Golf Vacation Travel

I guess the secret is getting out.

Lately, I’ve noticed an increasing number of questions coming in about Costa Rica golf vacations.

If you’ve been down there, you know why. Read more →

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Ok, so we take the kids trick-or-treating last night (which was actually pretty scary due to all the downed street lights and power lines), and I’m immediately reminded my local muni is named Spook Rock Golf Course.

At the next house, the not so subtle “decorations” make me think of Daufuskie Island, S.C.’s Bloody Point Golf Course, where a cemetery holds the victims of a vicious, 1700s battle between Indians and the British.

Later, one zealous homeowner greets us with a fake knife in his chest, which, of course, conjures up Murder Rock Golf Club in Branson, Mo.

Man, for all the talk about golf gods, there sure are a lot of courses with ominous, even satanic, names.

Here are a few more of the frightening ones I’ve come across (and I’m sure you have some good ones to add): Read more →

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It was about this time last year when I finally convinced Golf Odyssey publisher David Baum to do something he had never done before.

I convinced him to give away (on a limited basis) one of the best benefits of being a Golf Odyssey subscriber.

This benefit is the ability to get your specific golf vacation questions answered, and to get insider recommendations and advice, directly from David and his team of unbiased experts.

I’m happy to report he agreed to do it again this year.  Read more →

What you know in advance about the golf destinations you visit can have an enormous effect on your enjoyment…and even keep you out of the emergency room (just ask the guy in this photo).

In golf, we call this “local knowledge,” and it’s equally — if not more — important to have this insider’s edge off the golf course.

Here are some of examples of “things you must know” at places you may be considering right now. Read more →

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Owner/designer Pat Ruddy let the land dictate how many holes Ireland's European Club would have.

I haven’t made up my mind about 12-hole golf courses, the idea Jack Nicklaus floated in 2007 and is now promoting again. (His private Muirfield Village Golf Club in Ohio hosted 12-hole tournaments over Labor Day weekend).

The idea did, however, get me thinking about some of the similarly “strange” golf course configurations I’ve come across in my travels.

For example, here in the USA, there are some pretty high-profile courses with 10, 13, and 21 holes.

And you’re not going to believe what’s going on in the rest of the world.  Read more →

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