This Week at TravelGolf.com: May 9, 2007

New dates may just pay off for the PGA Tour's Players Championship

When you watch The Players Championship on TV this year, or even if you're one of the thousands who will be parading around the former swamp in person, you'll be able to tell right off the bat you're seeing what is essentially a brand new, 34-year old tournament.

The most obvious is the new date. If March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb, or vice-versa, May is much mellower. Still, it can also be very hot in North Florida in May, which will affect both the players and the host Stadium course at TPC Sawgrass itself.

Not to mention the fires in south Georgia that have been spewing smoke over almost all of north Florida, including the sanctified grounds of Ponte Vedra, home of the PGA Tour. Bring your respirator.

The move from March to May means The Players is no longer a prelim for The Masters. PGA Tour bigwigs won't cringe any more when the top players talk about Augusta while they're in the middle of a post-round interview in the TPC Sawgrass press tent. Nor will it be competing with the NCAA basketball tournament for the attention of couch potatoes everywhere.

The new clubhouse is bigger than the White House. Much bigger. Personally, I didn't see anything wrong with the old clubhouse, but the PGA Tour has built a 77,000 square-foot new one that looks a little like the Taj Mahal, pointing out that the 63,000 square feet of Spanish tile laid on the roof is equivalent of 300 African elephants. I guess that's as opposed to Indian elephants.

You won't notice it, but the players will be a little closer to the sky; officials dug out all the old gunk underneath the fairways and replaced with 27,000 tons of sand and Bermuda grass. Each green now has a sub-air system that can suck out moisture like a giant Wet-Vac, and there is nearly 30 miles of new drainage and a mile of bulkheading. This was a swamp, remember.

And, it's no coincidence that the switch was made to May, a month that is conspicuously devoid of a major.

Already, phrases like "soon to be a major," and "a tournament that some consider the fifth major" are creeping into the pre-Players lexicon.

Major or not, The Players Championship will have a completely different look and feel this year. But, one thing that won't change is that all of us amateurs will continue to enjoy seeing the pros knock it in the water on the 17th island green.

As always, TravelGolf.com welcomes your comments.

Author John Feinstein on his latest book,
Tales from Q School, odd putters
on tour, a bogus flap at Torrey Pines

Writer John Feinstein joins 'TravelGolf.com This Week' host Dave Berner to discuss Feinstein's new book on the joys and agonies of Q school. "Virtually every player who's come on the tour ... has gone through Q-School," Feinstein says. "And they all have stories about it: they all have funny stories; they all have sad stories." Also: Putters from small companies are making big noise on tour. And Chris Baldwin finds much adieu about nothing at Torrey Pines.

Also: Mother's Day golf gift ideas for Mom!

Can't decide between a Scotland or
Ireland golf tour? Combine the two

When it comes to booking golf tours to either Scotland or Ireland, the choice isn't easy. Scotland boasts St. Andrews and the British Open, while Ireland offers arguably better golf courses, including the revered Royal County Down. How to choose? You don't have to. With a week or more to spare, traveling golfers can do both. Brandon Tucker has come up with a convenient itinerary that will show you the finest golf courses Scotland and Ireland have to offer.

Special travel section: GolfEurope.com goes Ireland

Scottsdale-area Saguaro lives up
to We-Ko-Pa Golf Club pedigree

The Saguaro course at We-Ko-Pa Golf Club in Fort McDowell, is one of the Scottsdale resort corridor's most anticipated new public courses in years - and it doesn't disappoint. Following up their work on the near-mythic Bandon Trails, the design team of Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw has come up with another stunner. Saguaro is radically different from the club's acclaimed original golf course but every bit its equal, making for a new Phoenix-Scottsdale must play.

GolfCourseRealty.com: Europeans discovering Tucson