No Laying Up

This GHIN & Tonic ran in the July 10th, 2026 edition of the No Laying Up newsletter. Be the first to know when a G&T drops when you subscribe to the NLU newsletter here.

My last G&T in this here newsletter was at the end of February, and it’s been a busy calendar since then. Two trips apiece to Southern California and South Carolina, a drive down to South Florida to play among the orange groves, Atlanta for Easter, three blissful weeks in the UK over two trips, and quick jaunts to Chicago and Philly. Great trips all, but it’s been this stretch of five uninterrupted weeks that I’m currently in the midst of that’s been the highlight. In a good groove with pods and projects, lots of meetings, cooking and fishing and beach walks with the family, and lots of time with our new puppy, Bruce. Here’s some accumulated thoughts from on and off the course over the past few months.

GHIN

My game’s been strikes and gutters this year. Swing feels great, but I’m struggling to put together complete rounds of golf, with an inopportune double sneaking into the fray more often than is characteristic of my usually high floor/low ceiling game. Some of that is likely the result of playing a different course nearly every round, but I still need to clean it up! Here’s one of my favorite pics from our UK travels.

We’ve officially entered Links Season, which should be at least three weeks and include the Irish Open. Even Scottie Scheffler, who is notoriously wary of playing outside the US, remarked that he wishes they saw more of this style of golf. I’m really curious to see how the tour positions the Scottish Open in the new schedule rolling out in 2028 - right now it’s a co-sanctioned event with the DPWT and wouldn’t fit into the “Championship” track model. It would be a waste to lose it, even if the host Renaissance Club usually leaves us wanting more (and muddies the waters for a Muirfield-hosted Open the next week.)

I do appreciate the pros playing some recreational golf on the side this week, and credit to North Berwick for capitalizing on the social media marketing of it all, but I am begging these guys to venture beyond the West Links and seek out Dunbar, Musselburgh Old Links, or one of the other dozen delightful courses in East Lothian. Variety and context! As for next week, we’ll have plenty of preview content leading up to the Open, including our big Liverpool video, Best Opens Draft, Birkdale Preview (both of which are already out), tournament preview, and daily live shows starting Wednesday. Put me in the skeptical bucket for this “Last Chance Qualifier” being held on Monday…

Back to the new schedule for a second: I was randomly thinking about the Buick Classic one recent evening, and how a couple of the tournaments I most remember watching Tiger win year after year were in places like Flint, MI and Akron, OH. That rules. If we're gonna go to big markets (which is great!), then we should also balance it out with BIG tournaments in smaller markets (Dublin/Columbus being a prime example). Flint, Michigan, hosting a PGA Tour event will never not be amazing.

TONIC

This sounds very minor, but a focus while being at home has been to buy good tomatoes ahead of time and then wait until they’re ripe and juicy instead of trying to make the best out of a firm, dry same-day buy. The simple things! And if there’s one thing I wish I could change about Alex, my wife, it’s something she can’t control - a pesky allergy to uncooked tomatoes. I feel a sense of guilt when the boys and I are noshing on tomatoes drizzled or marinated in various concoctions, and Alex is sitting there unable to indulge. That said, there’s been plenty of other fun stuff lately. Crisped salamis on melon, various chimichurris and lots of skirt steaks and fish!

A couple of restaurants that stood out from travels (beyond what was mentioned in our recommendations TrapDraw episode that we recorded in Scotland): CrabShakk is now my go-to stop in Glasgow after landing - small, unfussy seafood spot in a nice area (and a great barber shop down the street). Seek it out. And then Si! Mon is a Central American restaurant in Venice, CA that was a return visit for me and was even better the second time around. After a few weeks in Scotland, this was my first stop after landing in LA, and it woke my taste buds up a bit! Pictured left is dessert from CrabShakk, and on the right is Kanpachi ceviche in the foreground and the tuna carpaccio in the background, which is a crazy umami-bomb of Latin flavor.

Outside of food, Soly and I went to a Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp game to see our local AAA team as a midweek break from meetings. It was delightful. Need to go to more of these, whether in Jacksonville or beyond. I think I prefer these minor league games to major league games.

The World Cup’s been a dream for viewing purposes. Games on all afternoon and evening in the background. I was wary of it, but I think the move to expanding the tournament and getting 32 teams into elimination play was the right one, at least for me, the uninformed viewer who delights in the action. And then everyone’s favorite TrapDraw correspondent, our buddy THG, can color in the lines with his expert analysis and enrich my experience after the fact.

Enjoy The Open. I know I will. And then it’s time to get back on some airplanes.