Our first day of vacation was all about golf! After sleeping in (just a little) and running a couple errands we were off to St. Augustine to visit the World Golf Hall of Fame. My dad has always been in love with golf and has visited this attraction before with my mom, but since we'd never been there together we'd check it out.
We had lunch at Caddyshack since we arrived around lunchtime. The restaurant was started by Bill Murray along with his father and brothers, and there is memorabilia from the movie and the sport of golf all over the restaurant! I had an awesome cheeseburger flatbread pizza for lunch - way too much for 1 serving, but yummy!
After lunch we took a complimentary golf cart ride over to the Hall of Fame building, where you can travel through the history of gold and even practice your putting. :) I am really, really, really bad at putting. Really bad.
The entrance hall was an homage to Bob Hope, who was an avid amateur and often worked golf into his comedy routines and brought his clubs to USO appearances as props. The main hallway teaches about the history of golf - it's older than I thought. They had artwork depicting people in the Tudors era (like Mary, Queen of Scots) playing stick-and-ball games which evolved into golf.
They have a replica of a bridge on the golf course at St. Andrews - which we were repeatedly told made a great photo opportunity - and a putting green made out of almost-authentic materials from the 20's and 30's to practice shooting. It took me 3 shots to get the ball in the hole.
After more history, there was a more modern putting green, where my Dad challenged me to a putting duel. Neither of us made the shot, but when Dave caught up to us he made it, so he won the major award: $1. He spent that dollar about an hour later at a gas station because IT IS HOT and we needed a cold drink!
Anyway, you can also test your skills on a virtual course by shooting the ball at a screen, which calculates the speed and torque of the ball to determine where it lands after every shot. Dad was pretty good at this, even though he was critical of his own form. Dave struggled a bit, but he made it work. :)
Once we finished seeing the exhibits we took an elevator to the peak of the building, where they have tournament trophies on display. We wanted to go out on the walkway that offers a panoramic view of the property, but all the doors were locked. I suppose that's because they had thousands (millions) of dollars worth of trophies in that little room, and I imagine it wouldn't be hard to break the glass, grab a trophy and throw it over the railing for a laugh. That is, until you get arrested.
Pretty awesome light fixture in this tower!
Included in our admission ticket were a pass for an on-site putt putt course and 1 shot at the challenge hole. If you make a hole in one on the challenge hole you win a trip to the 2012 TPC Sawgrass. Dad and Dave both tried, but were unsuccessful at the hole in one. It's cool...
Mom, Dad, and Dave played 2 holes of putt putt while I took pictures...
...and then we headed home. Dave took a dip in the pool, and for dinner we had some BBQ and Brunswick stew that we picked up on the way down yesterday from Bill's BBQ in Wilson, NC.
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Location:Florida! Part 1
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