Cordova Club GC
Cordova, TN (near Memphis)
1992, Marvin Orgill
Gold 6613, 73.1, 131, 72
Blue 6314, 72.2, 129, 72
White 6006, 70.8, 125, 72
Fees: ~$30 plus cart
Golf.com Review: This course features narrow tree-lined fairways. Nominated to '93 Golf Digest Best New Public Courses. The front 9 is more narrow than the back. Average-sized, true greens. Water hazards (ponds, lakes and streams) in play on 12 holes. The toughest hole is #5, a 562-yard par 5, requiring a tee shot over water with a sharp dogleg left with O.B. on the left, then an approach over water.
Best Bar Nearby: Long John Daly is a Memphis resident, and part-owner of a Beale Street sportsbar called Celebrity's (340 Beale, 901-576-8388). Belly up there and you may find yourself on a bar stool next to The Lion himself (his version of rehab eventually whittled down to downshifting from Jack Daniels to Miller Lite). Travel Channel digs Huey's for a great dive bar and Memphis' best hamburger (77 S 2nd St, 901-527-2700).
Where To Grub: Memphis is one of the four best cities for barbeque in the region that invented it, so when in Rome… Best known as the dry rub barbeque capital (meaning no sauce; the meat is rubbed with a blend of spices during slow-cooking to highlight the natural juices). Travel Channel and local PGA Champ Shawn Micheel say Rendezvous Ribs is a Memphis dry rub tradition so good, they do a brisk website/mail order business with former locals (www.hogsfly.com). If you still prefer your ribs wet, Food Network and Travel Channel both like the tasty, tangy sweet sauce at Corky's BBQ (www.corkysbbq.com, 175 Peabody Pl, 5259 Poplar Ave, and 1740 N Germantown Pkwy in Cordova TN) and it's one of my favorites as well. Bobby Flay digs Central BBQ. Southern Living magazine says locals love Cybill Shepard's fave Neely's Interstate Bar-B-Que, try the BBQ spaghetti (?!). Golf Digest says the Whole Hog Cafe, just over the river in Arkansas, is even better than Rendezvous (their pulled pork won the 2002 Memphis In May competition), with 6 kinds of sauces. Or hit Cozy Corner BBQ or The Bar-B-Q Shop. Personally, I'll take (now former) fat boy John Daly's recommendation for A&R BBQ (http://aandrbbq.com/, 1802 Elvis Presley Blvd, 901-774-7444) over all the others myself.
My buddy Scott says the best food on Beale Street is at Alfred's On Beale (197 Beale St, 901-525-3711). A real Southern menu featuring great BBQ, you get 2 meats and 4 sides for about $7. OR Dyer's Burgers on Beale St has been a Memphis institution since 1912, serving up some of the best beef patties in town. The burgers are deep-fried: meat, bun and all, and they literally haven't changed the grease in the pan for like 90 years. Blues City Cafe on Beale St boasts grub so good that whenever President Clinton was in town, he made it a must-visit location on his busy agenda. Award-winning Chef Bonnie Mack serves up some of Beale’s best BBQ ribs, homemade hot tamales, southern fried catfish, and oven-broiled steaks by the pound. Live entertainment nightly in the Band Box, and the kitchen's open late. Daly hates eating out at sit-down restaurants, mostly because he can't stand to delay his gratification long enough for a chef to cook him a hot meal to order (he's more of a drive-thru guy), but even he makes a once-a-year exception for the high quality steaks at the Memphis outpost of Ruth's Chris Steakhouse. Daly also owns John Daly's Restaurant and Bar in Olive Branch TN (7501 Goodman Rd, 662-895-4222), which adjoins four golf courses, and serves a "casual menu with a Southern flair", although one might guess he's never eaten there if they can't put a burger on a plate in less than 3 minutes. Jimmy Buffet rates ROTIER'S among the 10 best cheeseburgers on the planet. "I moved to Nashville from Alabama, and on my struggling songwriter budget I found the burger I needed to survive. It was a little place on Elliston Place between Centennial Park and Vanderbilt called Roiter's. I am now back in Nashville part time, and the first place I went was to Roiter's for a cheeseburger. It is still as good as I remember from my hard luck days." Guy Fieri of Food Network's Diners Drive-Ins & Dives digs Uncle Lou's for great Southern fried chicken, which comes in crispy, honey-dipped, less spicy, and more spicy varieties.
For a nice little road trip for some true down-home Southern deep fried cookin', take a drive 45 minutes SW of Memphis to Robinsonville MS and stop at the Hollywood Cafe (www.thehollywoodcafe.com, 1585 Old Commerce Rd). They claim to have invented deep fried pickle slices, and they also serve up Southern deep fried traditions like fried green tomatoes and fried frogs legs.
Further Diversions: You CAN NOT go through Memphis Tennessee without visiting the home of Elvis Aaron Presley. Graceland Mansion (3734 Elvis Presley Blvd, 800-238-0606, www.elvis.com/graceland, tours $18) is an American pilgrimage. OK, so from the outside it looks like any ol' suburban brick colonial, it's way smaller than you'd think, and it's weird that it sits on a busy highway. But the interiors are pure Elvis, and assuming you agree he's dead, he is buried there. Also check out the Elvis Presley Automobile Museum across the street. To shop the landmark Memphis store that inspired Elvis' unique style, hit Lansky Bros., now located in the Peabody Hotel (www.lanskybros.com). Mr. Lansky is still around, and a Memphis celebrity in his own right. He'll tell you stories about how Elvis used to work at a theater nearby their original store, and used to come in and say, "When I get rich, I'm coming here to shop." Well he did, and yes, Mr. Lansky is the one responsible for Elvis' blue suede shoes.
If your look is more John Daly circa 2010 than Elvis Pressley circa 1956, then checkout Daly's new wild pants sponsor Loud Mouth Golf online at www.loudmouthgolf.com.
A trip to Cleveland's Rock N' Roll Hall Of Fame taught me that rock n' roll was born at Memphis' Sun Studios during the '40's (1000-1800 daily, hour long tours start on the half hour, $9.50, 901-521-0664, www.sunstudio.com ). B.B. King recorded there, Johnny Cash dropped by occasionally, Jerry Lee Lewis got his start in Sun's tiny studio, then along came The King. AAA Magazine also digs the Stax Museum of American Soul Music (www.soulvilleusa.com, 901-946-2535).
Once you've gained a full appreciation of the musical tapestry that is Memphis, check out some of the best live Blues in the country at the clubs on Beale Street (www.bealestreet.com), including B.B. King's, and Elvis Presley's, which features live music and serves meals made from Elvis’ mother’s recipes, and includes many of his favorite dishes on the menu.
For chicks with guns, Dave Attell from Comedy Central's Insomniac likes the indoor shooting range at Range USA (901-213-4774) on Ladies Night. "Take your special lady and watch her get all 2nd Ammendment on your ass," says Dave. "Then go home and make love to the sweet sounds of the Nuge."
Where To Stay: AAA says Elvis Presley's Heartbreak Hotel is located adjacent to Graceland and offers rock-n-roll themed rooms inspired by The King's life and songs (starting at $93/night, up to $500 for themed suites, www.elvis.com/heartbreakhotel, 877-777-0606). OR, for upscale in the oldest Southern hospitality tradition, hit the famed Peabody Hotel (www.peabodymemphis.com, 901-529-4000), opened in 1869 as Memphis' premier luxury hotel. For the past 75 years, at 11:00 AM the famous Peabody ducks have paraded royally through the hotel to their fountain, where they spend the afternoon until 5 PM, then parade back to their home on the hotel's roof. Try the Peabody's Cappriccio Grill for great steaks.
Other Area Tracks To Play: If you're liquid and can get a tee time, then by all means tee it up at the private TPC Southwind, a PGA Tour stop. A little more affordable is the 4 star great value Golf Digest fave, Cherokee Valley Golf Club in Olive Branch ($40-$56, www.olivebranchgolf.com).
Or consider travelling to Long John Daly's Lion's Den Golf Club in Darnadelle, AR. Daly grew up playing this track when it was a rinky-dink 9-holer. The sentimental 2-time major winner couldn't help but buy it in 2005 and dump a bunch of money into it, making it a respectable 18-holer where he hosts affordable local charity events.
What To Read Before You Go: Daly's 2006 autobiography, My Life In & Out Of The Rough (The Truth Behind All That Bullshit You Think You Know) is almost shockingly candid, as is the man himself. A great look inside sudden fame's effect on a redneck boy from Arkansas, the PGA Tour life, and the various demons John has struggled with throughout his life. You won't believe the stories about he and his ex-wife at the Gentlemen's clubs.