My last two rounds of golf have been all about the social aspect of the game. Last weekend I was invited to play Southview Country Club with Tapemark Charity Pro-Am president Phil Callen, while Monday was guest day at Mendakota Country Club, hosted by my friend and former Northwest Airlines colleague Phil Keeney.

Saturday afternoon at Southview was a perfect day for fall golf – sunny skies, cool temperatures and a very light breeze. I was surprised to find the course so empty – we played 18 holes in about 3 hours. I played the front nine well, shooting 43 with two doubles and four pars. I also hit the purest five-iron I’ve ever hit on the ninth hole. Too bad it flew the green, bounced across the putting green and almost hit the parking lot fence…

The back nine was much tougher for me, but also included a few bad breaks. Phil played well, especially considering he just opened a new play the night before (Bill W. & Dr. Bob at the Illusion Theater in Minneapolis). I ended up with a 92 from the whites (6,121 yards, 71.0/136), while Phil had a 97.

The weather Monday at Mendakota was straight out of the British Isles – winds gusting to 45mph, temps in the low 50s and a spot of rain here and there. There were a lot of cancellations, but I was ready to play in multiple layers of clothing. We were joined by two other former Northwest revenue people – Gary Zehnder (refunds) and Mark Bodurtha (agency sales).

This was the first time I’ve played Mendakota since the changes on the back nine. The par five thirteenth hole had major changes that I really liked (removed trees, new target fairway bunker, green-side updates), as did the par four sixteenth hole (lengthened, green pushed back towards pond). Changes were also made to the par three fourteenth (new back tee) and the par four eighteenth (tees moved). I didn’t take my camera with due to the weather, but I’ll get shots of these changes soon.

My former pro-am partner (and Mendakota head professional) Dale Jones wasn’t in the shop Monday, but the rest of the Mendakota staff was very friendly and the food service before and after our round was superb. Despite the weather (and getting my butt kicked in the two-man scramble), it was really fun visiting and recollecting old NWA days in building B.

Thanks again to Phil and Phil for the invitations.

This past weekend Colleen and I visited the Dakota Jazz Club and Restaurant in Minneapolis for the first time to see Dan Wilson (of Semisonic and Trip Shakespeare fame). Ben Kyle of Romantica was the opener. We parked in the Target ramp and walked down Nicollet Mall until we found the place (it’s right across the street was from where Let It Be Records used to be).

I didn’t really know how seating or tickets worked, but we had a 6PM dinner reservation and they seated us on the main floor about four tables from the small stage located in the middle of the room. Music was scheduled to start at 7:30PM, which is about when our dessert arrived.

The food choices ranged from simple bar menu items like chicken wings and cheeseburgers to a three-course tasting menu. Our waiter asked us when we first arrived if we would be eating or just drinking during the show, so they really seemed to offer a lot of economic choices – a sign of the times, to be sure, but nice to see.

Colleen ordered from the tasting menu, choosing several of the specials:

• Blue Hubbard Squash Soup – maple-cracked pepper croutons, brown butter, sage
• Pekin Duck with Duck Confit – swiss chard, wild rice, blue cheese
• Smokey Dark Chocolate Cake – earl grey, pecan praline, port
• Wine – Szeremley, Kekfrankos, Hungary
• Apple Cider with Apple and butterscotch schnapps and whipped cream

I ordered off of the club menu and had the Steak and Fries – a 10 ounce Sirloin steak poutine “Tall Colin Style,” with tabasco-molasses sauce. The fries had poutine-style cheese curds, but replaced the usual gravy with the tabasco-molasses sauce. It was good, but the tabasco really overpowered the molasses and was very spicy.

Ben Kyle did a nice solo acoustic set, which really worked well in the space because almost everyone was dead silent and paying rapt attention to the stage. There was about a ten minute intermission, then Dan Wilson came out to play with just his acoustic guitar (although he switched to piano for a few songs too).

I don’t have a set list, but he did say they were recording the show for a future album. Some highlights for me included FNT, Baby Doll and All Kinds (each with great audience interaction). Ben joined him back onstage during the encore to play the Gram Parsons song To Love Somebody, which was incredible. Dan also gave a shout out to Neil Young, saying he draws a lot of song-writing inspiration from him. That was followed by a lovely cover of Long May You Run on piano.

The show wrapped up around 11PM and both guys stayed to sign CDs. Dan was selling his new Live at the Pantages 2-CD set that was recorded last winter and attended by Colleen and our youngest daughter. I also got to talk to him about his support of ARC of Minnesota. He performed at their annual gala and his daughter is a recipient of their services. ARC is one of the primary benefitting charities of the Tapemark Charity Pro-Am, which is a 7 Minute Miles client.

The cover charge for the show ($20 per person) was just added to our dinner bill. The service all night was wonderful, with our very knowledgeable waiter magically appearing whenever we needed him. I’m not sure how they assign tables when you make a reservation, but ours was in a perfect spot. My only regret was that I didn’t get down there a few weeks ago to see Suzanne Vega during her three-night stint.