The Golfer’s World

It?s not the end of the world, but it is the end of The Golfer?s World. Gentle readers, you have been loyal and supportive and engaging, but in the end, it turned out you were too few. So after an...

Foreign courses worth the trip, No. 18: Valderrama, Spain

The year-long countdown of the two dozen best international course worth the trip I have played continues through 2009. For more information on the countdown and to understand the criteria I am using, see my first January post. Amazingly, ...

20/04/2009 11:45

Kohler women's program combines top golf and instruction with yoga

It is no secret I am a big fan of Destination Kohler. In fact, weighing the combination of lodging, golf, service, food and amenities, I think it is arguably the best all around golf resort in the entire country. I...

What's new in Scotland, Part II

When I last left you I was talking about the links golf revolution of the past decade in Scotland, and the rash of great new courses. I concluded my spiel on St. Andrews by discussing the new Castle Course, about...

What's new in Scotland for 2009?

Scotland invented our game, and they built so many incredibly good courses early on that you can hardly blame them for resting on their laurels. But the Scottish golf industry got a bit lazy: After a spate of post-war renovation...

13/04/2009 11:24

New golf trail ties together the best of the Canadian Rockies

After the Canadian dollar made a run at our greenback and got uncomfortably close to parity, things are headed back to normal, at least if you live in a border state like mine, where we traditionally think of Canada as...

Ireland?s priciest golf at rock bottom prices

I love Ireland?s Doonbeg golf resort and have said so before. The course is very good, but the setting is even better than the golf, and it is without a doubt one of the most scenic courses on earth, set...

Foreign courses worth the trip, No. 19: Machrihanish, Scotland

The year-long countdown of the two dozen best ?Foreign Courses Worth the Trip? I have played continues through 2009. For more information on the countdown and to understand the criteria I am using, see my first January post. There is...

03/04/2009 11:25

Tournament offers rare chance to play New York's legendary Sleepy Hollow

Sleepy Hollow golf club, just north of New York City, is famous for its celebrity members like Bill Murray, its stately clubhouse, truly castle-like, and most of all, its incredible golf courses, perched high above the Hudson River with ...

01/04/2009 11:23

Zagat's latest golf guide gets it right, and you can get it on your iPhone

A few years ago the folks at the Zagat Survey, the publishers of those now ubiquitous red (mostly) guides to restaurants and hotels all compiled from reader ratings, tackled golf with a guide to America?s top courses. The first edition...

30/03/2009 22:51

Spring golf package in the Dominican Republic

I love the DR, and there is no doubt that it has the best array of golf courses of any Caribbean nation. But because both Casa de Campo, the island?s most famous golf resort, and all the new designer courses...

Great early season deals at Idaho's picturesque Coeur D'Alene

Last year I finally knocked the Coeur d?Alene Resort & Spa off my list of golf courses I really wanted to play, and even going in with great anticipation, I was pleasantly surprised at how much I liked the course,...

Foreign courses worth the trip, No. 20: Blue Canyon, Thailand

The year-long countdown of the two dozen best ?International Courses Worth the Trip? I have played continues through 2009. For more information on the countdown and to understand the criteria I am using, see my first January post. It is...

20/03/2009 10:58

A rant about Conde Nast Traveler's golf course rankings

It has been almost two years since my last rant in these pages about Conde Nast Traveler magazine and its complete ineptitude when it comes to covering golf travel. Why do I care so much? Because I actually read CNT,...

Economy bad for Florida real estate developers, good for golfers

This year I have tried to find the silver lining in our sorry economy, and in many cases it has meant deals on world-class golf. Today it means access to golf you couldn?t play a month ago because it was...

Rave review for Costa Rica's Peninsula Papagayo

On my last day at the lavish Four Seasons Peninsula Papagayo resort in Costa Rica, I was supposed to go on a guided nature hike. While much of Central America is famed for its lush rainforest, the Guanacaste province, on...

Myrtle Beach's oldest course returns after $10M renovation

For most golfers ? myself included ? the words ?history? and ?Myrtle Beach? are rarely used in the same sentence. To be honest, if you had asked me when the first course opened in this golf theme park, I would...

Foreign courses worth the trip, No. 21: Dye Fore, Dominican Republic

06/03/2009 02:45

How much does it cost to see the Masters?

In recent months I have been devoting a lot of time to finding deals and discounts for you, given the sad state of the economy. This is not one of those. After all there has to be some folks still...

Hawaii's legendary Mauna Kea is back

The big news on the Big Island of Hawaii is the return of the legendary Mauna Kea golf resort. It was one of the original luxury hotels developed by Laurance Rockefeller when he first launched his Rockresorts chain (the name...