Excert from Oct. 12,
2006
Features of Backspin the Golf Show
by Bill Huffman
Golf enthusiast
Dale blends art, golf, travel
Taba Dale knew what she wanted
long before she got it. That’s why her
recent move to Scottsdale from Potomac, Md.,
was so significant – some might say clairvoyant
-- in that it fulfilled her “dream of
a lifetime.’’
“In 1994, I started selling
golf art and golf photography on-line. In fact,
I believe I was the first to ever do that,’’ Dale
said of her pioneering role that began on www.golf.com
and included www.thegolfweb.com.
Shortly after, she founded her
own website, www.scottsdalecollection.com.
“I never had to say Scottsdale ‘Golf’ Collection,
because everybody already knew that Scottsdale
is synonymous with golf,’’ said Dale,
who originally had sold fine art dating back
to 1979. “And it was always my greatest
desire to move to Scottsdale, and now I’ve
done that, too.’’
Six weeks in her home at Troon
Country Club and the effervescent Dale is literally
bubbling.
“I have this triple passion – art,
golf and travel,’’ Dale said. “With
the move to Scottsdale, I’ve now got the
golf and art covered, and I’m moving on
to make the ‘travel’ part happen,
too.’’
Dale has worked as an exclusive
agent for Scotland’s Brian Morgan, perhaps
the most prolific golf photographer of all time,
as well as Michael Miller, a well-known golf
landscape artist who lives in California. Now,
she’s putting on another golf cap, this
time as a travel guru who operates specialty
golf tours primarily for women.
“I’m bringing a woman’s
point of view to the business of golf tours,’’ Dale
said of her agency, Premier Golf Trips For Women. “Whereas
men will golf from sun-up to sundown, drink whisky
and smoke cigars into the wee hours of the morning,
women have a different notion of how to enjoy
themselves.’’
In that regard she is organizing
a customized trip to Scotland next summer “for
12 adventurous and lucky women.’’ The
golf vacation of a lifetime begins with four
nights at the Old Course Hotel in St. Andrews,
with opportunities to play such other storied
layouts as Carnoustie, Kingsbarns and Turnberry,
where the group will compete in the Turnberry
Ladies International Invitational. Besides golf,
there also will be an emphasis on elegant dining,
sightseeing, shopping and spas.
“Five-star accommodations
and golf, as well as five-star fun,’’ she
said of the nine-day trip slated for June. “It’s
all about creating an artful experience.’’
Dale certainly has the background
to pull off such a journey. A tour through her
home in Scottsdale finds signed collectibles
by the game’s greatest stars like Jack
Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Ernie Els and Payne
Stewart, to name a few. She also has presented
major exhibitions at such locales as the World
Golf Hall of Fame in Florida, USGA headquarters
in New Jersey, and several U.S. Opens and U.S.
Senior Opens.
Ask her any question about golf,
and it seems her mind is like Velcro. Just don’t
ask her about her game, because like a lot of
golfers, it’s not quite where she would
like it to be.
“My ambition is to be an
18 (handicap), which is attainable if I just
play more,’’ she said. “At
the same time, my mantra has always been, ‘I’m
not too good, but I’m not slow, either.’ ’’
Dale said she hopes to change
that in the near future, with a scaled-back schedule
opening up more green windows in Arizona.
“I’ve played so many
wonderful courses -- especially here in the Southwest
and in countries Ireland and Scotland – and
now I just want to share those with other people,’’ she
said. “That’s what I really love
about the game, in that you meet so many interesting
people.’’
People like Taba Dale, who says
that “technically I’m an art dealer
on my tax return,’’ but “ideally,
someone who just really loves to play golf and
travel.’
BackspinTheGolfShow.com
