process.

The Men’s GoldGear UA Metal Mock is one of the more popular items and comes in a choice of two colors— black and metal, and sage and metal. It features diamondfaced GoldGear construction for moisture transport which locks in the warmth as well as UA Metal ventilation for heat release and temperature regulation. It retails at $79.99.

For more technical information and marketing speak on this and all other Under Armour products, visit underarmour. >

153

kingdom 15 winter 2009

Warmth of Antigua Antigua is offering a leisure-based line of winter wear this year, with both male and female golfers in mind. The oddly named, but extremely functional, Rendition 100211 is a 100 percent, polyester-interlock, water-resistant, long-sleeve 1/2 zip pullover with contrast insets and mesh lining along with both chest and side pockets.

It also comes with adjustable velcro cuffs, the sound of which on the tee at an inappropriate moment earned this particular hacker a fulsome, if deserved, blast of derision from his opponent. It is priced around $85 and comes in a wide range of colors, all with a gun metal pattern.

For more details, see antigua.com

154

kingdom 15 winter 2009

Protection from adidas adidas Golf pride themselves on performance and technical innovation and their ClimaProof Storm Soft Shell Full Zip Jacket is no exception. Like most examples of German engineering the Jacket is built to last and as such comes with a 3-year guarantee.

Technical features include: 4-way stretch, zip pockets, fully seam-sealed, waterproof to 10,000 millimeters, and breathability of 20,000 grams per square metre per 24 hours.

The shell is 100 percent polyester 2-layer laminate and lining 100 percent polyester mesh with hydrophilic finish. It retails at $145 and can go record distances between services.

For further details, click on to adidasgolf.com

Aristocratic Ashworth Now part of TaylorMade-adidas Golf, Ashworth remain true to their heritage in golf. Known more for applying traditional materials to the innovative designs of founder John Ashworth, the brand’s production staff are generally happy to leave the technical stuff to their new colleagues over at adidas Golf.

However, with this light, spacious and smart-looking dark grey Solid V-Neck windstopper, they seem to have captured the best of both worlds—performance showcased within a classic style.

For more information on all of Ashworth’s fall gear, visit ashworthinc.com

Fashionable Nike As in so many other sports, Nike has established itself as one of the major players in the golf apparel market. There can be no doubt having the financial muscle to sign a certain Mr. T. Woods has been helpful in this regard.

Nike’s fall golf line is full of fashionable and functional garments for both male and female golfers. We particularly like the Wind Resistant SP Cover-Up, weighing a mere 5.3oz it has a half-zip neck and is 100 percent polyester.

For more on the Nike fall range, visit nike.com/nikegolf

155

kingdom 15 winter 2009

Top Tinsel It’s that time of year, when colored lights dot the darkest of nights and families come together. Joyous season indeed, should you unwrap a box to find any of the following gifts...

Mulholland Draw the Shorthorn Lasting quality has been San Francisco company Mulholland’s goal for 22 years, ever since outdoorsmen Guy and Jay Holland sewed fly rod cases and weekender shooting bags in their basement.

“Everything we’ve built has been about durability,” says Jay, a cowboy turned company president. That means solid construction—sturdy, full-grain saddle leather, hefty hardware and stitching with extra-heavy thread inside and out—and trend-proof aesthetics.

Mulholland’s first travel gear was based on 19th century satchels, and some of its current best sellers have been in the repertoire for nearly 20 years.

This includes the Shorthorn weekender bags, which provide organization and mobility for shooting days or extended trips. Durable, intelligently designed and exquisitely appointed. shopmulholland.com

Bad Ass Golf Carts Bad Ass Golf Carts is the premiere custom golf cart builder in the world. They take customizing golf carts to the next level.

With 36 to 72 volt electric, 9 hp to 24 hp gas carts. We do custom paint, custom embroidery, leather, and UltraLeather seats.

Custom audio/video systems. From $6,000 to $60,000, and up. Our carts are designed for anything from golfing to spending a week at the dunes, or just cruising the neighborhood. Your imagination is their only limitation. Over $5,000 Federal Tax credit on select carts. badassgolfcarts.com

156

kingdom 15 winter 2009

THE AntiqueD English OAK Rocking Horse Hand-made in the renowned Stevenson Brothers workshops in the English county of Kent from seasoned oak grown in Windsor Great Park, these unique rocking horses, which sport lavish manes and tails, come in three sizes: M 3ft, L 4ft, XL 5ft. Prominently featured in collections all over the world, these treasured items have been known to change hands for as much as $70,000, especially when crafted from Burr Oak. The cloth on the saddle, made from English leather, can be hand embroidered with a family name or crest. In addition, the stand has space for an engraved silver or brass plaque that can carry a dedication to the owner. A secret door under the horse turns it into a rocking safe to store future valuables.

Suitable for children of all ages and even adults who always wanted to own their own horse. These horses are also designed to become heirlooms that can be passed down for generations. Each horse takes the dedicated team of craftsmen eight to ten weeks to create, guaranteeing the finest quality money can buy. Prices from $4,000. Worldwide shipping.

Call: (484) 466-2067, email sue@ stevensonbros.com or visit stevensonbros.com

rocketbuster boots

bespoke saddles

El Paso’s Rocketbuster builds authentic vintage-style bespoke boots for modern-day free spirits. With a number of A-list celebrity clients, including Steven Speilberg and the late Roy Rogers, the company’s offerings have wide appeal, but the work ethic and integrity are as down-home as a cowboy could want— whether he lives on the range or in the city. rocketbuster.com

Sawtooth Saddle Company in Utah hand-builds authentic Old West saddles to order. Here, their 1/2 Seat Old Texas with a Samstagg Rig is a recreation of a type used around 1850 from Texas to Wyoming. The finest western saddles and tack can be seen at sawtoothsaddle.com

157

kingdom 15 winter 2009

The King & I He is one of the most popular and successful golfers in the history of the sport. His endearing personality coupled with his unprecedented talent has resonated with fans all over the world.

Now fans will see a different side of Arnold Palmer in The King and I: An Unlikely Journey from Fan to Friend with photographs and text by well-known dentist and photographer, Howdy Giles (Foreword by Arnold Palmer and Introduction by James Dodson).

The book shares never-before-seen images of Palmer on and off the golf course over the past four decades. From intimate private moments to extraordinary public events, fans will revel in this revealing photographic history of one of the most charismatic figures in the history of the game. howdygiles.com

Groundwork from adidas Golf The new Tour360 4.0 is lower to the ground than any shoe ever made by adidasGolf, thanks to THiNtech and PINS, both exclusive to the company through 2011. For 15 years, most golf footwear manufacturers have relied on two fastening systems, Fast-Twist and Qfit, which both include a receptacle in the sole and a removable cleat. When fitted with conventional cleat attachment systems we believe this left the sole too thick and bulky. THiNtech brought the golfer’s foot (and center of gravity) closer to the ground and a Performance Insert System (PINS) cut thickness by 30 percent.Retailing at $180. See adidasgolf.com

Cleatskins golf Now, a better way to get there. Slip Cleatskins™ Golf over your golf shoes to move quickly to and from the course with ease.

“Cleatskins are an incredible, very practical accessory for me and other golfers who are moving on and off the course frequently,…”

—John Senden, PGA TOUR Champion, ranked 24th in Fed Ex Cup Points (2009) Dallas, TX “Cleatskins are fantastic! They have improved the life of my golf spikes 100%! They are durable, comfortable, and provide unparalleled traction and performance.”

—Danny Howard, PGA Teaching Pro & Director of Golf Operations, Jacaranda Golf Club, FLA “...put your golf shoes (and Cleatskins) on at home and go from there.” — Tom Spousta, national correspondent, WorldGolf.com Save Time. Protect Performance. Gain Traction. cleatskinsgolf.com

158

kingdom 15 winter 2009

Bowler & Blake Bowler & Blake are a premier company with a comprehensive grasp of their customers and of their industry. With exceptional service and top-drawer products, it should come as no surprise that when we were in need, we here at kingdom asked them to produce the ties for the Kingdom Cup. Bowler & Blake delivered a subtle and elegant tie that was well appreciated by all. We could hardly expect less from the organization that has supplied The Ryder Cup, Oakmont, PGA Championships and even the Solheim Cup with exceptional products. bowlerandblake.com

Seguso Blue Spiraline Vase The name Seguso is intrinsically intertwined with the ancient craft of glass blowing; each generation of the Seguso family passing their art down to the next to the present day. Each piece is a unique handblown work of art from Murano.

L.V. Harkness & Co. is delighted to offer beautiful Seguso glass, including several limited edition pieces which are coveted by collectors around the world. Prices range from $126 for smaller pieces to $7,000 for master crafted limited edition works of art.

Visit lvharkness.com or call 866-225-7474 for the perfect Seguso piece for your home, or as a gift for a special loved one.

The House of Carrington The House of Carrington produces impeccably tailored luxury apparel inspired by a time when details mattered. Disregarding the trendy, it strives for the timeless. Catering to those who appreciate life’s finer offerings, Carrington apparel is as charming and endearing as those who wear it.

It is clothing with a level of distinction rarely seen these days.

Clothing strongly evocative of the past but thoroughly modern in its appeal. Clothing that is fun to buy and a joy to wear. It is clothing that lives up to the House of Carrington’s motto: Never a dull moment. houseofcarrington.com

159

kingdom 15 winter 2009

Odyssey Black Series Tour Designs #9 Putter The new Black Series Tour Designs #9 Putter is the result of work between the Odyssey design team and players like Phil Mickelson and Ernie Els. This precisioncrafted milled putter features Advanced Roll Technology, achieved through multimaterial construction using tungsten weighting. The design creates a quicker, more favorable roll by moving the center of gravity back and lower in the head.

The TD Milled Face generates consistent impact across the face, better feel, distance control and smooth roll. odysseyblackseries.com

Is Titleist Your Bag? Updated, contemporary styling and materials have enhanced Titleist’s popular 9.5” Midsize Staff bag. Textured foampadded vinyl and various material and color overlays give this classic bag a new, fashionable look. Six club dividers (boxed, full-length) in the top-cuff provide superior organization and are positioned to optimize balance when a golfer is carrying. Multiple streamlined accessory pockets and a large fold-down apparel pocket provide superior storage capacity while minimizing bulk. This more fashionable and functional body design—which includes a variety of pockets for balls, accessories and apparel, a 2-point sling suspension with a velor underside, a hidden umbrella well and towel ring—will continue to make this bag popular among professionals and serious players alike. MSRP: $235.00. Rainhood included.

See titleist.com

JAWS wedges Regardless of the era in which he plied his craft, Roger Cleveland would be hailed as a giant of the game. His contribution to modern-day advances in the technology and design of wedges—which may be even more responsible for low scores than the putter— is second to none. His latest creations—the Callaway X Series Jaws Wedges—are stateof-the-art in terms of performance, balance and appearance. Preliminary tests demonstrate these clubs, shaped from soft forged carbon steel, produce maximum spin and versatility around the green while providing Tour-level feel. callawaygolf.com

Scotty Fastback to Market After a Tour-proven season, the Fastback 1 mallet putter from Scotty Cameron is on the market. Cameron refined the Fastback to include an offset, double-bend shaft for those seeking a nearly face-balanced putter, a clean look at address and a balanced feel throughout the stroke. The Fastback 1’s sleek lines will remind Scotty fans of the Newport, including the milled sight line. However, the rounded flange gave the Fastback its name. It maintains the same headweight as other Studio Select models, but has a slightly thicker topline, precision-milled 303 stainless-steel head, and factory interchangeable weights.

Personalization is possible.

See scottycameron.com

Dixon Green to the Core Dixon Golf has created the world’s first high-performance, eco-friendly golf balls.

Unlike other brands that use harsh, heavymetal pollutants like tungsten, cobalt and lead, and contain non-renewable synthetic materials and compounds, all balls manufactured by Dixon Golf are “green” to the core. The balls, and even their packaging, are 100 percent recyclable and made from renewable materials. From core to cover, packaging to production, Dixon Golf has set a new standard in

environmental consciousness. Earth, the official ball of the egolf Professional and Amateur Tours, recently outperformed several other leading brands in independent testing by the PGA TOUR Partners Club, and received a 92 percent approval rating! “I’ve found the Earth ball to be longer off the tee than any other ball I’ve played…and that’s great, because that’s my business!” says Sean “The Beast” Fister, three-time world long-drive champion.

With a 392-dimple pattern; $35 per dozen. See dixongolf.com

TAG HEUER EYEWEAR TAG Heuer Eyewear introduces “Intensive” HD sunglass lens technology, designed to enhance on-land activities, from casual sports to pro competition.

The vermillion-colored “Intensive” HD lenses are the first to combine photochromic darkening ability (within two minutes’ exposure to the sun) with re-engineered, gradient “silver flash” technology—creating non-mirrored lenses that become reflective as they darken.

The result: high-definition sunglasses that enhance dimensional detail of the landscape vs. the flattening effect of polarized lenses. Perfect for lining up a putt, with UV-A and UV-B protection as well. tagheuer.com/eyewear

DnA Golf DnA Golf ’s Alpha 610 Driver is a revolutionary new product. The detachable face and elastomeric insert (US Pat. #7,338,390) allow golfers to tune performance, gain distance and create unique acoustic profiles. Every DnA driver is co-branded and sold exclusively through corporate partners or green-grass golf facilities. Some 30% of all rounds played are business-related. DnA has focused on this segment to help partners spread brand awareness and visibility.

We connect premium brands with our state-of-the-art, high-performance driver, making it ideal for customer/client incentives, brand loyalty promotional gifts and employee rewards. DnA Golf has partnered with Arnold Palmer’s kingdom magazine to provide special DnA drivers for the 2009 Kingdom Cup. Visit our website and see how DnA is “Changing The Face of Golf ”. dnagolf.com/kingdom.html

161

kingdom 15 winter 2009

Golden Bear Lodge & Spa Introducing Golden Bear Lodge & Spa Cap Cana The Art of Life—Jack’s Style.

To celebrate the opening, the best things are being offered in threes. When you enjoy two…

• Nights in a suite • Spa treatments • Bottles of wine • Private romantic dinners …your third is complimentary.

Plus, with any stay you’ll receive one free round of golf ! What’s more, you’ll enjoy 50% off select golf services, up to a 65% off Twilight golf and free golf for kids.

Available only for a limited time, book before it’s too late at ZoetryResorts.com/ Kingdom with promo code FREEGOLF.

open air cinema Indoor home media centers are all well and good, but if you want a transformational experience—for personal enjoyment or for an event—Open Air Cinema can turn your patio or entire backyard into a full-on theatre with their large inflatable screens and complete audio/video systems. The screens inflate in minutes with hardly any setup required, and the picture is amazing. If you just want a screen, they’ve got the best. And if you’re looking for a complete theatre including a screen and all the audio/video gear you’ll need, Open Air Cinema’s CineBox systems are perfect. A variety of configurations are available, with varying electronics packages and screens sized from 9’x5’ all the way up to 40’x22.5’. Whether you’re looking for movie night by the pool or a full-on outdoor cinema event, Open Air Cinema has the ticket.

(866) 802-8202 or online at openaircinema.us

162

kingdom 15 winter 2009

Tivoli Audio In its NetWorks radio, Tivoli Audio has created the next generation of home audio.

Taking advantage of Internet broadcasts, NetWorks delivers crystal-clear reception of any radio station anywhere, with no need for a computer. Listen to the Italian Opera from Milan, rock from New York City or any specialty, niche radio station from any location in the world in its native language and in real time. It also allows access to music stored on any PC in the house through a wireless or Ethernet connection.

Sound quality is brilliant, and connectibility is extensive, with expansion possible with a CD player, or subwoofer. Visit Tivoli online to learn more: tivoliaudio.com

Stephen Shankland Award-winning Scottish figurative artist Stephen Shankland has combined his talent for painting figures and his ability to create the dramatic backdrop of a golf course to produce a series of paintings that are unique in the world of golf art. In his launch collection, Shankland visits three of his homeland’s best: the Old Course at St Andrews, Royal Aberdeen Golf Club, and Turnberry. Born in Irvine, Shankland’s engaging portrait of Arnold Palmer graces this issue’s cover of kingdom.

See auldkirk.com or call +44 1358 742 222

ultimate golf seating If you’re not sitting comfortably, then Ultimate Golf Seating has the answer your back is crying out for. People expect comfortable, stylish seats in their cars and homes, so why not enjoy those same benefits while riding for four hours or more in a golf car?

Medical experts agree. “These seats are great for the natural curve in your spine, and they offer cervical support with adjustable headrests,” said Dr. Murray Johnston of Southwest Spinal Care.

“Ultimate Golf Seating’s product forces you to sit the way you should, and that helps promote spinal health.”

Seats, which can be installed on Club Car, E-Z-GO and Yamaha cars in just a few steps, come with adjustable headrests, lumbar support, fold-down armrests and a palette of color selections. Golf carts are outside a lot, so Ultimate use materials that withstand UV rays yet are easy to clean. Prices start at $745.

See ultimategolfseating.com or call toll-free at (888) 989-9887.

E-Z-Go Long regarded as the top company for golf carts, E-Z-GO’s Freedom RXV looks right at home parked next to a luxury sedan. With a patented AC drive engine, a dual braking system (which eliminates the parking brake and can stop itself on steep grades if left unattended) an auto-like suspension and energy-transfer bumpers that keep precious cargo safe in the event of a collision, E-Z-GO is the best ride on course. For more info, visit ezgo.com

163

kingdom 15 winter 2009

On Fire 164

kingdom 15 winter 2009

Using fire to heat a home is an idea as old as, well, fire itself we suppose.

Traditional fireplaces are great, offering a romantic and timeless setting along with warmth, and it’s kingdom’s belief that every winter abode should have one. But along with a traditional fireplace, it is perhaps worth considering a higher performance stove. Whether it burns wood, gas or pellets, a stove can offer a tremendously efficient way to harness the heat in fire for warmth or even cooking. Because of this, many stoves qualify for up to a $1,500 credit from Uncle Sam, which should have you feeling a little warmer already. Whether you’re searching for a stove or just something to spruce up your existing fireplace, here’s our look at the one part of the house you don’t mind burning...

Left: beautiful design from Morsø; above: bun baker from vermont

morsø offers wall– mounted options

WOOD STOVES While various gases, magic spells and rocks from space have been known to burn, we’ll take a chance and offer that wood was the first fuel used to make fire. And like they say, “If it ain’t broke…” Ash, Maple and Thorn wood are among the best for burning if you’re trying to get warm, offering pleasant flames and good heat. Oak, Yew, Cedar and Walnut are as good for heat but produce less flames. Fruit woods—Pear and Apple specifically—not only burn well but also offer pleasant scents. Avoid Willow, which sparks, and Laburnum, which produces clouds of poisonous smoke. We’d take rocks from space over Laburnum any day of the week.

New England Classic Based in the heartland of Colonial winters, the Vermont Marble, Granite, Slate & Soapstone Co. builds most of its wood burning stoves and ovens from the last material mentioned in its name (with cast iron inserts), cutting weight and cost while creating classically beautiful stoves. Their smallest is the “Vermont Bun Baker,” which, in addition to doing what it says, heats a room nicely.

More expensive and heavier (but incredibly lovely), the company also builds masonry heaters. The multifunctional Topaz Cuisine is a 6,000lb. classic that would look just fine in Paul Revere’s house. It heats up to 1,500sq ft and adds a bake oven as well. A revolutionary way to get warm and fed. vermontwoodstove.com 802.468.8800

Danish Comfort The Morsø company started on the Danish island of Mors with an iron foundry in 1853 and, over the years, moved into supplying heating systems for churches, schools and state buildings—including the royal apartments, which nobly entitled them named Purveryor to the Royal Danish Court.

Today the best known stove-builder in Denmark builds cast iron wood-burning heating systems (standalone, wallmounted and inserts) that efficiently and elegantly keep the cold at bay. There’s more than a little bit of engineering behind the minimalist designs, which are as environmentally responsible as they are effective and beautiful. The stoves themselves are made of 98% recycled materials, manufactured using primarily renewable energy and boxed in 100% recycled packaging. Once they’re set up in your home, they burn incredibly efficiently—and safely. No wonder, then, that according to the company, your Morsø stove will become “a good friend with which you will share a special sense of inner peace and harmony. A trusty source of comfort, you will love it for its sound, look and warmth. And for the glow of happiness it has spread throughout the house year after year.”

Nothing wrong in having a warm friend with a Danish accent, we say. contemporarywoodstoves.com 866.883.9619

165

kingdom 15 winter 2009

>

GAS STOVES Victorian fireplaces might have kept scores of whistling girls busy with the cheerful task of scraping ashes into buckets, but it seems that these days there are few eager applicants for the position of Scullery Maid. Thank Heaven for gas fireplaces.

No messy ashes, no cutting and stacking wood, plenty of heat and electronic controls to boot. Smaller gas fireplace models can stand alone; larger ones, like those that grace so many posh modern hotels and restaurants, offer creative venting options and innovative interior surfaces, making them quite adaptable to most styles. They don’t come with someone to boss around, but remote controls are often available. Now if you can just find someone to keep the batteries fresh…

Modern Art Made in Vermont, Hearthstone Stoves puts a lot of time into crafting its cast iron and soapstone stoves and ovens.

They offer excellent wood-burning products, but the Hearthstones that most recently caught our eye are from the gas-burning Euro Collection, which manage to be beautiful, effective and inobtrusive at the same time.

The stoves are thermostatically controlled, either by a control on the unit or via a wall thermostat. Some models include built-in fans to help distribute warm air, and a remote control is available as an accessory.

As Hearthstone Stoves gas stoves include pilot lights, power outages don’t prevent you from having a warm house. The cylindrical Bari DV has a relatively small footprint but heats up to 1,300 square feet. Because it’s gas, it can sit at the end of an interior room divider or wall (properly vented, of course), providing an elegant design element while keeping things warm as well. Likewise, the Modena model shows the fire from three sides, adding warm light to its design and heating attributes. Like any soapstone stove, the stone itself is part of the heating element, retaining its temperature long after the fire’s gone out—or in this case, turned off. hearthstonestoves.com 802.888.5232 Bespoke Fire For those who like everything tailored to fit, the British Columbia-based Town & Country Fireplaces offers a line of remote-controlled clean face gas fireplaces in which everything is customized—even the flames. The company’s “Design-A-Fire” program allows customers to mix or match exterior design panels and, more incredibly, interior accoutrements. Exterior options include Truly Traditional, Neo Classical and Ultra Modern, while the hot-and-beautiful part of the fire can spring forth from robust full-round logs, classic split wood, smooth river rock or tumbled glass. All of these options mean there’s a T&C Fireplace for every room, and because the units burn clean gas and can utilize a variety of venting options, some models can be up to 110 feet from an exterior wall. Add a Maestro Control System on the wall and a programmable handheld remote and kick the ash bucket to the curb. townandcountryfireplaces.net 888.223.0088

166

kingdom 15 winter 2009

above: fire by town & country; below: art from hearthstone

PELLET STOVE Maybe you’ve heard of these, maybe not. Either way, pellet stoves are an effective and rather efficient way to heat a home. Pellets come in large bags, are made of compressed wood, corn or other materials, held in the stove’s hopper and fed down a chute and into a burn box by an electronically controlled distribution system that maintains a constant preset temperature. While the flames aren’t large, they are visible through the glass and give a nice glow. Pros include storage (less space than wood), pellets’ clean burning nature and the fact that you just flip a switch or adjust your thermostat to get the heat going. Cons include occasionally hard-to-find pellets, the comparable lack of aesthetic appeal and the fact that their fans and mechanisms need electricity, so if the power goes out…

Hot Anniversary The Pennsylvania-based Harman Stove Company has been making stoves for near 30 years, but until they release a XXX model the XXV will stand as the company’s anniversary showpiece. Cast iron and classically designed with oak leaves cast into the side panels, the XXV automatically moderates room temperature via a room sensor and built-in control. Ash removal is easy, maintenance is almost nonexistent and heat production is both efficient and substantial. Best of all, the hopper in the XXV holds 65 pounds of pellets, meaning you can go to bed after the news knowing you won’t wake up freezing at 4am. A wide range of pellet stove models are available from Harman, which in addition to its rather large offerings makes units to heat rooms as small as a studio guesthouse. harmanstoves.com

Fireplace Replacement Lennox Hearth Products offers a line of pellet stove fireplace inserts, so the hole in your wall won’t go to waste. With a number of models to fit most styles and sizes, these pellet stoves operate the same as any other with the only main difference being that they stick out from the fireplace a bit to incredible custom work from bighorn forge accommodate the hopper lid. The company’s Winslow model can heat up to 2,000 sq ft. and comes in a variety of style TOOLS, ETC. FOR TRADITIONAL options. Likewise, the Profile model is a smaller option.

FIREPLACES lennoxhearthproducts.com

800.953.6669 Dan Nauman

Wisconsin-based Dan Nauman creates works of art in his Bighorn Forge, and there’s no reason not to enjoy it in pellet your home. The award-winning blacksmith is incredibly power dedicated, working closely with the Artist Blacksmith’s from Association of North America and other organizations to harman ensure the craft keeps pushing forward. His personal work is fascinating, with metal shaped into all manner of elegant and beautiful art—which just happens to be functional. Doors and fixtures, interior furnishings, false balconies, windows and treatments… The Forge can design and create just about anything to order, and that includes fireplace tools, and irons and screens. Visit the Web site or call to learn about custom orders, but don’t just pop in; visits to Bighorn Forge are strictly by appointment only. bighornforge.com 262.626.2208

167

kingdom 15 winter 2009

Golf in any Language

Jet setters rejoice: The Arnold Palmer Design Company is spending some serious time on the road, creating great golf on the other side of the planet and invigorating new markets with quality game. That’s not to say it’s all passport-required play; in fact, there’s been a bit of activity here at home as well. Let’s have a look…

apdc is always where it’s at, and where it is currently is in China. Arnie built the first course in the Middle Kingdom in the 1980s, and his legacy has only grown since then. One of the more dramatic jobs underway, the Golf Club at Kunming is approximately a year away from opening. Tremendous (and we mean BIG) elevation changes, breathtaking views, craggy cliffs and a massive lake all add to this course’s appeal, which will be visually arresting and playfully challenging.

“There are some forced carries,” says Brandon Johnson, the APDC architect who’s been working on the project since the start. “Numbers 12 and 14 especially, there are big ravines in front of them and it’s dramatic. There’s room for error but, yeah, if you miss it there, wide in the right spot, you fall off into oblivion.” Fair warning to those with vertigo.

Another course in Kunming, the specifically named Chinese Entrepreneur Home Golf Club, is set for development close to the city center. Featuring a narrow freshwater lake approximately 5 miles in length, this course will eventually offer 27 holes to residents and visitors and, says APDC architect David Couch, everyone should love the mountain and lake views, no matter their ability.

APDC is working on yet another China course, this one approximately 45 minutes from Chengdu. It has mountains as well but they’re a bit different, says Thad Layton, APDC architect.

“Usually mountains are arranged such that they form ridge lines that connect.” In contrast, he says, “These look like they’re dropped out of the sky… Independent mountains, thousands of feet high.”

A quick river flows through this dramatic landscape,

168

kingdom 15 winter 2009

and around that will eventually play one of the finest golf courses in the country, courtesy of APDC. Much of the course will incorporate or bear testament to the terraced slopes, which historically have held kiwi, rice and other crops.

Some of those will be maintained; others will fall into play— so look for unique elevation features.

Currently set to be named Panda Valley Golf Course, the property is just 50 miles from a reserve that protects the black-and-white bamboo munchers.

Further south, Johnson has been working on a course in Cambodia with APDC associate John Hamilton. The center lines are cleared and proper development is set to begin in 2010 for this course, which should be a stunner.

In addition to courses already underway, there are a few yet to begin that require a ticket abroad: APDC’s Eric Wiltse has been busy in Brazil on a property near Sao Paolo that, he says, reminds him of the rolling hills of Kentucky. Fazenda Boa Vista should provide 36 holes of play, 18 courtesy of APDC, and offer a bit of rustic beauty for golfers who make the trek to the land of Carnivale. We might see more Palmer courses in Brazil and other countries in South America as well, says APDC Executive Vice President and Senior Architect Erik Larsen. With golf anticipated to be approved as a sport for the 2016 Olympics in Rio, Brazil specifically and the continent as a whole could experience a new relationship with the game.

Likewise, projects in Costa Rica, Moscow, Romania and other international locations are all possibilities, with more coming every day.

Domestic Closer to home, APDC has been busy with some remodeling— of golf courses, that is. Their offices at Bay Hill are just fine for the moment. An exciting new facet of APDC’s operations, remodeling existing courses allows the Palmer touch to be brought to properties that have solid integrity, but perhaps need a bit of a facelift. Already benefitting from APDC’s remodeling work, Wake Forest University has a new practice facility. An existing 5-acre site has been expanded into an 18-acre state-of-the-art gem with 360 degrees of hitting toward an interior range, with indoor hitting bays for rainy Carolina days and everything a team could want for working on its game.

“Basically they went from No.100 to No.1,” says Wiltse.

“It’s one of the best—if not THE best—best practice facilities in the country.”

Also benefitting from a recent APDC remodel is King’s Challenge in Cedar, Michigan, near Traverse City. As the course’s Web site has it, “King’s Challenge is an old Arnold Palmer gem tucked away in the quiet green hills of Leelanau County.” Under new ownership since May, “Work has been underway since then, both to realize Palmer’s original goals for the course and to add a host of exciting new details.”

Construction is going forward quickly (one of the owners is a top golf course construction company), and so Michiganders could be enjoying the new course as early as next year.

Going forward, remodeling should be a strong component of APDC’s operations as it not only allows the firm to bring its design expertise to courses in need of modernization, but its contacts as well. Look for new APDC courses—or look to re-visit old favorites touched-up by APDC—soon, whether your passport’s up to date or not. n

169

kingdom 15 winter 2009

Course Directory

Courses around the world designed by the Arnold Palmer Design Company KEY: + Remodel @ Certified Audubon Sanctuary @* Certified Audubon Signature Sanctuary

Mountain View Country Club

ALABAMA

CALIFORNIA

Craft Farms-Cotton Creek and Cypress

The Classic Club

www.craftfarms.com

www.classicclubgolf.com

ARIZONA

Empire Lake Golf Course

Rancho Cucamonga, California

Palmer Course La Quinta, California

www.empirelakes.com

www.pgawest.com

Four Seasons Resort Aviara

The Presidio Golf Course +@

www.fourseasons.com/aviara/vacations/golf.html

www.presidiogolfclub.com

Gulf Shores, Alabama

Arrowhead Country Club

Glendale, Arizona

www.arrowheadccaz.com

Mesa del Sol

Yuma, Arizona www.mesadelsolgolf.com

The Refuge at Lake Havasu

Lake Havasu City, Arizona www.therefugegolfclub.com

Palm Desert, California

Carlsbad, California

Hiddenbrooke Country Club

PGA West

San Francisco, California

Rancho Murietta Country Club

Rancho Murietta, California

www.hiddenbrookegolf.com

www.ranchomurietacc.com

Indian Ridge Country Club

Scottsdale, Arizona

Arroyo and Grove Courses Palm Desert, California

www.starfiregolfclub.com

www.indianridgecc.com

Starr Pass Resort

Los Valles

www.starrpasstucson.com

www.mountainviewatlaquinta.com

Vallejo, California

Starfire at Scottsdale Country Club

Tucson, Arizona

LaQuinta, California

Valencia, California Mission Hills Country Club

Wildfire at Desert Ridge

Phoenix, Arizona

The Arnold Palmer Course Rancho Mirage, California

www.wildfiregolf.com

www.missionhills.com

Rolling Hills Golf Club

Palos Verdes Estates, California www.rollinghillscc.com

SilverRock Resort

LaQuinta, California www.silverrock.org

The Tradition Golf Club

LaQuinta, California www.traditiongolfclub.net

Lakewood Ranch

www.pga-resorts.com

Pine Lakes at Palm Coast Resort

Bear Creek Golf Course

Cypress Links and King's Dunes Bradenton, Florida

www.bearcreekgolfclub.net

www.lakewoodranchgolf.com

www.palmcoastresort.com/golf.html

Legacy Golf Club

The Plantation at Ponte Vedra

www.legacygolfclub.com

www.theplantationpv.com

Legends at Orange Lake

Ponte Vedra Golf & Country Club at Sawgrass +

Denver, Colorado

Cherry Hills Country Club +

Englewood, Colorado www.chcc.com

Eagle Ranch Golf Course @

Eagle, Colorado

www.eagleranchgolf.com

Lone Tree Golf Club

Littleton, Colorado

Bradenton, Florida

Kissimmee, Florida www.orangelake.com

Lost Key Golf Course @*

Perdido Key, Florida

www.golfcolorado.com/lonetree

www.lostkey.com

Gillette Ridge Golf Club

Majors Golf Club at Palm Bay

CONNECTICUT

Bloomfield, Connecticut

Palm Bay, Florida

Palm Coast, Florida

Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida

Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida Reunion Resort & Club

The Legacy Course Orlando, Florida www.reunionresort.com

Saddlebrook Resort

www.gilletteridgegolf.com

www.majorsgolfclub.com

Wesley Chapel, Florida

FLORIDA

Marsh Landing Country Club

Sawgrass Country Club + Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida

www.marshlandingcc.com/mlcc.asp

www.sawgrasscountryclub.com

Adios Golf Club

Coconut Creek, Florida www.adiosgolfclub.org

Bay Hill Club and Lodge +

Orlando, Florida www.bayhill.com

Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida

Matanzas Woods at Palm Coast Resort

Palm Coast, Florida

www.palmcoastresort.com/golf.html

Mill Cove Golf Club

Bella Verde

Jacksonville, Florida

www.bellaverde.com

Mizner Golf and Country Club @

Wesley Chapel, Florida

Delray Beach, Florida

Boca West #1 and Boca West #3

www.miznercountryclub.com

www.bocawestcc.org

Palm City, Florida

Boca Raton, Florida

Monarch Country Club

www.monarchclub.com

Deering Bay Yacht and Country Club

Coral Gables, Florida www.dbycc.com

Naples Lakes Country Club @

Naples, Florida

www.napleslakes.com

Frenchman's Reserve

Palm Beach Gardens, Florida www.frenchmansreserve.com

The Golf Club at North Hampton

Fernandina Beach, Florida

www.hamptongolfclubs.com/NHampton.html

Hidden Hills Country Club +

Jacksonville, Florida

Orchid Island Golf Club

Vero Beach, Florida

www.standrewscc.com

Suntree Country Club

Melbourne, Florida www.suntree.com

Tesoro

Port St. Lucie, Florida www.tesoroclub.com

Wildcat Run Country Club @

Estero, Florida

www.wildcatruncc.com

GEORGIA www.atlantaathleticclub.org

Palmer Legends Country Club

Augusta, Georgia

Freeport, Florida

The Villages, Florida

Pasadena Yacht and Country Club +

St. Augustine, Florida

St. Andrews Country Club +

Boca Raton, Florida

Owl's Head

Isleworth Golf and Country Club

www.kingandbear.com

www.brevardparks.com/brevard/spessardholland

Atlanta Athletic Club +

www.thevillages.com

The King and The Bear

Spessard Holland Golf Park

Melbourne, Florida

www.orchidislandproperties.com

www.hiddenhillscc.com

Windermere, Florida

www.saddlebrookresort.com

St. Petersburg, Florida www.pyccgolf.com

PGA National

Palm Beach Gardens, Florida

Duluth, Georgia

Augusta First Tee

www.thefirstteeaugusta.org

Champions Retreat

Augusta, Georgia

www.championsretreat.net

Photo by Evan Schiller / www.golfshots.com

COLORADO

Silver Rock, CA, Course hole #15

Cherokee Run Golf Club

Conyers, Georgia www.cherokeerun.com

Eagle Watch

Woodstock, Georgia

Turtle Bay Resort

Massachusetts

The Palmer Course Kakuku, Hawaii

TPC of Boston at Great Woods

www.turtlebayresort.com

www.tpcboston.com

ILLINOIS

MICHIGAN

Norton, Massachusetts

www.eaglewatchgolf.com

The Den at Fox Creek Golf Club @

Forest Hills Golf Club +

Bloomington, Illinois

Fenton, Michigan

www.thedengc.com

www.coyotepreserve.com

Hawthorn Woods Country Club

King's Challenge at Lakeview Country Club

Augusta, Georgia

Landings on Skidaway Island @

Magnolia Course Savannah, Georgia www.thelandings.com

Coyote Preserve Golf Club

Hawthorn Township, Illinois

Cedar, Michigan

www.hwccgolf.com

www.kingschallenge.com

Spencer T. Olin Community Golf Course

Stouffers Pine Isle +

Alton, Illinois

Whitewater Country Club

White Eagle Golf Club

www.whitewatercc.com

www.whiteeaglegc.com

Hawaii

IOWA

The Hapuna Golf Course

Tournament Club of Iowa

Ravines Golf Club

www.hapunabeachhotel.com

www.tcofiowa.com

www.rav inesgolfclub.com

Hawaii Prince Golf Club

KENTUCKY

MINNESOTA

www.hawaiiprincehotel.com

Louisville, Kentucky

Nisswa, Minnesota

www.lakeforestgolf.com

www.deaconslodge.com

Lake Lanier Islands, Georgia Fayetteville, Georgia

Kamuela, Hawaii

Ewa Beach, Hawaii

Kapalua Golf Club @

The Village Course Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii www.hawaiigolfacademy.com

www.spencertolingolf.com

Naperville, Illinois

Polk City, Iowa

Lake Forest Country Club

LOUISIANA

The Legend at Shanty Creek

Bellaire, Michigan

www.shantycreek.com/golf

Northville Hills Country Club @

Northville, Michigan www.northvillehills.com

Saugatuck, Michigan

Deacon's Lodge

Minnesota Valley Golf Club +@

The Bluffs on Thompson Creek

Bloomington, Minnesota

www.thebluffs.com

TPC of the Twin Cities @

MARYLAND

www.tpc.com/private/twin_cities

St. Francesville, Louisiana

Country Club at Woodmore

Mitchellville, Maryland www.ccwoodmore.com

Blaine, Minnesota MISSISSIPPI

The Bridges Golf Club at Hollywood Casino

@* Bay St. Louis, Mississippi

Photo by Evan Schiller / www.golfshots.com

www.hollywoodcasinobsl.com/golf

MISSOURI Big Cedar

Arnold Palmer Practice Facility* Ridgedale, Missouri

Regency at Monroe

Freehold, New Jersey www.regencyatmonroe.com

www.big-cedar.com

North CAROLINA

Osage National Golf Club

Sylva, North Carolina

Lake Ozark, Missouri www.osagenational.com

Balsam Mountain Preserve www.balsammountain.com

Birkdale Golf Club

NEBRASKA

Huntersville, North Carolina

Arbor Links Golf Course

www.birkdale.com

Nebraska City, Nebraska www.arborlinks.com

River Oaks Raleigh, North Carolina

Brier Creek Country Club @

Raleigh, North Carolina

Seven Falls Golf and River Club

Hendersonville, North Carolina www.sevenfalls-nc.com

Woodlake Resort and Golf Club

Vass, North Carolina www.woodlakecc.com

White Oak Plantation

Tryon, North Carolina www.whiteoaktryon.com

The Players Club at Deer Creek

www.briercreekcountryclub.com/golf.shtml

NORTH DAKOTA

www.playersclubomaha.com

The Carolina Golf Club

Grand Forks, North Dakota

NEVADA

www.thecarolina.com

Omaha, Nebraska

Angel Park Golf Club

Palm Course and Mountain Course Las Vegas, Nevada www.angelparkgolfclub.com

ArrowCreek Country Club

Pinehurst, North Carolina Cullasaja Club

www.oasisclub.com

Innsbrook

TPC at River’s Bend

www.innsbrookgolfandboat.com

www.tpcatriversbend.com

Mid South Club

Tartan Fields Golf Club

www.talamore.com

www.tartanfields.com

NCSU—Lonnie Poole Golf Course

OREGON

www.lonniepoolegolfcourse.com

Klamath Falls, Oregon

Dayton Valley Country Club

Oasis Golf Club

Mesquite, Nevada www.theoasisgolfclub.com

Raleigh, North Carolina Oak Valley Golf Club

Red Rock Country Club

Advance, North Carolina

www.redrockcountryclub.com

TPC at Piper Glen @

NEW HAMPSHIRE

www.tpc.com/private/piper_glen/index.html

Arroyo Course and Mountain Course Las Vegas, Nevada

Golf Club of New England

Greenland, New Hampshire

www.oakvalleygolfclub.com

Charlotte, North Carolina Quail Hollow Country Club +

www.golfclubne.com

Charlotte, North Carolina

NEW JERSEY

Rivers Edge Golf Club

Laurel Creek Country Club @

Mt. Laurel, New Jersey www.laurelcreekcc.org

Oasis Golf Club

www.golfinhighlands.com/cullasaja_club.htm

Southern Pines, North Carolina

www.daytonvalley.com

OHIO

Loveland, Ohio

Albermarle, North Carolina

Dayton, Nevada

www.kingswalk.org

Highlands, North Carolina

The Legend Course Reno, Nevada www.arrowcreekcc.com

King’s Walk Golf Course

Shallotte, North Carolina

www.river18.com

Cincinnati, Ohio

Dublin, Ohio

Running Y Ranch Resort @

www.runningy.com

The Tribute at Thornburg

Bend, Oregon

www.runningy.com

PENNSYLVANIA Blue Bell Country Club

Blue Bell, Pennsylvania www.bluebellcc.com

The Club at Blackthorne

Penn Township, Pennsylvania www.theclubatblackthorne.com

Commonwealth National Golf Club @

Horsham, Pennsylvania www.commonwealthgolfclub.com

Deacon’s Lodge, NC, hole #5

Laurel Valley Country Club +

Ligonier, Pennsylvania

Oakmont Country Club +

Oakmont, Pennsylvania www.oakmont-countryclub.org

Treesdale Golf and Country Club @

Gibsonia, Pennsylvania

SOUTH DAKOTA

The Palmer Course The Woodlands, Texas

www.dakotadunescountryclub.com

www.thewoodlands.com/golf

TENNESsEE

UTAH

Dakota Dunes, South Dakota

The Governors Golf Club

Brentwood, Tennessee

www.thejeremy.com

King's Creek Spring Hill, Tennessee

VIRGINIA

Crescent Pointe Golf Club

www.kingscreekgolf.com

www.crescentpointegolf.com

TEXAS

Musgrove Mill Golf Club

Barton Creek Resort @ Palmer Lakeside Course Spicewood, Texas

Bluffton, South Carolina

Clinton, South Carolina www.musgrovemill.com

Myrtle Beach National

King's North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

Okatie, South Carolina

www.bartoncreek.com

Twin Creeks Golf Course

Allen, Texas

Sunset, South Carolina

www.belmontcountryclub.com

Dominion Valley Country Club and Executive Course

Haymarket, Virginia www.dominionvalley.com

The Golf Club at Fossil Creek

Fawn Lake @

www.thegolfclubatfossilcreek.com

www.fawnlakevirginia.com

Lakecliff on Lake Travis

The Federal Club

www.lakecliff.net

www.thefederalclub.com

Fort Worth, Texas

Spicewood, Texas

www.reserveatlakekeowee.com

Newport Dunes

RiverTowne Country Club

Port Aransas, Texas

www.rivertownecountryclub.com

The Palmer Course at La Cantera Resort @

Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina

Belmont Country Club @

Ashburn, Virginia

www.twincreeksgolf.com

http://www.springisland-sc.com

The Reserve at Lake Keowee

Bay Creek Golf Club @*

Cape Charles, Virginia www.baycreekgolfclub.com

www.mbn.com

Old Tabby Links @

Jeremy Golf and Country Club

Park City, Utah

www.thegovernorsclub.com

www.treesdalegolf.com

SOUTH CAROLINA

The Woodlands

Dakota Dunes Country Club

San Antonio, Texas

www.lacanteragolfclub.com

Spotsylvania, Virginia

Glen Allen, Virginia Keswick Golf Club @

Keswick, Virginia www.keswickclub.com

Kingsmill on the James @ The Plantation Course Williamsburg, Virginia www.kingsmill.com

Signature at West Neck

INTERNATIONAL

Germany

www.signatureatwestneck.com

AUSTRALIA

Hannover

WASHINGTON

Sanctuary Cove, Queensland

Virginia Beach, Virginia

Pines Golf Course at Sanctuary Cove

Seattle Golf Club +

www.sanctuarycove.com

www.seattlegolfclub.com

Bahamas

Seattle, Washington

West End Golf Club

Semiahmoo Golf and Country Club @

West End, Grand Bahama Island

www.semiahmoo.com

CANADA

Blaine, Washington.

Prospector Golf Course At Suncadia

Roslyn, Washington www.suncadia.com

WEST VIRGINIA Speidel Golf Club, Palmer Course

Wheeling, West Virginia

Northview Golf and Country Club

Cloverdale, British Columbia

Saukville, Wisconsin

www.golfthebog.com

Geneva National Golf Club

www.whistlergolf.com

Beijing Cascades Golf Course

DLF Golf Club

www.dlfgolfresort.com

Emeralda Golf and Country Club

Desa Tapos, Cimanggis ( Jakarta) Ireland Kildare Hotel and Country Club

Straffan, County Kildare www.kclub.ie

Kunming Piexing

Dublin

Costa Rica

Ardfert, County Kerry

Guangdong Province Kunming

Four Seasons Resort Peninsula Papagayo

Papagayo, Guanacaste

www.genevanationalresort.com

France

WYOMING

Vignoly

Teton Pines Resort and Country Club @

www.domainedelabrie.com

www.tetonpines.com

India

Chung Shan Hot Springs Golf Course

The Palmer Course Lake Geneva, Wisconsin

Jackson, Wyoming

LeoPalace Resort—The Palmer Course

Yona

INDONESIA

Beijing

The Bog

GUAM

Whistler Golf Club

Whistler, British Columbia

Stonewall Jackson Lake Resort

WISCONSIN

www.sporting-club-berlin.de

www.northviewgolf.com

China

www.stonewallresort.com

Sporting Club Berlin

Bad Saarow

New Delhi

www.oglebay-resort.com/golf/index.cfm

Walkersville, West Virginia

Rethmar Golf Links

Crecy–la–Chapelle, Paris

Milverton

Tralee Golf Club

www.traleegolfclub.com

Italy Ca'della Nave Golf Club

Martellago

Castello di Tolcinasco Golf and Country Club

Milano

www.golftolcinasco.it

Tralee, IRELAND, hole #16

Golf Club Le Pavoniere

Prato www.golfclublepavoniere.com Japan Ajigasawa Kogen Golf Course

Aomori Prefecture Asahi Miki

Osaka

Aso Prince Hotel Golf Course

Kumamoto Prefecture Forest Miki Golf Club

Hyogo Prefecture

Fuji Excellent Ono Club

Tsugaru Kogen Golf Course

Evercrest Golf Club and Resort

Aomori Prefecture

Nasugbu, Batangas

Wakasa Country Club — Suigetsuko Course

Antipolo, Luzon

Washington Club Sapporo Golf Course

Orchard Golf and Country Club — The Legacy

Fukui Prefecture

Hokkaido Prefecture

Forest Hills Golf & Country Club

Dasmarinas, Cavite http://theorchardgolf.com

Washington Club Meihan Golf Course

Mie Prefecture

Wakasa Country Club—Hyugako Course

Kukui Prefecture

REPUBLIC OF KAZAKHSTAN Zhailjau Golf Resort

The Quarry

Cebu

Sun Valley

Kingsville

Sun Valley Golf Course

Hyogo Prefecture

Almaty

Antipolo City, Luzon

Furano Golf Course

Korea

PORTUGAL

Hokkaido Prefecture Japan Classic Country Club

Iga Ueno

Kanegasaki Golf Course

Iwate Prefecture

Manago Country Club

Eunhwasam Country Club

Seoul

Muju Resort

Barroca D'Alva

Lisbon

The Victoria Course at Vilamoura

Muju-Gun

Vilamoura

www.mujuresort.com

www.oceanicogolf.com

MALAYSIA

Spain

Damai Golf Course

Tochigi Prefecture

Sarawak

Minakami-Kogen Golf Course

PHILIPPINES

Hyatt La Manga Club Resort

Cartagena, Murcia

www.lamanga.regency.hyatt.com

Gunma Prefecture

Misawa Adonis Golf Club

Gifu Prefecture

Niseko Golf Course

Hokkaido Prefecture Shimotsuke Country Club

Tochigi Prefecture

Sporting Club,BERLIN, hole #13

Caliraya Springs

TAIWAN

www.staluciarealty.com/version2/ project-CalirayaSprings.htm

Taoyuan County

Imperial Golf & Country Club (formerly Cebu Mactan)

Taoyuan County

Lumban, Cavinti, Laguna

Cebu

www.theorchardgolf.com

Formosa First Country Club Formosa Yangmei Country Club

THAILAND Bangpoo Country Club

Bangkok

GOLF. A better way to get there.

Now, slip Cleatskins Golf over your golf shoes to travel to and from the course with ease.

“Cleatskins are an incredible, very practical accessory for me and other golfers who are moving on and off the course frequently,…”

John Senden, PGA TOUR Champion, ranked 24th in Fed Ex Cup Points(2009) Dallas, TX

“Cleatskins are fantastic!

They have improved the life of my golf spikes 100%!

They are durable, comfortable, and provide unparalleled traction and performance.”

Danny Howard, PGA Teaching Pro & Director of Golf Operations, Jacaranda Golf Club, FLA

“…put your golf shoes (and Cleatskins) on at home and go from there.”

Tom Spousta, national correspondent, www.WorldGolf.com

“Cleatskins are the greatest invention since the golf shoe. I use them for every lesson I give, and they are a lifesaver.”

Ken Racca, PGA Teaching Pro, Poughkeepsie, New York

GOLF Save Time. Protect Performance. Gain Traction.

www.cleatskinsgolf.com

Samantha Appleton (Official White House Photographer) President Obama signs the Arnold Palmer Gold Medal Act. Looking on, left to right, are: Rep. Tim Murphy (Pa), Mr. Palmer, Mrs. Palmer, Rep. John Tanner (Tn), Sen. Mark Udall (Co), Sen. Mel Martinez (Fl) and (to the President’s right) Rep. Joe Baca (Ca)

The Ultimate Medal Shortly after his 80th birthday, Arnold Palmer became the 141st recipient of the Congressional Gold medal. President Barack Obama set the seal on one of America’s highest honors in a special ceremony in Washington, D.C.

the white house has been almost like a second home for Arnold Palmer over his years as a sporting icon,but his latest visit to the seat of power came on Wednesday, September 30 when President Barack Obama signed into law the Congressional Gold Medal honoring the golf legend.

The award made Palmer the first sports person in history to receive all three of the United States’ highest civilian honors, including the National Sports Award from Former President Bill Clinton in 1993 (a one-time award) and the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Former President George W. Bush in 2004.

“I don’t know that I’ve done anything to deserve it, but I accept,” Mr. Palmer said. “That’s pretty fantastic. It’s pretty good stuff, quite overwhelming.”

The Congressional Gold Medal was first given to George Washington in 1776 and to 141 exemplary Americans since. “I didn’t know George Washington,” Palmer said with a grin. “But if I did, I would shake his hand and say, 'You’re the first, and I won’t be the last.’”

Palmer was the fifth athlete to receive the honor from

178

kingdom 15 winter 2009

Congress, which is considered the highest expression of national appreciation for achievements and contributions.

Byron Nelson is the only other golfing recipient of the medal which was bestowed upon him posthumously in 2006.

The Arnold Palmer Gold Medal Act, H.R. 1243, was introduced by Congressman Joe Baca (D-California). It was passed first by the House of Representatives in April and then unanimously passed by the Senate on Mr. Palmer’s 80th birthday on September 10.

U.S. Senator Mel Martinez (R-Florida), sponsored the Senate bill nominating Mr. Palmer for the medal. Such bills must be co-sponsored by at least two-thirds of the members of the House and 67 in the Senate before even being considered in the respective chambers.

“Arnold Palmer is a legend and a giant among golfers,” said Rep. Baca. “Arnold elevated the game of golf both at home and abroad, and is respected across the globe. He won 92 championships in professional competition, but even more significant he is an exemplary American who always gave back to others.” n

Your needs have evolved.

So have we.

For more than a decade, CitationShares has given customers true travel flexibility.

From fractional jet ownership, to whole jet management, to a jet card that gives you access to our entire fleet, we’ve pioneered ways to make traveling easier and more comfortable. And as CitationAir, we’ll continue to bring you unparalleled value, service and innovation on every flight. Now more than ever, CitationAir is where you belong.

1 877 MY CITATION x018 ( 1.877.692.4828 x018) www.citationair.com

JET CARD

•

JET SHARES

•

JET MANAGEMENT

•

C O R P O R AT E S O L U T I O N S

When it comes to financial stability, it helps to be led by one of the world’s most successful businessmen.

And arguably the world’s most successful businessgecko.

Warren Buffett and the Gecko. They go together like pie and chips. And since Mr. Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. acquired GEICO in 1996, the two have seen GEICO grow to become the third-largest personal auto insurer in the nation. Of course, GEICO has a long history of helping people save money on their car insurance. Little wonder why S&P has consistently awarded GEICO a AAA rating for financial strength — its highest grade. Mr. Buffett would say it’s that legacy of great service that helped over 3 million drivers switch to GEICO last year. Of course, a hardworking gecko might’ve helped a bit too.

a subsidiary of berkshire hathaway inc.

Some discounts, coverages, payment plans, and features are not available in all states or in all GEICO companies. GEICO auto insurance is not available in Mass. At December 31, 2007 Government Employees Insurance Company had admitted assets of $12.9 billion, and policyholder surplus of$5.1 billion (including $33.4 million in paid up capital stock). Total liabilities were $7.8 billion, including $7.1 billion in reserves. Additional financial information is available at: http://www.geico.com/about/corporate/financial-information/. GEICO (Government Employees Insurance Company) is the third-largest private passenger auto insurer in the United States based on the latest 12-month written premium through June 2008. Government Employees Insurance Co. • GEICO General Insurance Co. • GEICO Indemnity Co. • GEICO Casualty Co. GEICO: Washington, DC 20076. GEICO Gecko image © 1999 – 2009. © 2009 GEICO