In case you think this program is too good to be true!
I only played 4 of the courses and still think this is the best deal in golf. I’m buying one for my 3 buddies I play with each Tuesday. I know I’ll be using it a lot more next year!
Dick R. Danbury, CTGreat magazine! The free golf deal is outra geous! I hope you do it again next year.
Brian K. Norton, MAPurchase a subscription to Golfing Magazine for $49.95 and you become part of the Golfing Magazine Ambassador Program enti tling you to complimentary rounds of golf at over 65 courses by just paying a cart fee. You also receive deep discounts at 75 other courses and resorts in the area. Plus receive discount coupons at local retailers including Golfers’ Warehouse. Plus receive Golfing Magazine 4 times annually.
Step 2) We’ll mail you the Golf Magazine Ambassador program certificate in Late March 2023. This is your ticket to complimentary or discounted rounds of golf at all the participat ing courses.
With over 120 courses to choose from, feel free to play a lot of golf. Call the course as you would normally to book a tee time within 72 hours of your requested tee time. Let them know you have a Golfing Magazine certificate. At check-in, present your certificate and then head out to play golf!
I played more courses this summer than ever. My Golfing Magazine subscription was the best investment I made. I’m definitely renewing.
George L. Middletown, CTWhen my daughter gave me a subscription to your magazine and I received the certificate I thought it meant I got a free round at any one of the listed courses. Then I found out I got a free round at EACH of the courses. I don’t know how you do it but I hope you keep it up. Thanks!
Steve C. Worcester, MAI gave up my country club membership and ended up playing more golf last summer than ever. Playing a different course every week has me hooked all over again.
Roger W. Waterbury, CTMy subscription saved me over $600 in greens fees this year.
Brett P. Quincy, MAGolfing Magazine’s Subscription program is “THE BEST DEAL IN GOLF.”
Blackledge Country Club
Blue Fox Run Golf Course
Connecticut National Golf Club
Crestbook Park Golf Course
Elmridge Country Club
Farmington Woods Country Club
Gillette Ridge Golf Course
Hawk’s Landing Country Club Hunter Golf Course
Keney Park Golf Course
Laurel View Golf Course
Manchester Country Club Norwich Golf Club Portland Golf Course
Quarry Ridge Golf Club
Simsbury Farms Golf Course Stanley Golf Course
Tallwood Country Club
The Golf Club at River Oaks
The Golf Club at Windham
Tumble Brook Country Club
Whitney Farms Golf Course
more
Brattleboro Country Club
Green Mountain National Mount Snow Golf Course
Mount Washington Resort GC
Killington Resort Golf Course
The Shattuck
Blackstone National Golf Club
Captains Golf Course
Cold Spring Country Club
Crestview Country Club
Crumpin Fox Club
Crystal Lake Golf Course
Dennis Pines & Dennis Highlands Heather Hill Country Club Ledges Golf Club Maplegate Country Club
Newton Commonwealth GC Norwood Country Club Tekoa Country Club
Wentworth Hills Country Club Waubeeka Golf Links
Country View Golf Club
Laurel Lane Country Club
Pinecrest Golf Club
Winnapaug Golf Course
plus more
Bethel Inn Resort
Dunegrass Golf Club
Lake Kezar Country Club
Riverside Golf Course Spring Meadow Golf Club
plus more
Autumn is my favorite time of the year to play golf. Leaves have begun to turn color and the days are shorter, however don’t put those sticks away just yet. Con tinue to enjoy being outside and with your buddies on a golf course.
This time of the year can offer up some of the best weather to play golf in New England. Here’s what we have lined up for you in our Autumn Issue to get you excited to keep playing.
In this issue of Golfing Magazine we give you the lowdown on the courses on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, where autumn and early winter treat us to some splendid late season golf. Indeed, unless Old Man Winter drops a foot of snow on the pen insula, the courses will remain open year round, if you don’t mind a little chill with your drives and seven-irons.
Cape Cod courses, and many more, are included in Golfing Magazine New Eng
land’s Course Play Stimulus Program. Now is the time to sign up for 2023 and play all the golf you could ever want. Call 860-5631633, or visit www.FreeGolf.net.
In this issue, our Travel Issue, we take a trip across the Ocean and check out some great golf opportunities in Thailand. We also take a look at great stay and play destinations on Hilton Head Island in South Carolina, and the Brunswick Isles area of southeastern North Carolina, con sidered a part of the Grand Strand of the Myrtle Beach golf haven. And we give you a look at a destination you might not have thought about, the superb golf offerings of BOYNE Golf in northern Michigan. This destination should be on everyone’s bucket list, you will be pleasantly surprised at the quality of golf and the close proximity of their ten courses. Florida’s Sports Coast and Saddlebrook resort just outside of Tampa, Florida is another wonderful place to visit this winter, as is Reunion Resort & Golf Club in the Orlando. Every golfer should visit Pinehurst, NC and we highlight a few courses you may not have heard of in the area. American Dunes Golf Club in Grand Haven, MI is golf’s most heroic round. Visting this collaboration between Lt. Col. Dan Rooney and Jack Nicklaus will make you an even prouder American.
We also offer up some courses you simply “Must Play” and present valuable instructional tips from our cadre of topnotch golf pros.
Dedicated golfers realize that just because the pages on the calendar are dwin dling and there is a slight chill in the air that doesn’t mean we can’t play golf until snow
covers the ground and they pull the flag sticks off the greens. So, get outside, take in the beauty of the fall foliage, and enjoy the final months of the 2022 golf season. Or, make plans to visit the exotic locales we tell you about.
Enjoy our digital magazine, take advan tage of our Course Play Stimulus offer, and play golf! We hope you enjoy this issue and that you always hit ‘em straight and long.
We thank you for your enduring love of golf.
the natural scenic splendor of northern Michigan, I’m reminded of a standout line from an early season of Mad Men: “You have everything…and so much of it.” From mile after mile of beautiful Lake Michigan coastline to towering sand dunes, from idyllic small towns to deep hardwood forests, from vast serene lakes and meandering rivers to breathtaking elevations and long summer days, northern Michigan is as uncannily pure as they say.
With 10 acclaimed golf courses sprawling across three separate and distinctive resort properties, the folks at BOYNE Golf have been curating their destination in northern Michigan for more than 50 years. You can’t go wrong putting your next golf trip in their hands and getting there has never been easier.
Once you lay eyes on the red-roofed Victorian-style Inn at Bay Harbor near Petoskey and the beaming shoreline it sits next to, you start to get what those who dubbed the property “The Pebble Beach of the Midwest” were fussing about. The Inn at Bay Harbor is a Marriot Autograph Resort and features 116 guest rooms and suites and 35 two- and three-bedroom cottages at the Lakeside Cottages and Cottages at Crooked Tree. All provide views of the area’s famous million-dollar sunsets.
The club offers 27 dazzling holes designed by Arthur Hills that are played in three 18hole combinations (Links/Quarry, Quarry/ Preserve and Preserve/Links). Bay Harbor’s Links/Quarry routing has been a staple on Golf Digest’s biannual list of America’s 100 Greatest Public Courses. The Preserve is the “sleeper.” It winds extensively through a hardwood forest, just a stone’s throw from Lake Michigan. Across the street, scenic 18hole Crooked Tree Golf Club delivers great golf plus stellar panoramic views of Lake Michigan.
The Highlands sits just 15 miles north of Bay Harbor and resembles a Scottish country
estate. It’s a multi-course template many resorts have replicated. With four courses, The Highlands is perfectly suited for golf buddies’ trips. The timeless parkland allure of The Heather (the original BOYNE Golf course by Robert Trent Jones Sr. in 1966) and the natural beauty of the Arthur Hills course, which features a 30 story drop from tee-to-green at the par-5 13th, stand tall as must-plays on a visit to northern Michigan. In 2019 The Heather was named the National Golf Course Owners Association’s Golf Course of the Year.
The Donald Ross Memorial is an extremely well-executed tribute course comprised of holes inspired by famous Ross designs that have hosted three Ryder Cups, eight U.S. Amateurs, 11 PGA Championships and 14 U.S. Opens. The Moor course has recently undergone subtle but significant updates to improve approach angles and allow for additional shot selection choices around the greens.
Just south of Petoskey, Boyne Mountain Resort’s 4,500+ acres offer a variety of accommodations and two outstanding courses that offer tremendous views of
nearby Deer Lake. The Monument and The Alpine both zigzag through tree-lined hills before winding down to tamer, rolling terrain. Both courses begin with a scenic 10-minute cart ride up a ski hill to their respective first tees.
BOYNE Golf meets all the requirements for a great golf vacation and has been recognized by FORBES.com as one of the Best Golf Resorts in America, along with Pebble Beach, Bandon Dunes, Whistling Straights, Kapalua, and Pinehurst.
Getting There Golfers looking to fly into northern Michigan can access Traverse City (TVC) via Delta, United, American, and Allegiant with direct service from 17 major U.S. cities. Private planes can also land directly at Boyne Mountain’s 5200’ private airstrip that has recently undergone a four million dollar upgrade.
For more information on BOYNE Golf and to plan your summer golf adventure, visit www.BOYNEgolf.com or call 855.428.7447.
MICHIGAN’S
Ifyou’re thinking golf – and we know you are – you should be thinking NC’s Brunswick Islands. This strand of bar rier islands is located on the southern coast of North Carolina, just across the state line from neighboring Myrtle Beach. And what these islands and their accompanying main land towns offer is a delightfully refreshing, spacious coastal landscape that calls golfers with a deep-rooted love of the game back year after year. It’s no wonder the destina tion has become known by another name: NC’s Golf Coast.
With more than 30 of the world’s fin est courses, including notables Bald Head Island Club, Thistle Golf Club and Tiger’s Eye, NC’s Brunswick Islands has become a place where those who revel in the heritage and the camaraderie of a game, a hole or a shot well-played can find their fulfillment. It’s a special place that can so delightfully combine a 45-mile stretch of pristine barrier
islands with lush maritime forests, expan sive marshes and inlets, and the majestic Intracoastal Waterway to create a terrain primed for the most alluring course designs in all of golf. The game’s legends would agree. Palmer, Byrd, Maples, Jones, Cate, Couples, Robbins – they all came and left their footprints on the land.
Volume. Variety. Climate. Terrain. All the essentials have aligned here to create a nearly endless succession of challenges for you and your fellow golf enthusiasts. The coastal landscape of waterways and marshes in NC’s Brunswick Islands is the ideal place to reaffirm your love of the game. Mild weather year-round makes for an all-season golf climate where you’ll find playing con ditions to your liking almost any time of the year. Good thing, because with, at last count, 540 holes, you’ll want to schedule a few trips to the coast to meet the challenge. And while you’re there, don’t be surprised when you discover that some of the best
golf on the Grand Strand is actually in Brunswick County.
The destination is perfect for staying and playing. NC’s Brunswick Islands has managed to harness that special something that brings both golfers and families back year in and year out. Whatever you’re searching for in accommodations, from a charming villa right on the fairway to the perfect vacation home to welcome a group of any size, you’ll find it in the Brunswick Islands. You’ll also have access to profession al golf packagers who are ready to help line up all the details, from the excitement of the play to the relaxation of the stay. From setting up tee times to finding courses close to the place you’re staying so you can spend more time lining up your first drive, your every need will be tended to. You’ll come with a passion for the game and leave with a love of a place. The place? NC’s Golf Coast.
www.NCBrunswickGolf.com
Resort & Golf Club offers a golfing experience unlike any other in the world. No stranger to awards and accolades, Reunion is the only place in the world you will find three Signature Design courses by golf’s greatest legends: Arnold Palmer, Tom Watson, and Jack Nicklaus.
If you can only pick one course while staying at Reunion, we recommend the Palmer Course. It’s the least challenging of the three, but it boasts the most spectacular views of the resort. You will play through bunkers, lush greenery, and some of their stunning vacation homes. The Palmer 7 hole is the most iconic of all 54 holes at Reunion. You might recognize Palmer 7 by its vantage point of the long winding bridge over a sparkling pond with the resort’s Reunion Grande tower standing elegantly in the distance. The Palmer course offers 6,916 yards of rolling terrain with elevation changes up to 50 feet.
The Watson Course is adjacent to the Palmer course. Both start just behind the Clubhouse restaurant and Pro Shop. The Clubhouse serves a traditional American fare and is a great spot for a cup of coffee before heading out to the driving range or your morning tee time. Once on the course, you will encounter wide-open greens, rolling fairways, and strategically placed bunkers.
Club selection is crucial for this course.
The most challenging of Reunion’s three courses is the Nicklaus Course. Located on the other side of the resort property and winding through parts of the nature reserve, the Nicklaus course can be a bit quieter and more scenic than Watson or Palmer. This course provides long fairways and challenging water hazards. Inside the Nicklaus Clubhouse, you’ll find men’s and women’s locker rooms with showers, the Pro Shop, and a tavern-style restaurant called Traditions. Traditions is the ideal spot for your post-round meal and celebratory beverages and features panoramic views of the 18th green. On Sunday’s this location also features a truly delicious brunch.
Reunion Resort has been consistently recognized for providing a premier golf experience in Central Florida since 2005. This fall, Reunion has added another legend to their golf resume. The Golfzon Leadbetter World Headquarters, led by David Leadbetter is now home to Reunion adding another layer of unique golf offerings to the already esteemed resort.
Golfzon Leadbetter and Reunion are proud of this partnership that has established Reunion as the new home of the Golfzon Leadbetter Golf Academy. This facility
features the latest golf technology for instruction and practice including lesson studios with launch monitors, 3D swing analysis, range radar ball tracking, club fitting, golf fitness and biomechanics. The facility also features Golfzon TwoVision simulator studio to help improve your game.
Open to resort guests and members, Reunion’s rolling greens stretch across the 2,300-acre resort, just minutes from Walt Disney World® and other famous Orlando attractions. Reunion attracts avid golfers from around the world looking to experience an enhanced level of play with exceptional conditions and unique course layouts designed by three PGA legends. With spacious multi-room villas and luxury vacation homes featuring up to 15-bedrooms, this property is an easy option for golf trips.
In addition to golf, Reunion’s amenities include a mini-golf course, multiple tennis and pickleball courts with a Pro Shop, casual and fine dining, 7 community pools, the five-acre Water Park, and over 25,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor meeting event space. From family vacations, to a golf getaways with the guys, and everything in between, Reunion has something for every occasion. For more information, to make a reservation, or to book tee times, visit www.ReunionResort.com
Tee off at a Floridian golf destination beyond compare. Reunion Resort is the only place in the world where you can play three signature courses designed by PGA legends Arnold Palmer, Tom Watson, and Jack Nicklaus, all in the same location.
THE GREATS
popularity is surging, and there’s no place better to experience this great game than America’s Golf Island. Comprised of a diverse collection of 26 golf courses spread throughout Hilton Head Island, Bluffton and Beaufort, South Carolina, the region’s breathtaking natural beauty attracted many of golf’s greatest architects: Robert Trent Jones, Rees Jones, Davis Love III, Gary Player, Arnold Palmer, Pete Dye, Jack Nicklaus and George Fazio, just to name a few.
Hilton Head Island is the perfect destination for any golf getaway, whether it be a buddies trip, family vacation or couples retreat. Golf is played 365 days a year here among the palmettos and live oaks, as the Lowcountry boasts glorious spring and fall weather, mild winters and balmy summers. Off the course, the region is home to worldclass beaches, award-winning restaurants and local eateries, and myriad activities ranging from deep sea fishing, tennis, pickleball and biking along 50-plus miles of public pathways.
Many golfers are already familiar with Hilton Head Island because of the PGA TOUR’s RBC Heritage, an area tradition since it was first played at Harbour Town back in 1969. One of the most popular stops on TOUR, the tournament is known for its Southern hospitality, laid back atmosphere and the famed Harbour Town Lighthouse overlooking the 18th green along the Calibogue Sound.
Rounds are best re-lived in the evening over a relaxing dinner with family, card games with friends or sitting a spell on a deck watching the sun drop in the South Carolina sky. Numerous lodging partners oblige with a vast array of accommodations ranging from rental homes, villas and condos to brand-name hotels and boutique inns.
Expert golf vacation planners are available to customize stay-and-play packages for any size group, any time of year, for the golf trip of a lifetime. Log onto the easy-to-use website, www.HiltonHeadGolfIsland.com, for course and accommodation overviews, up-to-date golf packages, area information or to request a golf trip quote. Consider yourself invited to experience the game the way it was meant to be played on America’s Golf Island.
Visit www.HiltoHeadGolfIsland.com to start planning your dream golf vacation to America’s Golf Island - Hilton Head Island, SC.
Harbour Town Golf Links
Palmetto Dunes - Jones Course
Play is what they say at Experience Florida’s Sports Coast. You might not be able to find Florida’s Sports Coast on a map simply because it is a tourism district, and tourism districts in my mind don’t get their “just rewards”. Read on and you will know exactly where it is and all that there is to do!
If you are a golfer, paddler, fisherman, beachgoer or just a toe dipper, there is a good chance that you have been to the Sport’s Coast. This region, on the Gulf of Mexico is located about 35 miles north of Tampa, 90 miles east of Orlando and 75 miles south of Ocala, is a magnet to outdoor adventurers’ as well as those into Extreme Sports…..skydiving anyone?
Golfers from the Northeast USA and Canada have been flocking to Saddlebrook for years. The two Arnold Palmer designed courses are surely the number one reason and I suspect, the gazillion gallon pool with its conveniently located Tiki Bar could be number two.
There are 11 premier golf courses in the immediate Sports Coast region with
the crown jewel in the region, is without a doubt Saddlebrook Resort.
Coming north from Tampa, Saddlebrook Resort is a short drive off I-75 on Route 54 towards Wesley Chapel. Wesley Chapel offers up another for of adventure, unless it is really hot outside you might not even break a sweat! Shopping!!!! The community grabs your attention like a shiny new penny with first-class retail, a plethora of restaurants and contemporary homes that look like they were built yesterday.
The Shops at Wiregrass lures shoppers with a pedestrian-friendly, open-air and aesthetically pleasing alternative to the generic big-box-in-a-giant-parking-lot headache that’s found everywhere else in America. No shop till you drop would be complete with the ultimate in brand name deals at Tampa Premium Outlets.
Staying and Playing at Saddlebrook Resort is almost like being at home. Except that your home here has 2 Arnold Palmer designed courses in your back yard. No walking required and if you decide not to
walk to the Pro Shop from your villa, call the concierge and a golf cart will come get you. There are over 500 condo style units 1-3 bedrooms, so not everyone can be right next to the pro shop or pool.
“On the Saddlebrook course, it’s about course management,” said director of golf Kyle Bruce. “There are water and tree lines on both sides of the fairway, you basically want to get the ball to the 150-yard marker, then move the ball from there. The greens are relatively flat so it’s easy to get up and down. It’s more course management than a grip-it-and-rip-it type of golf course.
Its fairways are lined by a hammock of cypress and oak, the natural beauty will transport you back in time to the Florida of the Conquistadors. The signature hole, the 425-yard 18th, magnifies this sensation. The drive must be sent down an emerald ribbon between stands of towering cypress, whose branches are adorned with Spanish moss. Three white-faced bunkers staring at you in the landing area. The soft afternoon sunlight glints softly off the deep pond fronting the green, where gators and turtles rest on the bank. Two solid, aggressive shots
A place to rest and recharge with family and friends, a place to enjoy your athletic passions on the golf course or the tennis court, a place to meet and mingle … the legendary Saddlebrook Resort is Tampa Bay’s preeminent resort, where leisure time takes over, whether you’re getting away with your friends or vacationing with the family.
Spread out on our 480 lush acres of lagoons and cypress trees, teeing off on one of our two Arnold Palmer signature golf courses, volleying on one of 43 tennis courts, savoring a convivial meal with friends at Dempsey’s Too or spending a blissful afternoon in the expansive pool.
It’s our pleasure to host you for your golf getaway, whether you’re hoping to improve your game or are simply seeking a fairway-filled weekend with favorite golfing buddies. Our Tampa golf packages are designed to give you access to Saddlebrook’s complete resort experience. Want to add something? Just give us a shout and we’ll make it happen.
Getaway Package includes a stay in a Deluxe Guest Room, One-Bedroom Suite or Two-Bedroom Suite; full breakfast per adult per paid night of stay; lunch per adult per paid night of stay; total of 4 rounds of golf (18 holes on arrival day, 36 holes on middle day, 18 holes on departure day, with cart and greens fees); a $20 resort credit per adult for the golf pro shop; a welcome golf gift; unlimited use of the practice facility; nightly club cleaning and storage; fitness center access; and additional Saddlebrook amenities. Starting at $129 per night per person!
will reach the green and award the player with par.
“
The Palmer course is more of a links style course. You want to try and get as far as you can down the fairway. It’s open off the tee box, left and right. Your second shot is most important, if you’re above the hole, it’s going to be a three putt, pretty much, with the undulation of the greens. If you’re not on your short game that day, it can be very tough.”
While many of the holes provide generous driving areas, level ground is rare and the firm green fairways are contoured. Facing the green from the slanting fairways, the smallish greens are framed by whitefaced bunkers. Hilly lies and sweeping Florida breezes make it challenging to attain the accuracy needed to find these targets. The Tif-eagle greens are firm, fast and undulating, allowing only a crisply struck shot to hold their surface. Surrounding the greens, the thick, gnarly Bermuda rough tangles around the club and complicates the soft touch needed to play short pitch shots. Miss the green, and you face a difficult par. Several holes require length, all reward finesse. The Par 4 fifth hole is a beauty, with water to the right and sand to the left of the green.”
The other courses in the Experience Florida’s Sports Coast region offer up a great variety in both stye and challenge making
it ideal for every level of golfer. Below is a sampling of what you will find.
Lake Jovita Golf & Country Club: Two pristine courses await traveling golfers here, Lake Jovita South Course and Lake Jovita North Course designed by US Open Champion Tom Lehman and golf course architect Kurt Sandness. The 7,151-yard, par 72, Lake Jovita South Course is known for its immaculate maintenance, velvet greens and generous fairways blend in perfectly with the hilly terrain.
The 7,276-yard Lake Jovita North Course is equally impressive. More contemporary in style, this par-72 course has even greater elevation changes than the South Course. In fact, from the second tee box, you can see five or six miles to the northeast!
Fox Hollow Golf Club is one of the last courses designed and built by Robert Trent Jones, Sr., one of the most prolific and innovative golf course designers of all time. Recently rated 57th by Golf Digest’s Top 75 Courses, the par-71 championship layout features, rolling fairways, five sets of tees, mixing native trees and vegetation, sparkling lakes, sand bunkers and a variety of wildlife.
Plantation Palms Golf Club: The David Harmon design meanders through naturally rolling terrain with abundant wildlife. Considered one of Land O’Lakes
finest properties with its meticulous conditioning, with each hole designed to challenge every level of golfer.
Tampa Bay Golf & Country Club: Designed by Chi Chi Rodrigues and Bobby Weed stretches back to over 7,000 yards, winding its way around beautiful lakes and conservation areas. Position off the tee is critical to good scoring as water and out of bounds comes into play on all 18 holes. With five sets of tees, the course is appealing to all skill levels.
Lexington Oaks Golf Club: Built on a stunning piece of land, Lexington Oaks is an 18-hole, Par-72 masterpiece course that’s known for its par 3s. Measuring 6,748 yards from the tips, this stunning course is skillfully routed through woods, lakes and marshlands, providing a fun challenge for golfers of all skill levels.
When not on the golf course you are in the right place to let the adventure seeker in you come out. With 35 area parks, 2 state parks, vibrant nature trails, thrilling zip line courses, hot-air balloon outings, sky-diving adventures, nearby islands with artificial reefs, year-round recreational fishing, paddleboarding and kayaking trails, the options for exploration are unlimited.
To find out more details on the adventures that abound at Experience Florida’s Sports Coast visit www.FLSportsCoast.com
Florida’s Sports Coast offers a more exciting kind of vacation. With four amazing cities to explore – and countless ways to get out and play – visitors will find there’s much more than just great golf in this area. Whether they’re exploring the Gulf of Mexico, tackling tandem skydiving over Zephyrhills, or enjoying a beer at one of our craft breweries, they’ll discover Florida’s Sports Coast is an unbeatable location for their next golf trip.
Whentraveling around the globe in search of another ultimate golf experience you are most likely to make it a multi destination experience giving you a broader cultural and golf experience. Destination Amazing Thailand, the city of Bangkok will be the initial landing spot for more international travelers and what a spot it is. Consistently one of the most visited cities in the world.
In March we published a feature “Covering All The Bases” touching on golf in Bangkok, Hua Hin and Pattaya. In a baseball perspective we might consider these bases as part of the infield. With these next 2 destinations, Phuket and Chiang Mai, we take you a little further afield, you might say that we are playing the outfield. Covering All the Bases | Traveling Golfer
Phuket is your island in the sun, located in southern Thailand. It is the biggest of Thai islands adjoining the Andaman Sea. Flight time from Bangkok is about 1.5 hours and what awaits is an island full of magnificent white sand beaches with turquoise blue water, amazing sunsets and the famous Phuket nightlife. The Thai food culture here has
some Portuguese and Chinese influence. Note: southern Thai food is known to be super spicy.
The drive from top to bottom of the island will take about 75-90 mins. Patong Beach is the main beach and the center of the action form a nightlife standpoint. Another hot spot is Bang Tao beach, home to The Laguna Complex, which has more 5* hotels and higher end dining options with far less
nightlife than Patong.
Must play courses in Phuket include: Red Mountain Golf Club, winding its way through a truly dramatic former tin mine site in the heart of Phuket, Red Mountain is one of Asia’s most exciting courses that opened in 2008. The course has been routed to take advantage of a huge variety of landforms and elevation changes. Scars left from the tin mine era have been imaginatively incorporated
into the overall scheme, creating a unique character at the same time as establishing an indelible link with an important era in the Island’s past. A challenging course with numerous risk / reward options, creating a fun playing environment, an exhilarating test of golf and a breathtaking scenic tour around a course. The signature hole is the par 3 17th which plays about 150 yards straight downhill to a small green surrounded by forest.
Blue Canyon Country Club - Canyon Course: Award winning since its opening in 1991. Hosting the Johnnie Walker Classic in 1994, 1998 and 2007 gave the course world wide recognition as one of the preeminent championship courses in Asia. A classic parkland style course, sculpted with minimal disruption to the original landscape, lush tree lined fairways always in pristine condition.
Aquella Golf & Country Club - The newest course has taken Phuket by storm with its setting on the shoes of the Andaman Sea. Amidst spectacular vistas across the soft turquoise hues of the captivating Sea, the refreshing sea breezes,
and immaculate white sands coupled with the luxury clubhouse, Aquella Golf & Country Club is truly a precious jewel in the golf destinations of Thailand.
Have your camera or phone in hand when you get to everyone’s favorite hole, the par 3, 11th.
For a complete about face, Chiang Mai with its northern setting in a mountainous region of Thailand offers up a completely different scenario from Phuket and for that matter the rest of the nation. Playing here is best in the winter months, when the temperature is cool and humidity is low.
Chiang Mai is northern Thailand’s largest city and the 2nd largest in Thailand. Many visitors are absorbed with the nature and mountain tours and stepping on Thailands highest point doi inthanon is always a thrill. Beautiful nature blended with Lanna Culture and colours of contemporary life bring millions of tourists annually. Thapae Walking Street exemplifies the local way of life provides the opportunity to shop for stylish handmade products. Nimmanhaemin Road is another of tourist’s favorite streets with a plethora of tastes and cuisine! Not to be missed.
Other Phuket courses for your consideration: Loch Palm Golf Club, Blue Canyon Country Club - Lakes Course, Laguna Golf Phuket, Mission Hills Phuket, Phuket Country Club
Must play courses here are:
Chiang Mai Highlands Golf & Spa Resort - a 27-hole golf resort set in the hills outside Chiang Mai. Voted among the top 3 golf resorts in Asia, by 2015 Asia Golf Awards. Each 9 offers views over the densely forested hills, and the fairways meander amongst lush vegetation and large water hazards. It can play long so the longer hitters will really enjoy this.
Alpine Golf Resort - another 27-hole complex. A Ron Garl Design set 1,500 meter’s above sea level delivers a beautiful natural setting amongst the old dense forest and holes out in the flatlands that are more exposed to the wind. One of the most unique layouts in Thailand. An excellent club house, it is more than just golf here. Definitely a place to enjoy a meal and drink at before or after the round.
Gassan Khuntan Golf & Resort - a very popular and challenging 18-hole course, about 60 mins outside of Chiang Mai, in Lamphun province. There is a good amount of water, undulating terrain and distinct elevation changes which keeps the round very interesting. The course is beautiful and the train runs across a bridge which the course is worked around, another good course to being the camera to.
Other courses - Gassan Panorama, Gassan Legacy, Mae Jo Golf Club, Summit Green Valley Golf Club, Royal Chiang Mai Golf Club, North Hill Golf Club (night golf here)
Asia Golf Experieances based in Thailand can take care of any and all arrangements for your visit to Thailand. Thailand Golf Holiday l Thailand Golf Trip - Asia Golf Experiences
Check out the Four Points by Sheraton Invitational Phuket Golf Week set for October 2022. https://asiagolfexperiences.com/toursand-tournaments/phuket-invitationalgolf-week/
Or for a sample of a 10-day Phuket Stay and Play Package with 5 rounds of golf: https://asiagolfexperiences.com/packages/ phuket-golf-package/
Similarly for a 10-day sample of a Chiang Mai Stay and Play Package: https://asiagolfexperiences.com/packages/ chiang-mai-golf-culture-experience/
For more general information on Amazing Thailand, visit: Thailand Insider. com Thailand Insider - Amazing ThailandThailand Travel.
https://asiagolfexperiences.com/toursand-tournaments/phuket-invitationalgolf-week/
By TOM LANDERS
TheSandhills region of North Carolina is a unique geographical location that was spawned thousands of years ago. It features sandy soil and vegetation, such as the famous Carolina pines, which gives golf in this neck of the woods a special quality that has the feel of woodland and links courses all once.
The Village of Pinehurst and surrounding area showcases almost 40 championship courses. Every major golf architect has left his stamp on the Sandhills area, including Donald Ross, Jack Nicklaus, Tom Fazio, Arnold Palmer, Rees Jones, Gary Player, Mike Strantz, Ellis and Dan Maples, Davis Love III and Gene Hamm.
Quite simply, the Village of Pinehurst area has more top-ranked courses within a 10minute drive than any other area in the country!
Since the 1930’s, champions from every generation have played their way through this golfing Mecca in such events as the U.S. Open, U.S. Women’s Open, U.S. Senior Open, U.S. Amateur and the Ryder Cup. Come walk in their footsteps and make your own golf history.
Most golfers know of Pinehurst, the magical resort that boasts over a half dozen historic courses. We had the pleasures of playing four other courses that make the area famous -Mid Pines, Talamore, Mid South and Pine Needles. While perhaps not of the majesty and household
name status as Pinehurst Resort’s courses, all four are wonderful routings that carry with them that definitive Sandhills flavor.
Myself and several buddies decided to make the area a golf getaway and we came back inspired and pleased to have had the chance to play such super layouts.
Our first day we gave Mid Pines a go. It remains exactly as the world renowned architect built it in 1921 and impeccably restored by Kyle Franz in 2013. The renovation was honored with GOLF Magazine’s Best U.S. Resort Renovation and Restoration of the Year. The course, often characterized as “pure Donald Ross,” was designed to fit perfectly into the
natural landscape, as was Ross’s signature approach.
Mid Pines was not intended to be a daunting challenge for the finest players competing under championship conditions, but was envisioned as a course that would offer friendly competition for members and guests of a private club and resort. However, accomplished golfers and pros have taken note of the perfectly preserved course and Mid Pines has become a classic gem, which has now played host to many national competitions including the 2002 USGA Senior Women’s Amateur Championship.
Mid Pines was incredible and what I felt was the “purest” course we played in an aesthetic sense. It was like a walk through the woods; fun, with ridiculously cool greens. Every hole was picturesque and it’s what you envision when people talk about Pinehurst area courses. I could play 36 there for a couple days in a row and never get bored. The clubhouse was awesome; you could feel the history just walking through it. Mid Pines is a classic throwback to a simpler era and it makes you take a breath and slow down. Staying there I’m sure leads you into a different pace.
The next day it was as the Talamore Resort with two courses, Talamore and Mid South. Talamore is a big and bold resort style course.
Features were bunkers that seemed to reach China on a few holes and big, sweeping holes with massive greens. The course lets you grip it and rip it and it makes for a fun round. MidSouth isn’t as delicate as Mid Pines and much more refined than Talamore. It was a perfect balance of the previous two we played. I felt the course was filled with resort signature holes; done right, not cliché. Inside the clubhouse we found an awesome bar with good food.
Talamore recently went through a remastering plan, which reimagined the both tract through a clever combination of restoration and rejuvenation projects that unlocked the course’s hidden potential. The project was executed by a huge team including course superintendent Rusty Smith, David Walsh and their staffs, and PGA professional and General Manager Matt Hausser. Alongside the Resort’s staff were the skilled crews of Shapemasters, a world-class certified golf course builder that has worked for many of the major modern era golf course designers including Jack Nicklaus, Rees Jones, Arnold Palmer, Pete and P.B. Dye, Tom Fazio and Greg Norman.
Greens on the courses were restored to the original Rees Jones and Arnold Palmer designs, resulting in a 25 percent larger putting surfaces, and the addition of generous 60-inch Tif Eagle Bermuda green collars. The new Champion Bermuda putting surfaces provide significantly better playing conditions than its bent grass predecessor and put Talamore’s and Mid South’s
greens on par with the other top courses in the area that have already made the switch to Bermuda greens--Pinehurst No. 2, No. 8, the Country Club of North Carolina, Pine Needles, Mid Pines and Tobacco Road.
The courses feel bigger with the fairways opened up, limited rough and the removal of excessive bunkering. Improved cart access and the reshaping of certain areas to help cart flow has improved pace of play and general enjoyment of the course.
Scotland and the Sandhills collide with the addition of 12 strategically placed, old-world style sod wall bunkers. Talamore is the only course in the Village of Pinehurst/Southern Pines area with multiple sod wall bunkers.
On day three, we checked out Pine Needles, an award-winning golf course and the first in the nation to be awarded four U.S. Women’s Open Championships. Named the number four course in the state by Golfweek, the layout was designed by the legendary Donald Ross in 1927, and meticulously restored by Kyle Franz in 2017. Today, the course spans more than 7,000 yards with each rolling hill and fairway bunker reimagined to reflect the challenges Ross envisioned nearly a century ago.
We had the pleasure of staying at the Jefferson Inn, which has a classic feel and fits perfectly with Southern Pines. We enjoyed a walk through the town of Southern Pines from the Jefferson Inn. The owner of the Inn was very helpful in pointing out great places to eat and things to
do in the area.
The Inn’s cozy wood bar with pot belly stove just asked you to relax with a Manhattan. The rooms we stayed in were very impressive. Expecting a more period-style room, we very pleased to find it was fully updated with current amenities. Beds were beyond comfortable and the bathroom spacious. We will be booking there next spring..
We had breakfast one day at Betsy’s Crepes which was Ahhhhhhhhhmazing! One day is not enough. It was quick, delicious and the best way to start your golf day. After playing we hit the Pinehurst Brewery, a modern brew pub with a great view, good food and a fun atmosphere.
The Workshop close by in Aberdeen was also sublime. It’s small and cozy and has scrumptious food. We nearly tried everything and could barely walk after. Mac and cheese bowls, sandwiches, specialty drinks--the works. We didn’t play Pinehurst #2 but the clubhouse was worth the trip. Steeped in history and memorabilia, just walking the stairway you can see a who’s who of golf and the great matches they played. It has a beautiful bar area where we had fantastic burgers. There’s a neat view of the course.
The area had it all; special, immaculately groomed courses, great accommodations and fine places to eat and relax. We’ll be going back soon, I’m sure.
Two great minds, Lt. Col Dan Rooney with a vision and the other Jack Nicklaus who turned Rooney’s vision into a reality!
More than just a golf club, this monument just off the shores of lake Michigan, in Grand Haven, commemorates the birthplace of the Folds of Honor, with a Nicklaus Signature Course, pays tribute to those who have served and sacrificed for the United States. The Folds of Honor is a foundation that provides educational scholarships to spouses and children of America’s deceased or disabled service members.
A memorial walkway guides you from parking lot to pro shop and the course. While walking through if you don’t get emotional, you best check yourself for a pulse. “I love the game of golf, but I love my country even more,” a statement, on the wall, from Nicklaus, is impossible to miss. For this very special project Nicklaus waived his design fee.
The emotional experience doesn’t stop there as at 1300 hours (1PM), play stops, carts shut
off, all staff come out standing at attention facing the enormous US flag close to the 9th green. Taps is played and a bell chimes 13 times.
At each hole, one commemorative plaque describes a military hero, another tells a tale about one of Nicklaus’ major championship victories. In the golf carts, videos play with course tips and Folds of Honor family tributes. Undoubtably you can play golf elsewhere for a lot less that you will pay here. That is not the point, it is golf with a purpose and in support of an extraordinary cause. You get all the bells and whistles on your day. Fully loaded carts,
water on the carts and a fulfilling experience and more.
Truly the most unique Nicklaus experience, maybe even the most unique Michigan golf experience. Did Nicklaus bring the desert to Michigan?
You might just think so after your round. But here you will get to experience some parkland style golf bordering the dunes. Six parkland style holes and 12 dunes holes and believe me you will have plenty of sand to fill your boots!
By the time you get to the first tee you will have come across a number of staff members as friendly and courteous as any in the business. That is the only way one of the true professionals in the industry would have it. General Manager, Doug Bell is a long-time friend who is the perfect fit for this project. “They only treat people in a manner that they would like to be treated,” said Bell.
Let’s tee it up! Three rather tame parkland style holes is what American Dunes opens you up with. Tame only in comparison to what you
are in for!! Nicklaus opens you up with a taste of the dunes on the 1st hole, left hand side but should not really come into play. Surprisingly on the 2nd hole, Nicklaus has a pond running up the right-hand side. What happened to his fade? Nice par 5. Another taste of dunes on 3 but again should not come into play.
As we ascended to fourth tee, I remember blurting out to words, “Holly Sh**.” Doug looks over at me and says, “you had to know that if Jack was going to create one more Signature Course, it was not going to be an ordinary course.” Truer words have never been spoken. The WOW FACTOR was upon us.
From the elevated 4th tee box, you stare down at a green, about 140 yards away depending on which tees you play. You are likely more captivated by all the dunes that you need to avoid, not only on the immediate hole but your eyes cannot help but to look beyond.
The former tree-lined Grand Haven Course, which is located a few hundred yards from the east shore of Lake Michigan, is now a dunes-like course, utilizing the dramatic local topography and sand base that covers the property. There are 30 bunkers, and sand dunes are located either right, left or in front of you at each hole.
Fairways are generous for the most part and like most great golf courses your shot into the greens are what is going to make or break your day……..and here, staying out of the dunes. Once on the greens your work is not done, big and fair greens, nothing crazy, but there
is plenty built into the greens to test even the greatest putters.
From the 4th through the 8th holes, you have one dune-full hole after another. The 9th parkland style, takes you back to the clubhouse with an enormous American Flag along the left side.
The 10th hole kicks off with another parkland hole before bringing you back to the well sculpted dunes holes.
Weather wise our September day was
exceptional, nice temperature, sunny for the most part and little wind to speak of. That might have had something to do with my being able to hit most fairways and most importantly avoid the massive dunes.
Only 1 over, on the back after 6 holes. Hmmmm feeling pretty good! Then came the dreaded 400-yard 16th, at least I can console myself to the fact that my triple bogey came the #1 handicap hole. Ugly lie in a grassy dune bunker on the right, slashed it out to a bunker on the left and promptly into the 130-yard-long bunker protecting the front and right side of the green. Out, but still not on the green. Stick a fork in me, I am done!
Two more bogeys to round out the 9, but still smiling as the overall experience is second to none.
“Mr. Nicklaus and I talk about this place … as a church. A church is a place you come to find spirituality. This is a golf course that is going to raise people’s spirits,” Rooney said.
Rooney’s goal was to make American Dunes the type of golf course that would inspire golfers and veterans from all across the country to make the pilgrimage to Grand Haven. I would say “MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!”
For more information on American Dunes Golf Club HOME BASE visit www.AmericanDunesGolfClub.com
CapeCod, Massachusetts offers golfers a chance to enjoy the game near the warm waters of the Atlantic Ocean. Temperatures on the peninsula say mild well into autumn and the courses are in great shape thanks to cooler nights.
From championship 18hole layouts, resort courses and charming, old nine-hole tracks, The Cape offers myriad golf options. Rom sweet nine-hole layouts to 18hole “championship” courses, Cape Cod has great golf located within an hour or so drive of one another. Plus, the Cape’s courses will remain open year-round weather permitting.
When not golfing, you can get away from it all on the beaches, hiking trails, and shopping in cozy villages. Check out the numerous seafood restaurants and lobster shanties, where you can sample freshly-caught seafood and enjoy a beverage while sitting on a picnic table and gazing out into a harbor or the rolling ocean waves.
The National Seashore that is located on the tip of the Cape features a very informative visitor’s center, as well as a number of wildlife sanctuaries for walking
and biking and unfettered strolls along the beach. And it’s easy to find suitable accommodations, whether it is on the ocean or bay side of The Cape, a posh hotel in Chatham or a weathered cottage in the dunes in Wellfleet.
number of courses on Cape Cod. Check out the details of this can’t miss offer in this issue. Call 860-563-1633, or visit www. FreeGolf.net to sign up.
Here are some courses to play on your autumn Cape Cod road trip.
The Captains Golf Course (www.TheCaptainsGolfCCourse. com) in Brewster features 36 holes of golf on two very distinct 18-hole layouts. The club calls itself the Cape’s premier public golf facility, and the conditioning here is always excellent, and the golf challenging but approachable for players of all abilities.
The Port Course plays to a yardage of 6,724 yards and has a slope of 131 and a rating above its posted par of 72, which gives an indication of the difficulty of some of the holes. One of the best holes is the 573-yard, par-five eighth. A pond guards the putting surface and there are several large fairway bunkers to complicate matters.
Thanks to Golfing Magazine’s comprehensive Course Play Stimulus Program, our subscribers can try out a
The Starboard Course plays around 6,800 yards and has a slope of 122. It’s a bit more “player friendly” than its sister layout, with wider fairways, large greens,
and fewer bunkers than the Port Course, which makes it more suitable for mid- and higher handicap players. Number 18 is a great finishing hole, a 534-yard par-five that can be reached in two by big hitters.
Dennis Highlands Golf Course (www.DennisGolf.com), in the town of Dennis, is situated on 175 acres of pine and oak forest on the north side of Dennis. Designed by Jack Kidwell and Mike Hurdzan and opened for play in 1984, Dennis Highlands is considered by some to be one of the “crown jewels” in the traditional list of fine Cape Cod golf courses. It boasts a spectacular practice range and offers a visually enjoyable golf experience.
Dennis Pines Golf Course (www.DennisGolf.com) is located on 170 acres of pine forestland in East Dennis. Designed by Henry C. Mitchell and opened for play in 1966, Dennis Pines has long been noted as one of the toughest layouts on Cape Cod. Tree-lined corridors place a great premium on accuracy rather than distance. Water comes into play on four holes, and the 12th hole is known as one of the most
difficult par-fives anywhere. The Pines plays 7,029 yards from the tips and will provide the most accomplished players a true test of golf.
The Club at New Seabury (www. NewSeabury.com) is a great place to visit and stay for awhile at this time of year. Stunning ocean views frame the 1,500-acre property, which boasts two recently renovated championship golf courses and Sea Quarters accommodations. Whether you are visiting, exploring a club membership or second/ new home, The Club at New Seabury offers it all. The premier private golf community boasts resort amenities, as well as fine and casual dining, all with spectacular views of Nantucket Sound.
Golf enthusiasts will love the Ocean (amazing views) and Dunes courses and also have unlimited use of the resort’s practice facility and professional instruction. If you want to complement your golf experience with other recreational interests, there is no shortage of activities at New Seabury. If you stay on property, you can dine at the upscale 95 Shore restaurant and bar, visit The Sand
Wedge Bistro for breakfast and lunch, or check out nearby classic Cape Cod venues.
Yarmouth is home to 45 holes of golf that encompasses the newly renovated Bayberry Hills Golf Course, the Links 9, and Bass River Golf Course.
The work at Bayberry Hills Golf Course (www.GolfYarmouthCapeCod.com) was undertaken by Tim Gerrish of Providence, R.I., a former member of the Geoffrey Cornish/Brian Silva team that laid out the track in 1988. Changes were made to make the nearly 7,300-yard course friendlier to the average golfer, yet maintain or even enhance the course’s challenge to the low handicap player.
Bunkers were re-positioned to enhance play options, and others replaced with closely mown collection areas on some holes, providing multiple options for greenside recoveries, fairway corridors have been widened, and green surrounds have been expanded.
Rough areas in the front of greens have been replaced by tightly mown fairway to create the illusion of false fronts in many
cases. Fairway corridors were widened and tree lines thinned, allowing for recovery shots where previously none existed. This feature, accomplished through the removal of over 3,000 trees, provides enhanced course playability, along with a vast improvement in aesthetics and added panoramic course views.
The course’s original bunkers were also re-built to reduce sand area, while maintaining proper proportions and enhancing the original style. The bunkers were lined with pervious capillary concrete that allowed dramatic sand flashing, while reducing bunker face maintenance.
Forward teeing areas on four holes were added for more options in course setup and to provide additional user friendliness. Three tees were re-surfaced, including a new championship tee on number three (a par three), stretching the course to nearly 7,300 yards. In some cases, tees were located for better playability, and on other holes additional playing surface was added to provide varied play lines and more tee placements.
The Links 9, which is on the property at Bayberry, opened in 1999 and is a fun layout, with wide open fairways, solid par-
threes and exposure to the Cape’s wind, which makes the course play different from day to day. A number of the holes are doglegs, which makes approach shots tricky if you don’t put your tee shot in the proper position. Number nine is a 195-yard parthree that demands an accurate shot over water to reach the green.
Bass River Golf Course (www.GolfYarmouthCapeCod.com)is over100 years old that the legendary Donald Ross renovated and expanded. The layout
rolls along among trees and sandy hills and features narrow fairways, small greens and views of nearby Bass River. The club’s signature hole is the sixth, a 169-yard parthree that plays across the river. The layout is on the short side, but the holes demand good shot making and a good short game, a typical Donald Ross demand on the player.
Visit www.CapeCodChamber.org for information.
Ourstudents are always looking for more consistent results. The fastest way to achieving a more consistent result is to create the same exact conditions of impact for each swing you take. This requires a skill called Low Point Control, or the ability to hit the ground in the same place every time. Regardless of the direction, the success of the shot begins with solid, ball-first contact. Think about all those chunked wedges you have hit. My guess is that you never cared how straight you hit them because the shot had already failed by landing short of your planned yardage. Eliminating ground first contact ensures the ball will advance to the target and give you a higher chance of making a par or better.
Image 1 is a visual that I use to help my students understand where the lowest point of the swing begins. It illustrates the yellow circular path that the club makes around the body centered around the lead shoulder. The yellow vertical line represents the starting position of where the club will first make contact with the ground. The ball is represented by the blue circle. Notice the ball is positioned to be hit before the club hits the yellow
line. The goal of the backswing to create power by turning without moving the low point behind the ball!
Image 2 is one we see a lot with our students at the top of the backswing. Notice the head has moved away from the target and is now sitting in the red circle. You can also see the vertical line which shows the low point of the swing has moved the same direction as the head, now positioned behind the golf ball. This movement of the low point in the backswing raises the chances of this player striking the ground with first, causing chunks and fat shots that land short of the target.
Image 3 shows a backswing that keeps the low point of the swing to the target side of the golf ball, ensuring a ball first strike. Notice how the head is more centered in the yellow circle and that the hands are much higher than the previous swing. This extra swing length will add more potential power to the shot.
By Dave Souza
My favorite drill to help my students get rid of the sway away from the target is to have them place the target side of their head against the side of a doorframe and get into their normal swing posture. The goal is to turn the shoulders close to 90 degrees while keeping contact with the doorframe. I recommend doing this on a daily basis for 30-40 times, until the muscles Learn to make this happen automatically.
Image 4 shows the set up for this drill and Image 5 shows the proper turn while keeping the connection. Make your backswing more centered and I know you will hit the ball more solid!
Souza is Franchise
Manager
Hartford,
My Goodness… the full swing hip movements I see when you practice are killing your chances of consistent ball striking! They have dire consequences. It’s time for a “hip check” (pun intended) to take certain movements and beliefs out of play.
Oh, the places they (the hips) go! Let’s examine your backswing cues. You may still believe you need to shift your weight to your back foot to ‘load up’ on the backswing. That move can cause you to move 3,4 even 5 inches off the ball! This hip sliding motion has huge consequences for you. Maybe viewing this move from a new angle will shock you into eliminating it!
Viewed from behind, starting with picture 1 at address, observe where the magnetic pointer’s shadow is on the tabletop surface(for a right handed player). Shifting your weight to your right side produces picture 2 , where the pointer’s shadow has moved laterally to the right, to the edge of the tabletop. Your right hip has moved laterally to the right many inches!
When you shift the center of your swing massively to your right, the BOTTOM of your swing arc also shifts to your right. You’ve moved off the ball and miss hits are in your future. The CONSEQUENCE of that hip sway is that your club will tend to hit the ground before it gets to the ball unless you redirect it and get no ground contact at all. Those dreaded fat and thin shots are your consequence . Notice also that the shoulders can’t fully turn to 90 degrees, so your rotation engine is less powerful.
The fact is the club needs to hit the ball FIRST and then the ground! When we look at the best players in the world, their turns are more centered on the ball as seen in picture 4 showing Zach Johnson at the top of his backswing (Honda 2022). No longer do you see the back hip and his weight move laterally to the right.
Instead, as I stood behind him, it’s clear his back right hip TURNED! Notice in picture 3 that the pointer has pivoted toward the target in the same fashion with the additional benefit of a greater shoulder turn for free! Rotation is power!
How can this move be yours? First, change your belief and stop laterally sliding your hips and weight to the right on your backswing. Instead, stay centered and feel your right cheek back pocket pivot towards the target. You can cause this to happen by initiating your backswing a new way…with a downward turning of the lead left shoulder. Your trail hip will react to that by pivoting. Do you carry a phone in your back right pocket? Create that same picture by feeling the phone turn and point back towards the target! If you make that your new backswing feel, I promise your ball contact will become significantly more consistent and powerful.
This is your new truth in hip movement…gained from a new view from derriere, so to speak. Hips don’t lie!
of Ben Hogan’s supposed famous “secrets” was that he would cup his lead (left) wrist at the top of his back swing. This was to insure that his club face would be open to the intended target line at impact and start the ball to the left of his target and fade back to the target. This is certainly no secret to a golfer who struggles with a slice. Most golfers who struggle with a slice will tend to roll the club face open excessively going to the top of their back swing and as a result not be able to time the face to close fast enough to hit the shot solid. To produce shots with an improved start line, a golfer should reduce the amount the club face will roll open going back and in turn feel the face stay down swinging back. Try to produce a back swing where your trail hand (right for a RH golfer) has the palm pointing down. This will keep the face more on the swing plane and allow for a much straighter shot. Producing shots with a more consistent start line for the ball is the first step in lowering your handicap.
A drill I do with a lot of y students to help with wrist control is to insert a popsicle stick into the top side of your golf glove. This will keep the lead wrist flat and help with more consistent and accurate ball striking. Give it a try for your self. Watch the video for a more complete explanation and let me know how it works for you.
Ina past issue I gave you the “One Handed Drill.” It is still one of my favorites. The “Bump Up Drill” which I often use as a progression from the one-handed swings. Golfers will instinctively attempt to control the club. It makes sense that the player will do this and do it more when things are going poorly.
Reminder: When something makes sense to fix something in the swing, it most often will make things work.
As I describe in the video, this drill is designed to take your ability to control the club away from you. The more the club truly swings, the better your ball striking will become. A few points I would like to stress are:
1. Initially I want you only to hinge the wrists. The handle does NOT move into the backswing. Hang out there for a few seconds. I want you to “start” the swing from this position with a full wrist hinge and the club horizontal to the ground.
2. We do NOT lift the golf club with our arms. The shoulders make a small burst of energy (lead shoulder going down and across your body). This will bounce the arms into the air. You are doing this correctly when you feel the club go weightless as if the arms and club are floating to the top of the swing.
3. Once you have put the momentum into the club to rise to the top of the swing, it is time to start turning the lower body towards the finish. Allow the arms to fall and the turn to get the club to land in the proper spot. This is much different than using the arms to direct the club towards the ball.
Use the Bump Drill to get away from controlling the club and get back to allowing the club to swing. When you give away control to freedom you will add
By George ConnorInitially I want you only to hinge the wrists.
The shoulders make a small burst of energy
Commonwealth Golf Course in Newton, Ma. is an exceptionally groomed course located just minutes from downtown Boston.
The year 1997 marked the centennial anniversary of the club, which was rede signed in 1920 by the renowned architect, Donald Ross. The layout offers a short, but challenging round of golf, featuring quick greens and relatively narrow fairways. Course management is essential, as many a big hitter has discovered, with water and sand bunkers scattered about.
The course has benefited from con stant upgrades and beautification under the management of Sterling Golf. Several tees have been rebuilt and landscaped, bunkers have been renovated, and a recent addition to the clubhouse has added changing rooms with showers and increased the seating capacity for outings. French doors on this addition overlook a new stone-tiled patio with outdoor seating for patrons who wish to relax after a round.
Thepar-five 18th at Blackstone National Golf Club in Sutton. Ma, is a favorite for anyone who has played it. The hole measures just 485 yards from the tips, but it’s loaded with all kinds of trouble if you wander.
The tee shot must be true to find a land ing area protected by wetlands and woods. Big hitters can reach the putting surface in two shots after a strong drive, but the approach is uphill and there are a number of deep bunkers guarding the putting surface. The smart play is to lay up in front of the green and knock the ball onto the putting surface with a wedge.
The 18th is a solid finisher and just one indication of the thoughtful approach Rees Jones put into the layout. The course is tucked into the wooded countryside of the Blackstone Valley area of southeastern part of the Bay State.
One of the sweetest aspects of the track is that while it is challenging for the best play ers, Jones incorporated only a few forced
carries, which makes it playable for midand even high-handicappers. Ample fair ways allow a player to stay in the hole even after a less than perfect tee shot. There is bunkering guarding the rather large greens,
so it is important to choose the proper club to find the target.
Blackstone National Golf Club
Sutton, MA
Thesetting is amazing for this semi-private Country Club which exudes pride of ownership. From the moment you enter the property, making the quar ter mile country side drive you can’t miss the rolling manicured greens.
Serving golfers in scenic Agawam, MA, and Suffield, CT, area, Crestview Country Club features panoramic views of the Pioneer Valley. Known as the “Gem of Western Mass,” a renowned Geoffrey Cornish design. The course is challenging enough to have played host to the PGA TOUR Travelers Championship Open Qualifier in 2015, the CT Section PGA Championship in 2013, the LPGA Friendly’s Classic from 19951998, as well as several US Amateur qualifiers.
With it’s 5 sets of tees it is very playable for all levels of golfers. Best to be ready to take on the course right out of the gate. Best not to be tying up your laces on the first tee because the first 2 holes are challenging to say the least. Even from the white tees you are looking at an opening hole (#3 hdcp) of 400 plus yards backed up by a 526-yard part 5.
A scenic collection of challenging par 3’s await as you are guided through the meticulously maintained rolling fairways with a number of risk reward par 4’s and 5’s to round out you round. Plus, a 19th hole to
settle those bets. Big hitters can tee it up from as far back as 7,100 yards, the reds tees bring that down to a very manageable 5,500.
There is no excuse for not being ready when you get to the first as the club has an expansive driving range, practice green and pitching area. If by chance your game needs a little tune up, the professional staff is there offer ing lessons, clinics and special ized instruction. Not just for the adults in the room but Juniors as well.
Dining here is an art unto itself and you will want that experience, whether indoors or outdoors. The VIEW Restaurant and The California Grill feature panoramic views of the Connecticut River Valley, sumptuous food and an impressive array of cocktails and wine selections.
If you are lucky enough to live close by membership at Crestview Country Club should be a consideration. A classic country club, one of the best semi-private golf courses in the area, other amenities include: pool, tennis courts and fitness area.
www.CrestviewCC.org
Or to book a tee time call: (413) 786-0917
Theonce private Elmcrest Country Club is now semiprivate, under new ownership of the well-respected Crest Family, owners of Crestview Country Club. Public tee-times will be available for the 2022 season as well as the option for dual membership with its “Double Eagle” membership program. The Crest Family is pleased to offer top quality golf and value to patrons on both sides of the river. The only dual membership available in Western Massachusetts.
Elmcrest Country Club is uniquely located in the quaint Town of East Longmeadow, Massachusetts on the border of Somers, Connecticut. Rock walls, rustic bridges, and floral accents are just some of the allures of this clas sic New England course that winds through beautifully wooded, rolling terrain past picturesque ponds and streams. The design of this well-conditioned course is an enjoy
able round for any level of player. The course also hosted the Joe Pagos Western Massachusetts Amateur Championships and MIAA Division
I Golf Championships. Elmcrest’s expansive facilities, situated on over 110 acres of private land, offer a sanc tuary to all who become members.
Our professional team of PGA profes sionals, event planners, culinary and service staff, as well as our GCSAA certified golf maintenance team have one goal in mind; making your every visit at Elmcrest a special one. Join us, and see why you will want Elmcrest Country Club will become your home away from home!
To book a tee time or speak to some one in the Pro Shop: (413)525-4653 For the Main Office: (413)525-6641 www.ElmcrestCC.com
Weknow golfing is fun. The ownership at Wentworth Hills Country Club in Plainville, Ma. is intent on making it even more enjoyable.
The club has purchased a new fleet of “Shark” golf carts that allows players to remain in contact with the clubhouse throughout a round. They can order food and refreshments while playing the front nine and pick up orders at the turn. In addition, the carts offer yardages and golfers can even watch video tips from Greg Norman between their own shots.
The club has a unique “challenge” that gets golfers who ante up $5 or $10 on top of their greens fees a shot at a $10,000 or $20,000 prize if they make a hole-in-one on the par-three 17th hole.
And, the club has developed an app for cell phones that make the user a member of the “Wentworth Hills community” once they get the app. Individuals are notified of discounts on greens fees and other promotions and specials. A map of the course and yardages are automatically available on the user’s phone when accessing the app.
”We are trying to keep up with the younger generation that is so into technology,” said one of the club’s owners, Constant Poholek. “The hole-inone challenge is a game within the game and money
we receive helps out charitable causes. We are trying to do things to make golf even more fun and keep people coming back.”
The club also continues its popular “cigar nights” where players get a round of nine holes, a cigar and dinner for a reasonable fee that changes according to the dinner provided by the club.
Wentworth Hills is a fun course to play, offer ing classic risk/reward holes that dare low-handi cappers to “go for it,” while allowing for alternate routes to the green for less experienced golfers. The varied natural topography here features rolling, treelined fairways, large, receptive greens, ponds and lakes protecting holes, and 60 strategically-placed bunkers.
The course, while playing just over 6,200 yards from the tips, has a slope of 128 and a rating equal to its par of 71. The track places emphasis on proper club selection and accurate approach shots to the putting surfaces.
Wentworth Hills is located between Boston and Providence and only minutes from Route 495, which makes it an ideal destination for golfers from the Metro Boston area to Federal Hill in Providence.
www.WentworthHillsCountryClub.com
27 holes of golf, Heather Hill Country Club in Plainville, Ma., makes for a full day of golfing fun. The club offers one regulation 18-hole course and one nine-hole course.
The North Course (nine holes) has a few hills that can cause uneven lies. The fairways are narrow, and the greens are small. The South Course (18 holes) has many more hills than the North Course, but doesn’t have a lot of sand bunkers. The fairways are wide open, but most are tree lined, so you just can’t spray it around and get away with it. The greens are large, and water hazards come into play on three holes.
The 18-hole course plays around 6,000 yards from the tips and has a mix of short- and medium-length par-fours, tricky par-threes, and two par-fives that can reached in two shots by big hitters. One of those par-fives is the 478yard third that is very straightforward with few hazards complicating matters, although there are two bunkers near the putting surface. The seventh and eighth are solid back-to-back par-threes, playing almost 200 yards and 180 respectively.
The back side has three short par-fours that allow you a real chance at birdie, the 334-yard 13th, the 317-yard 14th, and the final hole, a 317-yarder. Number 12 is a good par-five that plays 516 yards from the tips, with the hole doglegging to the right, which may demand a precise layup shot to set up a wedge approach.
The nine-hole layout measures 3,368 yards from the tips. It begins with a 157-yard par-three, with the toughest stretch of holes coming at three through five. The third, a par-four, plays 400 yards, while the fourth is a challenging 500-yard par-five.
The club has a restaurant and bar for after-round enjoyment. www.HeatherHillCountryClub.com
Designed to bring world class golf to Western Massachusetts, Cold Spring Country Club, is an 18-hole semi-private course located about midway between Springfield and Worcester in scenic Belchertown, Ma.
Designed by Mary Armstrong, completed in 2010 and opened for play in 2012, Cold Spring Country Club is an up-and-coming par 71 golf course, with its 6,521 yards set on rolling hills that boast of breathtaking vistas in nearly every direction. Each hole has up to 5 sets of tees, enabling golfers of all levels to play an exciting mix of six par 3s, seven par 4s and five par 5s.
It all starts with a tough 216-yard parthree. From the highest tee box on the course, enjoy a complete panoramic view of Central Massachusetts facing south. Normally you will need one less club because of the steep drop,
but watch the wind here. If constant prevailing winds are in player’s face it will require one or two more clubs. The trees on either side of the tee box will keep players honest, by making them hit down the chute. But there’s lots of wide open room the rest of the way.
The par-five 495-yard seventh hole plays right to left off the tee and with a good tee
shot a player can get home in two. The best shot is a driver with a big draw to a large landing area. Just beware of the bunkers on the right side. How well you score depends on your 3rd shot into the green. You will need to pick which side of the green to shoot for--choose right or left depending on the placement of the pin. There are unique double approaches created by a large “bump” that protects the center of the green.
The 18th is a nice finisher, a 386-yard par-four that plays quite a bit longer. There is plenty of room off the tee with fairway bunkers on the left. If you play from the back tees you must hit a good drive, with the tee shot taking you over Roaring Brook, and your second shot is severely uphill to a very well-bunkered green with a false front. www.ColdSpringCC.com.
Since1960, Crystal Lake Golf Club in Haverhill, Ma. has been one of the premiere public golf courses in the Merrimack Valley, located only 35 minutes from downtown Boston.
The course offers some of the finest rolling bent grass greens in the area, lush wide fairways, light rough, manicured bun kers, rolling tree-lined terrain, and a well-thought out design by Geoffrey Cornish of Cornish Golf Designs.
Crystal Lake provides a fun, yet challenging round of golf that will be played under four and half hours on weekends. Every club in your bag will be used and a memorable golf experience is guaranteed.
The club is also known as one of the best priced courses for the value in New England, with a caring staff, and a proactive
membership program, including a “fun” tournament event calendar.
Acquired by Sterling Golf Management in 2018, Crystal Lake Golf Club contin ues to provide guests and members with a unique and affordable golf experience.
Situated near Crystal Lake, the course features a mul titude of challeng ing yet approachable holes for all types of players. Take the fifth for instance. The par-five plays around 500 yards from the tips and bends ever so softly to the right, which makes going for the green in two shots risky.
The 18th is a very reachable-intwo 448-yard par five where birdie, or perhaps even an eagle, can really bring your round to a delightful conclusion.
www.CrystalLake-Golf.com
Whengolfers visit Laurel Lane Country Club in West Kingston, R.I. they will not only enjoy a challenging layout they will be playing at what owner Joe Videtta believes is the only totally solar pow ered golf club in New England, and maybe the Northeast.
Videtta, who owns the course with his brother Mike, installed a solar farm on about an acre of property the course sits on. The farm, which houses 14 solar arrays near the course’s eighth, ninth and 11th holes, were pur chased from All Earth Renewables, a Vermontbased firm, and installed by general contractor Anthony Barrow. The units came on line last fall and power the entire golf course, from the pump station that controls irrigation to the clubhouse.
“Laurel Lane is located on about 180 acres, so it was an ideal location to install a solar farm,” said Joe Videtta, who also owns Country Club and Country View Golf Club in Rhode Island and Pine Ridge Country Club in Massachusetts. “We already had an electrical source near the pump station, which cut down on the total cost,” which was half a million dollars.
The cost of the solar farm will be offset somewhat by Federal tax credits, depreciation, and a Rhode Island program that allows for
the owner of a property to finance 100 percent of such a project.
One unique aspect of the solar panels is that they are not fixed but can rotate to follow the sun. Videtta said this type of farm is between 30 to 40 percent more efficient than fixed solar panel arrays. The field is about 40,000 square feet in size. “We had to change the location of the eighth tee to accommodate the farm.”
Videtta commented, “We are saving on our ener gy costs and the system is warranted for 25 years. Everyone thinks it is very cool and when they know that ownership if doing something with the environment in mind that are pleased. In fact, I have had golfers come up to tell me how happy they are that we did this.”
The project has been so successful that Videtta Golf Management is even more com mitted to changing the way we receive our energy. Plans are for a solar farm to be set up at Country View Golf Club in Harrisville.
“We are already planning for Country View,” said Videtta. “We are excited about bringing that course on line with solar power as well.”
For more information about Videtta Golf Management or any of its courses (all members of Golfing Magazine’s Course Play Stimulus Program), visit www.LaurelLaneCountryClub.com, or call 508-892-9188
