NSG_Winter2017

The original b
cket list
THESE GOLFERS ARE DETERMINED TO PLAY AMERICA’S
TOP 100 PUBLIC COURSES
By STACEY MARCUS
Long before Jack Nicholson and Morgan
Freeman teamed up in the movie “The Bucket List”
to play a couple of aged curmudgeons determined
to fulfill their life’s fantasies, James Motzkin and his
friends were embarking on their own dream
journey: to play the top 100 public golf courses in
the United States.
Their road map, which ranks America’s greatest
golf courses, was established in 1966 by Golf Digest
and is published biennially. The group, most from
the North Shore, have been hitting the links across
the country for more than two decades and,
according to Motzkin, have the bucket about 75
percent full.
Motzkin, a Georgetown resident and founder/
president of JRM Hauling and Recycling, reflects
on the genesis of his golf trips while pointing to a
plaque behind his desk at his corporate office on
Route 1 in Peabody. Peter Gamache of Peabody
gave him the plaque with pegs and a
list of the top 100 courses; he
decided to make it his mission to play
them all and share the joy with a
group of friends.
“We are not interested in becoming
professional golfers, we are just
enjoying the moment,” said Motzkin,
who plays to an 18 handicap at Salem
and Kernwood and meticulously
plans the trips to include three key
elements: many rounds of golf, fine
restaurants and points of interest.
Son Jimmy loves the annual
tradition. “We have a lot of of fun
times and lots of laughs. I enjoy
spending time with everyone, especially my father,”
he said. His favorite course is Bethpage Black on
Long Island, N.Y.
Each trip is unique, galvanizing large and small
groups. In addition to the Motzkins, members
include Mitch Marcus (Marblehead), Art McCarthy
(Reading), Peter Gamache (Peabody) and Tom
Flanagan (Reading).
“Jimmy (senior) does an incredible job targeting
the golf courses he wants to play, organizing a great
trip, inviting friends both old and new, and making
sure that everyone has so much fun they want to
come back for the next trip!” said McCarthy.
“I went on my first golf trip well over 15 years ago,
to TPC Sawgrass outside of Jacksonville. Mitch
Marcus was the only guy I knew well from this
group of eight golfers. I became fast friends with the
other six and continue to play golf with them all to
this day. What I remember most about that first trip
was Jimmy making a birdie 2 on the famous par-3
17th hole. He hit his tee shot to within 10 feet of the
pin on the island green and then drained the putt
to clinch the match, defeating me and my partner
that day,” said McCarthy, with a chuckle.
McCarthy’s favorite golf course is Pinehurst No.
2 in North Carolina. It’s James Motzkin’s, too. It is
BUCKET
LIST
James Motzkin Sr.
the first course Motzkin played on his cross-country
journey and he speaks with great affection of
the challenge the course presented, the fine
accommodations and a setting that reminded him
of a New England village. The fact that Motzkin
eagled a hole at Pinehurst certainly helped earn its
top spot on his list.
Other treasured courses include Pebble Beach in
California, TPC in Phoenix, Ariz., Bandon Dunes in
Bandon, Ore., Whistling Straits in Sheboygan,
Wisc., Bethpage in N.Y., Sea Island Golf Club in
Georgia, and Crumpin-Fox in Bernardston, Mass.
Throughout the years, Motzkin and his posse
have traveled by motor coach, plane and car to golf
around the country. Once, when the New England
Patriots were playing in Minnesota, they flew out
to watch the game and scratch Interlachen and
Hazeltine golf courses off the list. A trip to play
Bethpage State Park in New York was paired with
a trip to the Empire State Building.
“I’ve been to every state in the
country,” noted Motzkin; the last
state on the list was North Dakota.
“It is like being a kid at Christmas,”
said Gamache, who notes the trips
keep getting better and better.
“Imagine four grown men singing
in the car throughout the state
of Oregon,” joked Motzkin.
Marcus said that the scenery on
the way to Bandon Dunes was
breathtaking. One of his most
memorable times is when they
played Dancing Rabbit in Mississippi
and he bought a round of drinks to
celebrate their round. One of the women in the
lounge, listening to the music being played, asked.
“Do you know who this lady is? It’s Nicki Minaj
and she is going to be the next big rap singer?”
Marcus notes that months later his daughter was
playing music and she said,”I love Nicki Minaj!”
“We share an inexplicable camaraderie that
cannot be put into words,” said Motzkin. All golfers
understand what he means. Motzkin took his
then-4-year-old grandson to play golf in Palm
Beach, Fla., but thinks he is a tad young to join in
on the golf trips. “He likes to chase the golf cart
most of all,” said Jimmy the younger.
When it comes to comparing one course to
another, Motzkin notes that although the courses
are diverse, the crew has one tradition they practice
at every course. “Before we hit the ball, we look
around and remember how blessed we are to be in
this situation.”
So what classic track is next on the bucket list?
Undecided, said Motzkin, who will begin planning
it soon. l
Stacey Marcus is a freelance writer. She can be reached at
stacey@staceymarcuswrites.com
30 >>> WINTER 2017