New Culinary Series Premieres on GOLFPASS

Fairway to Table Premiere Showcases Austin Country Club, with Future Visits to Hazeltine National and Olympia Fields

(ORLANDO, Fla.) – A demanding public has turned cooks into culinary artists – and not just at the world’s finest restaurants. No longer are country clubs places “where chefs go to die,” but creative incubators for some of the best in the business.

Fairway to Table presented by ClubBuy, a new series premiering today exclusively as part of the GOLFPASS digital membership program, will be a culinary adventure exploring some of the nation’s finest country clubs, while introducing the artists behind the apron who are creating local flavors and fantastic feasts for their members.

Hosted by chef and author Michael Ponzio, each episode of Fairway to Table will showcase the culinary program at the best country clubs across the U.S. Ponzio currently serves as the executive chef for the Union League Club of Chicago, following six years in the same role for the world-ranked Platinum golf club, Medinah Country Club. He also is the author of the cookbook, Cibo: Anybody’s Guide to Italian Cooking.

The premiere episode of Fairway to Table will feature Austin Country Club, one of the oldest existing clubs in Texas and home to one of the greatest golf instructors who ever lived, Harvey Penick. Executive Chef Bob Burns, a self-professed “hunter-gatherer,” has dedicated 42 years of his life to the private club industry and his passion for food to Austin C.C.’s menu, which features prime beef, direct-sourced seafood, wild game and premium vegetables. The episode follows Chef Burns, as he flexes his culinary creativity with a dish featuring Asian-inspired Texas Brisket with Korean Quinoa, Fried Brown Rice, Gochujang and duck egg. Later, Chef Ponzio rolls up his sleeves and takes to the streets of Austin to visit one of the city’s landmarks, Louie Mueller Barbecue and third-generation pit master Wayne Mueller. The two build one of the restaurant’s iconic platters: dinosaur bone-in short rib, beef brisket and pork sausage.

Future episodes of Fairway to Table will visit Hazeltine National (May 12) in Chaska, Minn., and Olympia Fields Country Club (June 2), located just outside Chicago – both steeped in golf lore and hosts to some of golf’s biggest events and major championships throughout the years.

Watch a Preview of Fairway to Table Here.