On the road with Bob and Pete

Golf Digest, Sept, 2003 by Jerry Tarde

FEW THINGS IN LIFE CAN annoy you like your golf partner two days into a golf trip. He can be your closest friend and confidante, the godfather of your first-born, but after he arrives late to the first tee, slow-plays the whole front nine, and then orders a cheeseburger, well done, at the halfway house, you would be entirely within your rights to strap him to the hood of a rental car. Such is the premise for Creative Director Bob Carney's evocative tale of taking golf vacations in foursomes and eightsomes (page 88).

The story idea is typical of Pete Finch, our Senior Editor of Travel and Special Projects, who's the golf-mad player we hired away from Smart Money magazine, where he was the Editor. Finch and Carney are a dangerous pairing, both 36-a-day men who have been known to ignore lightning and dinner reservations to squeeze in another nine holes.

In July's issue Finch brought you a story on "Family Getaways: The Win-Win Vacation," highlighting golf locales where you can sneak away for an early-morning round while keeping your family happy. He likes travel pieces written by real golfers who are every bit as passionate about the game as he is and not afraid to give you the whole story.

Here's a sample passage out of Pete's latest trip report from a pro-am in Knoxville, Tenn.: "My group got paired with Boo Weekley, the long-hitting kid from Milton, Fla., who was a top finisher in the PGA Tour's Q school a couple of years ago. A little item about him had appeared in that morning's Knoxville News Sentinel. The paper recounted the story of Boo hitting a deer with his car. Boo got out and found the deer dying beside the road. So he went back to his trunk, pulled out his golf bag, and euthanized the animal with his 4-iron. I asked him if he still had the 4-iron with him. 'Yes, sir, I do,' he said quietly. It was a Nike 4-iron, if anyone's interested."

Real golfers, real stories--that's what you'll find in our travel coverage. At the conclusion of this month's article, there's a request for your own real-life experiences to help guide us in reporting on the best places to play and the funny people to be met along the way. Who knows, that three-ball up ahead might be Carney, Finch and Weekley.

Jerry Tarde, Chairman and Editor-in-Chief