TravelGolf.com:
Slow Down for this South Carolina Surprise
By Douglas Carey,
Contributor
Located just off I-95 in South Carolina, the town of Santee is a collection of
roadside motels, mom-and-pop restaurants, gas stations and strip malls. You probably wouldn't give it a second thought.
But surprisingly enough, a large chunk of golfers are making the Santee-Cooper area
their final destination. As part of contributing writer Shane Sharp's review of the Santee-Cooper
Resort, he offers an overview of the region, which features nearly 20 golf courses
in the five-county area. "Santee may not be able to compete with Myrtle Beach on quantity
and quality," Sharp writes, "but when it comes to price, the Santee region is pulling golfers in
hand over fist from all parts of the Midwest and Northeast."
• South Carolina Course Guide
OldDominionGolf.com: Coming Attractions
Just before heading out for his first round of golf in weeks, senior writer Jeffrey A. Rendall
put together his OldDominionGolf.com
season preview, which includes expanded coverage. "Look for another full
season's worth of course reviews, PGA Tour coverage and feature articles,
focusing once again on Virginia, but adding in a healthy dose of Maryland content
to broaden our scope," says Rendall. The site will also feature its first reviews
from West Virginia, which has a number of excellent mountain courses.
• Virginia Course Guide
GolfFlorida.com: Executive Privilege in Bradenton
Senior writer Joe Bruno traveled to Bradenton last week for review of the
Peridia Golf and Country Club,
which will be closed for renovations in April and won't reopened until September. Fortunately,
that means you can still play Peridia and take in a few spring training games this spring.
A par-60 executive course with challenging par-3's, Bruno says Peridia matches up well with the best
country clubs in the area. After your round, he recommends a visit to the club's
Terrace on the Green restaurant, which features a different menu nearly every night.
• Florida Course Guide
TravelGolf.com: Amazing Discoveries
For golf ball diver Norm Spahn,
there is no such thing as a typical day. The Jacksonville native, who makes his living
salvaging golf balls from watery graves for the
Davis Golf Ball Company, never knows what he might find at the bottom of the lake. (Check out his story
about retrieving a Dodge Ram truck.) Of course, it's not always that interesting.
Sometimes Spahn simply lends a hand with repairing broken intake pipes in dank lakes, or
pulling pond scum from clogged irrigation lines. Either way, it makes for an interesting read.
• Past reviews by Shane Sharp
GolfCalifornia.com: Another Option in Los Angeles
Located at the doorstep of the populous San Fernando Valley,
Cascades Golf Club is different than all other public courses in the city of Los Angeles.
Unlike those relatively flat layouts, Cascades features a number of holes set on a hillside
above Interstate 5. Since opening in 1999, the course is attracts many golfers from the nearby
Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena area. Staff writer Tom LaMarre is impressed with the greens here, and he especially
enjoyed the eighth hole, 385 yards uphill into the wind. Okay, perhaps
"enjoyed" isn't the right term. Read on for his complete review.
• California Course Guide
From the 19th Hole:
Quick Shots from Myrtle Beach and More
At MyrtleBeachGolf.com, check out Shane Sharp's review of the
Farmstead Golf Links, which features a 767-yard 18th hole that actually begins in South Carolina and
ends in North Carolina...At BadGolfMonthly.com, Sharp visits with
PGA teaching pro Kevin Compare, who uses his sidekick Divot the Clown (pictured) to teach the game
in a unique way...Finally, visit MyrtleBeachGolf.com for our
February Notebook, which includes news from the Links Group, Caledonia Golf and Fish Club,
Eagle's Nest Golf Club, and much more.
From the Rough:
Spotlight on the Bahamas
In case you missed last week's issue, be sure to catch our spotlight on the Bahamas,
home of the
Our Lucaya Beach and Golf Resort - a jewel of a venue perched on the shores of the Bahamas,
replete with two immaculate, challenging resort golf courses. Besides the venerable Dick Wilson designed
Lucayan Course, there's also the new Robert Trent Jones Jr. designed Reef Course, fresh off the line
having opened in 2000. There's something for everyone here, including the spectacular
Camp Lucaya for the kids.
• Bahamas Travel Tips
Chip Shots: Interactive TravelGolf.com
As always, if you disagree with our reviewers on a certain course, be
sure to visit the GolfBoards.com
website, a series of message boards where visitors can write about
everything from the Myrtle Beach golf scene to new equipment.
If your game isn't up to par, be sure to check out the Bad Golfers Forum,
where you can tell everyone why you should be our "Bad Golfer of the Month." While you're at it, you may want
to visit BadGolfMonthly.com and see why Sports Illustrated calls it "a website that makes good sport of bad golf."
Lastly, if you haven't checked it out already, head on over to the TravelGolf.com
Pro Shop, a joint venture with The Golf Warehouse.
With all of this at the award-winning
TravelGolf.com, there's no need to go anywhere else on the Web.
Until next week...God bless America.
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