“Play-Write” Golf Courses

Play Hampton Golf Village in North Georgia; Experiencing The Trifecta of Golf in Atlanta!

June 5, 2020 By admin

Play Hampton Golf Village in North Georgia; Experiencing The Trifecta of Golf in Atlanta!

How good is it to be a golf & travel writer! I met a new friend Bob Thibodeau from Atlanta earlier this year at the 2020 PGA Show in Orlando. I went to Atlanta to visit my son, daughter-in-love, and grandson in Atlanta. Bob Thibodeau sets up a golf game at Hampton Golf Village in Cumming in North Georgia. A beautiful part of the state where one can go directly north from the Atlanta metro area, touch the Blue Ridge Mountains, and enter North Carolina directly while bypassing South Carolina. Pure Paradise! Nothing against South Carolina, in fact I love South Carolina too! I am a Hilton Head Hillbilly! Just a piece of geographical trivia! Bob Thibodeau’s friends Gary and Bob S. make it a memorable foursome on an impressive golf course on a day I played my best in many years!

Experience the Trifecta of Golf—playing a great golf course—playing with three other good guys (or women too!)— and scoring well—at Hampton Golf Village in Cumming, Georgia on a perfect Spring day!

Granted it was a social golf outing for the most part. First time seeing the course and first time playing with these guys. In the midst of a work week of doing some hard labor helping my son remodel his home. Expectations were high for having a good time but low in regards to playing well. Hey I am 60 now but then again I think the Bobs may be in their early 70s and I know Gary is 85 years young! I was the young puppy in the foursome!

After a brief warm up and socially distanced pic of the foursome, we teed off right on time. I think one instinctively knows a well-run golf course from the little bits and pieces of gathered subconsciously from arrival to clubhouse to pro shop to getting cart to practice facility to meeting the starter and teeing off. I can tell you two things about Hampton Golf Village—it is a well-run golf operation and business has been booming since the COVID-19 Pandemic. We played Hampton Golf Village on Day No. 33 of the Recovery after the seven weeks of being quarantined yet able to exercise in a healthy manner while playing golf! A couple of days before they had 310 golfers all playing, as we did in about four hours or less!

Immediately the golf course fit my eye! It is true what the professional golfers say and do when a golf course fits their eye. It is easier to go low whether that is a run at breaking 60, 80 or 100! Just look at these pictures! Definitely a golf course that looks hard but plays easier, at least the first time you play it and have no clue where the danger is! Ours was a positive foursome, we dreamed of keeping it in play, making some pars, and maybe even scoring a birdie or two along the way! On a day when all the bounces seemed to be back into the fairway or onto the green we all enjoyed our round of golf!

Hampton Golf Village is a varied and interesting layout. A little up and down though not extremely so. A little over here and then over there though the routing finds its way back to the clubhouse for the turn. The second nine seems to flatten out a bit more and open up a bit more yet concludes with a difficult, tight hole with a forced carry at the green. A driver, hybrid-4 and a missed eight-footer for birdie ended my round there with absolutely no regrets. But I am getting ahead of myself.

Clyde Johnston, the architect who designed Hampton Golf Village, is in my 1981 first edition of Cornish and Whitten’s “The Architects of Golf.” That is a good thing! Hampton Golf Village, opened in 2000 is not but there are 20 or so golf courses listed that Clyde designed anew like Hampton or remodeled or expanded. Remember that snapshot was taken 40 years ago! Son of onetime Wake Forest coach Johnny Johnston, Clyde has collaborated on a few golf courses with Fuzzy Zoeller. I bet there are a few stories there! Hampton is a thoroughbred of a golf course to say the least!

Per the ‘Clyde Johnston Designs’ website—Johnston has now completed over 75 golf course design projects, both new designs and redesigns. Johnston has received awards for several of his designs including Cherry Blossom GC, Heather Glen Golf Links, Jacksonville Golf and Country Club, Old South Golf Links and Covered Bridge Golf Club, owned and co-designed by Fuzzy Zoeller. I am surprised that he did not win an award for Hampton Golf Village as it was a nominee for Golf Digest’s Best New Public Course of 2000!

Great golf course… What more can you ask for?

How about a great foursome?

Gary, the youngster at 85, seemed to go about his golf game as I imagine he did his family and career—with vigor, focus, determination and success all while enjoying it immensely! As a teacher-turned-Warden of the Students- a.k.a. known as my Pal the Principal you could tell he placed emphasis on learning and learning how to play the game right since taking it up in his mid 50s! A college basketball player who played for Jacksonville State in Alabama when six-foot-three guys could play center. This man putts like an inspired-the-right-way demon with a Scotty Cameron his wife bought him 4-5 years ago.

Bob S. and Gary have been friends for the last 20 years or so. They lived in the neighborhood together but became good friends when their wives took up golf. A career that reached the highest levels of civil service for the United States Government, Bob S. was the comptroller for FEMA, but with his solid game no disaster relief was needed on the day we teed it up together! We spoke of our travels to New Zealand where unbelievably he played no golf. A smart man, with a lovely wife, that must be obeyed!

I knew Bob Thibodeau to be a man of great integrity when I first met him at the PGA Show. He along with others responded immediately to my plea for help to get a friend with an amputated right leg back up and out and playing golf again. Sadly my friend has since passed but God and the golfing god has presented me with a new golfing and life friend!

Bob Thibodeau, a Veteran who served his country in Vietnam is a man on the move involved and actively pursuing a lot of meaningful initiatives!

First and foremost is the way I met him as an Outreach Leader & Coach for Adaptive Golf—a way designed for adults, juniors, and veterans of all generations with any physical, cognitive and/or sensory impairments such as: stroke, spine injury, limb loss, TBI, PTSD, MS, MD, joint replacements, cerebral palsy, macular degeneration, Parkinson’s, spina bifida, low vision/blind, hearing loss, orthopedic, arthritis, diabetes and more such as autism to get out and play golf for the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health benefits.

Bob Tthibodeau is writing a book on Adaptive Golf in conjunction with the United States Golf Association and the Georgia State Golf Association. He also has a draft for his book on ‘Shooting Your Age (SYA)!’ All of which, obviously, has endeared me more to him since we first met!

Not if but when will you shoot your age?

Gary does it regularly; the Bobs are getting close and it is a dream for me but certainly an addition to the Life’s Bucket List! Hopefully and maybe even before my date with par in my life in twelve years! Something to bring into focus and work on!

Bob Thibodeau met Bob S. and Gary as part of the “Carter Group” at the Hampton Golf Village. Carter is a guy that has amassed a group of what I can tell of about 50-60 golfers that play in a somewhat organized way at Hampton Golf Village. Something tells me my experience and knowledge of the golfing experience at Hampton Golf Village may be somewhat limited until I get a chance to meet and play a round with the somewhat mysterious Mr. Carter!

Great golf course… Great foursome… What more can you ask for than a Daily Double?

A great golf score- right?

Let’s suffice it to say my focus for the round was to have fun, get to know these great guys, and enjoy a great golf course. I certainly did that! A funny thing though happened on the 8^th hole while enduring my fifth bogey in a row. A little voice inside my head said that with a little more focus on playing my golf shots in the midst of enjoying my social golf that I could possibly score well on the remaining eleven holes. Possibly break 80… So I did and the rest is written on the scorecard, signed, and attested! Ten pars and a birdie on the way past and then back to the clubhouse! One under par on the second nine and a remarkable (for me) and rememberable (for me hopefully) golf score of 76!

Indeed, I played Hampton Golf Village and experienced The Trifecta of Golf!

I hope you will too!

Thank you to Head PGA Golf Professional Shaun Kelley for hosting Andy’s Golf & Travel Diary!

Filed Under: "Play-Write" Golf Courses, East Coast Golf Journey

Hammock Beach Resort Nicklaus Design Ocean Course: Florida Oceanfront Golf at its Best!

May 19, 2020 By admin

Hammock Beach Resort Nicklaus Design Ocean Course: Florida Oceanfront Golf at its Best!

The beautiful par-3 8th hole!

After seven weeks of the COVID-19 Pandemic Stay-at-Home restrictions and two weeks into the Recovery it was time for me to go back to ‘work’ as a golf & travel writer! With one of the best oceanfront golf courses in the world right in my backyard, the invitation came to play the Ocean Course at Hammock Beach Resort! Given the hospitality, a Jack Nicklaus Signature Design, the condition of the golf course, and the weather this was one of my best golf outings ever!

I put hospitality at the top of the list because this was the first time in my life that I played a gold course and the beverage cart attendant knew me by name. Yes, knew me by name before I even introduced myself to her! Now I will always remember the Hammock Beach Resort and her name too which was Kara!

Her name is Kara! My name is Andy!

From the ladies in the pro shop to Nancy who handles accommodations to Brad Hauer the Director of Golf/General Manager to Billy from Mine Hill, New Jersey out on the range to Kara who serves drinks and snacks this is a family affair and you are the invited and welcomed guest!

Even a white egret greeted us on the 2^nd tee and led us all the way to the 12^th green before leaving us! Flocks of pelicans on the ocean holes and little sanderlings scampering around on the wet sand on the beach!. Spectacular wildlife at Hammock Beach Resort!

The white egret that joined us all the way from the 2nd tee to the 12th green!

We are all recovering from the COVID-19 Pandemic in some way. If you like comeback stories than you will like the Ocean Course and Hammock Beach Resort!

In October 2016 Hurricane Matthew struck the Ocean Course with its high winds and storm surge. Flooded with salt water the course underwent a Nicklaus Design course renovation complete with a changeover to salt-tolerant Platinum Paspalum.

Pandemic Golf… upscale gizmo to lift the ball out of the hole!

Now, nearly four years later, I have to say this course is in excellent shape and could easily hold a PGA TOUR event. Back in 2008 the resort did host a PGA TOUR event but held the golf competition on the Tom Watson-designed Conservatory Course. Slightly further inland, this links-style golf course is also a gem that I have played several years ago. Given the ocean wind, the 77.0 Rating and the 147 Slope of the old Ocean Course the pros were smart to play the Conservatory Course! I am sure that Ryan Palmer the 2008 Champion would agree!

I can attest to the impact of playing in a strong consistent ocean breeze of about 15 mph. I broke 90 but five throw-up holes including the last three made breaking 80 a remote possibility for this day. What amazed me is that the wind came from due west into our faces on the practice range and by the time we came to the 15^th hole it was coming from due east directly off the ocean!

Windy but gorgeous day to play golf on the Ocean Course at the Hammock Beach Resort!

The weather was gorgeous. In the 80s that felt like the 70s with the strong breeze. Sunny all afternoon it was a day to wear sunscreen and sunglasses! The course conditions were pristine, firm and fast or slow depending on the wind direction! I love the routing where you go inland away from the Atlantic Ocean to start and then come back to it on the 183-yard par-3 8^th. The straight away 468-yard par-4 9^th parallels the dunes and is the No.1 handicap hole on the scorecard. I managed to par the brute with an amazing chip-putt from the front left runoff area to a tight hole location.

The 6th hole! One of four fun-to-play right-to-left cape holes on the Ocean Course (Nos. 5,6,11, & 16). How much will you dare to cut off?

After the ocean turn the 10^th hole, like the 1^st hole heads west inland away from the ocean. You come back to the ocean for the last four holes, first with the 447-yard par-4 15^th hole, a beauty with no green-side bunkers because well she is beautifully shaped with hillocks left and right well short of the green. I hit a solid hybrid-4 from 150 yards because the wind was a 3-club wind directly in our face!

After seeing the Hurricane Matthew marker the 16^th lays out before you from an elevated ocean-side tee. With lake left this is a beautiful 387-yard cape hole narrows down to a testy green complex where I chipped one into a bunker!

My third shot at the daunting 9th green! Change in Elevation is the most underrated hazard in golf!

After a short cart ride, with the same orientation as the 8^th hole; the 174-yard par-3 17^th faces the ocean and it is another beautiful ocean view from another elevated tee.

Then there is the home hole, the No. 2 handicap hole on the scorecard. At 465 yards it is another straight away brute that plays tough! Unlike No. 9 this one got the best of me as in a 3-putt double bogey.

I must say that while the six holes along the mile-long stretch of the Atlantic Ocean with the expansive view are dramatic and fun to play the other 12 are just as fun and challenging with no letdown. In fact the break from the rawness and strength of the ocean breeze is welcomed.

The green on the reachable par-5 6th hole. Unfortunately all I reached was the water!

The 5^th hole, a 433-yard par-4, is a beautiful right-to-left cape hole. As is the 520-yard par-5 6^th hole with the added risk-reward feature of an island-like peninsula green. On the second nine, the 398-yard par-4 11^th is a right-to-left cape hole and the green on 545-yard par-5 14^th is reachable in two strokes with a gutsy long carry over still more water. It is obvious that with three right-to-left cape holes that the predominant tee shot is a strong fade. I wonder who designed this golf course?

Our friend the white egret bid us goodbye on the par-3 12th hole. Presumably to go fish for dinner than watch us play golf!

Eight of the twelve inland holes feature a spectacular water feature that needs to be taken into account and navigated around, over but not into to score on the Ocean Course. With the wind coming in from the ocean and the presence of sand dunes in between it is difficult to plop one into the ocean. However with the lakes it is really easy to find the water. Maybe the name of the course should become the ‘Ocean & Lakes Course?’

Oh yes, for the records which my friends like to keep on me; I did not play from the Level Vi tips of 7.176 yards. I opted for the Level III/IV combination of 6,102 yards. I did break 90 and had the time of my life!

The beauty of the land slope, the beauty of the Atlantic Ocean up close and personal… hard to focus on golf on the Ocean Course at Hammock Beach Resort!

Under new ownership and managed by Troon Privé since the first of this year, one would not notice any bump in the operation. Two months into the new venture, the COVID-19 Pandemic necessitated a two-day shutdown to thoroughly sterilize the resort and golf courses. All COVID-19 precautions are in place as we have come to expect. This golf resort is humming and the lodging open to outside guests by now.

Don’t forget to turn left and enjoy the beach for a while after finishing the 18th!

My insider tip is to turn left and head to the beach after completing play on the 18^th. Take off your golf shoes and let the excitement of playing the ‘Ocean & Lakes’ Course at Hammock Beach Resort sink in. What an experience!

At Hammock Beach Resort, play the Ocean and Conservatory Resort and Country Club Courses where everyone knows you by your name, even the Beverage Cart Attendant! Thank you to Brad, Billy, and Kara for hosting Andy’s Golf & Travel Diary!

Cheers!

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Filed Under: "Play-Write" Golf Courses, East Coast Golf Journey, Northeast Florida

2019 Myrtle Beach World Am Play Write Article: Founders Club at Pawleys Island

August 29, 2019 By admin

Well it’s ‘Sunday’ of the 2019 World Am for me—the 4th of four consecutive days of World Am golf’s 72-hole tournament! Today I drove south to play the Founders Club at Pawley’s Island! I loved this course with its waste bunkers outlining nearly every fairway! It was in great shape and a lot of fun to play! I started the day T12 hoping for a backdoor Top-10 but fell one stroke short after shooting an 88! Oh what could have been!

Congratulations to Jim Grinestaff who won our Flight 16 and went on to compete for the overall title on Friday! William Welch (West Islip, N.Y.) shot a net 69 (gross 85) to win the Flight Winners’ Playoff at Barefoot Resort’s Dye Course.

Welch bested James Juden (Lancaster, Calif.) by a shot to emerge from a field of 3,215 golfers and claim the title of World Champion. Patrick Yoe (Athens, Ga.), Michael Thompson (Columbia, S.C.) and Paul Carrier (Cumming, Ga.) finished in a three-way tie for third at 1-under par on a day when only five players broke par.

Christopher Reina (Frisco, Tex.) shot a final-round 75 to secure a one-stroke victory over Kyle Rector (San Diego, Calif.) in the Gross Division.

After the round I continued south (missing the last 19th Hole; imagine that!) arriving home in Ponte Vedra Beach after the 4-month, 7,685-mile, 2019 East Coast Golf Journey!

What a journey it was! Thank you to all I met along the way who helped make it all so special!

Time to rest up a bit and then…

#MBWorldAm

(Andy Reistetter; Facebook Post with 30 Pics; 8-29-19)

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Filed Under: "Play-Write" Golf Courses, East Coast Golf Journey

2019 Myrtle Beach World Am Play-Write Article: Carolina North

August 28, 2019 By admin

Finally a decent round of golf in the 2019 World Amateur! Of course it came at a Freddie Couples designed golf course! I have played and love his Chapel Ridge golf course outside Cary, NC. Played the Ibis-Heron nines at Carolina National! I would love to come back and play the third Egret nine! Love Freddie Couples whether he is on the golf course playing well as he did shooting a Sunday 63 a few weeks ago at the DICK’S Sporting Goods Open or if I am the one golfing on one of his golf courses! Steady round of 41+41=82 puts me at T12 in sniffing room of a backdoor Top 10 to go along with my T4 finish last year! Not sure what happened to the boat…

(Andy Reistetter; Facebook Post with 30 Pics; 8-28-19)

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Filed Under: "Play-Write" Golf Courses, East Coast Golf Journey

2019 Myrtle Beach World Am Play-Write Article: King’s North

August 27, 2019 By admin

We played the awesome & great King’s North at Myrtle Beach National in Round 2 of the 2019 World Am! What a treat to play an Arnold Palmer Signature Design with his statue outside and his presence in the Memorabilia Room inside the clubhouse! Simply a great design and fun golf experience even though I did not score as well as I would have liked!

Home of ‘The Gambler; the Most Unique Par-5 in All of Golf;’ Dedicated by Kenny Rogers on June 21st, 1996 with these famous lyrics: “You got to know when to hold ‘em; know when to fold ‘em; know when to walk away; know when to run…” I gambled and hit the island fairway with a hybrid; went for the green but was short in the water; took a drop at the end of the island fairway; hit a 7-iron over the water onto the green and 3-putted from 40 feet for double bogey! What I found interesting was that some golfer after hitting the island fairway reverted back to the regular fairway on their second shot which was no easy layup! Great risk-reward Arnold Palmer and Kenny Rogers hole!

Tough 9 am shotgun start with an errant drive on the par-4 14th hole. Then I hit the next five greens in regulation only to 3-putt three of them from 15, 50, and 30 feet! My chipping let me down a bit; only one 1-putt and seven, yes, seven 3-putts! Total 42 putts; worse even in my life!

Everyone had a tough day. I didn’t realize I was playing with the leader Jim until after the round. He shot an 83 net 73 to maintain a 2-stroke lead. My cart mate and Facebook friend (we played together last year) shot the same score and is T7, eight shots back. It was just one of those days that I had what my golfing buddy Sir Walter phrased as “the melon head.”

Believe it or not I did get the hang of reading the grain by looking at the cup and adjusting “the break” and speed accordingly! I also realized that I have been putting on bent grass greens the last 3 months up north in New York!

No excuses, I shot 90 net 81, and wound up 25th 18 strokes back of Jim! But with thoughts of what could have been as I hit 11 greens in regulation and on any other day would have shot in the 70s! But like there is no some day in the week; same for any other day!

If you want to play a “Go for Broke” Arnold Palmer design; this is it and in my opinion all 18 holes are a gamble including the 18th hole with 40 bunkers (3-putt bogey from 30 feet) and the “SC (South Carolina) bunkered par-3 12th hole (3-putt bogey from 30 feet).

Enjoy King’s North at Myrtle Beach National as soon as you can!

PS: As the flowers on this golf course are so beautiful they must have a full-time horticulturist on staff!

#MBWorldAm

(Andy Reistetter; Facebook Post with 30 Pics; 8-27-19)

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Filed Under: "Play-Write" Golf Courses, East Coast Golf Journey

2019 Myrtle Beach World Am Play-Write Article: General Hackler Course at CCU!

August 26, 2019 By admin

Good first round in the 2019 PlayGolfMyrtleBeach.com World Amateur! Had a great time today—played the General Hackler Course at Coastal Carolina University, made three new friends—Taco (Rodger); Bryan from Bittersweet; and Lanny; and shot 85!

Such an enjoyable round on such a beautiful day—one of those days on the golf course where you feel the gentle, refreshing breeze, hear the birds singing, and feel present and at peace with nature, life, and the world in general!

We started on No. 12, the longest par-4 on the golf course. Taco Beef can hit the ball a long way, made a 25-footer and birdied it! After imperfection replaced perfection he called the birdie on the first hole played a curse for the tournament. I am not sure about that as he played a solid round! Just before his birdie Lanny made a BOMB for par! We were off to a good start!

On our fifth hole Bryan and I realized we both lived in Gurnee, Illinois a northern suburb of Chicago. He lives there now and I did for 10 years starting back in the mid 1990s. Then I realized he was wearing a Bittersweet shirt which was my home club when I was there! So out of 3,215 we somehow were magically paired together!

We started chatting about SJ our mutual friend which distracted me a bit (my rationalization of course since I never have half-shanked and popped up a hybrid-2 into a fairway bunker, then tried hitting a hybrid-4 only to be left in deep rough 200 yards from the hole hitting four; fore! LOL!

Even with the double bogey I managed to be only 4 over par the first 9 holes boosted by a birdie on No. 1. BTW, for the record, we were talking about Jesus on that hole, not SJ!

I was rolling along, playing well, even learning along the way, imagine that! After seeing Taco Touch’s (really is a great putter) putt on the par-3 5th hole run out I adjusted to the changing green conditions and had a nice 2-putt par from about 25 feet.

Then I got a freaky bad break on the par-5 6th hole! My drive, slightly off line to the right hit something and ricocheted up 20 feet and directly right 30 feet out-of-bounds. Nines are automatic in the World Am but I still tapped in my final putt to make it official.

Going 1-over for the last 3 holes including a mindless 3-putt from 15 feet on the par-3 10th hole was a good omen for tomorrow’s second round. Taco Accuracy put one in close on the 10th to win the Proximity Award for the day!

Despite a nine and two double bogeys, the 85 was a good start, the highest score I could have shot by 5-7 strokes! No tournament is ever won on the first day of a four-day competition! Here in the World Am you hope to make the cut and win it on the 5th day!

I am late for the World’s Largest 19th Hole…

FYI, a little tongue-in-cheeks golf writers humor embedded in the pics…

#MBWorldAm

(Andy Reistetter; Facebook Post with 30 Pics; 8-26-19)

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Filed Under: "Play-Write" Golf Courses, East Coast Golf Journey

2019 ECGJ: Playing C. V. State Park with the “Too-Young-To-Be-A-Legend” Joan E. Davis

August 8, 2019 By admin

This is what I love about life and golf… first of all, playing the Chenango Valley State Park Golf Course… a labor of love built by the CCC during the Depression… try getting out of pine trees planted on 3-foot centers! Totally in tune with nature!

Secondly, playing golf with the ‘too-young-to-be-a-legend’ Joan E. Davis and a literal newcomer to the game, playing her very first round, my writer friend Carol! Joan is an expert instructor, especially likes working with women that are new to the game, in love and honor of her own hero, the gone-all-too-soon LPGA Teaching Professional Jorie Ftorek.

Truly amazing to watch the interaction of experienced and newcomer as the love, fun and physical nature of the game is being passed along. Good to see the game through the eyes of a first-timer! And yes, Carol did pick up Joan’s ball marker on the green thinking she found something valuable to be returned to its rightful owner! LOL!

So good to experience and play ‘State Park,’ a must every season and if you are lucky enough to play every week!

Love the socks Joan!

(Andy Reistetter; Facebook Post with 30 Pics; 8-9-19)

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Filed Under: "Play-Write" Golf Courses

2019 ECGJ: Playing the Historic Binghamton Country Club, an A.W. Tillinghast Gem!!!

July 26, 2019 By admin

Fun, Fun, Fun at BCC!

What a treat, what fun to play. Binghamton Country Club today! Especially with my two good Hobart & William Smith College friends Professor Chip who teaches a golf architecture course and Ken the Statesmen Golf Coach!

The golf course is in incredible shape benefiting from recently completed tree removal and bunker restoration programs! The course conditions have historically been impeccable and they were no different today! The greens, the course’s main defense, along with the engaging high shot value A.W. Tillinghast design, were rolling at an 11.3 on the Stimpmeter today!

The long & difficult par-3 18th home hole at BCC!

Binghamton Country Club is the bedrock, the history, the origin of golf in the Greater Binghamton area and all of Broome County and somewhat beyond! The club dates bank to 1889 with the first course on the flat lands near the Susquehanna River. The famous and tremendously skilled golf course architect A.W. Tillinghast designed the current golf course and it opened in 1921.

George F. Johnson in line with his workers ringing out on the Time Recording Clock Machine! (Picture Credit: Bundy Museum)

George F. Johnson was a charter resident member of BCC and such a big proponent of golf he built his Endicott-Johnson shoe workers a golf course of their own. Originally called the En-Joie Health Golf Club, the workers’ golf course opened in 1927. George F. influenced Thomas J. Watson not only in business but also in golf. Watson, who also became a BCC member was the man who built International Business Machines (IBM). He also built a golf course for his workers; the IBM Country Club which opened in 1938. The En-Joie Golf Club has brought the world of professional golf to the Triple Cities (Endicott, Johnson City, and Binghamton) since 1971 (Credit source of this information to BCC Club Historian Louis R. Panigrosso, Esq. and his 3-part series ‘E-J, Big Blue, & BCC.’)

Binghamton University Campus from the 15th green at BCC.

With views across the Susquehanna Valley to Vestal in the South direction one can easily see the Binghamton University campus from the 15th green near the clubhouse. There are even better views from the 17th green all the way east up the Susquehanna River to Downtown Binghamton and my beloved Ely Park Golf Course on the western slope of Mount Prospect!

Great golf history, hometown views, and great camaraderie made for an exception day! While my buddies had to head north and home to Geneva after lunch in the grill room I ventured back out on the golf course for a second 18 holes! I had to make up for the round lost after being cut after two rounds in the TCGA Amateur Championship Keith Chesk! For those of you who know me and the TROML/SSS process I am always joyous and rejoicing so why not play and replay this beauty?

View from the 6th green at BCC!

A Heartfelt Thank You to Hobart and William Smith Colleges

http://www.andygolftraveldiary.com/a-heartfelt-thank-you-t…/

Today also brought back memories of being selected as the 2015 John Henry Hobart Fellow in Residence! What a great on-campus experience with the freshman class which just now graduated four years later! Time indeed flies! I hope they learned as much from my share as I learned from them! TROML Baby (an exclamation of Joy and Gratitude!)

(Andy Reistetter; 7/27/19; Facebook Post with 30 Pics)

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Filed Under: "Play-Write" Golf Courses, East Coast Golf Journey, Greater Binghamton, NY

2019 ECGJ: Play Bristol Harbour Overlooking Canandaigua Lake outside Rochester, NY!

July 19, 2019 By admin

‘Buddy Golf” at its BEST at Bristol Harbour on Canandaigua Lake! What a great finish to the AGTD Visit Rochester trip! Bristol Harbour, along with Sabina Ravenwood, and The Links at Greystone are part of the Finger Lakes Golf Trail! Spectacular views, spectacular golf course (Robert Trent Jones Sr. design) , and spectacular golf too… at times! JB and I both birdied the difficult par-5 10th hole! The bunkering is spectacular! The clubhouse is spectacular too! Lunch was delicious! The view- WOW!!! My Buddy Drone was grounded due to high winds… YES, “Make Every Moment Count!” TROML Baby (an exclamation of JOY & GRATITUDE)!!! Thank you to Tim & Bristol Harbor and Visit Rochester for hosting Andy’s Golf & Travel Diary! More will be written about the golf experience and the visit to Rochester!

(Andy Reistetter; Facebook Post with 30 Pics; 7-19-19)

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Filed Under: "Play-Write" Golf Courses

2019 ECGJ: Play Ravenwood Golf Club in Victor, New York outside Rochester!

July 18, 2019 By admin

Everyone’s coming to Visit Rochester! Pure coincidence that the SJF group is here! Well then again was that really my friend Phil BOMBING that drive or an imposter! WHAT, no invitation for Andy’s Golf & Travel Diary??? Play well gentlemen!

CLICK HERE to see a Video of my friend Phil bomb a drive off the 1st at Ravenwood Golf Club!

(Andy Reistetter; Facebook Post with 1 Video; 7-18-19)

Great round of golf at Ravenwood Golf Club with Rich of Visit Rochester who shot a 74 with 3 straight birdies! Thank you to GM Mike Roeder for hosting Andy’s Golf & Travel Diary!

(Andy Reistetter; Facebook Post with 30 Pics; 7-18-19)

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Filed Under: "Play-Write" Golf Courses, East Coast Golf Journey