A Round of Golf with Arnold Palmer
Arnie will always be "The King," regardless of the future records Tiger Woods will break. He possesses, even in his 80s, qualities to which every golfer can relate and aspire; confidence, an unorthodox and distinct golf swing, grace, manliness (men and women will see that one a bit differently), the graciousness of a gentleman, and much more. His heyday epitomizes what, through 21st Century eyes, was a simpler time. Even today, Arnold Palmer is revered by his peers, professional counterparts, amateur golfers, and golf enthusiasts the world over.
They say each person on earth is separated from any other person on earth by only six-degrees of separation. Meaning, at most, there are only six-people between anyone and Mr. Palmer. That being the case, a round of golf with Arnold Palmer as a Christmas gift is theoretically and mathematically possible.
Yearly Tickets to The Masters Tournament
How is genealogy important to the game of golf? Let's explore.
Tickets to the Masters Tournament are arguably the most sought after in all of golf. Tickets to the event in any given year can be had, but through secondary markets and at an astronomically high premium. Being one of the fortunate few who have tickets, year-in and year-out, is nearly impossible.
Augusta National closed ticket sales for the Masters years ago. Those that have them can transfer their tickets to family members upon their deaths, and likely at other times. The demand for tickets being so high, it is lucrative, even for patrons who aren't particularly fond of golf, to hold on to them, in order to make a tidy profit.
If a person is willing to do the leg work, gaining lifelong tickets to the Masters is possible. Theoretically. Mathematically.
A person should begin the quest with some investigative work that will lead to revealing all the people who hold the mythical tickets. That person should next trace the origin of their surname and match that origin to the ticket-holder surnames of the same origin. Then, the ticket seeker should trace his or her own family tree. If time is short, the Mormon Church has done a lot of the genealogical leg-work for most people. Give them a call.
Then, one-by-one, trace the family tree of ticket-holders until there's a link. Next, move to Augusta, Georgia, or wherever that ticket-holder resides, befriend them, and slowly introduce your love of the August National Golf Club and the Masters Tournament. At that point, chances are better than slim that you'll someday get what is potentially the best stocking stuffer of all.
Trip to Honduras?
Ok. This golf Christmas gift is easily attainable.
Honduras isn't one of the places that immediately come to mind when dreaming of a perfect tropical vacation, but, by all indications, it soon could be. Located off the mainland of Honduras is Isla Roatan, and it appears to be a paradise.
Even better, Roatan's aptly named Pristine Bay Resort is home to the Pete Dye-designed Black Pearl golf course. Among the features of the course are Dye's now signature island green, view of the Meso-American Barrier Reef, and beautiful island foothills.
Luxury real estate developers and the tourism industry have taken notice of what's happening on Roatan. If all goes well, it's set to become the Caribbean's next Dominican Republic in terms of travel industry expansion. Now may be the time to give the island a try and play the Black Pearl, which is Pete Dye's first Honduran course. It would be a great Christmas gift for any golfer, because it's has received critical acclaim, has a legendary designer, and not many people have heard of it. That will soon change.
Instruction from the Best
How many everyday, amateur golfers can claim to have had instruction from the best in the game? Not many. But, if this is the year for the perfect golf gift, Sea Island Golf Learning Center is home to the best. Among the instructors at Sea Island are Dr. Morris Pickens, golf psychologist to three major championship winners, and Mike Shannon, widely recognized as one of, if not the best putting instructor in the world.
Aside from the instruction, Sea Island is a beautiful area of Coastal Georgia and has remarkably beautiful golf. It's also within driving distance of tons of other golf.
For the golfer, tearing away the wrapping paper to find sessions with Dr. Mo and Mike Shannon will be an unforgetable surprise. Of course, then there'll be the pressure to perform better on the golf course after the lessons.
Decide which of these four potential Christmas golf gifts to shoot for and best of luck. Regardless of the chosen one, some lucky golfers will be happy golfers.
Happy Holidays.
Alan L. Hammond - In addition to his Suite 101 Golf coverage, Alan is an editor and writer for SportsMD Media LLC, which publishes GolfersMD.com and ...
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