The doctor of family and emergency medicine and his wife, Gloria, embarked on a mission in April to visit some of the best, most interesting golf courses in the United States. They plan to document their experiences and combine them into a book, which they hope to publish in April 2009. Morgan wants to be one of the first to publish a book about golfing in every state.
This journey brought the couple to Clemson’s Walker Golf Course on May 25th. When asked why he chose Clemson’s Walker Golf Course out of all the other courses in South Carolina, Morgan coolly replied, “There were three main criteria we stuck to while choosing the courses that we did. We wanted to visit interesting towns with populations under 30,000; we wanted to choose towns that remained in line with the rest of our itinerary, both for the purpose of saving on gas and miles; and we really just wanted to visit really nice golf courses. Clemson fit the bill to a tee.”
Morgan especially raved about the 17th hole on the Walker Course, saying it was one of the most beautiful holes they’d seen thus far. He hopes to use a photo of himself and his wife at the 17th hole as the cover picture for his book.
The couple, originally from Oregon, began their trek in Arizona, where one of their three sons lives with his family. From their Southwestern departure to their tee-off in tiger country, they had already putted through nine states. Although they consider themselves amateurs at the sport, they’ve thoroughly enjoyed the various greens they’ve already played on.
In order to rate the courses they’ve played on, Morgan drew up an evaluation sheet for himself and his wife. The rating criteria include design, condition, clubhouse/facilities, scenic/nature, value, and overall experience. After individually rating those categories on a scale from one to ten, the overall score is calculated. Morgan hopes to include a “top ten” section in his book based on these evaluations. An additional evaluation sheet was drawn up to rate the towns they visited, but both admitted that those are much harder to rate.
This book is actually the second that Morgan is working on during this trip. The first is a book that will discuss some of the most famous people in American history; the good as well as the bad. While stopping to play a round of golf here and there, the couple also intends to visit museums memorializing influential Americans, such as the Rosa Parks Museum in Alabama.
Along with experiencing the different golf courses, the couple has also enjoyed a variety of cuisine while being out on the road. Although they are trying to remain frugal by utilizing the kitchenette in their RV, the Morgans reflected on some of the meals that stood out the most from their trip thus far. Deep-fried pickles and catfish in Mississippi took the cake, but Morgan enthusiastically remarked about his first try at shrimp and grits here in South Carolina, a Southern must-have. They both expressed their excitement about tasting some fresh New England seafood when they visit Maine in a few weeks.
Other university towns that the couple intends to visit are Williams College in Williamston, Massachusetts, Monmouth College in Monmouth, Illinois and New Mexico Technical College in Socorro, New Mexico.
From Clemson, the Morgans will travel to travel to Brevard, North Carolina, and then on to Tennessee to see Davey Crocket’s hometown. Keep your eyes open next year for Dr Glen Morgan’s book on golfing around the country!
Published: May 29, 2008
Author: Erin Knapper