On Education
In her third novel, The Song of the Lark, Willa Cather wrote that “There are some things you learn best in calm, and some in storm.” Amidst the recent global politics, pandemic and pandemonium I’m sure we’re all learning quite a lot, but at this point I’d be happy to play hooky, copy your homework, and graduate back into calm. Reflecting on the year, my patience has increased, my resolve has strengthened, and my skills at the grill have vastly improved (create epic pork shoulders with both perfect bark and a succulent interior? Oh yes I have). But otherwise I generally find myself more irritable, more annoyed, and more tired than usual. There are various reasons for this, but I lay a rather large part of the blame at the feet of 2020. If I’m taking one lesson from this ridiculous year, it’s that “storm” and “calm” are not always imposed or exclusive conditions; sometimes they are simultaneous and chosen, and so choosing to find the calm within a storm can be the best way to survive it. How does one find the calm within a storm, you might ask? Gather round kids, for here is my secret: Get yourself a new Bentley Flying Spur, kit it out with a top Naim Audio system, put on Dave Brubeck’s 1959 classic, Time Out, drive to Savannah, Georgia, and spend a week at the Perry Lane Hotel. Top that off with a few cocktails, a glass of something beautiful from Château d’Esclans, fresh oysters and a steak, and there you go: Calm found.
For more details, check out p34 (Savannah), p132 (Bentley), p152 (wine/food) and p158 (drinks). Then again, if Southern sojourns on the road aren’t your thing, take to the skies in Learjet’s new Liberty 75 aircraft (p138) and head to California, where you can debate which part of the state offers the best combination of wine + golf (p88). For execs pulling all-nighters, take a lesson from the team at Insperity and the new e-book, Success Strategies in the Age of COVID, which offers the firm’s steadyhanded advice on doing business in challenging times. An excerpt can be found on p148, and it’s a good read (as is the whole book).
Lastly, I want to offer a hearty congratulations to Kingdom’s founders, Matthew Squire and John Halnan, on reaching the 50th issue of this incredible publication. When they co-founded it with Arnold Palmer some 17 years ago, I’m not sure they understood how much of a reflection of their own integrity and character it would become, but it has, and in so many ways that is the reason for its success (that, and its top-notch staff, of course! Joe, Jonny, Matt H, Robin and Kieron, I’m looking at you). Providing calm within everyday storms for 50 issues now, Kingdom offers a lot to willing students of best living. I’ll be studying up on that subject myself this winter, and looking forward to the spring semester and beyond, when, hopefully, the pop quizzes won’t be so hard. Here’s hoping that all of you and yours have a lovely holiday season.
It has become a cliché to say that 2020 has been an unprecedently awful year, but like so many clichés it is rooted in truth. My heart goes out to all those that have lost loved ones or seen their livelihoods threatened. Yet despite—or perhaps in contrast to— the loss and lockdowns, 2020 has also brought into clear focus the positive and memorable. Being out on course with family and friends, as one of the few pursuits that has been safely playable, has been a joy of renewed appreciation and refuelled motivation. The golf industry as a whole, like a DeChambeau drive at Winged Foot, is sailing over hazards and booming.
A personal note of celebration is that this is the 50th issue for us here at Kingdom, so please forgive my self-indulgent pride at reaching this milestone. I must add that my own contribution to this achievement is insignificant in comparison to the collective effort of our talented team, and also compared to the help Arnold Palmer gave us along the way. It doesn’t seem long ago at a Kingdom Cup at Bay Hill, while being interviewed by Kelly Tilghman from the Golf Channel about the 27th issue, that Arnie remarked he was looking forward to the 1000th. I am not sure I will be around to see that but the go-for-the-green, can do mentality that Arnie brought to golf, business and life is something we try to emulate every day.
Bay Hill was Arnold’s second home club after Latrobe but he was also a member of many more clubs; discover which ones and just how many on page 96. Multi-club access for the rest of us is made easy by programs like Palmer Advantage and by the Dormie Network, through which members join six outstanding golf clubs all at once. We take a look at one of the Dormie Network’s prestigious clubs, Arbor Links, on page 114; an Arnold Palmer design that had just opened in time to be covered in our very first issue back in 2003. Also gazing “back to the future”, we feature the latest Bentley supercar, just as we did in our very first issue, a truly prestige marque that is also DeChambeau’s drive.
Lastly, I would like to extend sincere thanks to our readers. Without you, Kingdom would not exist. We always get a kick out of hearing from readers who try to collect every edition of our magazine. It is great to hear that some readers take as much pride in collecting Kingdom as we do in producing it, and I hope you enjoy our 50th.