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Unlimited
Local Golf
Flying service gets you teeing up quickly
By John Tipping, PNGA Media
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The goal of Pacific Northwest Golfer is give our readers news and
information on everything golf. From clubs to caddies, tournaments
to trouble-shots, short putts to long irons.
So when I proposed a story about flying to our editor, the question
was, “How is it relevant to golf?”
It took only one question and the story was set. I asked him, “How
would you like to leave Seattle at 8 a.m. for a 10:30 a.m. tee time
at Bandon Dunes?”
I was on the story.
My first call was to Jeremy Wilson, director of marketing and communications
at Galvin Flying in Seattle. Galvin Flying is based at Boeing Field
and is one of the oldest and most respected flight companies in the
area.
I told Wilson of my idea about taking a short, two-day golf trip aboard
one of Galvin Flying’s aircraft.
He quickly rounded up two more pilots, Mark Landes and Pete Aldassy,
who also happened to be golfers, and we set out to plan our trip.
The one thing about flying to play golf is that it makes nearly every
golf course in the Northwest a local golf course. I have driven as
many as four hours one way to play a round of golf before turning
around and heading home. Four hours in a Columbia 400 (which cruises
at 235 knots) could have you teeing it up at The Olympic Club in San
Francisco or at Wolf Creek in Mesquite, Nev.
For our immediate purposes, I gave Wilson a list of courses that I
would like to play and he listed out travel times in the four-passenger
Columbia 400 and the four-passenger Diamond DA40.
The Diamond isn’t quite as fast as the Columbia, but it still
moves out at about 150 knots.
• Predator Ridge, Vernon,
B.C. – 1 hour (Columbia) and 1.5 hours in the Diamond.
•
Sunriver or Black Butte Ranch (Central Oregon) – The same 1
and 1.5
hours.
• Apple Tree, Yakima, Wash. – 30 to 45 minutes.
• Circling Raven or Coeur d’Alene Resort, Idaho –
1 to 1.5 hours.
• Big Sky Golf and Country Club, Pemberton,
B.C. – About an hour.
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Now on trips between Canada and the U.S., you do need to factor in
time for customs both outgoing and incoming.
Much of our decision was based on weather, as this was an early spring
trip. We decided to play Bear Mountain Golf and Country Club in Victoria,
B.C., and the Witch Hollow course at Pumpkin Ridge outside of Portland.
Now we all agreed not to talk about our golf scores during this trip,
but I did pester my new pilot friends with loads of questions about
becoming a pilot, cost of renting planes and costs of chartering flights.
All of these are good options, but each has its strengths and weaknesses.
Becoming a pilot – The best of these options
seems like becoming a pilot yourself. Galvin has a “Guaranteed
Pilot’s Certificate” program, meaning you continue the
training at your own pace until you get the certificate, for $9,995.
It can take as little as two months if you come in three times a
week, or as many as four or five months if you are limited to only
once a week.
“This is a great option,” Wilson said. “We prefer
it when people can really come in as frequently as possible. With
a long time in between sessions, people tend to forget the little
things that are very important. Coming in regularly helps make everything
second nature.”
The cost of becoming a pilot is significant. But consider once you
have your license you bring a lot of great golf courses into the
local category and the travel is not that expensive.
For example, if you took the Diamond DA40, a four-seat aircraft,
your cost is $182 per hour. That includes the fuel, insurance, rental,
all that is required to take the trip. If you took a 90-minute trip
to Central Oregon, your cost is $273 each way – or split between
four golfers, less than $70 each way. Compare that to commercial
air travel.
The advantage of flying, of course, is the time element. No commercial
terminal or the related delays such as parking, check-in, security
delays, etc.
You can really save as much as four hours – or another 18
holes of golf – at your destination.
“Scheduling is really flexible,” Wilson added. “Everything
about this is more convenient.”
A couple of things to be aware of that are not the most convenient
include the actual space on the airplane for gear. It would be difficult
to put four full sets of clubs on the Diamond or the Columbia as
you could approach the weight limits for each.
However, most courses have terrific name-brand rental sets that
let you try out some of the latest equipment on the market.
Also, if traveling between Canada and the U.S., you need to be aware
of customs requirements and make the necessary arrangements.
Aircraft charter – This can get a bit more
costly, though you can bring as many as eight golfers this way.
Some of the same advantages apply here – you’re saving
on the time in and out, creating a schedule that best suits you.
Purchase a plane – A third option is to actually
buy a plane – you can do this even before you become a pilot.
One option is what is termed a “lease back” whereby
you purchase the plane and lease it back to the flight school for
other training uses. This will help generate revenue that will offset
some of the cost of the plane – similar to a timeshare.
OK, this whole thing was just an excuse to get out and play golf,
I will admit it. However, it was also a real eye-opener as to how
taking to the skies can be very friendly to your golf game.
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