Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Courses to Hit on Southeast Golf Trips

Planning a golf trip this summer? The Myrtle Beach area has become one of the country’s most popular destinations for golf trips. With well over a hundred golf courses in easy driving distance of nearly any hotel or resort on the Myrtle Beach coast, choosing the courses to play presents the avid golfer with an embarrassment of riches. How do you choose the best links when there are so many available?  How about letting some of the world’s best golf experts help you with your choice?

The Dunes Golf and Beach Club in Myrtle Beach take top marks in Golf Digest’s Myrtle Super 60 list of top Myrtle Beach golf clubs. Designed by Robert Trent Jones and opened in 1948, the course has been a world class course almost since its inception. While the green has been modified a number of times—most recently in 2003—it remains true to its original spirit and challenge.

Golf Digest ranks the Heritage Club among its 50 Best Public Courses in America and ranks it at No. 13 in South Carolina. The plantation style golf course was built on the site of the True Blue and Midway rice plantations. It features spacious fairways, undulating greens and some of the most gorgeous landscaping in the country. The Myrtle Beach Golf Association ranks it among the Players’ Top 20 and notes that the course had fallen on hard times, but is definitely on the way back up.

The Witch Golf Club, part of the trinity that includes The Wizard and Man o’ War golf clubs, is one of the most unique courses in South Carolina. Created by golf architect Dan Maples, the course opened in 1989. It also ranks among the Players’ Top 20 course at the Myrtle Beach Golf Association, which notes that its dynamic elevation changes and tight fairways make it a challenging course to play. The 1st and 9th holes are actually on islands, completely surrounded by wetlands.

Golflink lists Wicked Stick Golf Club among the top five player-friendly golf courses in the Myrtle Beach area. It features a John Daly signature course designed in conjunction with golf architect Clyde Johnstone. It’s not the most challenging course, but the staff is wonderful, and the layout provides enough challenge for experts to have fun without making it frustrating for those with less expertise. Myrtle Beach Golf calls it a great place to have a golf vacation with a group.

Friday, February 11, 2011

Tee Off With Golf Vacations

Indulging your passion for golf can lead you to some of the most memorable vacations of your life. Golf packages, both domestic and international, often combine your passion for golfing the best greens in the world with other interests and luxuries. A golf package is the ideal vacation for the golf enthusiast who wants to play a variety of courses in a location, or who has to share his vacation with a traveling companion who’d rather be shopping than teeing off. When you choose a golf package as your vacation, your travel agent will take care of all the details, including flights, hotel reservations, car rentals and, in many cases, booking your tee time for you at the best golf courses in the area.

International Golf Packages

Scotland and Ireland boast some of the oldest and best-known golf links in the world, so it’s no surprise that many travel agents and travel sites feature golf trips to regions of the Emerald Isle and the Scottish Highlands. Scotland golf trips may include lodging in a traditional Scottish castle, meals in some of the finest restaurants in the world and golfing on greens that are part of the history of the games, such as the Old Course at St. Andrews or Carnoustie, the oldest greens in the history of golf. Some of the hottest Ireland golf trips for 2011 include packages for the Solheim Cup, the biennial LPGA competition which takes place at Killeen Castle, Dunsany, Co. Meath, Ireland in September of 2011. If you’d rather play than watch, other golf destinations in Ireland feature rounds played at well-known golf clubs, such as the Royal Dublin and the Island Golf Club.

Myrtle Beach Golf Packages

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, once considered a bargain basement golfing destination, has come into its own as one of the best golf regions in the world. Located along the coast of South Carolina, Myrtle Beach boasts more than 100 golf courses—many of them championship courses. The best Myrtle Beach golf vacations include lodging and amenities at one of the many golf resorts located in the area. Indulge your passion for golf along one of the most beautiful seacoasts in the country while taking advantage of the pure luxury afforded by a resort vacation.

Arizona Golf Packages

Arizona features two distinctly different golf destinations – Tucson and the Phoenix/Scottsdale area. The Scottsdale area boasts nearly 200 golf courses, some with traditional layouts and others that feature the stunning Arizona desert landscapes. Tucson has a reputation for being more laid-back and relaxed, and offers courses designed by some of the best-known names in golf.

Whether your tastes run to the home-grown or you prefer a more international flavor, you’ll find golf packages that are designed to challenge and delight you.