From Brent Kelley,
Your Guide to Golf.
FREE Newsletter. Sign Up Now!

(Continued from Previous Page)

Another factor is that living in New York City, golf prices are outrageous. Everything is supposedly justified at $125 greens fee. Well, guess again. Once you know that you can play Richter Park for $40-$60, why waste the additional $65-$85? Moreover, many resorts offer not only high prices, but cookie cutter designs. I want to show people great designs and show them they, too, can get out there and share the joy that is the golden age of golf course design we are living in right now.

Finally, I'll never forget it: I'm standing on the 8th hole of a local muni, when a kid runs out of the woods, grabs the flag I'm aiming at, throws it over the fence near the green and drives off in a waiting van ... this is in the middle of a 6 1/2 hour round. People need to know that great golf is just a slightly further drive from where they live. Friends don't let friends golf slum. There are so many choices, but only a few great ones - but they are out there. I have dedicated this pursuit to shining the light on the great $40 diamonds in the rough and will also show people the best time to go play the great $250 course at a lower rate so they, too, can share in that epic golf experience.

Golf is an egalitarian game. It's played by 3-year-olds and 93-year-olds alike. It's meant to be enjoyed by entire families, not just aristocrats.

How have you fit your "real" job around this project?

I'm lucky in that my straight job is entertainment lawyer with a strong focus on music, trademark and Internet Law. Sometimes I look for long weekends on the calendar and take off in the car or jet to a locale and play 36 (holes) a day.

Sometimes I'll look where clients are playing concerts or filming a movie and I'll fly out and play with them. For example, when rock band Bowling For Soup played Texas, I got to play in Austin and San Antonio. When Ominous Seapods toured Montana, Idaho and Oregon, I got to play Coeur d'Alene and Pumpkin Ridge (among others).

When I have a lecture that I give on entertainment law or Intellectual Property in some distant place, the clubs go with me.

Lastly, I get two weeks (vacation) a year, so I have had weeks in great places like Arizona, New Mexico, the Carolinas ... pretty much all over. I tabled my foreign travel lately to finish volume one - which has been six years of my life, but what a journey. I've met great golf companions from Bangor to Baja and from Sarasota to Seattle.

What are a few of the courses you've discovered along the way that were great surprises for you?

Wow! Talk about giving a starving man a menu! The nice thing about it is when I plan a trip it's "OK, here's the locale, here are the 5-7 places I have to play, go to it." The most special time is when I'm off to someplace about which I have no idea and I'm pleasantly surprised.

As for the biggest surprises, for courses which I had high expectations going in, I still was floored by Bandon Dunes/Pacific Dunes, Coeur D'Alene, Troon North, Sedona, Ventana Canyon, Sawgrass, Whistling Straights and Royal New Kent. They are all incredible.

As for places where I had no idea what to expect and was totally floored, Tobacco Road (run, don't walk), World Woods (so good I go back every year at New Year's), Hiawatha Landing, Paa-ko Ridge, Pumpkin Ridge and Red Tail just to name a few.

I know I'm leaving some out, but off the top of my head, those are all stunning for different reasons. But each one of them is an unforgettable golf adventure and a great golf value.

What are some of the best bargains - for regular golfers - that you've discovered? Great but relatively little-known courses that folks can play without breaking the bank.

Old Works, PGA Village (I love the Dye Course, but don't get intimidated!) ... Anything by (golf course architect) Mike Strantz - he is the king of champagne golf at beer prices. Hiawatha Landing, Conklin Players Club (easy and short, but fun and impeccably manicured), Pumpkin Ridge just for openers. But also Vegas, Arizona and New Mexico green fees drop sharply into a really affordable range in the summer, so don't miss Troon, Greyhawk and Ventana Canyon.

(Continued on Next Page)