Will the greens at Chambers Bay Golf Course be up to speed for the US Amateur and 2015 US Open?
There are two people I wouldn’t want to be right now: Tiger Woods, and the superintendent at Chambers Bay Golf Course.
Chambers Bay, the municipal, waterside wonder that opened in 2007 near Tacoma, Wash., is hosting the 2010 US Amateur Championship this week, clearly a “dry run” before the 2015 U.S. Open.
Mmm, maybe a bad choice of words.
The USGA is regularly criticized about the setup of its U.S Open courses, and based on what I’ve heard from golf travelers who have played Chambers Bay, the competitors this week might have a major beef with it, although for an entirely different reason. Read more →
Those considering golf vacations to play Whistling Straits should also consider staying at the little-known (and private) Riverbend mansion.
If you plan on watching this season’s final major, the PGA Championship, you’re going to see and hear the following:
You’re going to hear endless discussion about whether Tiger or Phil deserves to be No. 1 in the World Golf Ranking.
You’re going to see and hear a lot about bunkers because the Straits Course at Wisconsin’s Whistling Straits Golf Club has more of them than any other course in the world…967 according to Golf Digest.
But what you won’t see or hear talked about is one of the most important secrets to know if you’re planning a golf vacation to play Whistling Straits and the other three courses at Kohler’s American Club. Read more →
How would you like to write today’s golf travel tip?
I received an email asking about “where to play” from two guys embarking on a weekend road trip from New York to Chicago (disguised from their wives as one guy helping the other relocate for a job).
Some ideas immediately came to mind, but I thought it would be more fun to open this up to you.
Now, we golfers are an opinionated bunch, so I know I don’t have to dangle a prize to elicit course recommendations, but I’m going to anyway.
If Jerry and Mark choose to follow your itinerary, you’ll win the golf book of your choice from a list of 50 popular titles covering travel, architecture, history, quotes, trivia, instruction, fiction, non-fiction, etc.
I’ll provide the full list of titles to the winner and ship the book free of charge anywhere in the US and Canada.
So, where do you recommend these guys play?
Here are more details to help narrow things down.
(All names have been changed to protect the guilty.) Read more →
Grand National’s three courses wind around Saugahatchee Lake’s shores and coves.
Alabama’s Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail is a smorgasbord of high-quality, low-priced golf, but if you only have a few days to play, how do you know which of its 11 “stops” make?
Well, if you’re looking for “the most spectacular” golf, here’s the site you absolutely must not miss. Read more →
Do you see opportunity or an obstacle? Your answer will influence your game.
Did you hear PGA Tour player Ryan Moore publicly blast the US Open and Pebble Beach?
How about the quotes from Gregory Havret, who barely made it into the field and then finished just one stroke behind the winner?
I think these statements say a lot about their personalities, which, in turn, had a big effect on their performance.
Here’s what each of them said, how you can tell which type of player you are, and if your “golf personality” is helping or hurting your game and your enjoyment of golf vacations. Read more →
Have you come across unusual sights or signs like this on your golf vacations? Please share your stories below.
On a recent golf vacation to Puerto Rico, I saw this sign on Donald Trump’s International Course.
It says, “Please Enjoy the Scenic Ride. It Will Take Approximately 4 Minutes to the Next Tee.”
I love it! Way to spin it, guys.
To be fair, the ride through the jungle was scenic, and I spotted lots of lizards like the one clinging to the right ride of this sign, but it was likely the longest cart ride I’ve ever taken between two holes.
It got me thinking about the other unusual things I’ve seen in my golf travels, including… Read more →
The Wilderness at Fortune Bay (above) and the two courses at Giant's Ridge are three very good reasons to consider Minnesota golf vacations.
We get a lot of phone calls and emails from people asking for, “fresh, new ideas” on where to take golf vacations. So, today, I’m going to share one with you.
It’s likely most of you never considered taking a golf vacation to the destination I’m about to reveal, but this particular American state is extremely golf-oriented.
In fact, it leads the USA in per capita golf participation, and (perhaps not by accident) it’s the only state in which the USGA has held all 14 of its championships, including four US Opens.
More to the point, this state, and a specific region within it, offers a cluster of top-100 golf courses at budget prices, and summer is the perfect time to visit. Read more →
Savvy golfers can often play the private, Cottonwood Valley course on their Dallas golf vacations (photo courtesy Four Seasons Resort Dallas at Las Colinas.)
If you follow any coverage of this week’s PGA Tour event in Dallas, Texas (The HP Byron Nelson Championship), you’re going to see and hear a lot about the host course: the TPC Las Colinas (renovated in 2007), part of the Four Seasons Resort Dallas at Las Colinas.
What you won’t hear much, if anything, about is the Cottonwood Valley Golf Course, the “exclusive members course,” located just across the street from the TPC course.
You won’t hear about this Jay Morrish design (which was part of the Nelson Tournament mix until 2008) because it’s private, but if you find yourself traveling to, or through, the “Big D,” and want to play it, here’s how to do it.
Read more →
