San Diego: Unbeatable for Year-Round Golf and Fun

As the second largest city in California and fifth wealthiest in the U.S., nestled on the Pacific coast just north of Mexico, San Diego well deserves its reputation as one of the most beautiful, livable cities in the world. The agreeable year-round temperate weather allows residents and visitors to live outdoors as much as they like. What could be more perfect for great golf vacations any time of year?

With a golf course directory of over 90 courses from which to choose, including the eastern desert courses and the coastal tree-lined and links courses, golfers can return again and again to San Diego for dramatic venues. 

 

For decades, the popular La Costa Golf Resort and Spa (photo at left) has drawn such celebrities and golf legend, including bob Hope, Frank Sinatra, Lanny Wadkins, and Tiger Woods. It boats not just one but two stunning PGA championship 18-hole golf courses that will test your shot-making ability. You’ll traverse 400 acres of lush landscapes embroidered with beautiful streams and lakes, all with breath-taking panoramas.  Golf Digest and Golf Magazine have listed it among the best places to play. Putting and chipping greens, a state-of the art driving range, and award-winning caddies top make this a must-visit golf resort.

 

Finally, do you want to extend your golfing years? Then visit the La Costa’s Chopra Center for Well-Being, designed by world-renowned holistic physicians Deepak Chopra and David Simon. Guests discover how to heal their bodies, minds, and spirits while indulging in a soothing, luxurious atmosphere. While there are certainly other fabulous golf courses in the area, such as Torrey Pines in spectacular seaside La Jolla, there is no place quite like La Costa!

 

And there is no place quite like San Diego for golf trips with friends and family. The recreational and tourist activities are hard to beat, including the world famous Balboa Park. There you’ll find San Diego Zoo, which although almost a century old, is known for its progressive practices. Among the 4,000 animals you’ll find the rare giant panda. Meanwhile, its sister park, the San Diego Wild Animal Park (aka Safari Park) features a journey to Africa tram that passes free-range enclosures with cheetahs, antelopes, lions, giraffes, elephants, zebras, okapis, and more.

 

Not far from La Costa Resort you’ll find Legoland California, for now the only such theme park outside Europe, based on those familiar primary colored toy bricks, complete with its newly opened water park. Of course for more water adventures, SeaWorld boasts whales and sharks—including a close-up-and-personal thrill ride through the latter.

 

When you can tear yourself away from the golfing fun and amusement opportunities, check out some of the historic sites, including Mission San Diego and the Serra Museum in Presidio Park for a look into early California history. With well planned golf packages, you might even squeeze in a day trip to Mexico!

 

When you want your golf vacations to include sea and sun, golf and fun, San Diego should be at the top of your list!

Golfing in the National Parks

Most people recognize America’s national parks as some of our most valuable national treasures. What might not be so well known is that some of them also offer exciting golf vacations  as well. Four national parks boast golf courses, each one a venue with a unique panorama and additional recreational opportunities. 

 

My own recommendation would be to combine a golf trip to these national park courses either with a family vacation centering on getting to know the park, or to plan a golf vacation in which you explore neighboring golf courses as well. Experienced golf vacations planners serve as a great resource in maximizing the golf experience as well other activities. They can also help you find lodging and transportation tailored to your particular needs.

 

Here are some of the options for combining golf with a national park experience:

 

Yosemite National Park, California

As a long time visitor to Yosemite, I have often admired the lush greens of the

Yosemite Golf Course

that flanks the meadows as you enter from the South. Across from the historic Wawona Hotel, an impressive former stagecoach stop in early park days, this golf course is actually one of the few organic golf courses in the country. No pesticides are used and only gray water is used for keeping this 9-hole course as green as it was back in 1918 when it opened. 

 

Golfers of all levels will find some challenges in this tranquil setting as well as easy access to the wonders of the nearby sequoia grove and the magnificent Yosemite Valley. Lodging at the rambling Wawona Hotel or the more luxurious

Ahwahnee Hotel

will definitely add to the aura.

 

 

Anacostia National Park, District of Columbia

The

Langston Golf Course

, located just five minutes from the Capitol, is an 18-hole course that includes a driving range. Langston bills itself as an inexpensive, accessible option for beginners and experts. After a pleasant round, you will still have plenty of time for the Smithsonian and other historic attractions of the U.S. nation’s capital.

Glacier National Park, Montana

The Glacier Park Lodge Golf, built by the Great Northern Railway in 1927, features the oldest grass greens in the Big Sky state. As it is located entirely within the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, all 9 holes have been named after former tribal chiefs. With panoramic views, undulating greens, wide fairways, this course is only open from late May-September (weather permitting). The historic Glacier Park lodge offers all the modern amenities all year long.

Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado

Your drives will travel farther in the thin air of the three courses located in this national park. Golf while the deer and the elk roam through mountain landscapes over a mile high. At Estes Park, for example, you can choose from a 9-hole executive course or the 18-hole course designed by Dick Phelps (alt. 8420) surrounded by towering jagged peaks. 

Don’t worry if your car is stuffed with camping equipment instead of golf clubs. Just rent a set. A professional golf trip planner can help you with those details as well as any lodging or golf travel needs so that you just focus on enjoying our natural heritage and your golf game!

Enjoy the Golf Trip of a Lifetime: The 2011 Masters

 What’s the next best thing to playing great golf? Watching great golf being played!

 

Where is the best place to do this? The first April in Augusta, Georgia, when we find out whom Phil Mickelson will be putting that treasured green jacket on.

 

Of course I am talking about the Masters Tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club, which is scheduled for April 4 through 10 in 2011. If you want to witness the best golfing, this absolutely THE place.

 

And if you want to have the time of your life doing it, go for first class. The Masters Event Executive Package includes an amazing list of opportunities, experiences, and amenities for the golf fanatic. If you want to give the golfer in your life the golf travel experience of a lifetime, it makes a fantastic gift for birthdays or special occasions.

 

Here’s the short list of what you will enjoy with the Executive Package:

 

·         Eight days and seven nights of luxurious accommodations at the downtown Marriott Augusta Hotel on the Savannah River

·         Each day a unique collectable Masters gift will be delivered to your room

·         Executive round-trip travel to and from the golf course for the competition

·         Daily admission for the entire Masters competition, from Monday through Sunday

·         The official daily program for the Masters event

·         Daytime Southern hospitality at the elegant Magnolia Manner, including breakfast and luncheon, just 750 yards from the Augusta course.

·         Ballroom galas every evening form April 7 through 11at the Marriot

·         PGA Guest Speaker each evening Thursday through Sunday for autographs, pictures, questions.

 

Naturally you can count on being well taken care of by a dedicated travel staff that will be there to assist guests throughout their stay. Executive guests also enjoy access to open bars, cigar lounge, and game center available throughout the whole event. If you absolutely must work too, it comes with full business and secretarial services.

 

This most luscious of golf vacations also comes with a corresponding price tag of nearly $12,000 per person.  If you can swing it, go for it. Even though the event is several months away, it is not too early to get your reservation in for this limited opportunity.

 

Whether you go first class or just plain classy, be sure to check with your friendly golf travel planners who can arrange for you to be there and enjoy the excitement of the best golf has to offer.

How To Plan a Great Golf Vacation

 

When you want to plan your golf vacations, you have basically three options. Let’s look at the plusses and minuses of each approach. Then you decide! Here are the three options:

• ·         Do it yourself golf trip
• ·         A pre-arranged golf package trip
• ·         A customized golf trip by a golf travel specialist

 

Do It Yourself

 

When you value freedom of choice, this option ranks tops. You get to decide where you go, where you stay, how you travel, tee times, and so on. If you want to plan that dream itinerary of playing famous English and Scottish golf courses combined with a tour of historic castles and gardens, you can decide exactly how much time you spend in each locale. This can work very well if you are traveling with a spouse who has “a different agenda” in mind as you can accommodate his or her wishes as well.

 

My friends John and Mary Ellen assure me that for them half the fun of their golf travel is the planning. It becomes a project for them as a couple, agreeing on an overall itinerary and then investigating the various points of interest using books and internet guides. One takes on finding the best transportation deals and the other looks for charming hotels. (I’ll let you guess who does which!) 

 

For some however, all that planning is more of a hassle and time-eater. If you don’t have the time or inclination to do the groundwork, your trip may be a disappointment. In such case, the next two options might have more appeal.

 

Package Golf Vacation

 

If you are willing to trade freedom for convenience, you can select from numerous pre-panned package golf vacations. Not only do you save time by not having to plan, but you are likely to experience significant savings if you choose some of the special offers available. 

 

Tour planners are able to secure discounts for golfing, lodging, and even travel because they have developed a relationship with providers. This also gives you, the customer, a certain peace of mind knowing that your vacation will probably unfurl just as planned as providers also have an incentive to keep that relationship going.

 

Golf vacation packages can cost as little as a few hundred dollars for a two or three-night stay in a modest place at a less popular course or deliciously self-indulgent for a full week at a luxury hotel at a famous resort. Thus your budget and taste are paramount.

 

If you take the time to look at specials, you can get more bang for your buck. During off-seasons, you can find some real bargains. For example, at some times of the year, you can play courses on the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail for less than a meal at McDonalds.

 

 

Your Golf Trip Planner

 

When you want the freedom to choose when you go, where and when you play, and where you stay, but don’t want to spend all that time looking up the options and booking the details, you can ask a golf travel professional to plan your trip. He or she can do any necessary research and offer you clearly defined options, and all you have to do is pick! What could be easier and more fun?

 

This way you get some of the advantages of the above options, though of course you will not be getting the discounts from package vacations. You do get to relax knowing that a professional is making sure you will be well taken care of in and off the course. 

 

No matter which route you choose, may your golf vacations be full of challenge, fun, and memory-making moments!

 

 

California, Here I Come!

“I left my heart in San Francisco,” croons Tony Bennett. And indeed, nothing takes my breath away like view of the Golden Gate Bridge stretching from San Francisco to Sausalito over deep blue waters. 

 

The continuing lyrics, “High on a hill, it calls to me,” remind me not only of Twin Peaks, Russian Hill, and Nob Hill, with their legends, but also of the Presidio with its stunning view of the bay and ocean. . . and with the most gorgeous urban golf course I have had the pleasure to know. When you want to combine golf travel with an urban escape, you can’t beat San Francisco for elegance and drama!

 

Situated in the forested softly sloping hills of the former Spanish and later U.S. fort, the Presidio Golf Course might just be San Francisco’s best kept secret! While it is one of the three oldest continuously operating golf courses west of the Mississippi, it was only opened for public play in 1996 during downsizing operations. The public course is known for its challenging 18-hole, par 72 course as well as for its privileged location. Across the street from the course sits the 1897 Tudor-style clubhouse, definitely one of the most magnificent examples of early clubhouse architecture that I’ve visited in my golf travels. 

 

What makes San Francisco such an allure for golf vacations? Ask anyone who wants to combine golf while traveling with a non-golfing spouse. If you pick a great downtown hotel like the Grand Hyatt, you will be bombarded by shopping and attractions, for example:

·         Enjoy world-class shopping at Neiman Marcus, Tiffany’s, Saks Fifth Avenue, William Sonoma, and more right outside the hotel door. 

·         Be transported a world away by entering the nearby gates of Chinatown.

·         Take a ride with a cable car to Ghiradelli Square, Fisherman’s Wharf, and the Old Ferry Building for restaurants and unusual shops.

·         Relive history with a tour of Alcatraz or the Old Mission Dolores.

·         Stroll (or bike) through Golden Gate Park, and don’t miss the Victorian Conservatory or the De Young Museum (with collections of American, Asian, and African art)

·         Have tea at the historic Cliff House and watch the sunset over the Pacific

 

At night, San Francisco lights up, and romance is heavy as the fog that sometimes rolls in.  On a modest budget, consider an intimate romantic dinner just off Union Square at the Café Claude, a little bit of Paris with a little bit of jazz. If money is no object, and you want a truly memorable experience, head for Masa’s (but make your reservation early.)

 

With great golfing, city attractions, natural wonders, fantastic views, golf vacations to this beautiful peninsula offer memories of a lifetime. You’ll remember them every time you hear Tony Bennett sing his theme song!

The Ultimate in Golfing: Western Canada

One of the great things about golfing is being out in the open air in beautiful natural surroundings. Combining your golf travel with the opportunity to enjoy a fantastic natural panorama is easy when you head to Canada.

Imagine challenging championship courses combined with vistas of snow-capped mountains. Imagine picture-worthy hazards such as wild elk grazing on the putting green. You’ll find all this and more in British Columbia and Alberta golfing!

Golfing at Whistler, Home of 2010 Winter Olympics

The Whistler Golf Club boasts a course designed by none other than Arnold Palmer, as well as three others. One is right on the grounds of the fabulous Fairmont Chateau, a luxury all-season resort nestled at the base of Blackcomb Mountain. In Whistler you can play on championship designed and award-winning courses while enjoying some of the most spectacular scenery.

There is something for everyone at Whistler, which is still basking in the afterglow of the 2010 Olympics. Off the course, you can hike, fish, canoe by day and enjoy fine dining by evening. Shop ‘til you drop and then indulge in a spa treatment and be ready to enjoy the rest of what this special resort has to offer. A golf vacations specialist can help you plan the trip that fits your budget.

Discover Alberta Golfing

For a breathtaking panorama, you can’t beat the Fairmont Banff Springs experience! Stanley Thompson, Canada’s premier golf course architect, designed the original 18 holes nearly a century ago, winding along the Bow River with a view of Sulphur Mountain and Mount Rundle. An additional 9 hopes were added 20 years ago by Cornish and Robinson for some of the most memorable golf you will ever enjoy.

The Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel, built in Scottish Baronial style, also knows how to create memorable family vacations, from Magic Castle holidays (with cookies-on-arrival and glow-in-the-dark bowling) to “Girls Just Wanna Golf” holidays. This legendary resort also caters to the romantics with a food and wine festival and more. And of course you’ll want to save some time to enjoy the Canadian Rockies and at the thermal spas in the surrounding Banff National Park.

Take It to the Max

When you want ultimate golfing, head for these great resorts in Alberta and British Columbia. There is a tremendous wealth of family activities, outdoor adventures, and more to compliment your golfing vacation.

To make the most of your time and money, get a professional golf vacations planner to map out your itinerary, complete with tee times and reservations for all the fun you can have while golfing in Canada!

Nothing but the Best for Your Golf Holiday

You are sitting in your office at work minding your own business and your boss walks in to inform you that you’ve been chosen to plan the company’s annual golf vacation. Wow! Where do you go from here? You love golf and have always loved the annual golf get-aways that your company offers employees but you never dreamed you would be the one planning the golf holiday. All the fun of every employee is resting on your shoulders at this point, but you also have to top last year’s golf resort. Not only do you have to pick the golf course but you have to have the itinerary for the week available to each employee traveling with the company. You know your boss is counting on you to make this company event one to remember.

The good news is that online you can have the assistance of people who have actually visited the golf resorts before posting them on their websites as well as an experienced individual arranging itinerary’s for everyone on the trip. You can shop golf package deals and book your destination rather within the United States or overseas. Try venturing into Florida for some golf in the sun or Alabama where you can enjoy the beaches and golf courses as well as beautiful resorts in the middle of a challenging golf course. Rather you want the eastern coast line for golfing or the Gulf Coast and the variety of golf courses found you can be sure that your only options will be ones that are top of the line. No more second guessing only to discover you booked hotel rooms in a rundown resort and the golf course is our ranked by the local goofy golf.

So, when your boss walks into your office and informs you that you are in charge of booking the golf vacation for the office is excited. You do not have to spend the entire plan ride biting your nails praying that you have booked a golf vacation that is better than your local golf course and an itinerary that will have everyone hoping from one wonderful event to another. Your company golf vacation is guaranteed to be one talked about for the rest of the year. Rather you are booking golf holidays for your family, friends or co workers make sure you know exactly where you are going and what you’re plans are before heading out. Online you will experience a helpful booking process and golf packages for all individuals.