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TACOS AND SUNSHOWERS DURING A WEEKEND AT TOBACCO ROAD
Photos of Lie + Loft's fourth Home on the Range golf campout
KENDRA LITTLE
Visual storyteller at Lie + Loft
A chance to uniquely connect with nature and the game in a way not often seen. I’ve been forced to live vicariously through Insta and text messages for the first 3 years of Lie + Loft‘s Home on the Range campout series, but not this time. I left the infamous Portland International Airport carpets for an adventure long anticipated (and traveled the furthest to camp, a badge I wore with honor).
I had a behind-the-scenes part to play with camera in tow: meet those I hadn’t of the collective Lie + Loft crew, the staff at Tobacco Road, and of course — fellow campers! After arriving in the land of the sand + pines, a caravan of us rolled down from Raleigh on Friday morning gulping coffee, buzzing off of the caffeine with daydreams for the weekend ahead.
Over the next couple of hours, happy campers arrived at Tobacco Road, set up their abodes for the weekend, and struck their way through the golf course for the first of many loops. There was a constant flow of energy beaming from everyone in these initial hours.
On Cloud 9: They say food while camping always tastes better… well, it definitely multiplies when golf is involved too.
Our homies at Tacos El Primo came to partake, and the spread was heavenly. They are a family-grown business who started their first food truck in the early ‘90s, driving up + down the coast of southern California.
Luke and I greeted them as they drove in to Tobacco Road, their rig a welcomed sight + smell to pair with sunset.
Fueled up, we teed it for the rest of the evening and well past dark… night golf play made us all homies one with the owls. Saturday came bright, early, and just right. I woke up on the driving range, popped out of my tent with a stretch + smile, knowing that we had the entire day and course to ourselves.
I was told that the weather had been significantly warmer and more humid in years past. Coming from Oregon, that’s not something I experience often, but the forecast was perfect. We lucked out with San Diego-esque weather in the morning round; 80 degrees with a slight breeze made for an ideal trek around the course.
For the first 18 holes I had the good fortune of getting grouped with 3 of the kindest souls I’ve ever met in Alex, Kurtis, and Sam — we played in a 2-person best ball against the rest of the campers. We ended up finishing at -5 for the early round, a score we were proud of grooving. I found that the front nine was more attackable than the back nine (would love to hear your thoughts if you’ve played TR!), and yet we played significantly better on the back nine, 7 shots better to be exact. Golf is a funny old game.
After the morning 18 team aspect, the course was our oyster for exploring. As Luke calls it, “a national park x golf playground.” I snuck out for a few holes with about 6 or 7 other people. This, in general, was my favorite aspect of the weekend: mega groups. How often do you get to go play a few holes with a big crew?
Later that afternoon, we took on El Camino, a set of tees out at Tobacco Road that transforms the front 9 into a Par-3 track. As I made my way around the course in the morning, I made note of where these tees were and was so excited at some of the locations and angles that we would soon get to hit shots from.
The format was 2-person alternate shot… a dynamic duel indeed.
We made our way through the first five holes with scores hovering around par. A few close aces, a few double bogey blunders, and a tight leaderboard. Approaching the #6 tee box, the looming and ominous collection of clouds to our south started to creep closer, and then we got a text from the clubhouse:
“Lightning moving in fast! Get to the cart barn!”
In almost perfect harmony, a flash and almost instant crash of thunder and lightning hit — we high tailed it for cover.
We drove down the sledding hill of 7, around the bend of 8 and up the climb of 9, arriving safely into shelter… and then, the heavens opened up.
My favorite series of photos from the weekend below, captured by our founder Luke:
It rained… and it rained… and it rained.
For a solid hour straight we watched helplessly flood-like rain fall from the skies; we even saw hail. In true camping spirit we made the most of it, talking in small groups, listening to music, and munching on homemade chocolate chip cookies (thanks Shannon!). Often times in life the most enjoyable moments are spawned from unforeseen circumstances.
After the storm passed, we headed out to assess the damage to our tents. Most made it through unscathed, a real testament to the tent-producing companies out there. I purchased a $25 single person tent the day before I came out here, and all of my belongings were bone dry; talk about gratitude!
Goodbyes are never fun and I quickly found out it was my least favorite part of Home on The Range.
On Sunday, after packing up, a final round shotgun start got under way. Luke and I hopped in a cart to ride around and say “fairways + fairwell” to campers after an awesome 3 days at Tobacco Road.
It’s hard to summarize all that I saw and all that I felt at HOTR IV… and definitely not in a single log post.
I left Tobacco Road with memories I will carry for a lifetime, influencing how I see the game + how I want my future experiences to be. I also met dozens of new homies, whom I hope to continue to connect with down the line and even tee it up. One thing is for certain: I will be back at Home On The Range V (with a lot more sunscreen — and maybe another mattress pad or two).
Hope to see you at a future L+L Campout! Check out our Tobacco Road course maps here — and, as always, keep spreading the good word that golf is home. // #golfishome
