This Week at TravelGolf.com: Oct. 26, 2004

As a general rule, we at TravelGolf.com don't make any political endorsements. But that rule doesn't apply at BadGolfer.com, which completed an elaborate 24-point checklist before deciding to endorse George W. Bush for President.

Actually, our friends at BadGolfer.com didn't use any kind of checklist. They didn't even consider politics. After all, their most trusted news source is "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart." So to make their endorsement, they considered only one thing: golf. In the end, it was an easy decision. "George W. Bush plays bad golf, the only kind you can really respect," writes Chris Baldwin. "W. learned speed golf from his father, and it's the only way he prefers to play."

For more on this thread, check out associate editor Dave Berner's blog on presidential politics. "If you're going to go with the golfing factor, I wouldn't immediately choose George W.," he writes. "His love of golf seems suspect." Needless to say, we won't be providing any election night analysis. But we do hope you get out to vote on Nov. 2, and we welcome your comments. Have a great week.

East Coast courses need to get
over their self-important selves

Golf is supposed to provide an escape from everyday life, but too many East Coast golf courses brim with the self-important condescension of a trendy NoLIta (fancy New York term for north of Little Italy) restaurant. According to Chris Baldwin, "It's super-serious, stone-faced sentries standing behind clubhouse counters acting like they're doing you a favor by agreeing to take your money."

Full story | Inside Media column

Don't let these Ohio
courses scare you away

Halloween is fast approaching, so in the spirit of the scariest holiday of the season, staff writer Jason Stahl reviews some of the most frightening courses in Cleveland. Whether it be creepy course conditions or clubhouses fit for cadavers, these courses qualify as the perfect haunts for ghoulish golfers.

Full story | Ohio golf course guide

Sutton Bay shines in
spacious South Dakota

At TravelGolf.com, no location is too remote. In our first review from South Dakota, we visit the Sutton Bay Golf Club, a private club that currently has just 60 members. Needless to say, in a location as remote as this, there were many challenges in building the golf course. Power was an issue. Water was an issue. Thousands of rocks deposited by glaciers were an issue. Getting someone to actually build the thing was an issue.

Full story | More course reviews