Thank you all for the welcome.
Kevin, I've made a few golf trips out of Ohio. But I haven't played many places of particular note. I've been to the UK and Ireland twice, but unfortunately, neither time did I have the chance to play. The first time I went over was to spend a summer in Oxford while in law school. I did take the train down to Sandwich for the 2003 Open, which was great fun. When I went to Ireland, I walked a few holes on Lahinch, but regrettably I wasn't playing the course. So one of my dream trips would be to play some links golf in the UK/Ireland. I'm trying to get permission from my wife to go to Bandon next fall (we'll see). If I ever have the chance, I'd like to play some of the old clubs in the NE (Merion, Shinnecock, NGLA, Newport, PV...all would be dream destinations).
Brett, our golf season in central Ohio generally runs from April through October. This year has been pretty lousy (lots of rain in the spring and early summer, extreme heat in the summer, and then more rain recently). The past couple of years, the best time to golf has been October and November because we had very little rain and plenty of wind, which kept the course firm and fast. Unfortunately, we don't have enough of that type of weather...although it has been really nice this week. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a nice October and November.
Brian