Keeping it tight this week! Last time I checked in, we were coming off of Randy’s wedding weekend, digging in on year-end handicap indices, I was still steadfastly opposed to the Eagles being a legitimate contender, Buck Tech was coming off a Michigan loss, and I hadn’t yet done my time in the Waffle House. Obviously, a lot’s happened since then.
Let’s get to it.
Going to cast aside the delineation between “GHIN” and “Tonic” in this one and work through it all in one spot.
All of my golf in 2025 thus far has taken place in Argentina, which made for a magical trip with Wolfie, Ben and Cody. It was the most fascinating place I’ve ever been (with the caveat that I haven’t done Japan, yet) and I cannot wait to return. We hopped on to record a recap pod last week that will be released in concert with the larger video. Also working to get an accompanying written piece out with it, too.
On the golf front, it’s always a thrill to play a MacKenzie course for the first time, and Jockey Club yielded a unique look at the Good Doctor’s brilliance. All of the MacKenzie layouts I’ve played to this point have been on good to great sites with varying topography and drastic features. To see the way he approached a dead-flat site and blended engineering, drainage and strategic architecture into a 36-hole complex (and in only a few weeks on-site) was edifying and made me appreciate his work on a more technical level. And don’t get me wrong, the glowing brain shit that nobody else in the history of golf course design has even attempted was present, too. It’s all thrown me back down the MacKenzie wormhole reading everything I can about his work. Can’t wait to share the finished content with you, as that course wasn’t even my favorite of the trip!
Beyond the golf, the asado culture, the combination of aperitifs and soda, and the empanadas are “in” for me this year and beyond. I can’t wait to get back down there. And trees in the Southern Hemisphere continue to be provocative. Here’s a sampling from the trip:
Moving along, this year’s trip to Pebble Beach was wonderful. The outbound trip included a few hours sitting backward in one of United’s decrepit pre-merger 777s with the old business-class cabin, which is always weirdly delightful. This was my fourth trip to Pebble in the last couple of years, but the first without golf clubs. There wasn't a window between our annual team off-site at the beginning of the week, live shows on Wednesday/Thursday, and football and basketball games to get home for on Saturday morning. The off-site has turned into something I really look forward to each year and an increasingly valuable setting with the whole (growing) team in one place and setting the tone. Having our newest addition, Matt Mramer, jump in headfirst with the team in an eclectic setting yielded immediate dividends between his creativity, positivity and his eye for capturing the scenes along the way.
In hindsight, any golf I played on the trip would’ve been hampered by the volume of soup I had onboard at any one time. A couple of visits to a Monterey pho spot, a spicy tortilla deal at The Hay clubhouse, half a dozen different selections in corporate hospitality, a couple of airport soups (SFO always delivers on that front) and the liquid tasting menu extravaganza in the Tap Room added up to a pretty high floor, a lot of broth, and a layer of protection against the California cold that gets in the bones. The French Onion at the Tap Room won the week in the soup category by a pretty comfortable margin, by the way.
The real winner of the week across all categories was Ad Astra Bread Company, a bakery in downtown Monterey that we visited twice and to which I would travel a significant distance for the sole purpose of visiting again. The selection of pastries and other baked creations on offer was deep and welcoming, to the point that you simultaneously want to order more than is reasonable and subconsciously start planning future visits to work your way through the entire catalog. The spiced apple tart that I ordered on the second visit was downright enchanting. On the umami side of the spectrum, I chose the smoked salmon sandwich on my first visit, and then again on the return trip. In the face of astonishing variety and delicious flavors, I STILL chose to get that sandwich again. The handheld featured meticulously cured salmon, rich cream cheese, pickled fennel, onions, dill sprigs, a mountain of capers and probably a few mystery ingredients enveloped by a sourdough that elevated the sandwich and connected the flavors. A few in our crew sampled the daily special breakfast sandwich, the description of which was thrilling just to read. We sat in the small space, indulging in our selections and captivated by the half-dozen or so bakers working on that day’s loaves behind a massive gallery window. Craftsmanship, but without the pretense you’d typically encounter at a place like this (there’s a place called “The Mill” in the Alamo Square neighborhood of San Francisco that is so performative that I’m convinced it’s a bit.) Grateful to the gentleman who slid into the DMs on Instagram to recommend Ad Astra after he’d seen on my story that I’d enjoyed Captain + Stoker, a well-regarded local coffee shop down the street that Monday. Sharing is caring.
After returning home on a redeye, it was football and basketball games, baseball tryouts, some fun with an old favorite club, fun foods with the boys, and hanging with Julius Peppers.
Tying off other loose ends:
- I haven’t cooked much since the holidays, which is disappointing. We did quite a bit of entertaining through the holidays, and it felt good just to veg out and eat a bunch of takeaway and then get down to Argentina and eat my weight in beef. Need to get in gear the next 4-6 weeks before the big trips ramp back up. And I haven’t really been drinking much wine, either. These were the selections around Christmas festivities:
- Finding out that there are an increasing number of Starbucks locations out there (like the one below at IAH) that do not allow in-person ordering haunts me. It's a pretty dystopian reality that you have to download an app to order something instead of just walking up to a counter and politely interacting with a human being. I hate it so much.
- The NFL coaching cycle is among my favorite things to monitor: a potent blend of ego, scheme, hype, patience/impatience, incompetence and lack of imagination. This cycle was relatively predictable, the Brian Schottenheimer hire in Dallas notwithstanding, and I'm pleased with Liam Coen landing with the Jaguars since his signing was predicated upon the team firing the ultimate survivor, GM Trent Baalke. His coordinator hires have been spectacular thus far, and I like the candidates being interviewed for GM. Onward and upward!
- I'll have much more to say on my Eagles winning it all and other ruminations from the season on next week's episode of The BallKnowers.
Recommendations:
- Big Tree Hunters on The Gram. Mentioned it to Randy a few weeks ago, and will reiterate here: The best bursts of simple majesty in your feed.
- Frankie’s Candy Co. Casey Bannon’s wife, Isabel, started importing Swedish candies to the States and is now selling them. Thoughtful packaging, sweets that rise above anything available here in the States, and approved by my mother-in-law, who has discerning Swedish tastes and a very specific memory of Swedish candies from growing up.
- D.J., KVV and I spent some time in Chicago this week to plan out a few projects we're working on. I was able to get a taste of winter, clear out my sinuses (it's been unseasonably warm in Florida the past couple weeks and allergies have been a thing), and squeezed in some great meals, one of which I'll call out: Rose Mary. We booked it having heard mixed reviews since it opened a couple of months ago and really didn't have expectations, which is the best place to be. D.J. and I are both fans of the show Top Chef, and this is the debut restaurant of one of our favorites, Chef Joe Flamm, who won Season 15. The concept is a blend of Croatian and a very specific region of Northeastern Italy, with a bunch of unexpected flavors, interesting spins on pasta and risotto, some refreshing seafood flourishes and a wine list loaded with surprises and value. Any concerns that it was going to be a general idea of "Adriatic/diet-Greek" cuisine vanished as soon as the first few dishes came out. And it's the perfect cuisine for smaller, family-style dishes and indulging curiosity and unknown ingredients - there's no risk in trying something new when you can try a dozen different items and not have your entire experience riding on a $50 entree. Highly recommend. The "Pastinaca" risotto dish defied classification or my ability to properly describe it (ingredients: caramelized parsnips, taleggio fonduta, balsamic.) Among other spots, we also hit Pequods for pizza and Tortello for pasta on the way out.
Looking ahead: we’ve already locked down Silver and will make Gold in the next couple weeks for 2026 with United. Deep into planning. Trying to cut clutter and figure out what I WANT to do this year and leave room for wow. An Argentina write-up, the aforementioned #BallKnowers episode dropping early next week and some vacation for yours truly. Crack on! -TC