This Week at TravelGolf.com: July 18, 2006

Do golfers value great food over sex?

Watching Jerry Rice dance with a revolving line of blonde coeds less than half his age, or soap opera actor Jack Wagner get surrounded by women in his golf cart, one truth quickly becomes self evident. For celebrity golfers, sex isn't that big a deal.

It's available whenever they want it, if they so please.

Heck, Cheech Marin from "Cheech & Chong" found himself with a decent amount of trailing hotties at the American Century Championship. (Who said it never pays to be a stoner? Sorry, after-school public service announcements.)

When sex becomes a given, it turns out that great food becomes the new sex. The celebrities in Lake Tahoe showed much more excitement at the prospect of celebrity chef Ming Tsai cooking a special meal for them Saturday night than any of the ladies who threw themselves their way.

Okay, Charles Barkley displayed more enthusiasm for every young woman. Barkley is the exception, though.

For most of the celebs it’s a perfectly displayed and flavored tuna trio over a perfectly cozy threesome. The tuna trio is harder to get in their world anyways. Tiger Woods sometimes flies in Ming Tsai "Iron Chef" to cook for him. He already has his smokin' blonde on 24-hour beck and call.

The question is: Do regular golfers value amazing food over sex? A recent Golf Digest poll already told us that a whopping 32 percent of men and 31 percent of women would give up physical relations for a year for the chance to play Augusta National. How long would the average high-living golfer practice abstinence for a private meal by Ming Tsai or Gustav Mauler - a Las Vegas chef flown in to Lake Tahoe to cook a six-course tasting menu for the celebrities another night of the tournament?

Here’s betting on a substantial amount of time. Vacationing golfers tend to be high achievers who’ve lived long enough to understand that a scrumptious six-course meal holds less consequences than a casual romp in the hay.

So how about you? Do you operate like a celebrity golfer? Is it five-star gourmet over sex?

Of course, there’s nothing wrong with living like Charles Barkley.

As always, TravelGolf.com welcomes your comments.

Grand Rapids: A grand golf
scene in Michigan's second city

Northern Michigan may be the summer golf haven of the masses, but in-the-know Midwesterners head to a destination a little closer to home. Located about 20 minutes from Lake Michigan, Grand Rapids has plenty to offer golfers, including fine tracks like Boulder Creek and Thornapple Pointe and a vibrant downtown complete with museums, shopping, bars and restaurants. It's an ideal spot for those looking to skip the long drive to upstate hotspots like Gaylord, Traverse City and Boyne.

Sweet Spots podcast: Detroit's Top 5 loaded with quality

Murcar Links in Aberdeen reborn,
Zero Friction tees, golf volunteers

After falling from the ranks of "must-plays" in Scotland, Murcar's enjoying a renaissance. Kiel Christianson talks golf tees. In particular: The "practically indestructible" Zero Friction tee. And Chris Baldwin rips into pro golf's free labor racket: Tournament volunteers. All this and more on this week's edition with host Dave Berner.

Listen: Click here to hear the program

Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course
challenges sacred Pebble Beach

It sounds sacrilegious to put the modestly named Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course above Pebble Beach. You half expect a golf god to shoot down lightning bolts from the clear blue morning sky. Nevertheless, give Pebble the clear edge in history and mystique but this fact is undisputable: Edgewood at $200 is a much better play than Pebble Beach at $450. It's like coming across two equally nice mansions and one is four times the price of the other.

Also: Whitewater rafting on a Lake Tahoe-Reno golf trip