Golfing Around the World

You might call David Wood a golf addict extraordinaire, but that would be putting it mildly. After reading his just-published Around the World in 80 Rounds, Chasing a Golf Ball From Tierra del Fuego to the Land of the Midnight Sun, it’s easy to call the Seattle resident an eclectic, eccentric explorer. At the ripe old age of 47, Wood got off the treadmill of life and put the American rat race on hold for a year. He sold his home, put everything in storage, cashed out anything worth a buck, and then packed a golf bag with 10 clubs. This was the beginning of a yearlong journey of discovery, and a pleasant detour on the road we take from cradle to grave.

The former stand-up comedian, who has appeared on the David Letterman show five times, made new friends in 22 countries and golfed on every continent with the exception of Antarctica. During his 12-month golfing odyssey, Wood visited the Pyramids, the Taj Mahal, Victoria Falls, Moscow, Istanbul, Buenos Aires, Cape Town, Ayers Rock, China, Bangkok and Hanoi, to name but a few.

The idea for this trip actually developed while Wood was supposed to be writing a piece about Venice in the confines of his Seattle condominium. Daydreaming plays a major role in most writers’ lives, and the former Rochester, Minnesota, caddy found himself reliving past golf adventures in Scotland and Ireland. He began wondering about golfing in remote areas, which led to Google searches that resulted in a rough outline of a worldwide golf trip. He learned that the northernmost golf course on the planet is the Tromsø Golf Club in Norway, and the southernmost course is Ushuaia Golf Club in Argentina. He now had a starting point and end point, though not necessarily in that order.

Wood not only admired travel writer Paul Theroux, he also wanted to emulate the author of such books as The Great Railway Bazaar, The Pillars of Hercules, and The Old Patagonian Express. The only real difference between the two was Wood’s desire to golf while visiting exotic and foreign lands.

Some of the more interesting facts gleaned from Wood’s trip include the following:

• While in Norway, Wood learned that all prospective golfers there have to take a class on the rules and etiquette of the game before they are allowed out on the course.

• The Royal Calcutta Golf Club was established in 1829 and is the second oldest golf club outside the British Isles.

• Southwest China’s Mission Hills Golf Club is the largest golf complex in the world. It includes 10 championship golf courses built side by side, with each bearing the name of a famous golfer, such as Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo, Vijay Singh, David Duval, Jumbo Ozaki, Ernie Els, Annika Sorenstam, Jose-Maria Olazabal, Greg Norman, and teaching guru David Leadbetter. Several of these elite golfers, including Nicklaus, Norman and Olazabal, also doubled as course designers.

• Singapore is one of the cleanest cities in the world. The reason: Your first offense for littering is the equivalent of $600.

The general theme of Wood’s journey was to play unusual golf in unusual locales. He more than fulfilled that plan while experiencing Elephant Hills Golf Course in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. The Gary Player-designed course is an anomaly. Wood describes Zimbabwe as “a country coming apart at the seams economically.” Despite U.S. State Department warnings and admonitions from dozens of others, he still felt the pull to visit this part of Africa. “I wanted to see more of Africa,” said Wood. “The continent gets into your bloodstream quickly as you marvel at the splendor of the land and beauty of the people. As a fellow travel-lover in Cape Town told me happily, ‘When you’re in Zimbabwe, you’re in the real Africa!’”

On the first hole of Elephant Hills, Wood’s caddy instructed him to hit his ball between the bunker on the left and the pack of grazing warthogs on the right. Local rules, by the way, state that warthog damage to the turf may be treated as ground under repair, with a free drop allowed.

This and many other wonderful golf tales are sprinkled throughout the 282-page book. It’s a great inspiration for armchair travelers and even more interesting if you’re a golfer. By the time I finished reading Around the World in 80 Rounds, I found myself wanting it not to end. In fact, I almost felt sorry that David Wood had to return to Seattle and jump back on that treadmill.