Rio Grande Golf Club

GolfArizona.com: The Royal Palms Hotel

In this week's client feature, we visit the Royal Palms Hotel in Phoenix, located at the foot of Camelback Mountain. Combining the graciousness and sophistication of a Spanish-Mediterranean estate with the intimacy and privacy of a secluded retreat, the Royal Palms Hotel caters to travelers of all types, including honeymooners and executive business travelers staying for extended stays. In addition, all aspects of the hotel's conference services and venues have been designed to provide a "residential" experience for meeting attendees rather than the traditional commercial ambiance. For golfers, Royal Palms Hotel and Casitas offers one of the world's best golf destinations with packages that include golf options at a wealth of top-notch courses, including the renowned Troon North. Reservations may be made by calling 800-672-6011, (602) 840-3610 or on-line at www.royalpalmshotel.com.

TravelGolf.com: Journeyman Golf Bag

In our new product spotlight, we take a look at the Journeyman Golf Bag, manufactured by the Stone Legacy Corporation. More than just a hard-shelled case, Journeyman is reinforced with heavy-duty nylon webbing edges for durability. The lightweight, high-density patented polyethylene InnerArmor is just the insurance policy you need to protect your valued set of clubs. Journeyman is available in three models: the original 7" JourneymanT, a 9" RollerBag with built in wheels for airport transit, and the 4" Micro that holds eight clubs and fits in airline overhead compartments. Best of all, it's so strong you can literally drive over it with a golf cart and not damage the clubs inside. Also, In lieu of Delta Airlines' recent change in policy accepting liability only for golf clubs shipped in hard-shelled cases, TravelGolf.com and Journeyman Golf Bags are launching a bag giveaway program twice a month beginning April 16.

GolfArizona.com: A Different Kind of Desert

Related Links • This Week at TravelGolf.com (April 2-9) • Archives: This Week at TravelGolf.com

As staff writer Michael Hegarty points out, the Coldwater Golf Club is disproving a lot of misconceptions about golf in Arizona's west valley: It's not that far from Phoenix and it's not flat. Located just 15 minutes from downtown Phoenix, Coldwater offers undulating fairways, elevated greens, and few bunkers to provide a links-style course in keeping with designer Forrest Richardson's British Isle's background. "Being a young course, Coldwater is still developing," Hegarty writes. "But for now, if you stick to hitting the fairways and greens, it's in wonderful shape. It's condition is no surprise to those in the game, since it was built by nationally renowned Landscapes Unlimited, whose other courses include Spyglass, Pinehurst #8 and Greg Norman's PGA West."

OldDominionGolf.com:
Spicy Variety In The Country

Set in the rustic countryside of Midland, Virginia, Kastle Greens Golf Club presents enough great golf hole variety to please even the most finicky of golfers. So says senior writer Jeffrey A. Rendall, who calls the layout "a golfing smorgasbord" in this week's OldDominionGolf.com featured course review. "The club prides itself on having an open, Scottish links style front nine and a plantation style back nine, but merely dividing the course in half doesn't completely account for the tremendous variety found throughout," Rendall writes. "Virtually every hole is unique." Designed and built by Gary Cordova of Brothers Homes, Rendall says the layout shows remarkable diversity in shot values.

GolfFlorida.com: A Short Three-Hour Romp

Looking for an executive course that looks and plays like a full 72-par course? Staff writer Joe Bruno says you can't do much better than the Oyster Creek Golf and Country Club nestled in the quaint city of Englewood, Florida. Designed by Ted McAnlis, Oyster Creek, offers few gimme short par-three holes like those found on most executive courses. With beautifully manicured greens, the course is a fine example of what to expect in a quality executive course. "If you like a short three-hour romp of enjoyable golf, Oyster Creek is the place to be," Bruno writes. "The course is well kept, the staff cheery and helpful, and the greens play like those on the bigger courses."

From the Rough

In case you missed last week's report, be sure to catch OldDominionGolf.com senior writer Jeffrey A. Rendall's review of the Fairfax National Golf Club in Northern Virginia. As Rendall writes, there are numerous golf courses in Virginia that play on a Civil War theme. No surprise there. But only a few tracks can authentically claim to rest on actual battlefield earth. Fairfax National Golf Club is one of those. Three nines, all named after famous Civil War battles, make up Fairfax National. The courses are very flat for a Northern Virginia course, and only the holes along the property boundaries would have traditional out-of-bounds. All things considered, our reviewer had an enjoyable afternoon. "The nature of the course and the property's history wouldn't allow me anything less than a good time," Rendall writes. " There may be some courses around that'll excite you more, but there aren't any where you'll have more fun."

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 TravelGolf.com forum, 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!