The Advisor - Brief Article

Golf Digest, Feb, 2000

Dear Golf Digest: I'm getting married in June. My bride-to-be doesn't play golf, so should I just forget about bringing my clubs along on our honeymoon in Hawaii? T.M., Portland, Ore.

If you're more concerned about making tee times on your honeymoon than in making whoopee, then you had better get used to sleeping with your golf bag.

That said, honeymoons today are often more like vacations than 24-hour- a-day love-ins. "People have this fantasy of spending a week exclusively in each other's company," says Jamie Marshall, travel editor at Bride's Magazine. "What they realize after two days is, they really want to be around other people some of the time and do other activities. If you do some of those activities apart, you have something to talk about at the end of the day."

So try this: First, resist the urge to take your clubs with you. That's a bit of an insult. You need to send the message early on to your beloved that golf will always be second to thee. Plus, rental clubs are very nice these days.

Second, if your new wife has no interest in learning the game or riding around in a golf cart watching you throw clubs and curse for four hours, don't just dump her in the lobby to play solitaire. "Do something thoughtful to show you've been thinking about your bride," says Marshall. "Arrange something special for her that day, like a four-hour spa treatment."

Excellent idea, unless the masseur looks like George Clooney.

Mail questions to: Golf Digest Advisor, 5520 Park Ave., Box 395, Trumbull, CT 06611. Fax 203-371-2162; e-mail to editor@golfdigest.com.