Short one this week on the backend of some travel (more on that later) and deep into 2025 planning.
GHIN
- We’re getting into the meat of golf season here in Florida and my handicap index is settling into the 2.3-2.6 range, which feels both comfortable and accurate. We discussed it a bit on this past Sunday’s pod - there’s some very good golf in there that’s trying to come out. Patience! Strangely, that hankering to play some left-handed golf is coming back for the first time in a couple of years and I may have to indulge it over the next couple of months and re-heat my alternative “Tron Carter” lefty GHIN account. Stay tuned!
- Recent travels took me out to San Francisco and I had the chance to play Brambles, the latest Coore & Crenshaw layout up north of wine country. Patience, rusticity, and minimalism are all on full display. The 3rd hole felt straight out of Scotland. And then it really ramps up from 4 through 9, and there's some cool stuff on the back nine that I probably glazed over because I was jetlagged. Great burger. James Duncan poured his heart and soul into the place, lined up the right partners to fund it and bring it to life, and that all shines through. I had a great conversation with the superintendent, Tyler Marcotte, and then the head pro, Tom Holmes, felt like a kindred spirit - Australian who came over to the US for college and then caught on up at Wykagil and moved out to California to help bring this place to life. Everyone up there about the right stuff. And sheep roaming all over the place. As the native grows in and frames the holes, it’ll be one of the better walks in U.S. golf. I also met Robert Nelson while there...not sure there's a more fascinating job in golf than what he does with tying in nature to golf course design and experiences. This guy had been a mythical creature in my head for years: "Wait, there's a guy who just wanders around out here reflecting and learning the rhythms of the property and observes the trees and the light and then crafts little tie-ins?" That realization and thoughtfulness made me think of a walk around a golf course in a far different light nearly five years ago and my experiences have been far richer because of it. A wonderful surprise to meet the man himself and realize he isn't just an urban legend!
- It was fun to dig into the Golf Magazine Top 100 rankings on Sunday’s pod, and really I think we’re just scratching the surface. Golf Digest’s list should be coming out in the weeks ahead and will provide great fodder and context. Will have plenty more to come on this front.
- Cody flew into Jax on Sunday and we went up to Sea Island for the RSM Pro-Am and enjoyed a day out on Seaside with no wind. I’ve played there a couple dozen times over the last two decades and have never had a windless day out there. That, combined with middle pins and smooth tour greens added up to a lot of birdies. We played with Greyson Sigg and you can count me among his new fans. He’s 29 years old and his game and statistical profile remind me of a souped-up version of Zac Blair. He gives away distance off the tee and knows how to scramble and get the ball in the hole. His attitude and demeanor couldn’t be more unaffected and he works with the same coach at Augusta Country Club who taught him while he was growing up. Delightful afternoon!
- I spent the last couple of nights up north of Aiken at The Tree Farm. It’s been really fun to see it come together and be able to stay on-site. Couldn’t be more proud of Zac and Alex Warr and the others who have brought it to life. Speaking of Zac, big week on tap at RSM for him - he heads into the final event of the season at 123rd in FedEx Cup standings and is paired up in the first two rounds with Joel Dahmen (124th) and Wesley Bryan (125th). Good bubble this year!
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Tonic
- On the trip out to Northern California, I carved out a night to eat at Lazy Bear - this was the highlight of the entire trip. I believe the chef is an Eagle Scout, so the tasting menu was guided by a cool little booklet. The service generally speaking was both colorful and anticipatory. Flighted wines were a delight, particularly a unique Chenin Blanc that was so much more green and fresh than I’ve ever had. Being taken upstairs to a lounge/den area for the dessert portion of the night was a cool flourish. In all, it lived up to the hype (and I didn't take many pics because I just wanted to experience it and not be distracted!)
- On the homefront, Halloween was great, Freddie lost his flag football championship by a single point and was devastated, and we went to the Florida-Georgia game for the first time!
- I feel like I need to address the Pacman Jones arrest. We were doing so well since the airport incident a couple of years ago and this was such an unfortunate regression. I’ll continue to assess the situation, until then we’ll have no further comment.
- I received my winter shipment of Darling wines, which is always the highlight of the quarter from a wine perspective. The more I drink and add to my palate, the more I enjoy drinking Tom’s wines. All of the qualities I laid out above in regard to Brambles also apply to Darling - intention and restraint in spades. The Syrahs are perfect food wines, the Pinots are coastal and moody, and the fall Gamay release was a fun surprise.
- NFL Quick Hits
- I’m wholly confused by Los Falcons - the Saints loss and the blowout loss at Denver have me spinning.
- Will have more to say regarding Kyle and Los Niners in the near future. In the meantime, by all means, please keep flooding my inbox and DMs with hateful stuff.
- Speaking of haters, Eagles fans are getting chippier and chippier! This is the same team that almost lost to the Jags at home a few weeks ago. I remain bullish on their defense, but Hurts is *exactly* who we thought he was.
I spent some time regaling Randy with tales of my magical afternoon/evening at Root Down in the Denver Airport on this week’s TrapDraw. Between the snow, the food, the people-watching, the great service and traveling between two places with temps in the 70s, it truly felt like a suspended reality. I find myself yearning for a dose of winter every few weeks to make me thankful for the seasons and for the good weather at home. And to see the oft-maligned DEN folks handle 19 inches of heavy, wet snow in a capable, orderly way was cool to watch. To be able to marvel at the de-icing stations, plowing schemes, and general operational excellence was a highlight of my year in travel.
Airport restaurant rankings
- Root Down, DEN: It's the best, and it's not particularly close right now. The green onion risotto, the duck wings, the cocktails, the service, the way they never waste seats - invigorating every time!
- Cadillac Mexican, IAH
- MadTown GastroPub, MAD
- The Country Cat, PDX: Doesn't look like much but it BANGS. Everything is scratch-made, it's street-pricing, and the service is on-point.
- Woody’s at the Airport, MRY (Really shouldn’t count. It’s an actual restaurant AT the airport.)
- One Flew South ATL (Has plummeted in my rankings in the last few years but still good in relative terms)
- Publican, ORD
- Shojo, BOS
- Tortas Frontera, ORD
- Steve’s Snappin' Dogs, DEN: I can't alwys make it out to terminal C, and this place remains a shining light in B (along with the pho place that's tucked away upstairs.) There's also a good dog place in Milwaukee. Dressed up hot dogs need to be more prevalent in airports - they're portable, quick, customizable and easy to pull off.
- Saffron, SAN: The more I go here the more I crave the fresh rolls, particularly because I'm usually either taking a redeye home or embarking on a wasted day of travel, so fueling up with something light and fresh is awesome and well-executed Thai is always a win.
Honorable mentions/notes:
Also a big Pappadeux guy at IAH. On the chain front, I also have a major soft spot for the lobster roll at Legal Seafood and/or Legal Test Kitchen at BOS. Stephanie'ss is also good at BOS. I don’t want to eat burgers while traveling! Chef Geoff’s, Grindhouse, etc. Bun Tee is good at SFO - have tried virtually the entire menu this year. I haven't flown into Austin in a bit so need to reassess but there's always good options there. Obryckis is good in Baltimore, but I hesitate to eat too much crab when I'm flying for fear of smelling. ORD needs a better hot dog stand and more of them - the Chicago Cubs bar just isn't cutting it. I try to spend as little time at DFW, MIA, CLT, PHL as possible, so these are mostly blind spots for me (though the food has always been great in the Centurion in PHL, and people rave about Bigalora at DFW and then I need to reacquaint myself with the offerings at DTW, namely Anita's Kitchen in the North Terminal. Also, I flew through ATL last night and the new AMEX lounge there was staggeringly nice, especially the roof deck.
Thank you for indulging me during rankings season - I felt it important to rank something after being so fired up about the Golf Mag Top 100. This list is not meant to be exhaustive and I welcome your suggestions and/or disagreements via email at tron@nolayingup.com. These rankings will be a living document and are something that you really can't cover every base with.
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