This Week at TravelGolf.com: Aug. 22, 2007

Sorry casino golf pretenders, there's still only one Las Vegas for golf vacations

Any day now Fargo, North Dakota will surely send out a press release announcing it's getting into casino golf, "Las Vegas" style. Why not?

Every other destination - and that's using the word liberally - with a slot machine and a pitch-and-putt is eager to declare itself the next Las Vegas. Which is a lot like Lindsay Lohan arguing she's the next Katharine Hepburn.

Sorry, there's just no comparison.

Don't get me wrong. I enjoy what the new casino explosion has brought to Palm Springs (namely a few places that are now open past 10 p.m. in the Coachella Valley). And it's easy to have fun in Niagara Falls' one-billion-dollar Fallsview Casino (though you might wonder why a billion bucks Canadian couldn't buy a bigger gaming floor).

It's just that anyone who trumpets Niagara Falls as a "mini Las Vegas" - as some easily gullible golf writers have - needs a near Michael Vick-sized reality check.

Vegas is Vegas. Everything else is just pretend.

Places like Niagara Falls have one or two casinos that have maybe one out of five dateable cocktail waitresses. Maybe. Vegas is a mammoth Strip playground where the over-the-the-top casinos come one right after the other and almost every woman in a barely-there skirt (at least in the better casinos) could qualify as some guy's dream girl.

No one's ever going to accuse me of working for the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce (heck, I think Nicklaus' often fawned over Reflection Bay course is overrated), but there is no better place in America to gamble and golf. That's just fact.

Going to the Vegas want-to-bes only reinforces this. Take Atlantic City. Many assume this is the second-best gambling spot in the country. It's still about as close to being Las Vegas as Woody Austin is to being Tiger Woods.

Atlantic City has gotten better with the Borgota casino bringing in a little hippness factor and other properties trying to follow suit. But Atlantic City can still be largely a depressing place. Especially if you're there on a Tuesday afternoon.

Vegas is Vegas pretty much all the time. Once you step off the plane and hear the whirl of those cheesy airport slot machines, the possibility of a great time seizes your mind. Resistance is futile.

So please, a note to other places: Stop the Vegas comparisons.

As always, TravelGolf.com welcomes your comments.

Get well in the Arizona desert: Tucson's the place for a healthy vacation of golf and wellness

Tucson, Ariz. is a city that's all about wellness - luxury wellness. The Tucson area is full of spas, but they often don't go by that name - too traditional and pampering centered. No, Tucson has health resorts, and it's not just about getting a massage on high-thread-count sheets with soft lighting and new-age music. Resorts such as Miraval are geared to a larger experience, one in which diet, exercise and yes, golf, matter as much as actual spa treatments.

Also: Golfing and trekking in Tucson

At Jacksonville's landmark Hyde Park Golf Club, Ross' touch lingers

Hyde Park Golf Club in Jacksonville isn't the best-known design in the Donald Ross canon, but it has a lot of what makes his legion of devotees revisit his golf courses again and again. The site of Ben Hogan's infamous 11, Hyde Park maintains a community feel and a focus on the subtler aspects of the game. Oh, and did we mention the green fees top out at just $38?

Also: More Jacksonville-area course reviews

Golf gives boost to real estate market in Ontario's Niagara-on-the-Lake

Ontario's Niagara-on-the-Lake used to be one of those little Canadian towns nobody had ever heard of. It was close to Niagara Falls, but not close enough that the honeymooners and families with kids could come. But as the greater Niagara Falls region takes off as a golf destination, Niagara-on-the-Lake is becoming a sought after second home spot. The quaint town is an example of how golf can invigorate a real estate market.

Blog: Okanagan Valley market so strong even Sergio's selling