The Great NW Golf Adventure – Summary and Random Thoughts

23 days, 22 rounds of golf on 22 different courses in 9 different states, traveled a total of 6,750 miles through 16 different states and stayed in 19 different hotels.  Most people either ask why or think we are a little crazy.  When we started the quest to play all 193 courses that have ever been ranked in the Golf Digest Top 100 Public Course rankings, it was a way for us to travel to parts of the United States that we have not been to previously.  We do not like to travel just to sight see so we decided that playing top golf courses along the way was a great way to see America and do what we enjoy.  This being our longest trip to date, took a little more planning and a little more stamina (mostly mental).  We have no regrets and we have so many fantastic memories.  Here are a few facts and observations about the three weeks on the road.

America is massive, diverse and beautiful.

The people we met throughout the entire trip were tremendously friendly and interesting.  From the former Director of Agriculture of Florida, to professional rodeo steer roper Garrett, to a former Buckeye Bruce and his friend Cricket, to great young Evans Scholar caddies Alaina and Sean, to golf partners Rich and Gary, Mo and Robert, Champions Tour wannabe James and Coach, to Chambers Bay caddies Kyle and Hagen, former PGA Tour caddies Bobby Z and Alaska Dave and many other golfers and workers that we encountered, I can only say that America is made up of some wonderful people, especially around this great game of golf.  (We thought it was karma that our Bandon caddies were graduating from college this year and Alaina is going to be a nurse which was Marilyn’s profession and Sean is going to be a teacher and a basketball coach which is what I did for many years.)

This type of trip is much more doable with Sirius XM radio and the in-car navigation system. (Although it can mislead you about 5% of the time)

12 of the courses are currently in the Top 100 and 7 others previously were in the Top 100.

The best conditioned course was a tie between Pronghorn and Old Greenwood.

The average green fee was $156.

The best golfing value or best courses for their fees were Old Works at $60, Wildhorse at $62, Circling Raven at $105 and Gamble Sands at $135.

The worst golfing value for their fees were Semiahmoo at $72, Jackson Hole at $189 and Crosswater at $195.

Average price of a hotel room was $249.  The lowest price was the Hampton Inn in Colby, Kansas at $119. The highest priced hotel was Coeur d’Alene Resort at $476 thanks to over 1,100 athletes competing in an Ironman Triathlon the next day.  A close second was the Hampton Inn in Jackson Hole at $425 (Yes, that is correct) thanks to the total eclipse in Wyoming and it was still tourist season at the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone.

The best value with respect to hotels was Gamble Sands Golf Resort at $252.  This was a wonderful room and facility.

My lowest score was 73 at Gamble Sands.  My highest score was 86 at Pronghorn.  My average score was 80.8.

Marilyn’s lowest score was 82 at Wild Horse, Coeur d’Alene, Pacific Dunes and Firekeeper.  Her highest score was 93 at Ghost Creek.  Her average score was 87.4.

The average yardage I played was 6,248 yards and Marilyn’s average was 5,110 yards.

My average Slope Rating was 128 and Marilyn’s average Slope Rating was 124.

My golfing highlight was the 73 at Gamble Sands, an eagle two at Circling Raven and an eagle three at Semiahmoo.

My lowlight was the several chunks, skulls, and occasional shanks that kept bringing me back to reality.

Marilyn’s golfing highlight was shooting an 82 on Pacific Dunes at a Slope Rating (measure of difficulty) of 128.  I am sure another highlight would be the 82 she shot at Wild Horse to beat me on the first day of the trip.

Some unusual or special events that made the trip memorable whether good or bad was the total eclipse while on the golf course in Nebraska, seeing the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone up close, driving escorted down a mountain highway with a wildfire burning up next to the roadway, the smoke that hung over the entire state of Oregon while we were there for six days, the traffic jams around Seattle, Tacoma, Portland and Sacramento, the fenced in Hampton in Tacoma because of the neighborhood and getting stuck in the middle of the Ironman Triathlon activities in Idaho.

We feel very blessed and thankful that we have the health, time and means to make a trip like this.  I am extremely lucky to have a wife that likes to golf as much as I do and who is also willing to put up with my somewhat crazy ideas.  If things continue to go well, we will be embarking on a two week golf trip to the deep south later this year.  Stay tuned for the next chapter as I hack my way to 193.