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Part One: The Front Nine : Stogies Without Bogeys Nine courses that pair up the terrific twosomes of golf and cigars. By: Evan RothmanJune/July 2008 , Page 58
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Mark Twain wasn't perfect. The genius that wrote, "If smoking is not allowed in heaven, I shall not go" is the same dunderhead who decreed, "Golf is a good walk spoiled." Hey, Mark, ever the twain shall meet... Golf and cigars go together like Tiger Woods and victory. No other sport is as conducive to a fine smoke. (Ever try playing tennis with a Partagas in your mouth? Not easy.) If world-class golf courses and a world-class cigar experience are a winning twosome, it's also a pairing that can be hard to find these days. Yes, great layouts are out there, a phone call or click away, and you can always BYOC. But that's not really the point, is it? You want a place that reveres the savoring of a sophisticated stogie as much as it does the subtly undulating green, where cigar culture is woven into the fabric. We've scoured the golf landscape in search of just such spots -- stogies sans bogeys, if you will. Take a long draw and read on for our Front Nine (to be followed next issue by our Back Nine). The American Club
Kohler, Wisconsin The American Club boasts one of the world's fiercest foursomes of courses, designed by the legendary Pete Dye. Overlooking Lake Michigan, the walking-only, links-style course at Whistling Straits hosted the 2004 PGA Championship(and will do so again in 2010 and 2015 as well as the Ryder Cup in 2020. The cigar options are just as impressive: Whistling Straits's selections run the gamut from Acid to WS Churchill, while the American Club hotel's manly Horse & Plow tavern is an ideal spot to enjoy a La Gloria Cubana Torpedo paired with a reserve beer; if you want a suitably hearty one, try an Avery Czar, a Russian imperial stout. (And if you know any dues-payers at Riverbend, the resort's members-only club, it has a serious stash of Davidoffs.) Bandon Dunes Golf Resort
Bandon, Oregon Since its 1999 opening, Bandon has become the links purist's must-go getaway. Its courses -- Bandon Dunes, Pacific Dunes and Pacific Trails -- are widely considered golf's finest trio, with good reason. The rural, isolated Oregon resort takes its cigars no less seriously, with humidors found at all of its golf, food and beverage retail operations. Current featured selections include the Padrón 1964 Pyramid Silver and Macanudo Vintage 2000. Each course has a patio with scenic views adjacent to its 18th green. Come nightfall, the two favorite spots are the Bunker Bar, the resort's cigar hot spot, which has an impressive selection of single-malt scotch and ports to accompany your smoke; and outside McKee's Pub, where there’s a roaring fire in the oversized fireplace and golfers rehashing their memorable rounds with an adult beverage in one hand and a cigar in the other. The Biltmore
Coral Gables, Florida The venerable and cigar-friendly Biltmore outside Miami has the largest hotel swimming pool in the country; its golf course is less imposing but perhaps more beguiling, a classic Donald Ross–designed gem from the Golden Age. The hotel offers more than 40 brands of cigars, sold individually and by the box, including La Gloria Cubana and five Padrón-created, Biltmore-branded cigars. Players can celebrate their loop with a smoke at the newly renovated 19th Hole restaurant adjacent to the course.
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