This Week at TravelGolf.com: Feb. 15, 2005

On a golf course in Arizona recently, I ran into an endangered species. No, this wasn't one of the leopards or warthogs National Golf Editor Tim McDonald encountered up close and personal in South Africa, escaped from a nearby zoo.

This was even rarer: a woman rediscovering the joys of golf.

It is hard enough to get women to try this still largely male bastion of recreational sports, complete with philosophies rarely seen since the age of cavemen. It is almost impossible to get women who have played to come back to the game once they've been turned off by the second-class citizenship of being offered the worst tee times and plenty of attitude at the clubhouse door.

Consider the experiences of Audrey Raclaw, an older returnee to the game. In the midst of a Phoenix escape from snowy Chicago, Raclaw decided it might be fun to swing a club again. Only, she quickly found she had two strikes against her.

"If you're a woman, right off they look at you a little funny,'' Raclaw said. "Then, if you're a woman without clubs...forget it. They treat you like you're going to mess up their course."

There's your arrogance at the clubhouse counter again. Jennifer Mario writes about why women should come back. Now if the courses could only figure out it's important to welcome women players back.

There are exceptions, of course. Places like Las Vegas' Reflection Bay are so conscious of treating women as equals that the starter rebukes you if you call the forward tees "ladies" tees. In the weeks ahead at TravelGolf, we'll be telling you which courses are the best for women in terms of playability and attitude. We also won't hesitate to declare which are the worst.

As always, your comments are welcome on any topic, including enlightened and cavemen courses. Here's wishing you a parka-free week.

The Raven at South
Mountain: Enjoyable for all

Rather than vast desert surrounding each fairway at The Raven at South Mountain in Phoenix, more than 7,000 pine trees line them instead. These tall pines make the Raven seem different than most other courses in the Valley of the Sun, and they also make the game less penal for the player. Opened in 1995 and designed by Gary Panks, The Raven is located just four miles from Phoenix International Airport.

Full story | Arizona golf courses

The Chilly Open:
A Minnesota winter tradition

Minnesotans are rabid golfers, and far be it from them to let a little thing like winter get between them and their beloved game. For 20 years, armed with golf clubs, hockey sticks, sleds, snowmobiles and tennis balls, golfers and non-golfers alike have been traipsing out onto the two-foot thick ice of Lake Minnetonka and playing ice golf.

Full story | Plenty of options in Las Vegas

Tired of the same old golf tours?
Try South Africa for a real golf safari

After a recent trip to South Africa, national golf editor Tim McDonald is sold. "The place is fantastic," he writes. "It has great golf courses and one important attraction you won't find here in the U.S.: elephants strolling through the courses or warthogs grazing in the fairways. You put the two together, and you have a trip worth remembering."

Full story | More from South Africa