This Week at TravelGolf.com
(Jan. 15-21)
By Douglas
Carey, TravelGolf.com Editor
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Alcaidesa
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Most of my personal
new year's resolutions have already gone by the wayside, but I'm happy
to report our resolutions are still intact here at TravelGolf.com,
where we're making a greater effort to cover the global golf scene.
We continue with a special two-part package from Spain, courtesy of
staff writer Carla Harvey. In her first story, Playing
the Game in Southern Spain, Harvey offers evidence that southern
Spain has created enough quality courses to merit comparison with
the USA in terms of golf. The choice of Valderrama as host to the
1997 Ryder Cup is just the start of the story. In Harvey's second
feature, she takes a look at the Montecastillo
Hotel and Golf Resort, an ideal vacation spot for those who love
a good game, fine Spanish wines and delicious food. She gives extra
credit for recent improvements: "At present, it is one of the best
facilities in Spain, providing a championship course geared to both
professionals and fair to middling players, and a resort that caters
to golfers and non-players alike with quiet excellence.
TravelGolf.com:
Golf's Dot-Com Scorecard
Contrary to popular
belief, the world is not falling in the land of golf
dot-coms. For proof, we sent TravelGolf.com senior writer Shane
Sharp on a search for signs of promising life. In his feature story
on the state of the industry, he offers evidence of two thriving companies.
"It is not all gloom and doom in the golf dot-com world," Sharp writes.
"While online tee-time booking companies like Greens.com and TheGolfer.com
didn't make it out of the cyber shoot and folded after limited or
no success, at least two companies are succeeding in the online tee-time
market place." Be sure to also read Sharp's companion article on the
demise of TheGolfer.com,
a San Diego-based company that was in the business of providing golfers
with online tee-times.
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Bluebonnet Hill
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GolfTexas.com:
City Golf with Historic Backdrop
Fresh from
a holiday season filled with family and food, GolfTexas.com staff
writer Kyle Dalton began the new year with a look at two challenging
courses near his home base in Austin. Tucked away in a wooded area
just southeast of downtown Austin and south of the Colorado River,
Riverside Golf Course
is a course with a storied history. As far as courses in Austin
are concerned, Riverside's history could be based simply on its
age. Designed in 1950 by renowned architects J. Press and Perry
Maxwell, Riverside is far and away one of Austin's longest operating
courses.
In Dalton's
other new review, he takes a look at the Bluebonnet
Hill Golf Club, set out in the countryside east of Austin. "Surrounded
by private property, most of which is ranchland, Bluebonnet Hill
allows you to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city and
truly enjoy some quiet time on the golf course," writes Dalton,
who calls the course one of the most unique layouts in the region.
GolfFlorida.com:
A Great Deal in Central Florida
Sometimes you
just want to go back in time. Fortunately, there are still a few
courses across the country where the modern touch hasn't consumed
the layout. GolfFlorida.com staff writer Derek Duncan discovered
one such course this week in Orlando at the MetroWest
Country Club, which measures 7,051 yards from the back tees.
"This is where you go to regain the old feel for golf that is often
lost in the adventures of contemporary design, especially in Florida,"
writes Bruno, who adds, "There is a serene and almost historic quality
to it that calls forth the feeling of playing pre-1950 designed
layouts with views of busy metropolitan skylines."
MyrtlebeachGolf.com:
No Slowing Down for Clyde Johnston
When golf course
developers in the southeastern United States are after a no-nonsense
track at an affordable price, Clyde Johnston Designs, Inc. is where
they look. In this week's architect
profile, MyrtlebeachGolf.com senior writer Shane Sharp takes
a special look at the consummate southern businessman, Clyde Johnston.
Raised in High Point, N.C., Johnston has built a reputation among
course owners and superintendents for being easy to work with, and
he's known for his appreciation of what it takes to build and properly
maintain a sensible golf course. "Johnston has made a redoubtable
mark on the Grand Strand, and his courses dot the Myrtle Beach area
like freckles on the face of a red head," writes Sharp.
From the Rough
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Calusa
Lakes
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In case you missed
last week's report, be sure to catch GolfFlorida.com staff writer
Joe Bruno's list of the top
five courses in the Sarasota/Bradenton area. With more than 60
public golf courses to consider, there were plenty of top contenders.
How did he arrive on his favorites? "Five criteria were used," Bruno
said. "Aesthetic beauty, upkeep of the course, challenging play, the
friendliness and helpfulness of the staff, and just as important --
the cost of a round of golf." We don't want to give away too much
here, but the picture accompanying this week's newsletter offers a
pretty good hint about the top course. Bruno says the Foxfire Golf
Club receives high marks for its three glorious nine-hole courses
and a top-notch pro shop.
While you're
dreaming of Florida beaches and beautiful sunsets, be sure to check
out Bruno's review of the Capri
Isles Golf Club in Venice, a small city within Sarasota County.
While Capri Isles didn't make our reviewer's top five list, the
course is not without its charming attributes.
As always,
if you disagree with our reviewers on a certain course or just want
to sound off about Tiger's views on the PGA Tour, be sure to visit
GolfBoards.com,
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.
Until next
week...happy golfing!
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