26. January Asia Trip/New Golf Digest World 100/Brief Review of 2015

January Asia Trip/New Golf Digest World 100/Brief Review of 2015

It is now 10:15pm (EST) on January 11.  I am at an airport lounge at JFK airport in NYC, awaiting a 16 hour flight to Hong Kong (in order to catch another 4 hour flight to Kuala Lumpur).  Watching the NCAA Championship game and “hunting and pecking” on the laptop writing this awful prose.  I will go over the trip agenda in a bit, but first some catching up.

2015 in review:   All in all a very good year.  For the most part, health was good for both Pat and I, grandkids are doing well (and Kingston and Duggan started swinging clubs), and Pat’s two sons (Hunter and Clark) had good years.  Hunter earned a big (and well earned) promotion at Master Card, while Clark and Alex (along w Sarah and Owen) moved from Washington DC to Glenwood Springs, CO where Clark is helping manage he Whiteriver National Forest (a move I heartily applaud).  Additionally, Clark got his first hole-in-one playing in CO with his step dad.  Pat and I became Mr. & Mrs. Super Senior Champions on the same afternoon at Brookline.

Golf course wise, I got a ton done (as you faithful readers know all too well).  During 2015, I went on 10 golfing trips (5 US/Canada and 5 overseas) and played

                        --in 20 US States

                        --in 19 different countries

                        --a total of 202 rounds

                        --107 new golf courses (bringing my lifetime total to 799).

Good progress was mage on mu bucket lists, and the light at end of the tunnel is in sight!!  This despite a significant increase in the size of one of my bucket lists associated with a new Top 100 listing published last week.

Golf Digest 2016 World 100 Greatest:  Two years ago, in January 2014, Gold Digest published its first World 100.  At the time, I was planning my round the world trip to finish the Golf Magazine 2013 World Top 100, and concentrated on playing the four courses I had left to finish the GM list.  IMAHO (AH = always humble) that was a good decision….I needed to get the 100 done! After completing that trip in May 2014, I started developing additional bucket lists.

On Tuesday January 5, 2016, Golf Digest published its 2016 list, right after all details had been finalized for my upcoming trip.  Let me just say that the list has not been warmly received in all quarters.  Whenever new top 100’s are published, there normally is a “turnover” of about 5 courses from the prior edition.  This time there are 24 new courses included.  Until I play the 13 of these that I have not played yet, I shall withhold judgment…but I think many have appropriately questioned how a World Top 100 could exclude Ballybunion and Bethpage (Black)…not to mention some others.  Some one has said that it was almost like the editors wanted to make a big splash…forgetting that in diving competitions the golf medals are usually awarded to those who make the smallest splash.  Enough said!!

Asia Trip:  When I saw the new GD list, I quickly realized that it increased my unplayed Top 100 EVER (from 7 sources) list from 11 to 23.  That was somewhat disconcerting, but after breaking down the additions regionally, and looking at my upcoming trip, it became apparent that I could make a major dent by tweaking the trip.  Of course, with the trip scheduled to commence in 6 days, this was not a simple task.  Having a round the world ticket (which makes flight changes easy and inexpensive) made it doable, and by Friday Jan 8, the trip was rescheduled.  Tough itinerary…will need luck with weather and no big flight delay issues.  The trip covers 14 courses…all new for me, as follows:

Top 100 EVER (7 sources):

Royal Selangor GC (Old)                    Malaysia

Els Club Teluk Datai*                         Malaysia

Sentosa GC (Serapong)*                     Singapore

Hong Kong GC (Eden)                       Hong Kong

Bali Handara                                       Indonesia

Nirwana Bali**                                   Indonesia

Bluffs Ho Tram Strip**                      Vietnam

Emirates GC (Majlis)*                       United Arab Emirates

Jumeirah (Earth)*                               United Arab Emirates                        

YAS Links*                                        United Arab Emirates

* On GD…never on another list

**  On GD and previously on another list

Tom MacWood 1939 “Spoof”:

Dalat Palace GC                                 Vietnam

Nurwana Eliya GC                             Sri Lanka

East London GC                                 South Africa

Macceuvlei GC                                   South Africa

I get back January 28.  Need to get this off and catch my flight.  More as trip progresses.