Ohio Golf Journal February 2021

Don’t BeAfraid to Travel FRED ALTVATER You are a Golfaholic if: You thinkWWJDon the bracelet youwear means: What Would Jack Do? Golf is a game that can’t be won, only played. And so, I play on. I play for the moments yet to come.....Looking for my place in the field......... We have completed out annual sojourn to Florida for 2021. My wife and I were apprehensive about traveling during these stressful times, but decided, against the wishes of our children, to make the trek south for some sun, golf and warmer weather. Traveling does take some extra planning right now, but it is doable. We made trips to the grocery store, limited our exposure by cooking our own meals in our condo and were careful when we ventured out to a golf course, or beach. We found that 99% of the people are taking precautions and every public facility is constantly wiping down and sanitizing every surface. Most hotels and resorts have touchless registration to minimize risk. Although the numbers of COVID cases are still running at high levels, we found that you can get out of your comfort zone and travel if you are careful. We spent most of our time in the Orlando area and were able to play three historic golf courses. Dubsdread and theWinter Park 9 are both public facilities that are a joy to play. Dubsdread was designed by Tom Bendelow and opened in 1917. WP9 is a 9-hole track, but renovations made by the team of Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw in 2016 have made these greens some of the best you will ever see on a muni track. We slipped over to the Atlantic Coast to play Rockledge Country Club near Cocoa Beach. It celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2018 and recently began to accept public play. The Clubhouse is especially comfortable, plus they serve a delicious meal after your round. We have excellent articles from the usual suspects in this month’s issue. Mike May talks about dining opportunities on the Florida Golf Trail and Ed Travis reviews more golf equipment. Dave Theoret and Len “The Legend” Ziehm provide golf travel information. Although we won’t see our friends at the annual golf shows this year, I do hope we see you on the Back 9 when the weather warms up. ~ Jack Lemon’s Final line from the Movie Bagger Vance Ohio Golf Journal