Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2016 - 12

Five destinations at home and abroad serve
up great golf and fresh beverages.
6M HCA 6989@@
ot all golfers drink-only
most of them. That's why
most find the proverbial 19th
hole a satisfying conclusion
to a round, hoisting a favorite adult beverage
while totaling up the scores, paying
off the bets, recounting one's great
shots-if any. If there weren't any, then
one may seriously need a drink.
Some players like to drink during the
round-hence, swing oil. I'm usually
not one of them. I prefer to drink after
driving, and I'm usually looking for a
decent beer to top off the day. But in the
spirit-so to speak-of play golf globally,
drink locally, I've paired five golf
destinations with an elixir distinct to its
area.
The obvious choice in the home of
golf is Scotch, and the course of choice
for many who visit St. Andrews-after
the obligatory attempt to play the Old
Course-is nearby Kingsbarns Golf
Links and its superb Kyle Phillips design.
It will host the Ricoh Women's British
Open next year. On my last visit about
seven years ago, I nearly aced the eighth
hole, thanks to some good club selection
from my caddie, Douglas Clements.
As good a caddie as Doug was, he had
a vision that stretched beyond the course
to opening his own distillery some day.
That day came in late 2014, and the
Kingsbarns Distillery & Visitor Centre
is, in founder Clements' words, " about a
par-5 from the 14th hole at the course,
or a five-minute drive. " To be called a
Scotch whisky, a distillate must be stored
in an oak cask for at least three years and
a day, so there's still a bit of a wait for
the first Kingsbarns offering, but rarely
will a wee dram after a round be quite
so local.
CordeValle Golf Resort
Unless one travels to wine country in
northern California, perhaps. Rosewood
CordeValle in San Martin is one of my
favorite resorts on the far coast, and not
only because a bottle of CordeValle Cuvée
is waiting in your room when you
check in. Everything about the resort is
ingratiating-the food, the spa and the
Robert Trent Jones Jr. golf course steps
away from your terrace door. The course
may be the only thing about the place
that isn't that relaxing. It's beautiful and
thrilling to play, but a real challenge, as
the participants in this year's U.S. Women's
Open could no doubt attest.
10
MINNESOTAGOLFER Fall 2016
Visitors not playing CordeValle in a
major tournament may well find they
can have a wine break on the sixth hole,
since that's where the Clos LaChance
Winery and 85-acre vineyard abuts the
course (Clos LaChance being the makers
of the CordeValle Cuvée), though there
are plenty of other estate wineries within
a 20-mile radius for serious golf-playing
oenophiles.
When in Barbados you do what the
local Bajans do. Or at least I did, which
was to add rum to my coffee at frequent
intervals. The Bajans drink the liquor in
any number of ways, stopping in at rum
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Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2016

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