Name dropper isn’t something I’m usually called, but after this post, I’m sure the name’s gonna fit like a fresh, new golf glove.
Rancho Manana. Eagle Mountain. Gold Canyon – Dinosaur Mountain. Estrella. Las Sendas. The Raven. Superstition.
By the way, The Raven Golf Club at South Mountain may be my favorite Phoenix golf course.
Las Sendas kicked my butt on a 118 degree day back in 2002. Tough, tough track, but beautiful scenery and very fair if you can hit it where you’re looking, which I couldn’t do the one time I was there. <sigh>
I could go on and on, but you get the picture. I’ve played some great golf courses in Arizona and I’ve played some good golf in Arizona 
The Arizona golf courses I’ve played have always been in fantastic condition. Above and beyond is an easy way to describe the lengths they go to with regard to manicuring their golf courses in Arizona.
The facilities have always been superb as well. Never before had I witnessed Men’s locker rooms that were bigger and nicer than most apartments I rented when I was young.
The people you meet are always dang friendly. Willing to pair up and willing to take you along for the ride.
The food in Phoenix, Scottsdale, Tucson, Tempe and all the towns in between is out of this world good.
And while I’m thinking about it, if you’re going to play any of the Tucson golf courses, make sure the words Starr Pass or Saddlebrooke is in the name and if it is, you can’t go wrong.
Make sure you play early. Get done before noon and then enjoy a great lunch.
If you like great rates, go back and get a speedy 18 in just before dark and soak in the beauty and serenity of the desert right at sundown.
Then go soak in a pool til dinner time!
Trust ol’ Mike and head out to Arizona for some golf, some scenery, some food and some memories!
Tell ‘em I sent you. They remember me too
I know you’ve seen it on TV and I know you want to see it in person, dontcha?
What?
You know I’m talkin’ about the Harbour Town Marina lighthouse.
We’ve seen it in the background on the weekend golf telecasts and we want to know if it really has red and white stripes all year round.
Do they just paint it like that for the golf tournament?
Okay, so the truth is yes, it’s really red and white all year round.
I was stationed in South Carolina during part of my Army years and I travelled a wee bit around the state whilst I was there.
From the swampy marshes to the sandy beaches to the brick streets, South Carolina is a travellers and golfers dream come true.
From Alexander’s to the Wreck of the Salty Dog, the dining on Hilton Head can only be described as “All-American Southern Fare with some BBQ, Greek, Italian, French with a little Chinese and Japanese thrown in and stirred up to create a dining paradise surrounded by water”.
But here on this site we mostly talk golf, so let’s get all concentrated on the premier golf destination of the entire eastern seaboard – Hilton Head Island.
And most importantly, since it’s been hovering around 100 degrees here in Kentucky the last three weeks, let’s talk about something else that sizzling hot … Hilton Head golf.
From the Ocean Course to Harbour Town Golf Links. From Arthur Hills to Fazio to Robert Trent Jones.
Did I mention that Hilton Head is one of the most family friendly places to play golf?
Did I mention that it may well be the best place on earth for the ladies to play along with their guys?
Tremendous courses, tremendous designers, tremendous conditions and amenities. Water, sand, breezes and more await you on Hilton Head Island, so head over and get you a few Hilton Head tee times … you won’t be sorry and you can thank me later, after you tell ‘em Mike sent you
Courtesy Princeville Makai Golf Course
Are you old enough to remember Blue Hawaii, the “Elvis movie”, as they’re called today?
I was two years away from being born when it was filmed in 1961, but I’ve seen it, several times. I love Elvis movies.
Right now I’m blue because I’m not in Hawaii playing golf, feeling that Kona breeze and soaking up the rays as they can only be soaked in Hawaii.
Think of it this way … there are golf courses and then there are Hawaii golf courses.
From the Old Blue Course at Wailea Golf Club, to Royal Ka’anapali to King Kamehamea there’s just no other place on earth like the Hawaiian islands and there’s just no other place on earth with the amount of championship golf courses like there is in Hawaii.
Mountains, plantations, lush tropical scenery, rain forests, big blue sky, sunshine, beautiful blue water, surfing, clean sandy beaches … I could go on and on about all there is to see and do, but you already know this, you just need to something about it, like head over right now and make travel plans, get some tee times and pack your shorts, sandals, polo’s and clubs.
Even the good folks at Travel+Leisure magazine have called Kauai #2 in their survey for World’s Best Island. Galapagos was #1 and when I was there there were no golf courses.
Travel+Leisure editors calculate the awards on reader input, ranking five qualities: natural attractions, activities and sights, restaurants and food, people and value.
One thing you can count on is that when I finally get a chance to head over to play Hawaii golf and need a Hawaii tee time, I know exactly what website I’ll be using and that’s HawaiiGolf.com.
And I think you should too, so head over, check ‘em out and tell ‘em Mike sent you.
Eagle Ridge Resort & Spa kicks off the start to the 2010 golf season with the Annual Spring Golf Tee-Off on Saturday, April 10, 2010, on the resort’s North Course. Join ESPN Madison 100.5 Sportscasters Jim
Rutledge and Gabe Neitzel as they broadcast live at the resort from 3-5 p.m.
Golfers can take advantage of the low golf rate at $60 per round of golf and $10 off any golf package per person, valid April 9-11, 2010 to mark this special weekend. On Saturday, April 10, 2010 golfers will have the chance to win a new 2010 Jeep Patriot in a challenging putting contest and the chance to win $10,000 cash in a hole-in-one contest along with other giveaways throughout the day.
One lucky listener of the Roe Conn Show on Chicago’s WLS 890 AM will win a trip out to the resort to play with News Anchor Jim Johnson on Saturday, April 10, 2010 to help kick-off the start to the golf season. Visit
www.wlsam.com for details on how to listen and win!
To make a tee time or book one of the golf packages for the weekend, please call the resort at 800-892-2269 or visit www.eagleridge.com for more details.
Cape Fear National in Wilmington, N.C., will open its doors to the public on Monday, April 19, 2010.
The highly-anticipated 18-hole premium golf club is managed by Northbrook, Ill.-based KemperSports and will serve as the centerpiece of the Brunswick Forest master-planned community.
Grand opening events will take place on April 19 and include remarks from golf course designer Tim Cate, an interactive demo day with Callaway, Ping, Nike and Titleist club testing, a $1 million charity hole-in-one opportunity for five local television personalities and local charity representatives. The day’s events will be highlighted by a driving range demonstration and clinic by former PGA TOUR winner and TV golf analyst Bobby Clampett. Festivities start at 9:30 a.m. and the entire day is open to the public.
“Cape Fear National will serve as a source of pride for the local community and we look forward to bringing exceptional golf to the coastal Carolina area,” said Cape Fear National Director of Sales and Marketing Brad Walker.
In addition to Monday’s grand opening festivities, golfers are encouraged to join in the week-long celebration with daily shotgun-start outings taking place April 20 – April 23, with daily 10 a.m. tee times.
Golfers can make history by being one of the first players to experience all 18 holes at Cape Fear National by calling 910.383.3283.
Cape Fear National is an 18-hole, Tim Cate-designed course that opened for preview play in November 2009. The course layout features a rippling landscape mixed with cypress, pine, maple, oak and magnolia trees. Multiple holes are intertwined throughout with preserved wetlands and scenic lakes to make for a natural and enjoyable walk through the course. Additional property amenities for guests include a golf shop,
spacious banquet and meeting rooms and bar and grill.
As I sit here wondering where to take my next golf vacation to, I notice the Food Network in on the TV in the next room and my wife is watching an old Iron Chef replay and one of her favorite Iron Chef’s is cooking some kind of French-fusion cuisine.
Hmmm….maybe France would be a nice place to play golf, do a wee bit of fine dining and travel by train. Sounds pretty durn fine now, don’t it?
And if you’re gonna play golf someplace you’ve never been, why not play the best of the best?
So I did a little investigating and I found the 5 best golf courses in France and found out a little more about them.
Here’s what I found:
1) Morfontaine – This course dates back to about 1913, when the Duke of Guiche obtained permission from his father to transform an old polo pitch in the park of Vallière into a 9-hole golf course for the pleasure of the Duke and his friends.
The opening ceremonies included professional golfer James Braid, who played against French champions Jean Gassiat and Arnaud Massy.
Pretty snazzy beginnings and even today it’s mentioned in the same breath with Royal Lytham & St Annes and Ballybunion, so I’m sure it would be a great golf experience.
2) Les Bordes – Private since about March of ’08, so you can only get so much info, but I did find that Les Bordes was the brainchild of Baron Marcel Bich.
It was designed by Texan, Robert von Hagge, and it’s been said that when he designed this beast he was at his most wickedly creative.
Les Bordes opened for play in 1986 and it’s a supreme challenge. The unforgettable Jean Van de Velde holds the current course record of 71 (one under par) so don’t show up with your fake 6 handicap and try to tell them you’re gonna set the fairways on fire.
Les Bordes has a slightly American feel to it, both in terms of the design and impeccable conditioning but it leaves no doubt that you are in France. There is more style here on this tournament condition layout than just about any other course in France.
3) Golf de Chantilly – One of the most beautiful courses in all of Europe and set amongst the forest of the Ile de France, about 30 miles north of Paris.
It was originally built 1909 and has played host to numerous French Opens, including the 1913 French Open.
The very best have golfed their ball here at Chantilly, including the great Bobby Jones from long ago and The Golf Channel’s Nick Faldo from recent memory. Faldo even won the French Open.
The whole Chantilly experience is very traditional and it’s said that it has a very distinct British feel. With 36 holes (Le Vineuil and Les Longères) and a clubhouse that is very reminiscent of that at Sunningdale, you may doubt that you are indeed in France?
So there you have a great start to planning a European vacation and getting ready to play golf in France.
There’s no way I can cover it all in one blog post, but I hope it’s got you thinking about the possibility of some very fine French cuisine, some very stylish golf attire, some very friendly people and some darn good golf.
What is the one thing a golf equipment manufacturer could ask, tell, show or give you that would cause you to buy a new golf club?
Leave you answer in the comments section below this post.
One man’s (or woman’s) question is another man’s answer.
One single thing.
The one most important to you.
One thing.
Let’s tell ‘em what we want and make ‘em beg to give it to us!
It’s that time of the golf season for most of us.
The time when we sit back and wait for the manufacturers to bombard us with the new features of their new golf clubs.
They always have features, but they never have benefits.
High C.O.R? Who cares. What will it help me do? Drive the ball farther into the weeds?
Higher Moment of Inertia? Who cares? Will it really take 3 strokes off my game? Id so, why didn’t it do it this year?
Thinner face? Thicker topline? Whoop-de-freakin’-do!
Features, features and more features.
I need benefits. It’s all about me. Tell me what it’ll help me do and then SHOW ME how to do that.
Money back if it doesn’t work will be nice too.
Then YOU GUYS have some skin in the game and not just me.
Over the past few months, we’ve all seen lots of information . . . and misinformation . . . on the changes in the Rules of Golf regarding grooves on irons and wedges.
So, to set the story straight, EIDOLON Golf President Terry Koehler aka The Wedge Guy and award-winning golf journalist Steve Pike have written “The Spin Zone – The Real Truth About Grooves.”
This 24-page ebook is FREE for downloading at a new website:
www.GrooveSurvey.com.
This is the most comprehensive explanation of the new rules that has been published anywhere. You’ll learn exactly how and why the rule came about and how it will affect your golf and equipment purchasing, if at all.
GrooveSurvey.com also offers you a chance to take “The Great Groove Survey”, which will let you make your thoughts and feelings on the subject be heard.
I’ve already been there, taken the survey, signed up for further updates and downloaded the ebook.
No pain, no effort, no reason not to go, so do it now!
Okay, so I don’t live in Saskatoon, where it’s 2 degrees as I write this.
But I am in western Kentucky and it’s about 31 degrees right now and not going to get a lot better til about April, which seems very far off.
Why am I crushing on Spain? Because it’s gonna be 68 degrees and sunny all week and it’s home to many events on the European Golf Tour.
Spain is also home to a fabulous La Manga Golf Resort, which is in La Manga, Los Belones, Cartagena.
For many years, La Manga has been the benchmark Spanish golfing vacations. It has been named European Golf Resort of the Year, several times, thanks to three fabulous championship golf courses and ultra-fantastic facilities of the highest standard. Bar none.
The South Course at La Manga is universally regarded as their premier layout and frequently hosts prestigious regional and national events, including the Spanish Open and European Tour Qualifying School.
The South Course was reworked by Arnold Palmer’s design team in the early 1990′s and was retooled again in 2004. The result is a fair but exacting test of golf, as are most golf courses worked on by Palmer’s design team.
La Manga’s North Course presents a different test of golf with tighter fairways and larger greens, neither of which play to my strengths this time of year. I like wide open fairway’s and smaller greens where my three-putt-itis doesn’t flare up as much.
You need accuracy and sound course management to get the best results when you play the 6,291 yard North Course. It also helps if you are a “shotmaker” and not a slash and banger, like me.
La Manga’s West Course is also considered a genuine championship layout, which means there are no bad courses or pushovers on this beautiful resort property.
Coming in at 6,529 yards, the West winds its way through pine trees and has more severe slopes than the other two layouts.
In fact, the West is the favourite of many repeat visitors, particularly because of its unique setting and outstanding views. Because the fairways are kinda tight, it’s prudent to play conservatively from the tee and when you couple that with the fabulous Par 3′s, you see why I would use my hybrid’s more than I normally would. That in itself leads to better scores and less time hunting the edges for golf balls gone astray.
Golf in Spain is always good, but at La Manga, good turns to great.
The November issue of DETAILS hits stands in the next day or so and it has a great interview with Andrew Giuliani who’s ready to move past the Duke golf team scandal and step out Dad Rudy’s shadow.
Giuliani opens up to DETAILS about making amends with his father, playing golf with Tiger Woods, and making a run for the PGA Tour.
Click thru and give it a read.
Photo courtesy of DETAILS Magazine.
