This Week at TravelGolf.com: April 10, 2008

Europe shows its travel superiority with lift of cell phone ban on airplanes

You can stow those jokes about Europeans being allergic to showers. U.S. Ryder Cup Captain Paul Azinger also may want to stop calling his counterpart, Nick Faldo, names in the British tabloids.

For it turns out, Europeans are much more sophisticated than us American louts. I'm not basing this on anything as boring as museums or monumental works of art. Or even Europe's success in the Ryder Cup Matches, an overblown event that tries to turn golf - an individual sport - into a team game.

No, this comes down to the European Union's announcement this week that it's allowing cell phones to be used during commercial flights.

Finally, after years and years and years of air travel getting worse and worse in customer service and convenience, there's a break for the regular guy. Need to call the office at 30,000 feet? Yearn to hear how your kid's Little League game went? Dial away with no fear of drawing one of those withering, you-deserve-to-be-dipped-in-a-pot-of-scalding-water stares from today's increasingly power-mad flight attendants.

I once witnessed one of those airplane waiters threaten a business guy with arrest when he hung up his cell phone a little too slowly at plane door's close. Travelers on European carriers can now be spared this type of indignity. Oh, there's already some predictable whining about how this is going to make air travel unbearable because people will be screaming into their phones for hours as you try to sleep or watch "Dr. Dolittle 2."

As usual in today's mother hen world, there are those desperate to regulate common courtesy. Which is nonsense. All hail to the phone people of the world! You'd be surprised how nice travelers can be to each when they're actually treated with respect.

And if you cannot stand the thought of a reasonable conversation being held next to you, invest in a pair of earphones or fly Lufthansa, a carrier that's said it will not allow phones, despite the EU decision.

Getting to use a cell phone on a plane is a small thing but small things help to change attitudes. Carriers like Virgin Atlantic already routinely kick the U.S. carriers' butts in service. This is just another reason to think foreign when you're planning that dream Scotland golf trip or vacation in Spain.

Don't worry. When you're flying in the U.S., you'll still be treated like an unruly child.

As always, TravelGolf.com welcomes your comments.

During Masters week, do Augusta in style!

So you're heading to Augusta for the Masters. You don't want to be just a hanger-on. You want to do Masters week in style, Tim McDonald writes. Well, Augusta's a good place for style. High rolling golf lovers in Augusta for the Masters can dine in style at restaurants like Bistro 491, sip martinis at the French Market Grille and choose from a range of first-rate golfing options, including Goshen Plantation Country Club.

Also: Plan your 2009 Masters trip now

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Feel history at Las Vegas National

Plenty of modern golf courses in southern Nevada will dazzle with spectacular views, impeccable conditions and difficult holes, but few will give you a real sense of Las Vegas history. One exception is Las Vegas National, one of the few remnants of how life used to be in Sin City.

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