This Week at TravelGolf.com: Feb. 12, 2009

Spring Training: Time to line the fields and hit the golf links in Florida, Arizona

This is the time of year I think of Grapefruit and Cactus - not juice (or juicing up), but leagues. Yes, hope springs eternal, as in "This is the year my team wins the World Series."

If you're a golfer and a baseball fan, we've got the perfect "golf" vacation idea for you: Spring Training in Florida or Arizona with a little golf on the side. Or golf with a little Spring Training, as the case may be.

As early as this weekend, a few pitchers and catchers will report to their respective team camps and by Feb. 22, Spring Training will be in full bloom. The first exhibition games start a week later.

As a long suffering Houston Astros fan who has seen my team reach the pinnacle just once (a 4-0 sweep by the White Sox, thank you, in 2005), I'd love to go to Kissimmee, Fla., to find optimism for '09 and sneak out for a few rounds of golf in Orlando.

Of course the Orlando area is the tip of the iceberg, if there were such a thing in Florida. You could see the Twins in Ft. Myers, Orioles in Ft. Lauderdale and the Mets in Port St. Lucie, for example. The Mets train and play their home games right next to PGA Golf Club, which features three championship courses and one of the best practice facilities in the world.

There are now 16 teams in Florida's Grapefruit League as two teams moved to Arizona's Cactus League. The Dodgers are now in Glendale, Ariz., while the Indians moved to Goodyear making for 11 teams that train in the Phoenix/Scottsdale area. Three call the Tucson area home. Both spots, of course, are surrounded by great Arizona golf resorts and courses.

If you're planning to go, book your Arizona or Florida golf vacation now and buy your baseball tickets ahead of time. Because no matter how many players admit to being juiced, it seems Spring Training remains a hot ticket.

As always, TravelGolf.com welcomes your comments.

Previewing the Golf Channel's 'Uneven Fairways' documentary, Trilogy at Vistancia, and Titleist's new Pro V1

Podcast host Dave Berner talks to Pete McDaniel, co-writer of "Uneven Fairways," the Golf Channel's new documentary. "It's the story of the black golf tours, the negro league of golf," McDaniel says. Also, Trilogy at Vistancia in Peoria offers high-end Arizona golf at bargain, "West Valley type" prices. And, Equipment Editor Kiel Christianson on the new Pro V1 ball.

Also: How to the top Arizona hotels and resorts stack up?

The landscape on Fazio's Long Point course fits Amelia Island golf to a tee

At the Long Point course at Amelia Island Plantation in northeast Florida, Tom Fazio weaves together three great themes, Tom Spousta writes. The golf course is framed against the tidal salt marshes that dominate the resort, its holes wind through forests of tall oak and pine trees, and the Atlantic Ocean looms with its natural dunes and beach vegetation.

Hot Deals: Top-rated Florida golf vacation packages

Remember, not all of Scotland's gems date back the birth of golf

Read enough glossy literature on golf in Scotland and you might be led to believe all the top courses here were founded during the Stone Age. But many new designs are being built. So on your next trip, consider including a few newbies located near the historic clubs for a taste of old and new Scotland.

Also: Play St. Andrews, Carnoustie, Kingsbarns and more!