This Week at TravelGolf.com: May 21, 2009

New Orleans: Crescent City an Easy choice for a golf vacation destination

With yesterday's announcement that the NFL has awarded New Orleans the 2013 Super Bowl, it's probably safe to say the Big Easy is well on its way back from Hurricane Katrina.

It will be the 10th time the city will host the big game. Conventions are coming back, the French Quarter never left, and the New Orleans golf scene is re-emerging, too.

And it's an underrated golf scene at that.

Even before Katrina four years ago, New Orleans didn't really enjoy a great golf reputation, but with a few area golf courses on the Audubon Golf Trail, that might be changing.

The TPC Louisiana in Avondale was one of the courses that suffered extensive damage from Katrina, but the Pete Dye-designed Tour venue is in great shape and open to the public.

Even City Park, which lost 54 holes, has 18 holes open now with proposals to rebuild two courses better than ever.

There's also Audubon Park Golf Course, an outstanding par 62 in the heart of Uptown. Another Dye design, Belle Terre Golf and Country Club in La Place, which annually hosts the New Orleans Metro Championship, is also open to the public.

Or you could play Chateau Golf and Country Club in Kenner, Oak Harbor Golf Club in Slidell or Stonebridge Golf Club of New Orleans in nearby Gretna, La. Stonebridge is a links-style course with three nines named for New Orleans jazz greats Louis Armstrong, Pete Fountain and Al Hirt.

It's the jazz, food and local culture that make New Orleans an attractive golf destination. In fact, the theme of the Audubon Golf Trail, which includes 12 courses around the state, is "Great golf among other things."

The new theme for New Orleans is "Forever New Orleans." Katrina has left its scars, but New Orleans isn't going away.

As always, TravelGolf.com welcomes your comments.

Nicklaus answers the King's challenge at Bay Creek on Virginia's Eastern Shore

Jack Nicklaus has designed more than 200 golf courses around the world and his effort at Bay Creek Resort & Club in Cape Charles, Va. is definitely among his best. It is really part design and part Mother Nature, Mike Bailey writes. The natural backdrop of Chesapeake Bay and the landscape provided Nicklaus with a great canvas.

Also: Get help planning a Virginia golf trip

ScotlandGolf.com: The newly restored MacDonald Marine Hotel puts golfers in the heart of the action in North Berwick

At the MacDonald Marine Hotel, the views are not only scenic but highly entertaining. Sea-view guest rooms provide views of not only the Bass Rock, two miles off-shore in the Firth of Forth, but of the short, par-4 16th hole at North Berwick Golf Club, with one of the most unusual and severe greens you'll ever come across.

Podcast: Faster golf in Scotland

At Four Mile Ranch in Canon City, Colo., Jim Engh aims to get golfers pirouetting

One of Jim Engh's main goals in designing Four Mile Ranch Golf Club was to replicate the pirouette-prompting views found on the top courses in Ireland. He's quite happy with his efforts. "Everywhere you turn at Four Mile Ranch you see something that interests you," Engh said.

Also: Colorado golf packages

GolfInstruction.com: Setting up properly can save strokes around the greens

The difference between chipping and pitching is simply wrist action - chipping requires no wrist action, while pitching requires some wrist action due to the length or trajectory of the shot. The set-up, however, remains the same. Here are some seven points to work towards.

Video tip: Getting the right club-face angle