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 grand opening outing for Eagle Ridge’s…
Travel Destinations
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 be changing. Honours Golf, which managed the facility for 10 years, will be leaving…
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 industry. The Trail has 11 courses covering 468…
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 on Dec. 30 and our departure…
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 Vikki Keller, Walker and Company, 2002) — was even written about this…
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 is definitely the most innovative and probably the most prolific…
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 — one of the world’s most famous courses, as well…
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. The problem with Michigan is its abundance of riches. Most…
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. For golf in the winter months that means Florida, California or…
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. In my book no state in the country has come as far…