This Week at TravelGolf.com: March 13, 2008

Spring training trips are best spent golfing (and ignoring boring baseball)

Baseball's spring training gets overly romanticized more than anything besides senior proms and first cars. Just like you probably went to the prom with someone you didn't want to and your starter car stunk (probably literally), the truth is that spring training turns out to be more sleep-inducing than watching a Kathie Lee Gifford Christmas concert.

Don't get me wrong. I love the idea of spring training as an excuse to bolt whatever cold, forsaken spot you're stuck in to soak up sunshine, beer and baseball.

It's just after the first day, you may want to abandon the baseball part of it. Luckily, you'll be in a location with activities to fill the void, including hopefully great golf.

This isn't a case of the clueless golf writer telling you that golf's better than baseball. I'm a huge baseball fan. In fact, I have the kind of man-crush on Red Sox phenom Jacoby Ellsbury that Sports Illustrated's Peter King has on Brett Favre. (Okay, no one can duplicate King's Favre fawning, but it's in the same general realm).

There's one problem with spring training though. It's not real baseball, it's trumped up practice games that anyone with a guaranteed contract could care less about. It's the NBA pre-season with a better press agent. Oh, occasionally you'll get a worthwhile moment like new Yankees manager Joe Girardi going bonkers over a Tampa Bay Devil Ray bowling over his catcher.

But even that big spring training "controversy" involved a couple of fifth stringers who will likely never see the majors.

Mostly, what you find is what I endured earlier this month, a matchup between the Kansas City Royals and Texas Rangers in Surprise, Ariz. that made boredom seem like such an incomplete term. One of those Oscar acceptance speeches for costume design in a foreign language animated short would have been rendered riveting by comparison.

Take this for what it is: an invaluable warning. Spring training's more nostalgia than actual enjoyment.

If you go watch the Chicago White Sox in Tucson, Ariz. when you could have been playing golf at Starr Pass Country Club, you'll kick yourself.

By all means, discover where Port St. Lucie, Fla. is on the map because of the Mets. Then, spend your time battling the three excellent golf courses at PGA Golf Club (especially the devious Wanamaker course).

Tell those back home some hokey story about rediscovering the joy of baseball and quietly smile to yourself at the real fun you had far, far from the park.

As always, TravelGolf.com welcomes your comments.

Tee off before spring ends: Best late-spring golf vacations from Palm Springs to Hilton Head Island

It's spring time already and the flowers are blooming, and hope is springing eternal. Who cares - where do I golf!? If you're a procrastinator and haven't booked a spring golf trip yet, we're here to help. Here are some of our favorite spring golf road trips.

Also: Hot U.S. golf vacation deals

Newport Beach, California is the spot for on and off-course indulgence

With top-end golf courses like Oak Creek and Pelican Hill, excellent shopping and a beautiful beach, Newport Beach is the place for people who like to live large, on and off the course. It's not the place you go to for cheap golf, it's where see what it's like to live large. And whether you fit right in or are just pretending for a weekend, it makes for a different kind of fun golf escape.

Course review: Pelican Hill South in Newport Beach

Greens, T-Mates and Las Vegas Valley views make Rio Secco Golf Club shine

At Rio Secco Golf Club, you have to not only find the greens, but the right portion of the greens, Mike Bailey writes. Get above the hole, and a two-putt in many cases is almost impossible. Put it in a really bad place, and a four-putt is a possibility, even for skilled players. "It's a tough challenge, but fair," Head Golf Professional Charles Packard said. "The biggest challenge comes on the greens."

Also: After Pebble win, Billy Walters shrugs off 'sandbagger' tag