Golf Vacations

Golf Vacation Insider, the leading website for expert, unbiased and trusted golf travel advice, has published a revealing “special report” on Turning Stone Resort & Casino just one week prior to its hosting of an official PGA Tour event.

Turning Stone will undoubtedly put its best foot forward when the PGA
Tour plays the Turning Stone Resort Championship there next week
(September 20-23, 2007), but Golf Vacation Insider’s free “special
report” examines what the general public can expect when taking a golf vacation to the Verona, N.Y., resort and if it is, in fact, worthy of
their time and money.

In addition to detailed descriptions and full-color photos of the
resort’s amenities, this special report reveals such things as: why
the “championship” golf course is not the best one to play (and which
of the resort’s five courses truly provides a “member for a day”
experience); the pros and cons of the resort’s lodging and dining
options; the best time to visit; the best off-resort activities to
experience; and the resort’s unique rule with respect to alcoholic
beverages.

To get this special report, golfers need only visit GolfVacationInsider and select it from a list on the right-hand side of the page.

” Hosting a PGA Tour event and hosting people on a golf vacation are
two very different things, ” said David Baum, publisher and
editor-in-chief of Golf Vacation Insider. ” Luckily, after reading our
free report on Turning Stone, you’ll immediately know if it’s the type
of golf vacation experience you’re looking for. ”

Golf Vacation Insider and Golf Odyssey, it’s printed, sister
publication, are the only golf travel publications in the world that
conduct their on-site inspections anonymously and do not accept
advertising, travel discounts or “freebies” from the properties they
review.

For more information about Golf Vacation Insider’s free, special
report on Turning Stone Resort & Casino, or to arrange an interview
with golf vacation expert David Baum, call 800-550-2286 or visit
www.GolfVacationInsider.com.

Golf Vacation Insider, the preeminent website for expert, unbiased and trusted golf travel advice, has published a series of ” Top 10 Golf Travel Tips ” on some of the world’s most popular golf vacation destinations, including: Arizona; Florida; Hilton Head Island and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; Scotland; Ireland; Mexico; the Bandon Dunes Resort in Oregon; and the American Club in Kohler, Wisconsin.

Available individually as free Special Reports, Golf Vacation
Insider’s ” Top 10 Golf Travel Tips ” are destination-specific
collections of priceless, insider secrets and expert advice that can
truly make or break a golf vacation to one of these popular golf
vacation hotspots.

They reveal such things as: the best golf courses to play (and the overrated duds to skip) at large, multi-course resorts; the best times of year to visit and the bad-weather months to avoid; where to find the best restaurants on and off a resort’s property, how to stay in a hotel’s best rooms at regular prices; even how to gain access to certain private courses.

To get one or more of these free Special Reports, golfers need only
visit www.GolfVacationInsider.com and select their area(s) of interest from a list on the right-hand side of the page. All of the information contained in the reports is based on Golf Vacation Insider’s strict policy of editorial independence. Golf Vacation Insider and Golf Odyssey, it’s printed, sister publication, are the only golf travel publications in the world that conduct their on-site inspections anonymously and do not accept advertising, travel discounts or “freebies” from the properties they review.

” Cutting through the information overload and certain over-hyped
aspects of these popular golf vacation destinations is what our free
Special Reports are all about, ” said David Baum, publisher and
editor-in-chief of Golf Vacation Insider. ” Because we don’t accept
advertising or press junkets, we have the golf vacationer’s best
interests at heart and can give them the unbiased truth. ”

For more information about Golf Vacation Insider, or to arrange an
interview with golf vacation expert David Baum, call 800-550-2286 or
visit www.GolfVacationInsider.com.

Back in January, after a trip to Greensboro, NC, I wrote about Maggie Valley, one of my favorite places in the midddle eastern United States.

Touring some golf news this past week, I see that Maggie Valley’s gonna get a lot more crowded pretty fast, because the Maggie Valley Club has hired Vickie Fletcher as outside sales rep.

Her main focus will be to sell golf packages, tournaments and corporate outings. She’s also assisting in membership sales for the club, which is in the midst of a multi-million dollar renovation to once again make it one of the premier facilities in Western North Carolina.

I love that area and the climate there. Western North carolina is in the Top 7 Places I’d retire to … hopefully soon !

Maggie Valley Club is a master-planned golf community & resort in the mountains of North Carolina. For information on real estate, resort options, memberships or golf, call (866) 659-4725 or visit their website.

Now, if only a place like the Maggie Valley club was wise enough to take advantage of a tool like an interactive website, built on blog architecture, using wordPress as it’s content management system to disseminate news very rapidly, allow comments on their posts or news items, use teleseminars as lead generators, allow user generated content and take full advantage of the few thousand searches each and every month for golf and vaction related searches in the search engines.

Hmm. Maybe I’ll offer the services of my staff and see if we can help them help themselves.

From the St. Pete Times, we find out that Disney plans another world-class golf resort.

How much land is there left in Orlando and how can they possibly need another world-class golf resort ?

” Walt Disney World unveiled plans Thursday to develop 1,350 acres of its vast property, including a massive luxury resort in a partnership with Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts.

Disney also plans to build up to 5,000 value-priced hotel rooms on 450 acres around the first formal western gateway to the park, built to serve new highway access there. “

I’m thinkin’ there’s more than enough golf courses and homes in Orlando to last for eons, but they’ve gotta do something with all those profits, don’t they ?

Click thru and read the whole story, or if you don’t want to then click the link below to go look at a way to get some tickets to The Masters.

Click on this photo for a small taste of we enjoy here in Kentucky when we play our State Park Golf Trail.

Thru a great blog that showcases photos taken in Kentucky, I found this news item alerting me to the great rates and what’s happening, golf-wise, in Kentucky.

I’ve done many, many reviews of the State Park courses and they have always exceeded my expectations.

From great rates, to fantastic scenery … from Paducah to Pikeville and lexington to London, there’s a great golf adventure nearby.

If you’ve never hiked, golfed, swam and ate catfish in the same day, well, come on down and we’ll get together for some golf that will make memories that will last a lifetime.

If you’re even slightly considering going west ( or east ) to San Francisco for a golf vacation at a world-class golf resort and spa, you really need to click thru and check out today’s offering from my friends over at Perfect escapes.

Today they’ve come up with a golf and hotel package to the Westin St. Francis that will rejuvenate your body and mind.

Via their website:

It’s a great time to visit San Francisco: The crowds are few, the theater season’s in full swing, and the boutiques sparkle with treasures. Make your San Francisco trip even more memorable when you stay at the landmark Westin St. Francis, right in the heart of Union Square.

And right now, when you book two consecutive nights at The Westin St. Francis, your third night is free! Simply arrive on a Thursday, Friday or Saturday for a 3-night stay and your last night is on the house.

Rates vary seasonally, but standard rooms start at just $149 per night over many winter and early-spring weekends. Better still, this special Third Night Free offer is available for other popular room categories — Traditional, Deluxe and Grandview — and is valid for stays through the end of 2007.

Why wait? Plan your San Francisco escape with The Westin St. Francis today.

You’d better hurry, as this deal is only available thru February 28th, 2007 !

My friends over at Perfect Escapes have gotten together with 4 and 5 Star hotels and created some of the finest golf vacations to some of the world’s best golf resorts and spas.

Today we’d like to focus on Florida.

Click thru and look at the special deals that await you in The Sunshine State, where my former home of Pensacola Beach is located.

Diplomat Country Club & Spa

Westin Diplomat Resort & Spa

From their website:

The Westin Diplomat Resort & Spa offers luxurious accommodations, magnificent views, and an experience sure to inspire renewal. From our infinity pool with waterfalls to the marina, shops, tennis, golf and white-sand beach on the Atlantic Ocean, endless options encourage complete tranquility and a sense of rejuvenation.

Westin Diplomat guests also enjoy access to all of the facilities and services of the Diplomat Country Club and Spa – including the resort’s 18-hole championship golf course and the full-service Spa at The Diplomat – plus complimentary shuttle service between the two properties.

And now, you can combine all of these world-class offerings into one luxurious escape. The South Florida Pamper & Putt package includes:

- Overnight accommodations in a spacious guestroom with magnificent views
- One round of golf at the Diplomat Country Club championship course
- One 50-minute Diplomat Massage at the Spa at The Diplomat

Better yet, these added amenities are available nightly — you’ll receive an additional round of golf and massage treatment for each night of your stay.

I’m thinking Florida’s the place to be … Hollywood, Florida to be specific !

Tomorrow I’ll have an exclusive offer for you from the Westin St. Francis in San Francisco, so stay tuned and subscribe to my RSS feed.

Did you happen to watch the Mercededs-Benz Championship from Kapalua on The Golf Channel ? I did and saw a commercial from GoHawaii.com that led me to this great resource, in case I’m ever fortunate enough to play golf in Hawaii.

Bookmark their site and buy lottery tickets is my new motto !

From their website :

” Seventy million years ago, Nature created Hawaii – a paradise of green-carpet valleys, emerald mountains draped in mist, and an ocean as blue and deep as the sky. It is a setting so perfectly sculpted, it’s clear that golf was part of Nature’s master plan. Our fairways are lush and bordered by rainforests and wild seascapes…and our hazards are a natural part of the landscape.

From lush hillside courses with views of neighboring islands and whales breaching offshore, to black lava layouts dotted with white sand bunkers, Hawaii offers you all the challenges and all of the pleasures of golf on more than eighty courses, spread over six uniquely different islands. So it isn’t surprising that eight Hawaii courses can be found in Golf Magazine’s list of Top 25 U.S. Golf Resorts (no other state has more than two). “

Click thru and enjoy !

PS - And Congratulations to Vijay Singh for winning the first event of 2007 ! Note to Tiger and Phil, you can’t win if you don’t play.

After having recently unveiled the “new look” Blue Monster, Doral Golf Resort & Spa, A Marriott Resort, one of the world’s premier golf destinations, today announced two new golf packages for the 2006-2007 fall and winter seasons. These new packages are designed to highlight the recently renovated Great White Golf Course, and the famed Blue Monster Golf Course, home of the 2007 CA World Golf Championship.

The new Blue Monster Golf Package includes two nights of luxury accommodations in a beautifully appointed garden view room, 18-holes of golf on the Blue Monster Course, and 18-holes on the Great White Course, cart included. Also included in this package is a $25 gift card per night per player, unlimited driving range usage, golf bag storage, one day introductory golf clinic, and advance tee-times. Rates start from $309 per person, per night, based on double occupancy, and must be booked at least 60 days in advance. This package is also available in a 3-night stay, which includes three nights of accommodations, one round on the Blue, one round on the White and one round on the Red, Gold, or Silver Courses. Rates start from $289 per person, per night, based on double occupancy, and must be booked at least 60 days in advance.

Also available at Doral is the Championship Golf Package, which includes one night of luxurious accommodations in a beautifully appointed garden view room and 18-holes of golf on one of Doral’s Championship courses, cart included. Included in this package is a $25 gift card per night per player, unlimited driving range usage, golf bag storage, one day introductory golf clinic, and advance tee-times. Rates start from $219 per person, per night based on double occupancy, and must be booked at least 60 days in advance.

The 693-room Doral Resort, which is managed by Marriott International and is officially named the Doral Golf Resort & Spa, A Marriott Resort, joined Marriott’s first-class portfolio of 60 resorts worldwide in August of 2004. In managing the golf business operations at Doral, Marriott International enlisted its in-house golf management arm, Marriott Golf, the world’s largest resort golf management company, and the first in-house golf management team ever established by a lodging company. Currently, Marriott Golf oversees more than 150,000 rounds of golf per year on Doral’s five championship golf courses, managing more than 500 corporate and group outings per year.

” For reservations call (800) 713-6725 or visit www.marriott.com, and enter GOF for promotional code. “

The next time you’re headed to Phoenix to play a little golf … or maybe a lot of golf, let me give you a couple of ‘can’t miss’ destinations.

First there’s Pizzeria Bianco, which you see in the image to the right.

Click on it for a better view of a beautiful building.

Then drop by and get in line, because there’s almost always a line if you’re the least bit late for dinner.

Why ? The mozzarella is homemade and the sweet onions are wood-roasted to bring ‘em to full flavor. The no take-out and there’s no compromises in quality. ‘Nuff said.

Then go play one of the most challenging desert golf courses I’ve ever played.

Here’s a shot of the 12th hole. again, you can click on it for a larger view.

From their website: ” Las Sendas Golf Course was designed byRobert Trent Jones, Jr. and opened for public play in February of 1995.

The course has matured into one of the most beautiful and challenging Golf courses in the country. Acclaimed by avid golfers and sports writers, Las Sendas is the 12th most challenging, and one of the top 50 courses in the nation according to two ZAGAT Surveys.

So… Come along and navigate our web site, see our special course photos and the services offered. You might just consider booking your tee time direct from the specials page. ”

I can attest to the challenge offered at Las Sendas, as the last time I was there it was part of a 6 day, 5 course trip and it was the only course that I was glad to see in the rear-view mirror.

Beautiful, challenging, beautiful… did I mention beautiful ?