If you're not familiar with the Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge area in eastern Tennessee, you don't know what you're missing. So says senior writer Kiel Christianson, who recently visited the Bent Creek Golf Course and Golf Village, located just twelve miles from downtown Gatlinburg. "Despite a handful of weak holes, and a few more screwy ones, the several nice holes and the bucolic surroundings throughout the course make for a pleasant round," Christianson writes. While the course itself doesn't rank among the top few in the area, Christianson says the wonderful resort facilities and special playing privileges offered to guests (reduced greens fees, preferred tee times, pro shop discounts) make this the best lodging option for golfers visiting the area.

MichiganGolf.com: Stepping Up in Fenton

When the Preserve Golf Club opened to the public in May 2001, it joined a crowded Michigan golfing landscape, and continued the golf boom in Livingston County. Just two months later, senior writer Jason Deegan says the course and residential community is already attempting to set itself apart from the pack. "The Preserve has a leg-up on the competition for one reason alone - it is an Arnold Palmer signature course," Deegan writes. "Even though the course has plenty of room to mature, the wonderful topography of the land and its natural settings will ultimately make this 6,874-yard semiprivate course a treat to play." With Livingston County's growth rate and its proximity to a large golfing population in metro Detroit, Deegan says there's no doubt the Preserve will see plenty of action.

From the Rough

In case you missed last week's report, be sure to catch staff writer John Eckberg's review of Aruba's Tierra Del Sol Resort & Country Club, a challenging championship course designed by Robert Trent Jones II. Located along the shoreline of the churning Caribbean Sea, our reviewer says this stretch of 18 holes is often otherworldly. A lighthouse is an ever-present symbol of the danger of the ocean, and for a golfer, it is a reminder of the sneaky wind that keeps the golf, even on simple holes, challenging and rewarding," Eckberg writes. So while most visitors to this island about 20 miles from the Venezuelan shore come the brilliant green sea and soft sand beaches, Tierra Del Sol reminds us that there's still much more to be seen in Aruba.

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.

Until next week….happy golfing!