• COUNTRY CREEK: Kenny Perry's home course is a breath of fresh air FRANKLIN, Ky. – Squeezing in a fast nine holes is a good way to break up a long driving trip. It doesn’t cut severely into the mileage covered and certainly is refreshing. On our last winter trip we indulged in that practice twice – and with goals in m...
• TRENT JONES TRAIL: Cambrian Ridge was a great place to start GREENVILLE, Ala. – Some things are just meant to be. That seemed to be the case when a chance to play on Alabama’s Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail finally materialized at the end of a 10-week road trip. This travel-writing journey was to finish up with ...
• PGA VILLAGE: Just the place for golf diehards PORT ST. LUCIE, FL. – It can be confusing. The PGA of America has its headquarters in Palm Beach Gardens, FL., where PGA National and its five courses are located. The PGA doesn’t own that complex, but it does own PGA Village, an hour or so north of PG...
• PGA NATIONAL: New Fazio course goes down in my memory book PALM BEACH GARDENS, FL. – The Fazio is the newest course at PGA National Resort & Spa. Playing it was to be the highlight of a four-day stay there, and it was, but for more personal reasons. This site is designed primarily to be informative about the g...
• NAPLES: Golf in this winter vacation mecca is...er, different NAPLES, FL. – Yes, Naples is one of the most beautiful cities in the United States. And, yes, it has one of the best year-around climates. Temperatures were ideal for the entire month we stayed there. This winter hotspot in southwest Florida has plent...
• STREAMSONG: Finding this new resort added to the excitement STREAMSONG, FL. – The anticipation surrounding the opening of Streamsong Resort was too great. I had to see it pronto. Eventually I did. Eventually. As it turned out the adventure involved in finding the place was very much part of the excitement s...
• MYRTLE BEACH: You can't get more golf options than this MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – It’s almost mind-boggling when you think about it. A three-month visitor to this long-time golf hotbed could play a different course every day and would still not have played all the layouts offered. Myrtle Beach, which aptly bill...
• PINEHURST: Famed resort's banner year will come in 2014 PINEHURST, N.C. – It may seem silly for a golf addict from Chicago to visit the famous Pinehurst Resort – if only for a few days around Christmas – and not hit a shot. That’s what I did at the start of a long winter trip that will include plenty of golf, ...
• MISSOURI OZARKS: Old Kinderhook is the place to go CAMDENTON, Mo. – It’s easy to have warm feelings about Missouri’s Lake of the Ozarks region. Mine go back to college days, and that was way too long ago. Not everything in the world is better now than it was back in those more carefree years, but ...
• DOWN ROUTE 66: Good golf mixes well with all the nostalgia For years it had been on my bucket list of things to do. I wanted to make a driving trip down Route 66. Upon retirement from my full-time job as a sportswriter I made that trip happen. In June, 2010, the two of us took off on a drive of nearly 6,000...
• Michigan's Mecca had plenty to celebrate at 25th anniversary GAYLORD, MI. – It has never ceased to amaze me how much better golf is in Michigan than it is in any other state. The season isn’t very long there, but the number of quality public courses is extraordinary. I should know. For over 25 years – starting a...
• My GolfVisions record: 16 courses played in four states CHESTERTON, Ind. – Tim Miles Sr. tells me I’ve made golf history. He says I’m the first member of GolfVisions’ Player Pass program to play all of the 16 courses offered in this most innovative program, and I’ll tell you it wasn’t easy. Miles, the Go...
• Quad Cities should be considered as a golf destination spot MOLINE, IL. – For years now I’ve told my golf-media buddies from the Quad Cities that they reside in ``the golf capitol of Illinois.’’ They think I’m kidding but, after four decades of covering the PGA Tour stop in that community, I’m not so sure. In f...
• Island Hills, Yarrow are good bets for golf trips to Michigan AUGUSTA, MI. – Michigan-based golf course architect Ray Hearn has made an impact in Chicago with his work at Flossmoor Country Club, one of the area’s top private facilities, as well as at Mistwood in Romeoville, one of the best public courses. If ...
• Indiana's Swan Lake lands U.S. finals, ING gathering GREENVILLE, S.C. – Swan Lake, the Indiana resort that has operated relatively low-key since its opening in 1969, is about to elevate its profile. Located in Plymouth, near the Notre Dame campus, Swan Lake hosted the National Junior College Champions...
• French Lick's fourth course, Sultan's Run, is a keeper JASPER, Ind. – If ever there was a comeback story in the golf business, it's the one that has unfolded at French Lick Resort -- and it continues to get better. This little town in the resort's namesake in southern Indiana, near Louisville, was the hom...
• Eagle Ridge comes back strong from storm damage GALENA, IL. – I’ve always had a warm spot in my heart for the Eagle Ridge Resort. Not only has it been a favorite get-away retreat for about 40 years, it’s also a place where I’ve been on hand for some special events. In 1984 I played in the gran...
• FarmLinks finds it's time for a change SYLACAUGA, AL. -- The FarmLinks course in this little town about 45 miles from Birmingham already has a big reputation. Golf Digest, Golfweek and the National Golf Foundation have recognized it for one good thing or another. Soon, though, things will...
• Alabama's an underrated state for golfers GULF SHORES, AL. -- There is, I believe, a misconception about golf in Alabama. Sure, the creation of the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail 20 years ago was a big boost for golf in the state. In fact, it was a marketing breakthrough for the entire golf i...
• Searching for golf bargains on Florida's Gulf coast SARASOTA, FL. -- The main goal was to get to know a new area on our first two-month winter odyssey and -- of course -- that meant getting to know the golf options on Florida’s Gulf coast. We did a good job of both. Between our arrival in Sarasota...
• MY OAKHURST VISIT: America's first course provides a mystery WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. -- Any devoted golf aficionado should want to visit Oakhurst Links, long billed as the first golf club in the United States. A book -- ``Oakhurst: The Birth and Rebirth of America’s First Golf Course’’ (by Paula DiPerna and ...
• Pete Dye Golf Trail gives a boost to Indiana golf CARMEL, Ind. -- No disrespect to Tom Fazio, Rees Jones, Robert Trent Jones, Jack Nicklaus or any of the other high-quality golf course architects putting their talents on display these days, but -- for my money -- one stands ahead of the others. Pete Dye ...
• Introducing wire-grass at Pinehurst No. 2 PINEHURST, N.C. -- My frequent golf travels have led me to introduce you to a term you’re certain to hear more about in the next few months and years. It’s called wire-grass, the key ingredient in the recent renovation of North Carolina’s Pinehurst No. 2 ...
• A swing through Michigan's Upper Peninsula IRON MOUNTAIN, Mich. -- Michigan, as any avid golfer knows, is loaded with great courses. While the golf season isn’t as long as it is in some other warmer weather places, there’s an abundance of daylight in Michigan when its season is in full swing. T...
• Florida's Innisbrook has a Chicago flavor TARPON SPRINGS, Fla. -- There’s still a good two months left in the Chicago golf season but, unfortunately, it won’t be too long until the weather changes. Snow and cold weather always arrive eventually, and then it’ll be time to head to warmer climates. ...
• Grand Geneva is a Midwest gem Not that there’s anything wrong with golf courses in the Chicago area, but golf getaways can be fun, too. And, you don’t have to go very far to find great getaway destinations. Our neighboring states of Wisconsin and Indiana have plenty of possibilities. ...
• Harbor Shores – A Feel Good Story BENTON HARBOR, Mich. — Anything Jack Nicklaus is sure to be good in golf, and The Golf Club at Harbor Shores is no exception. It’ll gain immense exposure in this summer of 2012 as the site of the Senior PGA Championship. It’ll also host that event in 2014...
• Branson Has A Lot More Than Golf BRANSON, Mo. — The golf is quite good in this lively little town in the southwest corner of Missouri. In just the last few years Branson, with about 6,000 full-time residents, has emerged as a golf destination. There are 13 courses in the general area, an...
• Golf’s Hall Of Fame Deserves A Profile Boost ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — The World Golf Hall of Fame doesn’t get the media attention that baseball’s Hall in Cooperstown, N.Y., or football’s counterpart in Canton, Ohio, receive — and that’s a shame. It’s well worth a visit and some who were there in its fi...