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.’’
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