One decade, about 500-or-so golf courses, and some 60 FAM trips ago, I made my inaugural foray into the far reaches of the golf world - off I went to Minnesota. I was a 30-something cub reporter on that initial visit, and learned that the Land of 10,000 Lakes might well be rechristened the Land of 10,000 Links (well, nearly 500, anyway.) I discovered that Minnesota has more golfers per capita than any other state in the Union, and is the only state to have held all 13 of the official USGA championships (U.S. Open, Senior Open, U.S. Amateur, ...

A short time ago I blogged about the variety of private-club golf riches in Columbus, Ohio. But what if, unlike Tony Soprano, one isn’t “connected?” Columbus-bound private club devotees are, as a Scotsman might say, “spoiled for choice,” but in the public-golf arena there’s just one clear choice: Visit the course as distinctive as its name: Longaberger. Designed by Ohioan Art Hills, Longaberger Golf Club in Nashport, Ohio is one of the finest public golf experiences in the nation. Now a decade old, this parkland beauty rises and swoops through some of the finest farmland in the Midwest. (In fact ...

With sticks in tow, I travel around more in a year than most golfers do in five. (This proclamation EXCLUDES members of the PGA Tour, Champions, Nationwide, Hooters, LPGA, Duramed Futures, etc.) I’ve long been used to dragging my casket-sized travel bag through airports, and upon arrival waiting (praying?) they show up on either the carousel, or at the oversize luggage bin. I’ve generally had decent luck, though of course I’ve had clubs delayed, my travel cover mangled, and in the worst scenario, an entire bag (not just my 14 weapons, but 4 days worth of clothes, two pairs ...

The golf cognoscenti know that there are fewer cities, pound-for-pound, with a richer variety of quality private golf clubs than surprising Columbus, Ohio. The longtime “Big Four” include venerable Scioto Country Club, a recently restored Donald Ross gem that was the boyhood home and training ground for hometown hero Jack Nicklaus. There is Muirfield Village, which is the Golden Bear’s private fiefdom, one of his most impressive designs, and annual home to the Memorial Tournament. There’s The Golf Club, an under-the-radar Pete Dye masterpiece that is his least-known great creation. And finally, the lyrically named Double Eagle, a Tom Weiskopf-Jay Morrish ...