|
Golf Travel with John Edwards (Click on the photos to enlarge.) |
U.S. Open Winner Rory McIlroy Faced More Pressure Back in Northern Ireland;void(0)) Oh, the pressure! Golf spectators and viewers believed young Rory McIlroy was facing so much pressure from the media, commentators and fans at the U.S. Open Golf Championships last week. Nope. I saw the kid under real pressure in 2007 when he was carrying all the expectations of his family, friends, neighbors, politicians and the emerging country of Northern Ireland. By comparison, the U.S. Open at Congressional Country Club was a four-day walk in the open park on perfectly manicured fairways and greens suitable for complaining congressmen. Wisely, McIlroy practiced before the U.S. Open at very private Pine Valley Golf Club in New Jersey away from the media, spectators and endless questions about his implosion at The Masters. At the 2007 Walker Cup held at Royal County Down Golf Club in far Northern Ireland, then 18 year old Rory McIlroy was the up and coming star of Northern Ireland as well as the British Isles team. He had been low Amateur earlier that summer at the British Open at Carnoustie. That event was won by another Irishman Padrig Harrington in a playoff over former boy wonder Sergio Garcia of Spain. Because this was the first Walker Cup held in formerly troubled Northern Ireland and only the second in Ireland, the local interest was intense. The Americans had come to play the best amateur players from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Northern Ireland television covered it live. An amateur golf event-on television and live. Aside from Golfweek, our rag-tag band of golf travel writers were the only other American media present. The every-other year Walker Cup final results usually receive two paragraphs of coverage in the back of newspaper sports sections. The U.S. team, made up of college players most people do not know, is expected to win. Not any more. McIlroy won a match and lost a match against American Billy Horschel and tied in two team matches to end up (1-2-1). American Dustin Johnson, who in last year did well at the U..S. Open at Pebble Beach before also imploding, was on that American team along with now PGA Tour players Colt Knost and Ricki Fowler. The British team was leading on Saturday so the spectators and all of Northern Ireland were ecstatic. I almost wish they had won. It meant lots more to them than it did to America. The people of Northern Ireland were great to us, the minor publication journalists over there covering the event. We were invited there to write about their resorts and golf courses. Ask me back anytime. Standing alongside the first green at Royal County Down as McIlroy played his first match, I chatted with a jovial spectator. We discussed golf tournaments in the U.S. and spectator conduct. As he left to follow McIlroy to the next hole, he invited me, a stranger, to play as his guest at his Irish course. The card he handed me read General Manager, Royal Dublin Golf Club. I still have the card and hope to return and accept his invitation. I did not get to play Royal County Down which Golf Digest ranks as the "Best Golf Course in the World--Outside the United States." The course was busy with this major tournament underway. But, I walked it and so will you. Designed by Old Tom Morris in 1889, the course originally started and ended at the railway station. It stretches along the shore of Dundrum Bay against the backdrop of the Mountains of Mourne. Today the course is accented by the luxurious Slieve Donard Hotel, one of the finest conference resorts in Northern Ireland. The Championship course's ribbons of fairways stretch 7, 2,04 yards along the shoreline and through sand dunes. Higher up, the fairways are lined by purple heather and golden gorse. The famous pot bunkers are lined by red fescue and heather. The links greens are naturally domed for fast drainage and difficulty. The 486-yard ninth hole is an unbelievable par four requiring a 200-yard drive over a tall mound to a hidden fairway 60 feet below. After hopefully landing in playable grass, not gorse, the next shot is over two bunkers to a raised green. During the Walker Cup, I took shelter behind an elevated television tower on the mound as amateur competitors soared shots just past us to land far below. Personally, I would play around the mound. Here tee boxes are determined by handicap. Golfers rated 5 or lower may play from the back tees because carries over 250 yards are to be expected. Most men play from the 6,696 yard aptly named "yellow tees" where carries of only 175 yards are common. High season green fees are $265 and senior caddies are an additional $56. Of course, you could play later in the day, take a junior caddie or pull a trolley for less. Because of the terrain, there are no motorized carts, nor should there be. Their second 18-hole course, Annesley Links costs only $40. For more information and numerous photos go to www.royalcountydown.org. Golf lodging for visitors is primarily at the modern Slieve Donard Hotel adjacent to the course. As if you needed an additional reason to play Golf Digest's "Best Golf Course in the World--Outside the U.S." there is now a reason to play Holywood Golf Club, Rory McIlroy's home course where visitors can play. Now that would be a good golf story to be able to brag about.. Located seven miles outside Belfast, the 6,078-yard course is 34 miles from Royal County Down. It sits on undulating parkland adjacent to Redburn Country Park on the outskirts of town overlooking Belfast Lough--the ocean inlet to the city port. The course is very dedicated to Rory's progress with stories told about him dragging his clubs around the course and his father working at the bar to earn money to support his son's travel to play in tournaments. Rory hosts an annual tournament where he hands out the prizes. It should sell out this year. High season green fees for visitors are about $40 weekdays and $47 weekends. Annual memberships are available. The membership for 19-24 year olds (for which Rory would be eligible) costs $502 for the year. More details and good photos of the course are at www.holywoodgolfclub.co.uk. Belfast is served from Denver with one stop by Continentai Airlines but can be reached on United and Lufthansa. (I doubt Belfast is a popular mileage reward destination) Golfers wanting to add southern Ireland courses to their golf vacation can go into Dublin less expensively. My recommendation is to take a package tour that includes airfare, green fees, tee times and the absolutely necessary transportation so you don't have to personally drive on the wrong side of the road. Northern Ireland is beautiful, green, rural and worth visiting to play. Don't drive--enjoy the view. Call Classic Golf Tours in Aurora where golfer and agency president Peter Hellman has visited Northern Ireland, played several of the courses and has a working relationship with tour operators and the hotel. Call 303-751-7200 or go to www.classicgolftours.com.
 ;void(0))
This is the summer to stay and play golf at home in Colorado. Thousands of visitors drive days to get to Colorado. We get to live here. So, drive into the mountains with a full tank of gas and play the great resort courses nearby. Up in Summit County is Keystone, an ever expanding resort with two totally different 18-hole courses, separate clubhouses and enough character to earn the designation as one of the Top 75 Golf Resorts in America according to Golf Digest Magazine. The oldest course, Keystone Ranch, was designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr in 1980. It is a few miles away from the main resort. The 7,109-yard layout spreads through a large open valley with fairways running through sagebrush covered meadows and around a nine-acre lake. The first fairway is narrow but opens up as it drops through lodgepole pines. The second fairway climbs back uphill and makes a turn onto a ridge that overlooks the wide valley below where the remainder of the fairways roll through the meadows accented by sagebrush, hidden streams and water hazards--a Jones trademark. The Keystone Ranch Clubhouse is in a historic log cabin but has an excellent outdoor patio overlooking the valley. In the evening is becomes one of the highest rated and most romantic dining spots in Colorado. Golfers can call the Ranch Course direct at 970-496-4250 for details, tee times and restaurant reservations. The newer Keystone River Course is located closer to the Keystone Lodge and Village along Highway 6. Several fairways wander along and across the Snake River as it flows toward Lake Dillon. Other fairways are cut through dense pine trees as well as up and down steep hillsides. The signature #14 is a 441-yard, par four that starts from the elevated tee box with a panoramic view, The fairway drops steeply so a drive on the dogleg left requires golfers to avoid a large bunker at the bend. Another favorite fairway is the threatening finishing hole that requires golfers to thread shots through a myriad of sand bunkers. The 6,886-yard, par 71 course was created by Hurdzan-Fry Golf Design, which also created the nearby Raven at Three Peaks in nearby Silverthorne plus the Heritage at Westmoor Golf Course in Westminster. Additionally, the newer River Course was ranked # 9 by Golf for Women Magazine in their poll of the "50 Best Golf Courses for Women." It was the only Colorado course recognized. The par-35 front nine is oriented around the winding Snake River and the par-36 back nine winds through a lodgepole pine forest, huge elevation changes, variable bunkers and water hazards. The 16th hole features a 194-foot elevation drop from tee to green and the scenic 18th hole offers 12 bunkers and views of Lake Dillon. The River Course Grill is open daily during the golf season for breakfast, lunch, and apres golf. Tee times can be made two weeks in advance by calling the River Course at 970-496 4444. Check into the golf and lodging packages offered for different rates throughout the summer. With high season rates on the River Course getting up to $170 in July and August for morning tee times, it is a much better value for Colorado Golfers to buy the lodging package. Also, we Colorado residents don't have to play in the morning. In the mountains there are not the afternoon thundershowers that we have to avoid along the Front Range. Keystone green fees drop at noon and again at 3 p.m. They drop to only $55 with cart after 5 on both courses. That's a $115 discount off the high season rate on the River Course. Colorado Golfer suggestion--Go to the course earlier in the afternoon to make a tee time and pay your green fee. Have an early dinner or drinks on the outdoor patio. Be ready to go out at 5 p.m. If no one comes in around 4:30, the starter will often send your group out earlier. If it is a great afternoon, try to get on the River Course and finish the extremely elevated finishing holes at sunset. See attached photo. After golf, you don't have to drive back to Silverthorne just to get into the uphill I-70 traffic. Since you are only a few miles from Arapahoe Basin Ski Area, if the weather is good, drive uphill and over Loveland Pass. (We old folks did it in all conditions and always in the dark for years before the tunnel was built.)
Convenient Mountain Golf in Estes Park ;void(0)) John Edwards, Golf Travel Writer With gas prices still high, this may not be the best summer to drive east to visit relatives. (What summer is?) Colorado is the best place in America to play golf in the summer, especially in the mountains. This summer, many Colorado golfers are going to be picky about how far they will drive to play and what they have to pay to play when they get there. Probably the best combination of a short drive, great scenery and reasonably-priced mountain golf is in Estes Park. It is one of the first mountain course to clear of snow. The fairways are wide and open. Unlike many mountain courses, Estes Park's two courses are not bordered by thick groves of aspen and lodgepole pine. In fact, the fairways are so open the area where the 18-hole course is located was once an airport. The golf course clubhouse and restaurant building are known as the Hangar Restaurant. The 18-hole course has been open since April 15 and the nine-hole Lake Estes Course opened May 13. Instead of mountain views from elevated tee boxes, the views here are from open fairways of the very elevated mountains surrounding the course.. And while you may get to see occasional wildlife at other mountain courses, you are guaranteed to see wildlife here--really big wildlife. It’s all about the elk at the Estes Park courses. The 6,326-yard, par 71 course is located on a plateau above the town and Lake Estes. From the wide fairways golfers can marvel at the soaring rocky peaks surrounding the course. While the 18 hole course has some water hazards, at the Lake Estes course a really fast moving water hazard comes into play on a few holes. In fact,, one hole requires a tee shot from under a towering tree, over the rushing river to an island green. While the Lake Estes course gets lots of play, it is really popular with non-golfing spectators in the fall when the elk herds take over the course. last year, the course officials gave in to the elk and visitors and closed the course a couple weeks early for safety reasons. The Lake Estes course has specials in the spring and fall and afternoon green fees of $16. Call 970-586-8176 for additional information on Lake Estes Golf Course. When millions of visitors from throughout the world travel to Colorado and Estes Park every summer, why wouldn't you? After September, I may be recommending different golf travel destinations.
Jump Onto Alabama's Robert Trent Jones Trail at Birmingham ;void(0)) by John Edwards, Golf Travel Writer (Last week I wrote about tornado ravaged Tuscaloosa, Alabama and their Ol' Colony Golf Course. They hosted me there a few years ago and I wanted to return the favor when they need help and business. This story continues my coverage of Alabama courses centering on just the Birmingham section of the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail.) Golfers from throughout the world have heard about the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail in Alabama. And well they should. For Colorado golfers, an automobile drive there may be a bit much, but if you are in the Southeast United States on business, extend your stay and experience some of America’s greatest golf. The famed RTG Trail runs from Mussel Shoals in the north all the way down to Mobile on the Gulf Coast. For us, the Robert Trent Jones Trail experience can start easier in either direction from Birmingham, the major city in the north central section of the state. United Airlines has the only non-stop flight from Denver but of course golfers have to pay extra to take golf clubs on the smaller commuter aircraft that flies the route. Southwest has one stop flights on larger aircraft and no golf bag or luggage fees. Colorado golfers may finally be able to use their United Mileage points because Birmingham is not regarded as a prime vacation resort destination. For golfers, however, Birmingham can be a hidden vacation destination. The Renaissance Ross Bridge Resort just outside Birmingham is a huge facility with a modern hotel and conference center and 27 holes with enormous fairways. The nearby Oxmoor Valley course has 72 holes. That should be enough challenges for a long weekend. The planners wanted to create a new resort that was unlike the traditional Southern Plantation look of red brick and white columns. The Renaissance Ross Bridge hotel looks like a Canadian resort hotel. The large stone castle has peaked towers, a steep roof, high balconies and 259 rooms. There is a working water wheel adjacent to the 18th green. The very wide and really long fairways rise and fall through the hilly terrain. Ten holes play along the banks of two large lakes. A waterfall drops 80 feet between the 9th and 18th greens Ross Bridge is the luxury resort of the Robert Trent Jones Trail with green fees twice those of the other Trail courses. At 8,191 yards from the tips, the course was the third longest course in the world. When it opened, the course was ranked the #2 Best New Course in America. The Champions Tour held an event there annually. Spread across 300 rolling acres, Ross Bridge was one of the later courses built on the Robert Trent Jones Trail. After the legendary architect’s passing, Roger Rulewich of Massachusetts created the course. Since he was Robert Trent Jones, Sr.’s lead designer it therefore qualifies as a RTJ Trail course. The first hole is very difficult with an approach up to an elevated green with water on the left. It sets the trend for most of the holes. The elevated views from above the lake help to make Ross Bridge a must play in spite of the higher cost. www.Rossbridgeresort.com. Over in Oxmoor Valley, the course was built on former mining land owned by U.S. Steel which extracted the ore from the hills for the steel smelters of Birmingham. Cut through the valleys of the lower Appalachians, the fairways run through thick forests, accented by creeks and 150 foot elevation changes. Oxmoor Valley has continued to add holes and is now up to 72. Their Short Course was listed in Golf Digest’s Places to Play as one of the nation’s great value courses. www.OxmoorValley@RTGGolf.com. Golf Digest rates the Robert Trent Jones Trail as the overall best golf value in America, It gives traveling golfers a reason to spend a week visiting different areas of Alabama rather than just speeding through the state on the interstate highways. Don’t try to play all the trail courses in one trip. Go to the Robert Trent Jones Trail website at www.RTJGolf.com. Call 800-949-4444 to get the course guidebook to add to your "bucket list" and visit soon and often. Ross Bridge Resort Hotel Oxmoor Valley Golf Course
Visit & Play in Tornado Damaged Tuscaloosa, Alabama ;void(0)) John Edwards, Golf Travel Writer Help tornado-damaged Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Go there for your golf vacation! It takes a long time after a highly publicized disaster before golfers will vacation in affected areas. The course is fine, the weather is actually good and they will appreciate your visit. As a golf travel writer, I have been a guest of the Tuscaloosa Visitors Bureau, stayed at their Hilton Garden Inn and played the Ol' Colony Golf Course. So, I called course professional John Gray to ask how he and the facility were coping. Named one of the "Top Five Best New Public Courses in America" by Golf Digest in 2001, Ol' Colony Golf Course was designed by University of Alabama golf team standout and 1978 U.S. Open Champion Jerry Pate. It is considered one of the best public courses in Alabama, even though it is not a part of the famed Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail. The 6,494 yard course has rolling hills, 70 bunkers and is heavily wooded. The pines and oaks along these fairways are thick. No easy chip outs from under the tall pines here. A pesky, flowing creek was created along and across fairways and runs into a 25-acre lake. I was concerned about the Ol" Colony clubhouse which is unlike any I had ever seen. It is a tall two-story open barn-style structure where the golf carts are parked inside on immaculately maintained concrete. Golfers come into the building to check in at the pro shop, eat and can actually load their clubs onto carts inside. Then they drive out onto the course. Even when I visited, I wondered how the high metal roof of the clubhouse would stand up to high winds. I know the building works well when golfers drive their carts right inside quickly to escape an Alabama rainstorm. The University of Alabama Crimson Tide Golf Team trains here on the huge practice facility. It has hitting stations on three sides of a huge clearing. The pro can be teaching on one end, the public hitting on the opposite end and the university golf team training on the side. Ol' Colony Golf Complex opened in 2000 on 597 acres that was once the farm plantation for a mental institution named Boy's Colony. The Ol'Colony name describes its past and the location familiar to locals. The institution's abandoned property was used by the Tuscaloosa County Park & Recreation Authority. www.tcpara.org. While in Tuscaloosa, drive through the University of Alabama campus just to see the huge football stadium dedicated to legendary coach Paul "Bear" Bryant.. While many stadiums are adjacent to universities, "the stadium The Bear Built" is in the campus with other buildings surrounding it. The Bryant-Denny Stadium (picture below) seats more than 101,000 and is the most famous structure in Alabama. (As a comparison, Denver's Invesco Field seats 76,125 and has parking lots surrounding it.) Although Ol" Colony is not a part of the famed Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail, make it a part of your Alabama trip. Add the Ross Bridges and Oxmoor Valley courses near Birmingham to a Tuscaloosa visit and then the Capitol Hill courses near Montgomery to create a full week package in a loop. You can't play the entire Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail in one normal vacation. Take it in parts. www.rtjgolf.com. (More on the Robert Trent Jones Trail in next week's issue.) Fly into Birmingham, Alabama's largest city, on United or Southwest Airlines. Get a rental car. It's only 59 miles to Tuscaloosa. Lodging will be scarce in Tuscaloosa for a few months due to an influx of insurance adjusters. But if possible stay at the modern Hilton Garden Inn near the University of Alabama. Eat at least one meal at famed Dreamland Bar-B-Que, the absolutely best Southern barbecue restaurant I have ever visited. The old rustic restaurant serves family style on long wooden tables. A huge pile of ribs is in the center. Sides include a stack of white bread, marinated cole slaw, baked beans, pecan pie and a big roll of paper towels. The restaurant started in 1958, the same year Bear Bryant came to Alabama. (That;s how time is measured here.) The motto is "Ain't Nothin Like 'Em Nowhere." www.dreamlandbbq.com You're gonna love it and they are gonna love you for coming down to visit when they need you.
Royal Portrush Golf Club in Northern Ireland ;void(0)) Have you wondered where these Northern Ireland golfers winning major championships have been hiding and where did they learn to play. Well, they play regularly on some incredibly tough courses such as Royal Royal Portrush in far Northern Ireland, one of the Top 10 Links Courses in the World. Graeme McDowell (2010 U.S. Open winner), Darren Clark and Padrig Harrington (2007 & 2008 British Open Champion) are all members there. Rory Mcllroy of recent Masters fame set the course record of 61. This was the first golf club outside mainland United Kingdom to host The Open Championship. It has hosted 50 Irish and British championship events. Built along the tops of cliffs overlooking the ocean it is definitely a links course. But unlike the links courses of Scotland, the sea is way down below and way cold. The first fairway of the 7,143 yard course is 400 yards uphill with 15 foot deep bunkers short of and to the left of the green. After losing three balls in the spongy, foot-deep, laid-over grass all along the fairway, the bunkers were not a problem. I had picked up. Some fairways widen as they head toward the ocean. At the fifth hole, a large green sits on a cliff overlooking the ocean and the beach far below. The 14th is a 210-yard par three with a forced carry over 180 yards of ravine. This is Iron Man Golf. One cliff top tee box has a high log wall where golfers can huddle down and be protected from the wind. The rain shelters are underground, log-lined caves dug into hillsides. This is not family resort golf. Another 18-hole course known as Valley Links is closer to town with its own clubhouse. Built in 1929, it is protected from the ocean winds by a high ridge. The views are not as good but it is warmer. Visitor play at the prestige Dunluce course is relegated to mid-morning and early afternoons for a weekday fee of 135 pounds (about $215). That does not include a cart. There are none. Caddie rates are about $50 plus tip. Take a trolley (pull cart) since the course does not have many steep hills. Additional information is available at www.royalportrushgolfclub.com. Incidentally, in order to be designated a "Royal" course, a member of the nobility must be or have been a patron. A Duke of York played in 1892 and eventual King Edward VII played in 1895. These famed courses of Royal Portrush and Royal County Down have been around since the 1880's but Northern Ireland had been the scene of terrorist activity (referred to as "The Troubles") for years. Traveling golfers were hesitant to visit Northern Ireland when the warmer and greener courses of southeast Ireland were readily available. During my visit I stayed in Belfast at the Europa Hotel which had the dubious honor of being bombed 36 times.) All that unrest has made Northern Ireland a most unique place with far less commercialism. But it is catching up. Belfast created a new cruise ship port near the shipyards where the ill-fated Titantic was build. The great thing about Portrush is the fishing village and resort town. The port city is at the very tip of Northern Ireland with some shops and good restaurants. The modern Ramada Inn hotel where we stayed is right in town. You can actually take a taxi to the course. The Port Stewart golf course is also nearby. www.ramadaportrush.com. Don’t be driving in Ireland. You are driving on the opposite side plus the roads are narrow with stacked stones for guardrails. American golfers have become notorious for taking the overnight flight from the U.S. and promptly renting a car and heading for a course. With very little sleep and no knowledge, they head out into morning traffic and the confusing traffic circles at major intersections. That has produced deadly results. Sign up with a tour operator to take you to the courses and enjoy the sights of this very green and pristine country. Probably the best tour specialist for Northern Ireland is North & West Coast Links. They have local experts and can provide vans and busses with experienced drivers to navigate the narrow and often twisting roads. www.northandwestcoastlinks.com. Classic Golf Tours, a division of the Aurora-based full service travel agency Spirit of Travel, has a close working relationship with North & West Coast Links. Agency president Peter Hellman has personally participated in some of their multi course tours. www.classicgolftours.com.
Black Mesa Golf Course in Northern New Mexico ;void(0)) While waiting for our Colorado mountain courses to thaw, our golfers should head down to northern New Mexico for unique golf experiences, a new luxury hotel and casino gambling in the unlikely destination of Espanola, south of Taos. Black Mesa Golf Course in Espanola, 24 miles north of Santa Fe, was recently selected by LINKS Magazine as one of the most spectacular golf courses in the World. Pretty good recognition for a course charging $87 including cart. In 2003, the course won Golf Digest's "Best New Affordable Golf Course in America" title, edging out our own Fossil Trace in Golden. It was also listed as one of the "Top Ten Courses You Can Play" by Golf Magazine. www.blackmesagolfclub.com With the recent recognition from LINKS Magazine in the winter issue, the unbelievably rugged course just outside of town will get lots more play this summer. So go in April or May. Get an early start and play a favorite Colorado course like Walking Stick in Pueblo, on the way down. Play Cattails Golf Course in Alamosa on the way back. If you are taking a non-golfing spouse, you will probably be stuck with the required visit to terminally trendy Santa Fe. But even so, here can be hidden benefits. More on that later. Black Mesa Golf Course was not carved but rather difficultly grown in the rugged sandstone canyons of Santa Clara tribal land. Architect Butler Spann of the famed southwest golf architectural firm Finger Dye Spann created the course envisioned by operator Eddie Peck. In my two visits, I have played twice with Peck and still ponder how he could envision a golf course on this incredibly hostile terrain owned by the Santa Clara Indian tribe. He created a partnership with tribal leaders and created a dream course for both. "Where's the water come from." I asked realizing the importance of a dependable water supply to Colorado golf courses. Think Grand Junction's Redlands Mesa Golf Course without any houses or utilities. The course works with what it has to achieve a great golf experience. The.small clubhouse is up a gravel road to a gravel parking lot. Who cares. The clubhouse and restaurant open onto a pleasant grassy area rimmed with tables. The winning "Most Spectacular Courses" were selected based on their unforgettable settings. The magazine stated "The stark beauty of the Southwest frames Baxter Spann’s mile-high layout, which looks as if it were transplanted from another planet." Black Mesa is one of only four U.S. courses on the LINKS Spectacular list and one of two that are not situated along a body of water. The same tribal leaders that built the golf course used some tribal land in "downtown" Espanola to create a high rise hotel and casino. The golf and casino resort evolved according to the traditional New Mexico tribal resort development plan. What all this means to Colorado goilfers is a casino attached to a modern affordable hotel with good restaurants and an amazing golf course. All this is a few hours drive from Denver. Here's my plan. Get an early start and stop to play 18 at our own challenging course at Walking Stick in Pueblo. From there drive down uncrowded I-25 past Trinidad into Raton, New Mexico. Head west on Highway 64 toward Eagles Nest and along the winding road that snakes through Cimarron Canyon State Park. (Of everywhere I have been, this is one of my favorite canyons. At 14, I hiked for a week at the nearby Philmont Boy Scout Ranch. The canyon looks the same.) Coming out of the canyon at Eagles Nest, the highway runs along the lake towards Angel Fire Ski Area--which also has an 18-hole course. Continue on to Taos. Stop for dinner or grab something to eat along the way. Continue on to Espanola and check in at the Santa Clara Inn. The hotel and casino are open all night so you won't be too late. In the morning, try the breakfast burrito in the casino restaurant.. It is one of the best I have ever had and I know my green chile burritos. After a day at the course, enjoy dinner in the hotel's Black Mesa Streak House steakhouse or drive a few blocks away to historic El Paragua Mexican Restaurant. The really traditional old New Mexican restaurant epitomizes the area. The restaurant has heavy wood beam ceilings and carved wooden tables and rustic chairs plus an enormous menu. www.elparagua.com. As a New York Times writer once said, " The El Paragua is a place on which a food critic can stake his reputation. There are no more authentic New Mexican kitchens like this." Play Black Mesa again the next day or if you must, head north to Santa Fe to make the required pilgrimage to turquoise and silver jewelry nirvana. Here's where it gets good. Drop your non-golfer with a credit card at Canyon Road for a day of terminally quaint art gallery shopping. Agree to meet back in the Santa Fe town square at the Palace of the Governors (more certified Native american jewelry) six hours later. Take off fast for Pueblo de Cochiti Golf Course 30 miles southwest of Santa Fe. Designed in 1981 by Robert Trent Jones Jr.this was one of the first of the Indian reservation courses. There is a large lake just above the course so there was lots of water for the fairways. Happily seniors are revered here. Tuesday and Wednesday out of state seniors pay $40 while younger adults pay $57. Thursdays are "Everyone's a Senior Day" at $35. Friday run $62 and Saturday through Sunday costs $70. Schedule smart because Mondays are only $28. Head back to Santa Fe and relax in the town square waiting peacefully for your visiting shopper. What you saved on golf may be gone on artwork. With any luck, you don't now own one of those insanely expensive full-size metal horses or coyotes that you would have to take back in a U-Haul. If you were wondering what LINKS Magazine considers the "Most Spectacular Courses in the World" they are listed below with their green fee price. 1. Old Head Golf Links, Kinsale, Ireland (€200 about $275 USD) 2. Cypress Point Club, Pebble Beach, Calif. (Private) 3. Cape Kidnappers, Te Awanga, New Zealand (NZ$ 360, about $275 USD) 4. Black Mesa Golf Club, La Mesilla, N.M. ($87 USD) 5. Pebble Beach Golf Links, Pebble Beach, Calif. ($495 USD) 6. Whistling Straits (Straits), Haven, Wis. ($350 USD) 7. Weihai Point, Weihai, China 8. Pinnacle Point, Mossel Bay, South Africa (R365, about $51 USD) 9. Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, Lijiang, China ($70-$117 USD) 10. Cabo del Sol (Ocean), Cabo San Lucas, Mexico ($205-$355 USD)
PGA Village--Three Courses and a Huge Practice Facility ;void(0)) By John T. Edwards, Travel Editor If travels take you to Florida, I can recommend a little-known "Best Value in Golf" with a rather impressive name—The PGA Golf Club. This is not PGA Headquarters at PGA National Hotel, Resort & Spa in Palm Beach Gardens. This is the lesser-known but actually PGA-owned golf club at The PGA Village in Port St. Lucie, Florida. Less glamour, less money, more golf. (And it is the home of my new national championship golf tournament—but more on that later.) Port St. Lucie, not a famed destination, is southeast of Orlando on the Atlantic Ocean. The PGA Village, however, is miles inland served quickly and directly by the Florida Turnpike. The PGA Golf Club was created to be the home club for the 28,000 PGA of America golf professionals. It also had to be a premier daily fee course and home of the enormous PGA Learning Center and the PGA Historical Center. With three courses named Wanamaker, Ryder and Dye, an adequate clubhouse and a monster cart barn, the PGA Golf Club is truly designed for avid golfers. The Wanamaker Course, designed by Tom Fazio was named for Rodman Wanamaker, who inspired the birth of the PGA. The classic Florida layout stretches 7,102 yards through wetlands, palm trees and palmettos. There are sculptured lakes all along the fairways. The Ryder Course, also designed by Tom Fazio, is just a bit shorter but moves through actual rolling hills, towering pine trees and multiple water hazards. It even has a Carolina course style and feel. Both courses including their 120 bunkers were renovated in 2006 and all the greens were resurfaced with Champion Ultra Dwarf grass. The Pete Dye Course was added a year later. The imaginative links-style course uses native surroundings including 90 acres of wetlands, pine straw rough and huge waste bunkers. There is even the feel of a British course in a decidedly Florida environment. And if those three tracts weren’t enough, there is a PGA Short Course with holes from 35 to 60 yards. This is where children and beginners can be included in the golf vacation. In addition to all the course renovation, 150 more hitting stations were added to the already huge PGA Learning Center that covers 35 acres. In this most extensive and complete learning facility there is a 7,000 square foot putting green plus another 15,000 square foot putting area with an 18 hole putting course. There are over 200 private practice stations. Most interesting are the nine practice bunkers sporting different sand types and that simulate sand conditions at courses throughout the world. And it only costs $25 a day. That’s the total price for unlimited range balls all day on all the ranges, practice greens and bunkers. Talk about hit until you are happy. This is the home of the PGA of America Golf Schools where 2 ½, 3 ½ and 4 ½ day programs are offered by the resident staff headed by Rick Martino, one of Golf Magazine’s "Top 100 Teachers." Additionally PGA teaching professionals from throughout the nation can bring their own club members out to the Learning Center for away-from-home lessons. A sophisticated athletic training center dedicated to golf conditioning is on site. Also located there is the PGA Historical Center with one of the most extensive golf libraries in existence. More than 9,000 books and golf magazines from throughout the history of the game are stored here. Memorabilia dating back to the 1600’s are archived there in one of the three premier golf libraries in the world. Much of the collection was formerly part of the PGA World Golf Hall of Fame in Pinehurst, North Carolina. At the PGA Historical Center’s entrance are individual engraved marble plaques honoring all the past PGA Professionals of the Year, including Colorado’s own Warren Smith of Cherry Hills and Charles "Vic" Kline of Indian Tree. Ranked #57 among "The 75 Best Golf Resorts in North America" by Golf Digest Magazine, it was also described as "one of the best values on the list." Instead of an adequate course attached to a massive convention hotel, there are several lodging choices right at the entrance to the village but not on the courses. The Stay and Play Packages are all based on per person double occupancy and include breakfast daily, one round of golf, and daily admittance to the PGA Learning Center and the PGA Historical Center--including all taxes. One call to 800-800-GOLF(4653) can accomplish all the reservations at all the hotels, schools, courses and facilities. High season rates are generally January through March. Mid-season is April through June and low season is June through July. August through September is even lower. Rates can dip to as low as $108 per person including golf and lodging and breakfast and more. The Hilton Garden Inn, where I stayed, surrounds a palm tree accented courtyard and swimming pool. The accommodations include a spacious work desk, ergonomic chair, two telephones with data ports and complimentary high speed Internet. A microwave and refrigerator complete the accommodations. For families, 10 two-room suites are available. Sam Snead’s Oak Grill & Tavern with displays of the legendary pro’s trophies, photos and competition badges is located in the Hilton Garden Inn. There is also Homewood Suites offering one and two bedroom suites in a single building. For extended stays, more space and additional privacy, the Perfect Drive Golf Villas have one to three bedroom townhomes with lake and golf views plus kitchen and laundry facilities. The townhome villages, named Pine Valley and Castle Pines (yes), have very reasonable rates for families. All the accommodations are within walking distance to the clubhouse where clubs can easily be stored during your golf vacation. Now about my own national PGA sanctioned tournament! In my other role as national president of the Golf Travel Writers of America, we teamed up with the PGA Village to conduct our annual Golf Travel Writers’ Championship the end of January just after the PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando. In addition to our approval of the PGA Village, GolfWorld magazine ranked the courses and facilities #30 in the "Readers Choice Awards for the Top 50 Public Golf Courses." For more information visit their website www.PGAVillage.com. Click on photos below for full width and size.
Scottsdale Golf & Baseball Getaway ;void(0)) Golf should be the major reason to go to Arizona during the Colorado winter--especially this winter. Many Colorado golfers took my advice and combined baseball spring training for the Colorado Rockies with a golf Vacation. There are several ways to visit Scottsdale to play golf. None of them is cheap but the warm weather is dependable. If you are taking a golf group of serious golfers, I am a big fan of Xona Resort in North Scottsdale where the rooms and suites are specifically designed to accomodate four golfers. I have stayed there 10 times and know the benefits of staying there for a serious golf vacation. Xona Resort, formerly Resort Suites of Scottsdale, and my favorite Scottsdale mountain courses will be the subject of a future travel column. But for the ultimate combination of a quick winter getaway--a convenient hotel, adjacent golf courses, casino ganbling, the baseball fields and good nightclubs nearby,Talking Stick Resort fills the bill. The Talking Stick Resort is just across the Pima Freeway (Highway 101) from the baseball complex and has to two 18-hole golf courses. Plan your quick escape using Southwest Airline which has 10-12 flights per day into nearby Phoenix Sky Harbor airport. More importantly, Southwest doesn't charge extra for golf bags. Rental cars are a rip off in Phoenix because of all the city and airport taxes. Major rental car companies are housed in a magnificent car rental building. Shuttle busses take passengers quickly to the rental car facility and cars are easily accessible. Guess who gets to pay the 27% tax to pay for all this? (I have tried to get around this by getting a ride to Enterprise Car Rental but that is a lot of bother for a short trip.) Check out car rental rates on Orbitz, then make a lower bid on Priceline. Rates are good, taxes and fees are high. Talking Stick Resort Hotel is a luxury highrise soaring out of the desert. It overlooks the golf courses, the Pima Highway and the Salt River Fields where the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Cardinals baseball teams practice. The Talking Stick Golf Courses were designed by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw, who designed the layout of the Colorado Golf Club in Parker. Located on and owned by the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, the North and South courses are two uniquely different golf courses. Understand that both were created on mostly flat land that was previously used for cotton fields. Consequently everything was molded and trees planted. The North course is more of a links-style layout with grasslands and heavier bunkering. The South Course has more tree-lined fairways. "Talking Stick's North course, with its broad, angular holes rewards thoughtful play through the rise of its many options according to one's level of skill. Its low-profile, slightly crowned greens and close-cropped approaches encourage running as well as aerial assaults,' they added. The South course, with its tree-lined fairways and raised greens defended at the sides offers a more straightforward style of play." Talking Stick has hosted several prominent events including the PGA Tour Qualifying School in 1998 &, 1999, three USGA Mid-Amateur Sectional Qualifiers, the AGA Mid-Amateur and 4-Ball Championships, the National Club Championship for Women and the 90th Southwestern Golf Association Championship. Both courses are managed by Scottsdale-based Troon Golf. Reservations can be made at 480-860-2221 or through the hotel. Green fees during high season and spring training through April 3 before 2:00 pm: are $175 + tax per player for unlimited golf. After 2:00 pm: the rates drop to $110 + tax per player From April 4 to May 1, rates before 2:00 pm: are $130 + tax per player for Unlimited Golf and after 2:00 pm: $80 + tax per player Colorado-based travel agency Classic Golf Tours can arrange golf and lodging packages with better green fee rates at all Troon managed courses in the area. Call 303 751-7200. Inside the hotel is the Casino Arizona at Talking Stick. It has 700 slot machines, 50 poker tables and a variety of card games. It is open 24 hours a day. Should golfers still have time for additional activities there are always the desert museums, art galleries in Old Town Scottsdale, etc. Yeah, right. A great sports bar with live entertainment is Eli's a large open club with 10 HDTV's plus one huge.wall HDTV. Located at 7000 East Shea at Scottsdale Road, it is a couple miles from the resort. If live country music is your style, the famous Handlebar J Country Nightclub is just a block away from Eli's with music seven nights a week. If you have become an older golfer (like me) there is the 50+ age group bar Chances Are. (If you are too young to remember the Johnny Mathis title song, you won't like the nightclub. Go lose your hearing somewhere down Scottsdale Road.) The bar and restaurant is at 7570 East 6th Avenue, just down Indian Bend Road from the resort and baseball fields. Rather than me describing everything about the Colorado Rockies spring training site, just go to www.saltriverfields.com for detailed information. After enjoying a baseball-golf-gambling-nightclub hopping trip you will really have something to talk about.
Travel Writer John Edwards ;void(0)) Colorado Golfer Editor and Travel Writer John Edwards is the national president of the Golf Travel Writers of America and a member of Golf Writers Association of America. Locally, he operates the Colorado Golf Resort Association and is a consultant to and escort for Classic Golf Tours, an internationally known golf tour company. He is the founder and president of the Rocky Mountain Golf Media Association. For 25 years he has published the Colorado Golfer Newspaper, writing golf travel stories for every issue. Recognized as a golf cruise consultant, he has been on 19 cruises worldwide. On each of those he has played or visited golf courses near cruise ports to play or research the courses for golf cruise clients. Recently, he led a joint effort with the PGA of America and the Golf Travel Writers of America to conduct an annual tournament at PGA Village in Port St. Lucie, Florida. The event for national and international golf writers follows the annual PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando, Florida. SAN DIEGO’S BARONA GOLF COURSE AND CASINO A golf resort with an 18-hole course, a huge casino and a new hotel is hidden on an Indian reservation in the hills 30 minutes northwest of San Diego. The $12 million Barona Creek Golf Club opened on rugged land owned by the Barona Band of the Mission Indians. The course sits in a wide valley surrounded by rolling, rocky hills. While most holes are relatively level, some do climb up the side of the hills and drop back down to the valley floor. The back nine plays around large rock outcroppings. The most prominent features of the 7,088-yard course are the many gleaming white sand bunkers. Instead of being contoured, the nearly 100 bunkers have ragged edges designs and are filled with very fluffy sand. More than 170 mature native oak trees were transplanted from other parts of the reservation and 90 acres of Bermuda sod were woven into the valley floor. The course was designed by Gary Roger Baird, who also built the Hermitage Golf course in Tennessee, "Tin Cup" actor Kevin Costner’s Dunbar Resort in Deadwood, South Dakota and the $100 million Shizu International Golf & Country Club in Japan. Already Golf Magazine has named Barona Creek one of their "Top 10 New Courses to Play." Golf Week named it a "Top 100 Modern Course" and the #4 Course in California. Travel and Leisure Golf rated it as one of the "Top 25 Courses to Play for $100 or less." The real profits are not coming from the golf course but from the thousands of Southern Californians being attracted up to the 520,000 square foot casino. Your golf is subsidized. Tee times and more information are available at 888-7-BARONA. Golfers familiar with San Diego have never just driven past this one. It is on a protected Indian reservation in the Wildcat Canyon area in the foothills northeast of downtown San Diego. Take Interstate 8 east, then Highway 67 north and follow the signs or the large casino buses through the narrow canyon road up to the resort. The Barona Creek Golf Club on an Indian reservation in the hills northeast of San Diego has 100 sand bunkers along the fairways that run through the rugged landscape.
How to Get In and Enjoy The Masters  by John Edwards, Travel Writer There won't be any real competition on the practice days so just absorb the experience. It may be more fun than the seriousness and restrictions of the final rounds.
| Return Home | Editorial Opinion | Awards- Hall Fame | Denver Area Courses | Front Range Courses | Mountain Western Courses | Equipment Clothing Services | Golf Travel | PGA Events, Results | Men's Events Results | Women's News+ Results | Juniors News+ Results | Weekly E-Mail Subscribe | |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
;void(0))
;void(0))
;void(0))
;void(0))
;void(0))
;void(0))
;void(0))
;void(0))
;void(0))
;void(0))
;void(0))
;void(0))
;void(0))
;void(0))
;void(0))
;void(0))
;void(0))
;void(0))
;void(0))
;void(0))
;void(0))
;void(0))
;void(0))
;void(0))
;void(0))
;void(0))
;void(0))
;void(0))
;void(0))