I’m the first to admit that I really don’t give two
titleists about golf equipment. A quick inside my golf bag will tell you all
you need to know. My driver is circa
2005 with a strip of duct tape holding down about a half pound of lead tape.
None of my other three ‘woods’ have a head cover. My irons are beat up old
Mizuno blades, and my putter is a Ping B60 that hasn’t been made for 20 years.
Oh, and my golf balls are much more likely to be stamped ‘PRACTICE’ than have
my initials on them. All this fits neatly into a single strap ‘Sunday’ bag.
All the more strange that I should myself a few weeks ago at
the equipment porn show that is the PGA Merchandise Show. Every year in
January, virtually the entire golf world meets at the massive Orlando
Convention Centre to show off their latest wares and make dubious boasts about
’15 more yards’. And along with the
behemoths of the equipment world you also have mom and pop operations selling
homemade putter grips.
Among the stranger things I witnessed at the show was a
‘state of the game’ panel discussion involving industry mucky mucks and The
Donald himself. I expected Trump to brag about all the golf properties he has
been buying up and I wasn’t disappointed. Somehow he was able to ignore the
crux of every question and use it to ‘build his brand’. The entire discussion was largely a waste of
time, to be honest. If I learned anything having worked with and amongst golf’s
various governing bodies, it is that they love to nod heads and pat each other
on the back as they come up with the same old answers to the same old questions.
Ostensibly, I was at the show to meet with PGA of Canada
members to offer our assistance with any travel plans they may have, and I have
to extend my gratitude to the PGA of Canada for hosting a night for anyone from
the Canadian golf industry to attend. The Labatt Blue was flowing and it was a
wonderful opportunity to meet and greet. However, I’d be lying if I didn’t
admit that the highlight of our week was a round at the new Streamsong Resort
south of Orlando.
For those of you who’ve been living under a rock, Streamsong
is the most talked about golf development in North America this side of Cabot
Links and Bandon Dunes. It follows the theory of Mike Keiser, the man behind
Bandon Dunes, that if you build superior golf courses that engage and inspire,
golfers will flock there regardless of
how much of a pain in the butt it is to get there. And the beauty of
Streamsong is that it is not really much of a pain at all…easy flight into
Orlando or Tampa and a 90 min drive…no sweat.
As we drove south from Orlando, there isn’t much to give you
an idea that a world-class golf facility is anywhere near. It’s quite an opener
to leave the façade that is Orlando and enter into the Florida that very few
tourists see. The landscape is dotted with mining activity (mostly phosphate),
and it is because of the foresight of a mining company called Mosaic, that we
now have a reclamation project turned into 36 holes of brilliant, heart racing
golf.
I’ll save you the blow-by-blow, but I’m comfortable
proclaiming the courses at Streamsong to be the best golf available to the
public in Florida, and the Lodge is a stunning piece of modern architecture.
Florida has always been a great place for a cheap and cheerful golf break for
Canadians, but now we have a legitimate world-class destination that will
particularly appeal to the discerning golfer who understands how the game
should be played.
When I was searching the basement for my dirty old clubs to
take down south, I didn’t feel terribly excited to play. The first thing I did
when I got home was plop my clubs in the sink and gave them a good wash. That’s
the sign of a good golf course.
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