Another World Golf Village Visit

You may recall that last year I wrote about my first visit to the World Golf Village and the Hall of Fame. With a few hours to spend after this year's Players, I made the short drive down to St. Augustine to pay another visit and as impressed as I was last year, I have no problem stating that my latest visit only confirmed what a special place this is.

Driving into the property and towards the Hall, the land plan that seemed awkward last year made much more sense. Maybe it was a bit of nostalgia of having visited once, but the excitement of winding around golf courses and various real estate with the Hall's spire constantly in view proved quite exciting. It was clearly the intent of the land planners and a nice dramatic touch.

Once I'd paid my $20 (that includes an IMAX ticket if you are so inclined to tear yourself away from the exhibits), much of my time was spent with an interactive exhibit featuring old Open Championship highlight films, with an emphasis on pre-1940.

The exhibits remain as rich and attractive as I remembered, but the entire experience has now been significantly upgraded by the addition of a $3 audio tour. The devices are very easy to use (no headphones!) and enrich a visit as any good audio tour does. However, unlike most museum audio where some NPR-wannabe curator drops plenty of post-modern sensibility references, the Hall of Fame audio ranges from informative to downright personal.

For example, there's John Hopkins talking about his Times predecessor Bernard Darwin. But even better are the audio clips of actual Hall of Famers' talking about either their own items on display, or about something else. Something about hearing the information from the very people in the Hall makes for an incredibly satisfying and unique experience. Otherwise, how else to explain that Barbie doll that Nancy Lopez selected for her locker?

Of this year's inductees, Jose Maria Olazabal and Lanny Wadkins recorded wonderful remembrances related to the items they donated. In Wadkins' case, the collection of great memorabilia he donated to the hall is most impressive, with no item better than the letter from Ben Hogan, with check for on-course wagering losses included.

The only downer: seeing Karsten Solheim in the Hall (but not more important figures like A.W. Tillinghast and Dan Jenkins, to name just a couple on the long list of far more worthy candidates).

There is also the issue of no 2010 induction ceremony on the docket.

If the one-year hiatus is setting things up for a possible 2011 induction to kick off Players Championship week, that'd be nice. But I'm not getting my hopes up. It makes way too much sense.