I'm sure most everyone that reads GolfWRX has seen the Ambush segment that Golf Digest has in each edition.

For those who haven't, the set up is that the Senior Travel Writer ambushes unsuspecting guys on their annual buddies trip. It's pretty entertaining to read about the individual traditions of these trips. What suprised me, is the number of submissions that Golf Digest gets, something like 1300 in recent months.

So here it is...

Tell us about your annual buddies trip. Where do you go? What's it called? How long have been doing it? Traditions?


I'll kick it off. Mine is this weekend.

We have two teams of 8 that battle in Ryder Cup format over three rounds. On Saturday we play two 18 hole matches. In the first round, we play scramble and one of the better players is paired with one of the weaker players. In the second round we play best ball and players of similar skill level are paired together. On Sunday we have 8 singles matches.

This will be our 4th year and we purchased a pewter replica of the Ryder Cup that is held by the winning team's captain. We send out a Preview Book with hilarious pictures, rundown of the matches, and some other random stuff to get everyone fired up about the weekend.

I bet there are some really great traditions out there...

NCheel

There are 3 or 4 of us that meet up in Pennsylvania somewhere different each year for a 3 day weekend of golf and more golf before winter sets in.

We have more fun on this weekend than any Myrtle Beach Trip we have ever been on!

Before we all had kids, about 12 to 16 of us would head to my Aunt and Uncle's place in Seabrook, SC for a week of Ryder Cup style golf and a lot of booze and food.

After most of us got married and have kids, we head to the Jersey shore and play a mini Ryder Cup topped off with a lot of booze and food and my house at the beach. Still a lot of fun, but way too short.

It all started 11 years ago for a buddy's bachelor party when eight of us from Bakersfield, CA left for our first trip to the land of Milk and honey (Palm Springs). Not knowning much back then, we sayed at a motel 6 on a Friday, played PGA West Stadium twice the next day on the unlimited package and stayed at La Quinta Resort Saturday. A great trip that became even greater. We had some beers with some other golfers and they told us that the weekday package was even cheaper, so the following year we left on Thursday afernoon and played Friday/Saturday. We then found out that the Westin Mission Hills and Marriott Desert Springs have even better deals. Golf in late August is hot but cheap and we're used to playing in the triple digit heat already.

Now we use a rotation of the three resorts; last year was LQ, last week was MDS and next year we head over to the Westin. We arrive on Wednesday, play Wednesday afternoon (sometimes squeeze 2 rounds), 2 rounds Thursday/Friday, 1 round Saturday morning, shower then head home. This year we made a special stop to Desert Dunes on Wednesday AM and one of the PM rounds we hopped over to Desert Willow.

Since 2002 I have lived in Carlsbad, but still organize and meet my buddies for this annual event. The cost has always been really inexpensive, this year was $275 pp for 3 nights stay and unlimited golf at the resort. Without exception, we have always had the first tee time in the AM rounds and are done in 3 - 3 1/2 hours. Bloody Marys are mixed and served 1 hour prior to the AM tee times.

Having a guy on the trip who can mix a good bloody mary is crucial...

kiawah island, sc

We gop to Hilton Head Island in the Spring and then off to Las Vegas in the Fall. HH is a week trip and LV is a three day weekend - if we spend a week in Vegas, we would be broke or in jail, or both, lol

Hilton Head, first weekend in March (just b4 prices go up), x 12 years. Usually 12-20 golfers, 3 from UK, the rest Cincinatti, Charlotte, Florida.

Always play HarbourTown, Daufuskie, Sea Pines Ocean + 1 other course (haven't found the solid 4th yet). Wed night-Sunday. Some play 36 some days, most don't. Some turn it into a week, most don't. Some take the golf seriously - about 1/2. We just added a low gross/net trophy (I won the net - best sandbagger). $100 bet over 4 days for various games, trash, skins, etc. Usually costs about $650 for lodging and golf + $100 bet + food.

Weather can be a bit iffy, but after the first weekend in March the prices jump. We've only missed two days because of rain in 12 years.

Always a great time.

This year was our 10th annual trip. We started out the first couple of years in Myrtle Beach. After going to Myrtle for the first two years, we began trying new destinations every year, typically somewhere fairly highly rated. We've been to Pinehurst, Palm Springs, New Mexico, Scottsdale, Bandon, Northern Michigan, Florida, and this year went to Scotland. As a result of our trips, we've played a quite a few of the "Top 100 courses you can play" because we try to play the highest rated courses in each location. We usually play 36 holes every other day, but not back to back 36ers. That's too much like work. Next year we intend to go to Kohler.