(Photo) PGA Tour Golf-Memphis.

Piece 1: FedEx St. Jude Championship Golf Tournament. This event is held in August at the Tournament Players Club at Southwind in the eastern part of the Greater Memphis Area (near the Germantown suburb).

Because it is the first of three PGA Tour season-ending playoff tournaments culminating with the lucrative Tour Championship, the FedEx St. Jude field typically includes most of the top professional golfers in the world.

Parking is available (and plentiful) at FedEx Headquarters, where comfortable shuttle buses constantly loop between the parking area and the golf course.

We enjoy taking our folding stool seats and setting up under the shade just off the 12th hole (par 4) green. This position on the course is great for viewing the golf action, and is also close to restrooms, air-conditioned respite areas, and concessions.

Even if you’re not a golf fan, you’ll enjoy the environment…and make sure to try a Pronto Pup (a tournament staple) while you are there! It’s similar to a corn dog but with a white flour coating. Order it slathered with mustard, and enjoy it with a cold beverage.

Slugburger Cafe in Corinth MS

Piece 2: Corinth MS to try a Mississippi-style “slug burger”. Traveling east from Memphis along I-72, we made our way to Corinth MS, home of the “slug burger” festival since 1988.

For those not familiar, a “slug burger” is typically made with a deep-fried patty consisting of some meat (ground beef or pork) and mostly filler (light bread, soybean extender, and/or potatoes).

Legend has it the term “slug burger” comes from the slang for a metal disk sometimes used as a coin in vending machines (a “slug” or fake coin).

I suppose you could say a “slug burger” is kind of a fake hamburger. We have eaten plenty of deep-fried “extender patty” burgers at C.F. Penn’s in Decatur AL, and were curious about how those compared to what was served in Corinth. So, we stopped at the Slugburger Cafe (conveniently located right off I-72 in Corinth) for a taste.

The Mississippi-style “slug burger” was certainly different from C.F. Penn’s. The patty was somewhat lighter in color and didn’t have a distinctive meat flavor. That said, they were good…a unique adventure for the palate.

Fame Recording Studios in Muscle Shoals AL

Piece 3: Fame Recording Studios. Located just off I-72 on Avalon Avenue in Muscle Shoals AL, Fame offers guided tours through its intimate facility, which includes two studios and the office of founder Rick Hall.

The building is adorned with gold/platinum record awards and other memorabilia that helps visitors better understand the significance of Fame in music history.

One of the highlights of the tour (for us) was when the guide played songs recorded at Fame by Aretha Franklin and Etta James in one of the studios, demonstrating its acoustical qualities.

It’s interesting to think about how Rick Hall’s studio house band, a group of local musicians known as “The Swampers”, collectively created a unique sound that became the rhythmic underpinning of so many classic recordings.

Entertaining place!

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