Where should I move? Golf course input required.

[k-troop]

Hey guys.  Time to put in the wish list for my next move; I'm having a hard time deciding how to rank order my choices (the jobs are all pretty good), and I don't have any particular preference on any of these locations.  So, I might as well put "how is the golf in that area?" in the decision matrix.

So, what do y'all think about golf in these areas?  Thinking about the variety and availability of good public courses that don't charge an arm and a leg.

--Fort Walton Beach, Florida.

--Tampa, Florida.

--Fayetteville, NC (the other locations all seem better, but I suspect that this might have the best golf of them all).

--Co Springs, CO.

[lumpuckeroo]

I would rule out CO Springs, they have a golf season!

Fayetteville would have less impact from hurricanes and is close to Myrtle Beach, not sure about the golf in the immediate area.

Tampa has a lot of good courses, but you have hurricanes

Fort Walton Beach looks like a very cool place to live, not sure about the golf and obviously they just got hit with a hurricane!

So I was pretty much no help, except forget CO!

[David in FL]

Anywhere in Florida as a first choice. Year 'round golf and NO state income tax! Don't worry about hurricanes. They get a lot of media, but with a few exceptions, they're just not a big concern.

[TourSpoon]

Tampa...during the summer you can play all the ritzy courses for cart fee and during the winter you can find a mid-priced track in decent shape that won't break you. Besides that, you are just 45 minutes from Orlando and other great golf communities. It's a golfing no-brainer.

Just an add-on, Tampa is the lightning capital of the world, so make sure you carry a 1 iron!

[zipazoid]

Agree with David. The media overhypes hurricanes. Look at it this way - at least our 'natural disaster' announces itself!

Re places in Fla, I don't know why you limited yourself to just Tampa & Ft Walton Beach. For example, Palm Beach County (Jupiter, Palm Bch Gardens, Lake Worth, Delray Beach, Boca Raton) boasts over 160 golf courses & the ocean, and Miami's only an hour's drive away. TourSpoon can back me up on Palm Beach since he lives there.

Southwest Fla is great for golf but laid-back, quiet. They roll up the sidewalks in Naples after dark. Ft. Myers is a little bigger, but similar vibe, as Sarasota.

Miami is crazy. Too crowded, the traffic's a nightmare. Ft. Lauderdale not much better. Jax is a great town, chilly winters.

Ft Walton Beach is on the 'Redneck Riviera' - beautiful beach with white powdery sand, but it's a pretty ho-hum place. Not much to do. Tampa is big city with lots of urban amenities & some good golf, but I've always consideredf Tampa 'under-repesented' in terms of number of courses. some good ones like TPC Tampa Bay & Innisbrook, but imo there are many other areas of the state that give you a better golf value...like Orlando, where I live. Problem with Orlando is it's in the center of the state & it gets ungodly hot here in the summer - the closest beach is 60 miles away.

[bwdial]

Originally Posted by zipazoid

Agree with David. The media overhypes hurricanes. Look at it this way - at least our 'natural disaster' announces itself!

Re places in Fla, I don't know why you limited yourself to just Tampa & Ft Walton Beach.

I think he's in the military, so he's probably going to be stationed at MacDill.  As a native Tampan (24 of us makes a box) there are a ton of options golf wise, because of the proximity to Pinellas County as well.  And, if you are military, MacDill's course is pretty nice.  I knew a guy in the Air Force and I got to play with him a couple of decades ago, and I was pretty impressed.  As someone else pointed out, if you've got the cojones to play in the dead heat of summer, you can get on cheap and be relatively unencumbered by course back-ups.  Also, for all the heat talk, it never gets as hot in Tampa as it will just a few miles inland.  In fact - at least until a couple of years ago when I still lived down there - it has never gotten up to 100 degrees in Tampa.  It gets close, and with the humidity it will feel like 120 sometimes, but it generally stays cooler because of the gulf and the bay.

[mdl]

Those are all a depressing downgrade from Hawaii!

[Beachcomber]

I'd stay in Hawaii!

[Golfingdad]

I don't know much about any of those places, but until somebody above pointed out that Co. Springs has a 'golf season' I was going to recommend it.  I've always wanted to see Colorado.  Bright side is when golf season ends, you can break out the skis!

Originally Posted by TourSpoon

Just an add-on, Tampa is the lightning capital of the world, so make sure you carry a 1 iron!

Interesting, I didn't know that.  Makes sense though.  If you also tell me they are the Devil Ray and Buccaneer capital of the world, I will believe you.

Originally Posted by zipazoid

Agree with David. The media overhypes hurricanes. Look at it this way - at least our 'natural disaster' announces itself!

You got us there.  Can't really "prepare" for an earthquake.  Once you know it's coming, it's too late.

[bwdial]

Originally Posted by TourSpoon

Just an add-on, Tampa is the lightning capital of the world, so make sure you carry a 1 iron!

True.  Lightning in Tampa is no joke... except for the hockey team! *rimshot*

It is plentiful, and doesn't need a dark, ominous cloud to be present.  Some dude jogging on Bayshore got struck and killed a few years ago out of the clear blue sky.

[RPMPIRE]

Originally Posted by Beachcomber

I'd stay in Hawaii!

I would too. It's also too bad California isn't an option despite the earthquakes.

[David in FL]

I would too. It's also too bad California isn't an option despite the earthquakes.

Good God.... ANYWHERE but California! ;-)

[Motley01]

Don't come to Colorado. All the New Yorkers move here, so it's now a "mini-New York", complete with yelling, horn blasting, and bad traffic.

We also have fires, school/theater shootings, and lots of fat girls.

[zipazoid]

Originally Posted by Golfingdad

You got us there.  Can't really "prepare" for an earthquake.  Once you know it's coming, it's too late.

Know what we call a Tropical Storm in Florida?

A six-club wind.

[Motley01]

Quote:

Originally Posted by zipazoid

Know what we call a Tropical Storm in Florida?

A six-club wind.

Nice one!

What did the hurricane say to the coconut tree? "Better hang on to your nuts, this ain't no ordinary blow job"

[zipazoid]

Originally Posted by Motley01

Nice one!

What did the hurricane say to the coconut tree? "Better hang on to your nuts, this ain't no ordinary blow job"

This is a total thread hijack, but just for this one post. -

Here's a story I wrote about living in Hurricane Alley -

http://zipsclips.blogspot.com/2012/01/pop-tarts-and-hurricanes.html

[k-troop]

Originally Posted by TourSpoon

Tampa...

Thanks for the input on Tampa golf--the job was one that I was really leaning towards anyway.

Originally Posted by bwdial

I think he's in the military

You got it!  No state income tax for me wherever I go, but not much choice about where that is, either.  If I can make it to Florida or Colorado I'll be doing very well considering I'm coming from Hawaii.

Originally Posted by Beachcomber

I'd stay in Hawaii!

Unfortunately not a legitimate option.  I like my career (I have the best job in the world, BTW) and I want to get promoted at least one more time--staying in Hawaii isn't great for either.

Originally Posted by Golfingdad

I don't know much about any of those places, but until somebody above pointed out that Co. Springs has a 'golf season' I was going to recommend it.  I've always wanted to see Colorado.  Bright side is when golf season ends, you can break out the skis!

Funny enough, I was stationed in Colorado when I was right out of college.  I probably only played 10 rounds of golf in 3 years, and never skiied!  I can guarantee it would be different if we made it back this time.  Co Springs actually has fantastic weather.  Temps range from teens to 100, but it's very dry, so it never feels really cold or really hot.  It's sunny about 330 days a year.  It snows once a week or so in the winter, but it only stays on the ground for about 12 hours--the dry air just sucks it right back up!

[GaijinGolfer]

Anywhere in Florida is going to be a great choice for golf.  Hurricane season would be annoying but theres tradeoffs with weather no matter where you live.