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TravelGolf.com: Santa Swings into Action on the Links

By Douglas Carey,
Special Projects Coordinator

If you're busy scrambling for that last Christmas gift, you've come to the right place. Our writers have checked out dozens of golf-related products this year, and we've listed them all on one page for the frazzled holiday shopper. For the reader in your family, check out the new book by Craig Brass, How to Quit Golf, a humorous look at the game we often love to hate. Or hate to love. Other last-minute ideas: Dexter’s new line of golf shoes or Porterline's SkyPorter golf bag. And if you'd like to bypass the reviews and head straight for the checkout counter, be sure to visit the TravelGolf.com Pro Shop, a joint venture with The Golf Warehouse.

TravelGolf.com:
Ready to Go the Distance

Related Links • Discuss this story at GolfBoards.com • This Week at TravelGolf.com (Dec. 17-24) • Archives: This Week at TravelGolf.com

Staff writer Diana Rowe Martinez braved the cold recently and headed out for a review of the Deer Creek Golf Club at Meadow Ranch, Denver’s newest semi-private golf club. Featuring a superb links-style layout with natural grass and treacherous water hazards, Deer Creek has done a great job of keeping out-of-play areas maintained in their natural state. In fact, more than 40 acres of wetlands have been protected. Set against the rugged mountain terrain of Dakota Hogback, Deer Creek is one of many must-play metro Denver courses. But the resort's commitment to the environment is what makes Deer Creek a true delight.

GolfCarolina.com: Eager to Step Out of the Shadows

As senior writer Shane Sharp explains, it’s not easy living in the shadow of Pinehurst Resort. But that is exactly what National Golf Club and almost 40 other golf courses around the Sandhills region have to do if they want to play ball with the big boys. Fortunately, National has come to play. They hired Nicklaus Design Group, one of the game’s most expensive architectural firms, to design the golf course, and the results are impressive. In his hole-by-hole sidebar, Sharp points out the course is not designed for the high handicapper: "If you play over a 25, I would honestly recommend looking elsewhere, unless you just want to see a three tiered green with four zips codes just once in your life."

HiltonHeadGolf.com: Memories in Time

Senior writer Jeffrey A. Rendall wraps up the year with a visit to South Carolina and the charming Old South Golf Links, set just across from Hilton Head Island and designed by Clyde Johnston. "Old South begins with several tree lined holes that show good variety—some uphill tee shots, some water, lots of Bermuda rough, reasonable carries and very few bunkers," said Rendall, who recommends getting your scoring done on these holes, because it gets significantly tougher on the last few links on the outward nine.

GolfFlorida.com: Classy Golf and Fast Cars

In a tribute to our friends at the "Today" show, we may start our own special series, "Where in the World is David R. Holland?" Our favorite frequent flyer (and TravelGolf.com senior writer) has been everywhere from Scotland to Alabama this year, and his latest travels find him in Florida for another of his popular "On the Road" articles. He spent a few days in the Daytona Beach area, which entertains more than eight million visitors each year. And more and more are coming for Florida coastal golf. Holland does an excellent job of providing a capsule look at some of the links opportunities, including the Legends Courses at the LPGA International’s Champions complex.

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

At GolfFlorida.com, Kiel Christianson visits Kissimmee for a review of the Falcon’s Fire Golf Club (at right), which offers a blessed respite from the insipid cuteness of Disney...At MichiganGolf.com, Mark "Sparky" Honey from "Two Guys Who Golf" reviews the historic Black River Country Club near Port Huron... At GolfArizona.com, Rebecca Larsen checks in with a review of the Sanctuary Golf Course at Westworld, located in the foothills of the stony, brush-spotted McDowell Mountains... Finally, be sure to check out GolfCarolina.com for a review of the Ballantyne Resort in Charlotte, one of the most upscale daily fee golfing experiences in the region.

From the Rough: Spotlight on Florida

In case you missed last week's report, be sure to check out senior writer Derek Duncan's overview of the Highway 27 corridor in Florida, a 35-mile stretch between Clermont in the north and Haines City in the south. Duncan says the corridor is home to a series of courses that offer some of the most adventurous and uncharacteristic golf in all the South, and it's hard to disagree after reading about standouts such as Southern Dunes and Highlands Reserve.

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. 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 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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