TravelGolf.com: On the Road in Montana

Senior writer David R. Holland returns this week for another installment of his popular "On the Road" series with a look at the Montana golf scene. "You want a twilight bargain, this is the place," Holland writes. "The sun doesn't go down until after 10 p.m. because of its northern location, only 60 miles from Canada." Outdoor enthusiasts throughout the world call Montana "God's Country", and they love its fly fishing, river rafting, boating, mountain biking, hiking and camping. They also love the golf. In this extensive look at the state, Holland offers brief snapshots of several top courses, including Whitefish Lake Golf Course, which is the only 36-hole golf complex in Montana. He also checks out the Northern Pines Golf Club, where the greens are perfect bentgrass. "If you can't find your putting stroke on these beauties you never will," says Holland.

GolfFlorida.com: The Top Five in Charlotte County

Related Links • Discuss this story at GolfBoards.com • This Week at TravelGolf.com (July 30-Aug. 5) • Archives: This Week at TravelGolf.com

In this week's GolfFlorida.com feature story, staff writer Joe Bruno makes a visit to Charlotte County, which features an abundance of fine golf courses at a fraction of the prices you'd pay in Tampa or Sarasota. Bruno ranks the top five courses in the area, beginning with his top choice, the Bobcat Trail Golf & Country Club in North Port. "Besides being gorgeous to look at, Bobcat Trail might be the most challenging golf course in the area," Bruno writes. "There is water in play on every hole and sand bunkers abound all over the course, sometimes right in the middle of the fairway." Also, be sure to check out the review of his fourth-ranked course, the Imperial Lakewoods Golf Club, which may feature the most challenging hole in the area: the 545-yard (from the whites), par-5 18th hole.

MichiganGolf.com: An Overlooked Gem

Senior writer Jason Deegan went in search of affordable, fun golf last week, and he didn't have to look far. He started at the Marsh Ridge Golf and Nordic Ski Resort, which sits in the heart of Gaylord's Golf Mecca, a marketing group of 22 courses within 45 minutes of one another. "There are more expensive resort courses with longer layouts and big-name course designers, but Marsh Ridge can stand toe-to-toe with any of them," Deegan writes. "What the course lacks in length it more than makes up for in personality." In Deegan's second review this week, he checks out the Blackshire Golf Course, which just opened at the Lakewood Shores Resort in June 2001. "What the Blackshire lacks in star power, it more than makes up for in variety and playability," says Deegan, who notes that the course's first two holes are two of the best.

OldDominionGolf.com: A Piece Of History

As regular readers know, senior writer Jeffrey A. Rendall is a history buff, so we're sure he enjoyed writing this week's review of the Ocean View Golf Course, a quaint little municipal layout located a stone's throw away from the Chesapeake Bay in a continually revitalizing part of Norfolk. Opened in 1930 and built by military veterans, the course has hosted four Virginia State Opens and a professional exhibition in 1963, where Arnie, Jack and Sam Snead took part. "A visit to Ocean View provides many things," Rendall writes. "A pleasant round of golf on a refurbished course; a chance to trace the footsteps of legends; and a good view of urban revitalization taking place before your eyes."

From the 19th Hole:
Quick Shots from Michigan and More

MichiganGolf.com senior writer Kiel Christianson reports from the ESPN Par 3 Shootout at Treetops Resort, where Lee Trevino's $1,000,000 hole-in-one stole the show. Look for a review of the Treetops Resort layout next week…At GolfArizona.com, staff writer Michael Hegarty travels to Fountain Hills to review the traditional layout at the Desert Canyon Golf Course, while staff writer Ray Bangs checks in with a look at the Longbow Golf Club (right), a scenic and playable desert course in Mesa…Staff writer Diana Rowe Martinez discovers one of the best-hidden secrets outside of Denver in the Spring Valley Golf Club, which was clearly etched out of farmland….At GolfTexas.com, staff writer Art Stricklin wraps up this week with a review of one of Texas' most historic courses, the Oak Hills Country Club in San Antonio.

From the Rough: RockiesGolf.com Spotlight

In case you missed last week's report, be sure to catch senior writer David R. Holland's review of the Castle Pines Golf Club, a stern test of golf designed by Jack Nicklaus and opened in 1981. As Holland notes, "Situated at a lofty 6,400 feet in elevation among Ponderosa pines, boulders and scrub oak, this 7,503-yard up-and-down hilly golf adventure is one of the toughest walks the tour players face." Holland's comprehensive story includes a special look at Castle Pines' 10th hole, which was recently selected as one of America's 18 greatest holes. If you enjoy the story, be sure to check out Holland's recent feature, On The Road In the Canadian Rockies, as well as his overview of the diversified Lake Tahoe-Reno golf scene.

As always, if you disagree with our reviewers on a certain course or just want to sound off about the latest from the PGA Tour, 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. There's also a free classifieds section where golfers can advertise that old set of clubs they've been meaning to sell for years. And if you haven't checked it out already, be sure to visit the new TravelGolf.com Pro Shop, a joint venture with The Golf Warehouse. With all of this at TravelGolf.com, there's no need to go anywhere else on the Web.