This Week at TravelGolf.com: Nov. 6, 2008

With the election finally over, it's time to plan your Thanksgiving weekend golf trip

I'd like to take a minute to discuss Tuesday's election of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States and the implications his proposals for the treasury, healthcare and foreign relations will have on ... psyche!

More political talk - hell, any political talk - is the last thing any of us have the stomach for. The agonizing marathon of politics is over, leaving us to focus on something more civil and refined, like John Daly. Again, psyche. Of course I mean golf as the rest of us play it.

Yes, the election is over and Thanksgiving's on the horizon. This is the perfect time to start working the phone or the web to line up a quickie Thanksgiving golf vacation in the sun.

Why not hit the road the day after Thanksgiving, golf clubs in tow? You can rip right past the local mall where all the lemmings are queuing up to save a couple bucks on junk they don't need. Not you. You'll be heading to the airport or straight on by car to a well-deserved getaway. Just you, maybe your spouse and kids, or drinkin' buddies or maybe your dad and brothers.

There are warm-weather golf spots from coast to coast that offer a perfect place to digest that bird while playing 18 or more a day for the rest of the long weekend. If you live out west, golf resorts from Palm Springs to San Diego to Scottsdale and Las Vegas are easy to get to and - being this early in the "winter golf" season - are boasting great deals for golfers.

Down south, consider the great golf courses, resorts and even casinos around Biloxi, Miss., or the sandy beaches in Gulfport, Ala.

There may be a bit too much chill in the air to do much swimming in Myrtle Beach Thanksgiving weekend, but the 100 or so golf courses are still calling. And Florida in November is a golfers' paradise.

The key, though, will be getting on the stick and making plans now. Don't wait till the pie's gone, the turkey's been picked clean and Uncle Hank is snoring on the couch.

As always, TravelGolf.com welcomes your comments.

The Copperhead at Innisbrook Resort near Tampa: Roll with the PGA Tour pros

Playing the Copperhead, the best of four superb courses at Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club in Palm Harbor, Fla., is a treat under any circumstances. Playing it the way the PGA Tour pros do (minus the talent) enhances the experience, Tim McDonald writes.

Also: The best of Tampa golf and travel

TravelGolf.com On Campus: Geaux Geaux Golf! Hitting the links in Baton Rouge, La.

This Saturday LSU hosts top-ranked Alabama in Death Valley (i.e. Tiger Stadium). Bring your clubs and check out the golf courses in Baton Rouge and the surrounding area, including LSU's course, Bluffs Country Club, Santa Maria G.C., Webb Park, City Park and Howell Park Golf Course - and even Carter Plantation and TPC Louisiana over toward New Orleans.

Also: Readers on City Park G.C. in Baton Rouge

Ownership, mini-tour championship helping transform Windance C.C. in Gulfport, Miss.

In a Mississippi Gulf Coast region with 22 golf courses, 11 resorts and 60 miles of coastline, new-look Windance Country Club doesn't figure to blend in so much anymore. The course is "in the best shape it's ever been in," said Kevin Drum of the Mississippi Gulf Coast Gulf Association.

Also: Get lucky with a Mississippi golf package