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More PGA Tour Players Prefer RVs As Homes On The Road
November 5, 2008
Jeff Gove 
There’s little disagreement life on the PGA Tour is special.
Tournaments are held on the best golf courses in picturesque locations
around the globe. And while competition is fierce, the lure of the
game, its ever-increasing prize money and someone named Tiger Woods
have all helped catapult the sport’s popularity.
The PGA Tour season traditionally begins in Hawaii in early January
and progresses west to east to more than 40 events weekly events.
Golf’s globalization and its diverse special events will take
PGA Tour players to several countries in 2009.
But unlike pro teams sports whose athletes travel together in transportation
provided by their employers, pro golfers make their own arrangements.
And, other than hoping to post low scores, travel is the biggest
concern for PGA Tour players. Some players still fly commercially,
others fly privately or have partial ownership in corporate jets.
Several seasons ago, Jeff Gove joined a small corps of pro golfers
who prefer the comforts of home while traveling. With his wife,
Heather, and the couple’s two small children, the Goves travel
tournament to tournament in the family’s motorhome.
“When I was on the Nationwide Tour full-time in the late
1990s, I was driving everywhere,” says Gove. “So one
day I mentioned to my wife, ‘Hey, let’s go look at a
couple of these.” Gove’s wife wasn’t keen on the
idea, with her only reference, according to the nomadic golfer was,
“Grandma’s Mini-Winnie.” (a small Winnebago).
Once the couple investigated new models, however, it wasn’t
long before they owned a 45-foot Travel Supreme.
“My wife wanted to get a dog, and traveling by motorhome
just made sense,” said Gove. “It’s not for everybody,
but it makes sense to us.”
Travel by motorhome by first became en vogue for pro golfers more
than 20 years ago. Larry Laoretti, the 1992 U.S. Senior Open winner,
gave the RV industry a substantial boost when he began traveling
to more than 20 tournaments a year in his motorhome. Laoretti, now
retired, eventually became an RV industry spokesman.
Laoretti’s travel preference prompted several fellow competitors,
including Brian Barnes, Tom Wargo and Buzz Thomas, to also travel
to tournaments via motorhomes. The foursome and their families sometimes
traveled in a caravan.
John Daly, the 1995 British Open winner and controversial periodic
PGA Tour player, has a customized motorhome he often drives to tournaments.
For Gove, one component of motorhome travel hopes to make more
consistent is knowing his week-to-week destination. Since touring
pro in 1995, the former Pepperdine University standout has rotated
between the Nationwide Tour and PGA Tour.
In addition to five seasons on the PGA Tour, Gove has also spent
three seasons primarily on the Nationwide TOUR, and for the motorhome
enthusiast that meant a sustainable adjustment.
While playing on the Nationwide Tour, he towed a vehicle for local
transportation during tournaments. “On the PGA TOUR,”
said Gove. “We’re lucky enough to get a courtesy car
almost every week.”
Still, traveling by motorhome is his preference. “It’s
just a better quality of life,” Gove said. “You have
all your stuff, especially with kids. You don’t have to pack
and unpack. You’ve got your own germs and the kids have their
own toys.”
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