The Wild West and whiskey will forever be synonymous.
After all, “John Wayne never walked into a bar and said, ‘Hey pardner, how about a mango-infused vodka and make it a double,’” joked Jess Graber, founder of Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey.
Whether in Hollywood or books, Colorado played a major role during that foregone era and nowadays the 38th state is on a mission to reinvent that flavor of history in a big way.
Examining Colorado’s DNA conjures up some key images: Rocky Mountains, the Mile High City of Denver, craft beers, world-class skiing, and yes, cannabis which, after the state legalized in 2014, gave birth to the original “pot trail” to join the existing adventurous list of Colorado’s hiking trails, ski trails, brew trails, and golf trails.
Booze lovers rejoice. Welcome the newest route on the state map - the Colorado Spirits Trail.
If you’re like many golfers who, when not wearing sunglasses, place them on your head, hang on your shirt or stuff them in the golf bag only to have them scratched or broken, that concern has now been eliminated by Popticals, a manufacturer of Italian-made high-performance sunglasses.
Back in early December, Northern California finally took a drenching but it was far from what was media-hyped as the “storm of the century.” While it brought a record amount of precipitation for a short amount of time, with some areas sustaining severe flooding, for a moment, there was a dripping of relief to the Golden State’s long-running drought situation.
Fugget about the 19th hole at the new Rees Jones-designed Kohanaiki GC, located on the oceanfront grounds of the Kona Coast’s newest private community, Kohanaiki. Here, there’s no need to wait for a cart girl or until after the last putt drops to enjoy a few libations since you can quench your thirst at one of three comfort stations planted at holes six, seven (also next to the tennis courts) and thirteen.
Who says the pace of play is ruining the game of golf? I, for one, despise slow play but taking an entire year to complete 18 holes at one golf course seems beyond explanation. And with the same three playing partners. Two days before the big ball dropped on 2014, our foursome braved chilly temperatures (okay, so it was only mid-40s) with bright sunny skies to hack the ball around Northwood Golf Course, the same venue we played our first round of 2014, two days into the New Year and under similar winter-like conditions.
Shake, rattle and putt! Sounds like a tune right out of Al Czervik’s golf bag in “Caddyshack.” It could very well have been but that’s exactly what’s taking place at San Francisco’s newest golf course where the greens are running fast and wacky surrounded by vistas including iconic landmarks such as the Transamerica Building and Painted Ladies.
Fortunately, I don’t suffer from acrophobia. Standing at the edge of any cliff with no protective railing while looking down 1,400 feet can be a stomach-churning experience anywhere. But when standing on top of Hanglip Mountain in Limpopo, South Africa, with my eyes fixated on a green in the shape of the African continent surrounded by dense bush at the Legend Golf & Safari Resort, I had cause to grip my 7-wood a bit tighter.
