Talking Golfgetaways: Your Golf Getaways Podcast

It’s “The Summer Golf Capital” and co-host Mitch Laurance dives into his visit to the Great Lakes region to explore the many golf and resort options Boyne Golf has to offer, from the four courses at Boyne Highlands to the acclaimed Inn at Bay Harbor and 27-hole Bay Harbor Golf Club and ending up on Boyne Mountain, home to 36 more holes and family activities galore.

In a Northern California trifecta, co-host Darin Bunch recaps a recent visit to three very different (but all very interesting) properties on the outskirts of the San Francisco Bay Area — Wente Vineyards designed by Greg Norman, the private Silver Creek Valley redesigned by Mike Strantz, and iconic Pasatiempo designed by Alister MacKenzie and later restored by Tom Doak and Jim Urbina.

Co-host Darin Bunch heads to South Carolina to visit Mitch Laurance in person and play three courses designed by the late Mike Strantz — Caledonia Golf & Fish Club and True Blue Golf Club on Pawleys Island, and the private Bulls Bay Golf Club outside Charleston — as part of Darin’s quest to play all the Strantz-designed tracks across the United States.

Avid golf traveler Joe Sas returns to the podcast to discuss the ultimate weeklong Arizona buddy trip he has been organizing for more than 20 years, with tips about things he’s learned, things to avoid and why his group chooses the desert year after year. Plus, Joe’s mini-Emergency 9 with a decidedly Scottsdale bent.

Looking for a place to stay while you play in the Scottsdale-Phoenix area? Hotel Valley Ho and Mountain Shadows are two of the coolest resort properties you’ll find in the West — and the latter has an unforgettable golf course that is 18 (or actually 18 and a half) holes of pure fun.

Ken Jowdy, founder of Diamante Cabo San Lucas, joins co-host Darin Bunch to discuss working with PGA Tour legends Tiger Woods and Davis Love III in building the two golf courses (with a third on the way) at the destination resort, which also impresses guest with dazzling accommodations, mouthwatering food-and-beverage options and one of the coolest lagoon-style pool complexes you’ll ever see (so big, in fact, you can see it from the plane when flying into Cabo) — all in the year-round weather that makes the tip of Baja California, Mexico, so enticing.

Golf architect David McLay Kidd (Bandon Dunes, Gamble Sands, Mammoth Dunes) and his senior design associate Nick Schaan join host Darin Bunch for a conversation about Southern California’s Rolling Hills Country Club, where despite many logistical challenges the team recently completed a full-scale redesign that should serve as a model for modern private-club golf.

From Monterey to Mexico, plus stories about a ball-topping Ryder Cup captain and a man who switched (by choice) from right-handed to left-handed golf, ESPN’s Lon McEachern shuffles up and deals more than few interesting hands in our “Talking GolfGetaways” Emergency 9 golf-travel questionnaire.

The longtime “Voice of Poker” for ESPN, Lon McEachern, joins “Talking GolfGetaways” for a conversation about everything from Missouri’s Top of the Rock to a “driving range lake” in Northern California (with his golfing dog) and, of course, the phenomenal televised rise of the World Series of Poker.

Darin and Mitch reflect on a recent return trip to Florida’s Streamsong Resort, not only to experience the new Gil Hanse-designed Black Course but also to luxuriate in the Lodge, Spa and restaurants while eating (and drinking) ourselves silly — resulting in our 5 Things We Love About Streamsong episode.

In this supersized episode of the “Talking GolfGetaways” podcast, Darin and Mitch detail the nine reasons why they love the resort at Cabot Links on Cape Breton Island, plus “dare to dream” with five suggestions that could make the amazing Cabot Cliffs course an ever better experience for the average golfer.

Sure, most golf travelers head to Nova Scotia to experience Cape Breton or Prince Edward islands, but the Canadian province’s mainland has some interesting spots worthy of your itinerary as well, all within a few hours of the airport in Halifax — including the Stanley Thompson gem at Digby Pines, the lakeside beauty of Glen Arbour, the creative Links at Brunello and the high-end golfing enclave at Fox Harb’r.

Two stories about golfing legends (Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus) at The Memorial highlight our latest Emergency 9 episode as professional golfer Zac Blair dives into our favorite golf-travel questions — including his No. 1 course (Pine Valley), his bucket-listers (Myopia Hunt Club, Crystal Downs and Mid-Pines) and a memorable trip to play Alister MacKenzie’s nine-hole gem, Northwood Golf Club, in the tall trees of Northern California.

Zac Blair may play golf for a living, but his interests in the game extend much further beyond the ropes of PGA Tour events. As a casual player, he tees it up with buddies around the country, often with hickory clubs, while exploring some of golf’s greatest places the play. And as an aspiring course architect and developer, he continues to pursue his dream of building The Buck Club in Utah, a destination club for those who truly love the game. Hosts Darin Bunch and Mitch Laurance catch up with Zac on the road to talk all things golf, including a recent trip to Florida’s Streamsong.

From a South Africa bucket-list dream to a two-hole golf course in Marrakesh to a fantastic Phil Mickelson par, Golf Channel’s Matt Ginella doesn’t disappoint with his Emergency 9 golf-travel answers. Along with old favorites such as Bandon Dunes, Matt also highlights the amazing service at Sea Island, history at Ireland’s Ashford Castle, his “new life” playing Linksoul persimmon woods and eating Burger Dogs at Napa’s Silverado … possibly until he dies.

We’ve spent much of our previous 99 episodes talking about the “Golden Age of Bucket List Golf,” so it seems appropriate to take some time in our milestone 100th episode with special guest Matt Ginella of Golf Channel and GolfAdvisor.com to discuss how and where you can find true value in golf travel — from municipal and community courses to options that won’t necessarily hammer your wallet at some of our favorite resorts and destinations across the country and around the world.

When your job with the Augusta Chronicle takes you all over the world in search of cover stories on former Masters champs, you get to see some pretty great parts of the golfing universe. Scott Michaux returns to the podcast to discuss everything from Irish Stew at the European Club to a once-in-a-lifetime crazy story about the 6th hole at Pebble Beach, plus thoughts on Scotland’s North Berwick, Australia’s Victoria Golf Club and unforgettable lodging at Tasmania’s Barnbougle Dunes.

As the golf world prepares for the first major championship of the year, Scott Michaux of the Augusta Chronicle joins “Talking GolfGetaways” to discuss how the local newspaper’s coverage is a year-round process that begins (literally) the day after The Masters concludes — and how Scott’s writing about past champions has taken him to “every continent where golf is played.” Plus, Augusta National viewing tips and whether the azaleas will make an appearance at this year’s tournament.

Fresh off his victory in North Carolina, Bumage-Smoyes Cup champion Jason Moyes returns to “Talking GolfGetaways” for an Emergency 9 episode that includes everything from Bandon Dunes to Tobacco Road to Ireland’s Lahinch to an ace at Waikoloa on the Big Island of Hawaii. Plus, an answer to the “Equipment or Apparel You Can’t Live Without” question that might leave you begging for a brain eraser.

Friend of the podcast Jason Moyes joins hosts Mitch and Darin for an hilarious episode recapping last year’s Bumage-Smoyes Cup competition waged at Tobacco Road and courses No. 2 and No. 8 at Pinehurst utilizing such fun two-man-team formats as Scotch Foursomes, Chapman and the new, patented 9-9 Scramble.