FEATURE STORY
The golfing good life, because no man is promised tomorrow
By Shane Sharp,
Contributing Writer
Bill Hogan is in the golf package business, but it is not what you think. He's not out to broker some bargain basement deal predicated on 36 holes a day and a free breakfast in some over-saturated golf destination. His mission in life is to insert you into the golf trip of your dreams.
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Golf and wine in the Monterey Peninsula? Not a problem. A loop at the Old Course and a healthy dose of single malt Scotch? Surely you require something more. Nothing is off limits or out of the question when booking via Hogan and his golf tour company, Wide World of Golf.
In fact, Hogan has golf trips you'd be hard pressed to fabricate. To wit, in the words of WWG's literature, the most elaborate 12-day golf tour ever designed. It goes a little something like this:
You and yours board a private jet from anywhere in the contiguous 48 and fly to Oregon for a twin bill featuring two of the world's most talked about new courses, Bandon and Pacific Dunes. Relaxation is of the essence, so massages are handed out upon arrival. Following golf, your group is flown-in for a private wine tasting of the award-winning Pinot Noir wines of the Willamette Valley.
Next, it's on to the Manele Bay Hotel on Lanai for two nights of ocean front
Hawaii "suite life", rounds of golf at The Challenge at
Manele Bay and The
Experience at Koele. Throw in massages, meals, and private parties at the
beach and you're still not halfway through this tilt.
The Bay of Islands if New Zealand will be your next stop for three nights at the Kauri Cliffs Lodge. Again, the non-golf slate is full: massages, a full day of big-game fishing on a private chartered yacht, a side trip to Lake Taupo for a day of trout fishing with a private guide and fly fishing teacher, and wine-pairing dinner at the world renowned Huka Lodge.
The morning round comes courtesy of (gasp) Kauri Cliffs and finishes up just in time to board the private jet for the flight to the "MP" and afternoon rounds at Pebble Beach. Your group's final three days are spent at the Lodge at Pebble Beach sampling vino and eating like kings. Thrown in for good measure are "thanks for coming" rounds at Clint Eastwood's ultra-exclusive Tehama Golf Club and Spyglass Hill Golf Club in Pebble Beach.
Price: $80,400 per person double occupancy, based on four persons traveling
together.
Any takers?
"I have had some high profile people take that trip, but I am not at liberty to give out their names," Hogan says. "They are in positions of power and sit on panels and boards that might not be too thrilled to learn about big expenditures on golf fantasies."
Clandestine travelers aside, Hogan insists his client list doesn't read like a who's who from the upper crust menu of America.
"Actually only about one third of our customers are the rich and famous type, and another third are middle of the road," he says. "With the advent of the baby boomer traveler, we offer a wide range of less expensive products. You know how Mercedes Benz has a $30,000 C-class vehicle? We apply the same kind of entry level product, with the intent to get them hooked at young age, and some day they may develop into the rich and famous type."
Hogan and WWG have the patience and wherewithal to wait for this level of economic development in their clients. The company was founded in 1957 by Mike Roseto, an influential member of the storied Olympic Club in San Francisco. Hogan came to the company from United Airlines 16 years ago and has been keeping duffers mach turtleneck deep in dream golf trips ever since.
"My father had taken a WWG tour overseas and my interest peaked at the thought of a career in golf and travel," Hogan says. "I mean, how good would that be, taking your two passions and combining them into a job? They had an opening at the time so I applied and got it. And here I am today in the Carmel (Calif.) office, as president, sixteen years later."
Sixteen years later and Hogan remains enamored with WWG's unofficial motto: any course, any place, any time.
"Most operators concentrate on one or two regions around the world, whereas we have a menu of tours and packages all around the globe," he says. "Our theory is that this year a customer may want Scotland, next year Ireland, but then California, South Africa, or New Zealand. Also, we are not interested in moving a huge tonnage of people on cookie cutter packages. Our niche is custom, high quality travel offers for small, intimate groups."
It just so happens some of these groups include some of the most powerful people in the world. Suffice it to say, Hogan could partake in some serious name dropping. Jeff Crowe, cousin of Academy Award winning actor Russell Crowe, is Wide World's local representative in New Zealand. While Hogan is mum on the subject, the smart money says the Gladiator has tested his mettle on a WWG outing.
"The thing is, the golf gods don't care if you've won an Oscar, pitched a no-hitter or taken 15 companies public," Hogan says. "When it comes down to it, most are pretty regular people when it comes to golf. Sure, they may fly in their Falcon 900 or custom G5 (jets) and like to stay in suites, but they are just like you and me when it comes to a $5 Nassau. They still want to win the bet, enjoy a cold beer after the round, and always think they could have played better."
Just like you and me.
For more information on Wide World of Golf and its array of dream golf vacations, log on to wideworldofgolf.com.
