What kind of traveling golfer are you?

Do you wish to pack as much golf into the daylight hours of a trip as humanly possible, or are 18 holes a day enough? Do you prefer to stay put at a particular facility or within a relatively compact destination, or are you keen to stretch your legs (and rental car mileage) and wander a bit?

Do you go with family or with friends? Do you schedule one big trip per year or spread your budget out among smaller getaways? Do you prefer to fly or drive? Do you prefer to take carts or walk with caddies? Are you looking to notch as many highly-ranked courses as you can, or do you prefer to discover some hidden gems?

In my years of traveling to hundreds of golf courses across dozens of golf destinations, I've encountered all sorts of golf travelers. One of the testaments to golf's greatness as a game and a community is the ways in which it can fit into one's larger life's travels. Here are some broad categories of traveling golfer I've run across over more than a decade on the road; let me know which one you fit into, and which other traveler-types you'd propose.

One sidecar to golf's recent popularity surge is that we are well and truly in a golden age for golf buddy trips. Especially at larger resorts, I am seeing more multi-foursome golfer-gangs plowing quality time and funds into a few days of golf with the boys (while all-female golf group trips are unquestionably on the rise, too). I am also seeing more golfers of my own approximate age (I'm 35) than ever before.

In the vast majority of cases, buddy groups are well-behaved, but there are always a few rebels, often identifiable by obnoxious shirts and hats - I'm thinking of one vile pun on "Titleist" that I've seen enough of - who aim to relive their college heyday in between rounds. Multi-round days are the norm for many of these groups, and I have to imagine they come home twice as exhausted as when they set out. There is an urgency to wring every possible drop of enjoyment out of the trip before returning to the real world. I get it, though - work hard, play hard.

I have had the opportunity to crash a couple of these get-togethers over the years, often as a random fourth added to a threesome because one of the members of the group had to leave early or has not yet shown up. In almost every case, I've felt embraced and included, and there has been no hint of self-censorship on the part of the folks I've joined, which is exactly as things should be.

A couple of decades' extra life experience has conferred both wisdom and wealth upon this discerning group. This is often either an organized group of country club members - the rows of logoed bags by the driving range are a giveaway - or a business outing. The atmosphere is much milder - still festive, but restrained. There is also much less of a sense of urgency; these golfers have been on plenty of trips like this, and they know there are plenty more to come. Solid colors and austere stripes replace wild prints, and it's fun to play logo-bingo with this group.

In the instances where I've ended up grouped with these golfers, my experiences have been a slightly more mixed bag than when it's a party-atmosphere buddy trip. Most golfers are friendly, and at least cordial, but there have been a few frosty rounds where I've mostly kept to myself while the rest of the group mingles.

Much of my introduction to golf comes through my own father, so I have a lot of time for the family golf group in all its iterations, and always enjoy observing them from afar. I've encountered father-son and husband-wife trips most often, but pre-wedding outings and family reunion rounds make for the best people-watching.

By and large, the family-golf atmosphere is friendly and often celebratory, but it can be fraught, especially when an eager but relative non-golfer in-law feels pressure to keep up with the avid golfers in the extended family. I've eavesdropped on more than a handful of urgent pre-round warmups where the experienced, clear A-player in the group is desperately searching for a swing tip to give his happy-hacker son-in-law so that the round can be at least modestly enjoyable for both of them.

I have been the fourth in a couple of these groups and it is fascinating to see how well family dynamics hold while someone is playing some of the worst golf imaginable. One round at a past and future major championship venue sticks out in my memory: a father, son and son-in-law whose initially competent golf games all eventually went down the tubes to the point where the caddies were seemingly dragging them along, dropping balls in the fairway after they'd sprayed their tee shots out of play yet again. Everyone was friendly enough but we were all very ready to see the 19th hole that day.

Living within driving distance of a top golf course, resort or destination feels like stealing sometimes. When I've been the visitor, playing golf with someone who is more like a regular at a resort, I often sense just a tinge of self-satisfaction. It's seldom obnoxious, but there's a confidence from getting to visit a course multiple times a season that most people are only going to play once or twice in their life that is hard to hide. Being on a first-name basis with the restaurant and bar staff is a nice touch, too.

I should know - I used to live and work in the Myrtle Beach area, which meant I was that guy for the years I was there; I played golf with a lot of visiting groups of all sorts. And whenever I go back, there's a deep sense of familiarity and comfort. When I played in the Myrtle Beach World Am recently, I couldn't help but feel that twinge of satisfaction, knowing the area like I do while seeing others, visiting for the first or second time, still discovering it.

Not all of a high-end golf resort's revenue comes from golfers, especially when there is an associated hotel with a busy conference center. Every week, these places host events filled with corporate folk, many of whom are golfers. And when golf is not on the schedule, they're forced to gaze forlornly out conference center windows over emerald greens and sparkling lakes. No matter how good the Q4 projections are, they would rather be teeing it up. That's why when they are able to escape the boardroom for the putting green, they are usually the course's happiest customers for the day. I will always remember the joy of a gentleman who was in my group at one bucket-list course who was using rented clubs but was nevertheless genuinely thrilled that he was able to finagle a chance to play on what was otherwise a work trip. And I've felt second-hand joy when seeing pairs or trios of corporate types sneaking into pro shops playing hooky, fed up from one too many conference breakout sessions.

I suppose this is the category I tend to fall into, given my occupation. At the more buddy-group-oriented resorts, it can be awkward to be by oneself, being a single on the tee sheet amid a sea of foursomes or eating alone while the rest of the restaurant's tables are full. I'm still reeling from the time a lady leaned over from her table to tell me how brave I was for dining alone at a steakhouse at one Florida resort.

So why do some golfers visit noteworthy golf destinations by themselves? Sometimes the urge to wander doesn't respect friends' schedules. Sometimes you've just got to go it alone. Part of what makes golf special is how it can accommodate all of us.

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March 21, 2019

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