http://brianmccallen.com Wed, 02 May 2012 22:05:05 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Rhode Island is closely associated with the classic designs of Donald Ross. The prolific Scotsman—who maintained a summer residence in Little Compton—crafted several notable courses throughout the Ocean State. Metacomet, Misquamicut, Newport, Point Judith, Sakonnet, Triggs Memorial, Wannamoissett and several others bear his imprint. But there’s more to golf in the nation’s smallest state than The Donald’s inverted saucer greens and grass-faced bunkers. Shelter Harbor Golf Club in Charlestown, which debuted in 2005 and was the ... ]]> http://brianmccallen.com/golf/golf/948/shelter-harbor-an-environmental-gem-in-little-rhody There’s a world of difference between swinging your clubs in a high-ceilinged room over the winter, and taking that carpet-grooved, no-worries swing to an actual golf course and observing, um, the ball flight that swing produces. In other words, I came in for a huge reality check last week at Reynolds Plantation. In addition to grooving my indoor swing, I had of course planned ahead for my Golf Road Warriors experience. I packed suntan lotion. Extra gloves. ... ]]> http://brianmccallen.com/golf/golf/equipment/928/callaways-hex-black-tour-golf-ball-3 While I’m still experiencing quaking tremors after brandishing the Golf Road Warrior’s sword and shield for five consecutive days at Reynolds Plantation, my thoughts about the golf community are beginning to cohere. Because the season’s first major is nearly upon us, it’s easier to assess the appeal of this 10,000-acre community in Georgia’s red clay country 75 miles east of Atlanta. For this reason: An hour’s drive west of the development is Augusta, as in ... ]]> http://brianmccallen.com/golf/golf/915/a-reynolds-plantation-retrospective   This isn’t going to be easy. I’m home now. In rural Connecticut. Where it’s drizzling and 39 degrees. Seven degrees colder and it’s snowing. In other words, I’m no longer a Golf Road Warrior. I’m a stay-at-home dad who works out of the house. I’m not comfortably ensconced in a multi-bedroom condo tucked into a grove of tall Georgia pines with a nice verandah where the salubrious air is scented by Nature. Outside my office window, ... ]]> http://brianmccallen.com/golf/golf/911/the-end-of-the-road Over the years, I had heard stories about golfers who had taken a quick lesson and arrived to a course expecting instant results. As a self-taught golfer—OK, I read a lot of instructional books—I couldn’t fathom what these people were talking about. As far as I was concerned, Rob Bowser at the Reynolds Golf Academy had set me on the path to ball-striking wellness. All I needed to do was show up and do what ... ]]> http://brianmccallen.com/golf/golf/907/jack-by-the-lake When you’re sick or just not feeling well, what do you do? You go to the doctor. After yesterday’s fiasco at the National, my golf game wasn’t just sick. It was on life support. Actually, it had expired. My playing partners were too kind to state the obvious: “Your golf game is DOA, pards.” And so I did what any sensible media guy, or any embattled Golf Road Warrior, would do at a classy full-service operation ... ]]> http://brianmccallen.com/golf/golf/902/day-three-natural-splendor-on-the-oconee-course Day two in Georgia. There is nothing like the South on a beautiful Spring day. The temperature was quite cool at 7 a.m., but by mid-afternoon, the sun was high and the air was warm. On a day like today, time seems suspended at Reynolds Plantation, a vast enclave of 11,000 acres interlaced with 90 miles of interior roads. There was crack-of-dawn golf again today. They don’t call it Golf ... ]]> http://brianmccallen.com/golf/golf/897/the-beat-goes-on-from-the-course-to-the-lake Golf is a humbling game. How do I know? I played my inaugural round of the year and my first as a Golf Road Warrior yesterday on The Landing at Reynolds Plantation. While I wasn’t exactly slain on the field of battle, I saw what a top-notch, well-defended course could do to a rusty snowbird. On the other hand, I got to watch fellow warriors Peter Kessler and Jeff Wallach resume their ongoing grudge match. ... ]]> http://brianmccallen.com/golf/golf/891/trial-by-fire-at-the-landing How excited am I to be packing for my first Golf Road Warriors adventure? Let me put it this way. I made my first and only trip to Reynolds Plantation exactly 20 years ago. Back then, there were only two courses on site at the far end of Linger Longer Road in sleepy Greensboro, Ga. Needless to say, the Ritz-Carlton Lodge had yet to be built. (The small media contingent on hand was asked to ... ]]> http://brianmccallen.com/golf/golf/882/reynolds-wrap-getting-ready-for-gtw Here’s a feel-good story from the Volunteer State, which nearly 20 years ago invested over $20 million to build a series of golf courses within a few of its state parks. First, a little background. The man entrusted with the job of designing the layouts was Jack Nicklaus, who once confided that while he was very proud of his design career, he regretted not having built more courses the average person had access to and could ... ]]> http://brianmccallen.com/golf/golf/878/nicklaus-tips-his-hat-to-public-golf-at-harrison-bay