Reflecting on the best of 2017

It’s hard to believe that 2017 has come and gone. With both of my kids in elementary school now (Evey is in fifth grade, Boyd is in kindergarten), I see that it’s true what people say about time moving faster when you’re watching your children grow up.

If the calendar doesn’t betray me, I took more than 20 business trips this year. I somehow missed both the Masters and the PGA Championship this year (I’ll remedy that in 2018), but I still hit a bunch of great events and met some fine people.

Here’s a look back at five events that stand out to me from 2017…

5. ANA Inspiration at Mission Hills: This one was tinged with sadness but definitely was a memorable trip. The first major of the year is the LPGA’s ANA Inspiration at Mission Hills, Rancho Mirage, Calif. Only days before the tournament, its host, Superintendent Dave Johnson, passed away. Johnson had been at the course for 28 years. There was a sadness among the crew and the players, but it felt good to be there to recognize Dave and celebrate a man who was so good at his job for so long. Cheers to Big Dave.

4. The NGF Golf Business Symposium: A few years ago, we decided it was a good idea to make the National Golf Foundation’s Golf Business Symposium a meeting we regularly attend. This year, the event was held at the World Golf Hall of Fame in St. Augustine, Fla. The tour of the World Golf Hall of Fame and rubbing elbows with the big boys in the business was nice, but this year we had an unexpected honor. During the meeting, the NGF recognized Golfdom, their “brother from the same fathers,” at the meeting — both the NGF and Golfdom were founded by Herb and Joe Graffis in 1936 and 1927, respectively. Thanks for the shout-out, bro!

3. South Dakota trip: I crossed off my list another state that I had never been to when I made the trek to Sioux Falls, S.D., to speak at the SDGCSA conference. This event was two years in the making for me, and it turns out the South Dakota supers are about as affable as any folks you’ll meet in the industry. But I’ll admit I did this trip wrong… I missed the last day of the meeting (sounds like the party is legendary), and I didn’t get any golf in. Guess I’ll just have to go back…

2. PGA Championship dinner: I mentioned earlier that I missed the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow, but I did take the crew out to dinner just a few days before the event. Keith Wood and his crew met me at a local Mexican restaurant — just my style — to take in a moment of calm before the storm. I had to fly out the next day, so I turned the coverage of the tournament over to the capable hands of Associate Editor Grant B. Gannon. Watching the tournament from the West Coast with my feet up on a beach chair? I could get used to that.

1. Palm Beach GCSA meeting: Talk about a good gig — the PBGCSA invited me to come down and MC their chapter meeting at the Rees Jones Breakers West course. So, after nine holes of golf, I had to put on a suit and say a few words. Besides the beautiful golf and weather, the next day some PBGCSA friends took me to Tiger Woods’ restaurant, and then on a boat tour to check out the giant mansions of some of the PGA Tour’s best, like Tiger’s, Dustin Johnson’s and Rickie Fowler’s. It’s just a different golf world in that area.

To those I left out — golf in Iowa, a trip to Utah, trips to Texas, New York and New Jersey, and others… you were all honorable mentions. And I plan on being back soon, anyway!