TravelGolf.com:
Making the Most of Your Golfing Holiday
By Douglas Carey,
Contributor
For some, the President's Day holiday means extra sleep and a little more television time. For tireless golfers such
as senior writer David R. Holland, it means 36 holes. He begins our TravelGolf.com tour this week with a look
at the
We-Ko-Pa Golf Club (pictured), located just northeast of Phoenix. Holland says golf architect Scott Miller has created
a target course that will soon be mentioned in the same conversations with upscale daily-fee desert award-winners, and it's hard
to disagree after reading his review. Also this week, be sure to check out Holland's review of California's
charming Strawberry
Farms Golf Club, located just a short drive from Disneyland.
• Past reviews by David R. Holland
LasVegasGolf.com: Caddy to the Stars
It's not often we devote a feature story to your local caddy, but
Clayton Miyata is no ordinary guy. The lead caddy at Shadow Creek Golf Club in Las Vegas, Miyata
has looped for James Woods and Joe Pesci. Other members of his staff have carried the clubs for the likes of Michael Jordan, Reggie Jackson, Michael Douglas,
and George Clooney. A Tom Fazio designed masterpiece located just 20 minutes from the Vegas Strip,
Shadow Creek's daily tee sheet reads like a who’s who list of celebrities.
Only a gaudy bankroll at the MGM Mirage or $500 will get you on for a round of golf.
And who is Miyata's favorite client? As he tells contributing writer Shane Sharp, "James Woods is
an awesome guy, maybe the nicest fella I have ever met.”
• Nevada Course Guide
GolfCalifornia.com: Masterpiece in Waterscape Form
While our writers visit many impressive courses every week, occasionally they come across a layout
that's especially distinctive. Such is the case with the Palms course at the
Marriott Desert Springs Resort and Spa in Palm Desert, where course architect Ted Robinson
took a special ‘artistic’ approach to a golf course to build something truly different. As senior writer
Jeffrey A. Rendall explains, "Not only did Robinson
build an excellent resort golf course, he’s used waterscapes throughout the property
to give it a distinctive artistic quality." Add in the excellent Marriott Resort facilities and
you’ve found a perfect desert oasis.
• California Course Guide
MyrtleBeachGolf.com:
The Bears of the Beach
Contributing writer Shane Sharp went in search of the
toughest courses in Myrtle Beach this week, and he was surprised
it wasn't more difficult to narrow the field. "The Grand Strand is home to over 120 golf courses, so you would think that
opinions on the beach’s most difficult layouts would vary like errant tee shots," Sharp writes. "But local golf experts
seem to mention the same handful of Myrtle Beach area courses when asked to name the area’s toughest tests of golf."
Among those that made the cut:
The River Club (pictured) in Pawleys Island, a Tom Jackson-designed layout that gives
players fits because of its narrow landing areas and numerous water hazards, despite its rather
benign back tee slope rating of 125.
• South Carolina Course Guide
TravelGolf.com: Have Portfolio, Will Travel
In our architect spotlight this week, staff writer Carla Harvey visits with
Dave Thomas, who's about to garner plenty of notoriety for his work on The Belfry, host course for this year’s
Ryder Cup. While the England layout has long been a popular destination, the Thomas team is now making a
notable contribution to Spain’s growth with more than half a dozen projected courses in progress.
Thomas, who played on three Ryder Cup teams himself, has designed nearly a hundred courses.
"Once he decided to pursue golf architecture, he devoted himself
to it with the same unswerving dedication that characterised him as a golfer," Harvey writes.
• Past reviews by Carla Harvey
From the 19th Hole:
Quick Shots from North Carolina and More
At GolfCarolina.com, check out Shane Sharp's report from the
North Carolina Triangle , where the golf scene is working to keep up with the highly
ranked academic corridor...
At GolfFlorida.com, Joe Bruno reviews the
Legacy Golf Club (at right) at Lakewood Ranch, which provides challenging golf at its best...
Finally, be sure to check out our report from the
Nissan Open, which features a look at several top courses around Los Angeles.
From the Rough:
Spotlight on California
In case you missed last week's issue, be sure to catch senior writer
David R. Holland's look at the first and only ocean-front golf course in Los Angeles County, Ocean Trails in
beautiful Rancho Palos Verdes. Ocean Trails was preparing for its grand-opening festivities
when a landslide on June 2, 1999, sent its 18th fairway sliding into the Pacific Ocean.
To learn what's happened since, you'll have to read Holland's review, which includes
a look at the nearby Hilton Port of Los Angeles-San Pedro, nestled in the foothills
of the Palos Verdes Peninsula.
• California Course Guide
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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