The Ten Top Golf Resorts for 2010

One of the best things about being a golfer is the opportunity to combine golf with travel.

The problem however is obvious: So many courses, too little time!

So how are you going to choose your next golf vacation experience? Some of my golf buddies first choose the overall vacation destination, be it California or South Carolina, Scotland or Mexico. But if you are as serious about golf as I am, you pickk the golf course first and fit the rest around it!!

To help you locate some really great golf resorts for your next trip, here are the top 10 golf resort courses in the continental United States, according to Golf Week. They range from modern to classic, from East Coast to West Coast and in-between.

1. Pacific Dunes. Located in Bandon, Oregon, the course was designed by Tom Doak in 2001

2. Pebble Beach Golf Links, in Pebble Beach, California, designed by Douglas Grant & Jack Neville, 1919.

3. Whistling Straits, inKohler, Wisconsin, designed by Pete Dye, 1997.

4. Pinehurst No. 2, in Pinehurst, North Carolina, designed by Donald Ross, 1903-1946.

5. Bandon Dunes. In Bandon, Oregon, designed by David McLay Kidd, 1999.

6. Shadow Creek Golf Club. In North Las Vegas, Nevada, designed by Tom Fazio, 1990.

7. Spyglass Hill Golf Club. Pebble Beach, California (note that this makes two in the same locale!), designedby Robert Trent Jones, Sr., in 1966.

8. Kiawah Island Golf Resort (Ocean). In Kiawah Island, South Carolina, designed by Pete Dye (the second one for Dye in this list), in 1991.

9. TPC Sawgrass (Players Stadium) . In Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, designed Pete Dye (the third for him in the list!), 1981.

10. Bandon Trails. In Bandon, Oregon, designed by Bill Coore & Ben Crenshaw , 2005.

A few things stand out in this list. The first to grab my attention is that Pete Dye has been designing great courses, as there are three of his represented here. Dye, from a family famous for course design, also happens to be married to fellow designer and former amateur champion Alice Dye.

The second is that great courses seem to spawn more great courses, as can be seen in Bandon, Oregon, and the timeless classic, Pebble Beach. What this tells me is that I need to plan longer vacations so I can enjoy multiple courses in one area! Golf is like wine, better if it is not rushed!

I’ve also learned that the best way to plan is to go for a golf package from an experienced golf travel planner, because then someone else takes care of the details, leaving me more time to concentrate on my game and enjoying wherever golf takes me!

Five Must-Ask Questions for Golf Vacation Packages

As with other vacation packages, golf vacation packages can save you a bundle while offering a fabulous trip. And as with other vacations, there are some questions you should be asking you and the agent before you sign on the dotted line so your trip is a dream, not a disaster!

1. Should you use an agent or do it yourself?

The advantage of going with an established booking agent is that they have developed good business relationships with hotels and golf courses, giving them negotiating power. For golf travel that means that they can offer you the best values and discounts that are not open to the individual buyer. The experienced agent can ask you about your preferences and budget and locate several options for you to choose from, including some you’d never find on your own that may turn out to be the memory of a golfer’s lifetime. They can also advise and help you with upgrades and cancellations.

2. What if you (gasp!) have to cancel?

Life has a way of throwing curve balls, and you might have to cancel the trip or the date. So ask in advance what are the financial implications. How much time is needed to cancel without penalty? For a full package, a couple weeks notice might be needed, whereas for simple golfing reservations, 48 hours is often sufficient for cancelling tee times. Read the small print for your

golf packages.

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3. When will your credit card be charged?

Whenever you make a large purchase in advance, it is wise to ask about timing of the charge for the deposit and balance. Some may require just the immediate deposit, others the entire package. For some, the hotel may also require a deposit. For vacation packages, the full fee is usually paid 30 days before departure. Remember to ask if there are any cancellation charges!

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4. Can you “individualize” a vacation package?

Usually, yes—if you do it in advance. While special packages usually contain specific itineraries (number of nights, rounds of golf, meals, etc.), but you may want to add to the package – an extra night or round of golf, perhaps. Just don’t show up at the resort and then surprise the staff with your requests! Let your agent do the talking in advance—and still provide you with a better price than you’ll get solo. If you are looking for a bargain rate for golf travel or for more play time, explain that to your agent as well.

5. 5. Are the clubs included? Probably not! Even so, with the airline surcharges for bags close to or exceeding the cost of daily rentals, you might want to leave yours home. To be on the safe side, you’ll want your agent to make an advanced reservation and negotiate a discount, of course. (Imagine getting to Pebble Beach and not having a club!)

It’s your vacation and your money—spend a little time up front and you’ll spend a lot less time and money. . . and have a lot more fun on your next golfing vacation!

Avoiding 5 Common Golf Injuries

The fact that many great golfers are still playing into their 60s and 70s often lulls people into a false sense of security about the game. Golf is not for the infirm, it isn’t a great game for the unfit … and it definitely has potential risks. If you want to make sure that you golf travel doesn’t have any unwanted and unexpected consequences, read these tips on avoiding 5 of the most common golfing injuries.

Avoiding … Back Pain

You don't want to be stuck in your hotel room on a golf vacation. You want to be out there on the putting green, the fairway and right next to the hole (hopefully not in the rough!). Back pain is a common golf injury, and you can avoid it by following a regime of increasing both the strength and flexibility of your back. Ask your local gym instructor which machines to use, and remember to stretch both morning and night.

Avoiding … tennis elbow

Yes, counter-intuitive as it might be, tennis elbow is more common among golfers than golfer's elbow is! Switch to a graphite shaft for your golf club and use low-compression balls to reduce elbow strain. Have a pro look at your grip and swing with you, also.

Avoiding … shoulder pain

You're in Myrtle Beach, with the beautiful sea air on a delicious golf green beckoning and the promise of a delicious dinner that night. But you're frozen on your hotel bed in shoulder agony! Try to keep your swing plane relatively flat, and slow down on your backswing in addition to doing your usual strength and flexibility training.

Avoiding … carpal tunnel

Use larger or softer grips, and reduce your grip pressure on the club handle to avoid carpal tunnel syndrome. General strengthening is also very important.

Avoiding … knee pain

Knee pain could be a result of osteoarthritis or a torn meniscus, each of which require medical intervention. The best advice is to keep up your varied diet and regular exercise to reduce your chance of developing either of these.

4 Top-Reviewed Drivers

Get a good drive, and the entire hole feels different. Get a good hole in, and you get the confidence boost you need for an awesome game. Get a good game, and you have a GREAT golf vacation!

If you’re looking to really shine on the course on your next golf vacation, you might have thought about upgrading your driver. Today we look at some of the top-reviewed models of drivers currently available, their features and benefits.

Nike Conforming Sasquatch Sumo Squared Driver

The Nike Driver has a name that sounds like some sort of horror movie, and a sound upon hitting the ball that people most often equate with a tin can … but everyone who buys one, loves it. This is an ultra-long driver, and people have credited it with improving consistency in their results, greatly increasing their yardage, and generally being great value. Without the marketing jibberish, here are some of the base technological inclusions that make this a great driver for your next golf vacation:

• Square geometry
• Multi material construction
• Lower, further back center of gravity.

Cleveland Launcher Driver

This driver consistently gets 100%, five star reviews from its users. It features:

• An 'improved' center of gravity
• Horseshoe weight pad
• 'Improved' movement of inertia
• Ultra-big launch face

Bobby Jones Workshop Edition Driver

It's expensive, just like everything that has the Bobby Jones name on it. If you look around, though, you can find some generous discounts off RRP on this driver, and bag yourself a club that almost everyone feels is a 5 star experience. It has:

• Smaller profile, deeper face dimension
• Great weight distribution
• A design made for mid-high handicap golfers

Cleveland Hibore XLS Draw Driver

If you're not one for technical details, all you need to know about this driver is that people feel that it 'makes their shots go straight'! If you do want the lowdown, though:

• Increased movement of inertia over older Cleveland models
• Crown plaque and wings for easy setup of shots
• Cleveland's largest ever face
• Extended hot zone

If you’re going to go to the trouble of golf package, you might as well come back from it feeling like a winner … and if your game has been struggling, a new driver might just turn it round!

Unlimited Golf

I recently retired after working more than 45 years as an executive accountant. During my career I made some sacrifices in order to be able to retire well. I’m a golfer and I wanted to be able to spend my golden years taking as many golf vacations as I wanted. I was able to do that and have already taken a few mini-trips to various golfing resorts.

I’ve had a Scotland golf vacation planned for over a year in which my wife and I will be taking in May. I have looked forward to this trip for years and am finally getting to see so many of my personal dreams come true. I worked hard to be able to enjoy my retirement and I’m happy to say I am going to see that as a reality.

There are so many resorts that offer golf packages which include room, cart rental, and greens fees. Some of the packages will even include complimentary dinners or breakfast. My wife and I have four major vacations planned for this year, including the trip to Scotland and five major vacations planned for the following year. Every three or four months we are taking off for another new adventure.

A few years before I retired I hired a golf travel agent who specializes in golfing locations around the world. She came up with some wonderful trips for us and got us some of the best deals possible. I am very excited about the many trips we have planned for the US and abroad; these will be some of the best memories of our lives.

While I was still working ten of my buddies from the country club I belong to took a lot of weekend golf trips to locations close enough to easily drive to and spend a couple nights. Those were some fun times and I’ve surprised my buddies with a major golf outing for all of us at a resort. It’s just my way of thanking them for all the great times of golf we’ve had.

Golf is a Way of Life

My husband and I met in college; he was on the men’s golfing team and I was on the women’s golfing team. We are both still very active in the sport and have come very close to hitting professional status. We’ve been married for five years and don’t have any children so as time permits we often take golf vacations and visit some well known golf courses around the world.

We just got back from Myrtle Beach where we spent a week playing one of the nicest courses in the United States. We are self employed and own several properties which allow us to travel whenever we decide we want to. We have several couples that we travel with who share our enthusiasm for the sport.

This summer we have a Scotland golf vacation planned that will be a dream come true for the both of us. We have always wanted to travel to Scotland and play those legendary courses and we are finally making that dream a reality. We will be spending three weeks abroad and will most likely travel to Ireland to hit a few balls on those courses as well.

Most destinations we pick to travel to are booked as golf packages which get us our room and greens fees for a discounted rate. There are thousands of resorts that offer these types of packages and can save you hundreds of dollars if you book them as we do. I suppose we will always be active in golf and have already began making plans for our retirement home somewhere in Florida where we can golf year around. I’m looking forward to sharing the next fifty or sixty years with my husband as we travel all over the world to try our luck at some of the most famous golf course ever constructed.

There's nothing with the power to put you down in the dumps quite like arranging an amazing golf holiday … and then messing up every shot you take for five days! If you have a terrible tendency to slice, we have some great tips for clearing up your swing before you leave on a golf vacation. Nothing left to do but enjoy your trip!

Understand the reason for slice

In technical terms, slicing is a clubface problem. The swingpath may be straight, but the face of the club is open, creating a sidespin moving from left to right.

Make sure your feet and shoulders are aligned

This is one of the most crucial tips. Golf stance is one of the fundamentals of having a good game, and it can feel a little uncomfortable at first to stand properly. Make sure the line created between your heel is aligned with the line created between your two shoulders. If it is not, you will almost certainly slice … no matter how hard you concentrate on getting your swing straight. Practice plenty before you leave for your golf vacation, to help make the new stance feel natural.

But I thought my feet and shoulders WERE aligned!

Sometimes we just can't tell! Use a long ruler, or the aid of a golf teacher or fellow player to help you assess whether your shoulders and feet really are aligned. What feels straight to you, may not necessarily be straight.

Follow through

It can feel unnatural to keep swinging as hard as you can until you can’t go any further, rather than just kitting the ball and letting the club fall back. However, follow through is critical in getting that ball to travel where you want it to! Golf teachers often have a heap of tips to help you make follow through feel natural.

Grip

If your grip is too far to the left, this will cause an open club face and clockwise spin … otherwise known as a slice. If your clubface is square to the target, you should be able to look down and see at least two knuckles of your left hand. If you see two, three or four, your grip is not your problem - your follow through or stance most likely is.

There are a few issues to look at to make sure your slice doesn’t ruin your golf vacation .. plenty of reason to get practicing right now!