hoofreak7

Best links course you've never heard of: The Island Golf Club north of Dublin. Absolutely unbelievable. Hardest course I've ever played.

16th at The Ocean Course at Kiawah 18th Green Ocean Course 17th Hole at Waterville Golf links in Ireland 18th Tee Waterville 12th Tee at Druid's Glen in Ireland View of the Celtic Cross Flowerbed in the background 1st Hole at The Island Golf Links outside of Dublin. Toughest course I've ever played. Exhausting. #13 at The Island. When I played it it was about 220 yards into the wind (and as you can see, all carry). #14 Apparently the narrowest fairway in Ireland. #18 Great finishing hole. I'll say that The Island has gotta be one of the best links courses in the world. It's a shame that nobody's really heard of it. I highly recommend playing it, but like I said, it's absolutely exhausting.

I think South Carolina has to be first for a number of reasons. First of all, for a relatively small state, it has an absurd amount of very good golf courses. Florida has a lot, but I'd say 70-80% of them are just decent and on retirement communities. From Myrtle, to Pawley's, to Kiawah, to Hilton Head, great courses everywhere. So many people flock to SC every month, that it just has to be #1. Plus, golf is pretty much what it is known for. My list would look like: 1) SC 2) California 3) NY 4) Arizona 5) Hawaii

I have only been to a couple but I know people who have gone to others. One's I've been to: Kiawah- One of my favorite trips ever. Some, because of the # of courses on a small island/area, assume Kiawah is really just a golf spot (ie Myrtle). But I was amazed with how good of an all around resort it was. Great food, plenty of non-golfing activites, close to Charleston, nice people, etc. Obviously, the golf is great too. The Ocean Course was probably worth the $$ (the caddies expect a pretty heavy tip because they are real pro caddies essentially) the first time, but the nice thing is that you don't have to play it every time you go. Turtle Point is a really great course. Osprey is an underrated course as well. The others are still in very nice shape and very well designed/fun. Overall, a near perfect resort. Sea Island- Okay I haven't been there in a while. We used to go when I was a kid (before I started golfing) so I don't know the courses but I've heard they are fantastic. Seaside course looks like the Ocean Course at Kiawah. We stopped going when they jacked up the prices to an absurd nightly rate. This caused them to go bankrupt. Now they have new management and hopefully it will return to the family/golf destination it once was. Still, you can expect to pay a lot at Sea Island, but you will really get what you pay for. Probably the place to go if you are looking for as upscale as possible. (Not sure if you wanted FLA, but I went to Doral this year. I went for the tournament so it was kind of crazy but still a solid resort. Pretty much a golf spot, but they have an amazing spa too. Everything is nice and convenient and not overly expensive. Very nice place. I plan on going back on a normal week.) Others that I haven't been to include Hilton Head, Reynold's Plantation, Pinehurst, and some other smaller resorts. My uncle loves Hilton Head and goes regularly. Great place for families. Tons of golf in the area. Affordable options on just about everything (accomodations, food, golf, etc.) Reynold's is a place I really want to go to. Great courses that surround Lake Oconee. Also a great place to get lessons. Very highly rated golf academy. Also, TaylorMade Lab is there. It's a RitzCarlton so you will get what you pay for. I've heard mixed reviews about Pinehurst. Most people are in the "do it before you die category". I haven't heard many people make return visits. This is probably because the prices are very high and there isn't much to do outside of golf.

This is one of the most entertaining tournaments I've seen. Donald's 3 at 18 is one of the best ever.

Sucks for Rory that he's got to try and defend a lead while playing with the second biggest A$$ on tour (to Tiger of course).

Phil can't buy a putt. Easy (makeable) putts missed today- 11 for par, 12 for birdie, 13 for birdie, 14 for birdie, 16 for birdie. He should be at around -6 with the looks he's been getting. He hasn't played himself out of it by any means, but he would be sitting pretty if he had taken advantage. Stupid analysts saying "he's not driving it straight enough". Who cares? He's still been getting good looks at birdie.

I live in Richmond, go to UVA, so Spring Creek is in between. It might be far but if this is you're from far away, it's definitely worth the drive. In my eyes, it's the best public course (and it's cheap) in the state and it's not even close. It's still young, but give it some time (and a clubhouse) and people will know about it. Definitely a PGA tour caliber course. If you wanna stay close, go Lake Presidential.

I'm going to stay at Doral for the WGC-Cadillac Championship next Thursday-Sunday. Anyone ever been before? What's it like? Any pointers? I don't have tee times yet; I'm waiting to see the pairings for the tournament to see when I want to play. Obviously I can't play the Blue Monster (also the Red is closed, as well as one more rotating per day for member use), which ones should I try and play? Thanks

The Legends courses are fun and I'm sure you can find a good deal. I've only played the Moorland, but I've heard nothing but good things abut the other two (although Moorland's probably the best). Also, River Club is a fun little track in good shape. Still, nothing beats Caledonia in or around Myrtle. Absolute masterpiece. Worth every penny.

When I was playing in Ireland, I went to press the mode button for Pinseeker mode, pressed it, and it just got stuck in the "pressed" position. It is still stuck and I have no idea what to do. It doesn't work now at all. It's still under warranty so should I call Bushnell up?

I'm going on a family trip (grandparents wedding anniversary) that's not supposed to be a golf trip, but the men and gonna get some rounds in. We're gonna be in Co. Kerry for the first week, then Dublin. I wasn't in charge of booking golf in Kerry so I don't know where we're playing except for Parknasilla in Sneem, which is the place we're staying at. I have heard that we are probably going to play that along with Dooks and Waterville (most likely). I booked Druids Glen, The Island, and Howth for when we go East. I've never been there before, so could anyone give me any info on these courses, local pubs (around Sneem or Dublin), or anything else to do, bring, etc. Thanks

So I played Kiawah's Ocean Course yesterday. The first thing I'll point out is that I was expecting to get absolutely dominated, so I purposely threw away the scorecard before the round so I could focus on having the most possible fun in the round. This worked great. I definitely didn't have any career round or anything but I think my score was fairly good considering the course is supposedly the most difficult in the country. After my round I went back and tried to remember my score, which I found to be at best an 84, at worst an 86 (memory was fuzzy on two of the holes). Now my handicap on here says like 5 or 6, but I haven't changed that in a while. I usually shoot right around 80 (78-83 is pretty average....mid 70s for easier tracks, low to mid 80s on tougher courses). So 85 wasn't off the charts bad like i was expecting. We played the tees in front of the tips (except on 2, 16, 17, and 18 where we played all the way back to see what it's like). We had fantastic caddies (I wouldn't have come close to breaking 90 without mine). The big factor: the wind peaked at about 10mph (we played early afternoon). Maybe it was the lack of wind or the aid of the caddies, but I thought the course was much easier than I expected. I had 3 birdies, which is better than avg. (I suck at birdie putts and usually settle for pars). Why is the Ocean Course hard? If I had to say, it would be a combination of the wind and the lack of space to miss anywhere around the greens. What do you guys think?

We've decided against surgery on the shoulder (for now). I'm going to physical therapy a couple of times a week to strengthen the muscles around it. This has been working pretty well, but it's gonna be hard to find time to keep going to appointments during the season. I definitely notice a difference when I don't go to therapy. My shoulder will pop in my backswing, which is not a particularly good thing in a sport so exact as golf. I might eventually have to get that operated on (it's annoying to sleep on, carry stuff with, pick things up, can't really work out the way I want to, etc) but that won't be at least until the summer after my freshman year in college (2 summers from now). For now, PT is going good. Hopefully that continues.

I had my operation in August. I was in bed for about a week. Limping for about a month. I think I first hit golf balls in October. I didn't actually get out on a course and play until a couple of days ago. As of now, my hip feels great. I DEFINITELY notice a big difference in my swing. I used to hang back, keeping weight on my right side on my follow through. Now, surgery seems to have fixed that problem all by itself. I've played twice in the past 2 days, trying to get ready for our season which starts in two weeks (spring break this week). I actually wasn't that rusty. I didn't really keep score, but I pretty much shot what I usually do (with a couple of errant tee shots and an obvious amount of rust in the short game department). So if you're thinking about having it fixed, I would recommend it. Mine worked out great (so far :) )

If you're gonna be in that area (especially if you're going from SF to Monterey) you gotta check out Half Moon Bay. Hands down, my favorite place in the entire world. I'm sure that could change if i went to Pebble, but part of the thing I loved about HMB was the low key-ness. Two great courses. An 18th hole with a view just as good as Pebble's. Friendly little surfer town as well.

Have you read A Course Called Ireland by Tom Coyne? If you haven't you should. Speaks very highly of Doonbeg. Fantastic pics by the way

I live about twenty minutes from RNK, yet I have only played it once. Here are a couple of things you need two know: 1) Find any Mike Strantz course, and play it. Caledonia in Myrtle Beach is an absolute gem. You will never have more fun playing golf while avoiding very expensive greens fees. 2) Play RNK on a down time. Due to its difficulty/looks, some people take a vvveerrryyy long time to play. My round was 6 hours long. 3) It's tough, but beatable. If you can stay out of major trouble, you can score here. After a triple on the first, a double on 6, I limped into the halfway house with a 44. However, I drove the ball terribly and was regularly finding the fescue stuff. I hit 6 fairways on 7 greens on the back nine and shot a respectable 40 (triple on the last ). The point is, the reason why RNK is considered so tough is because of the trouble you can find. If your swing is good, it's a very fair course. here are some pics i took of the course: http://www.panoramio.com/user/1820796

there's a 9 hole course about 10 miles away from my house that i stumbled upon while taking the scenic route home. I never knew there was a course there. I peeked around and it became clear that they didn't want people to know that it was there. It's really nice though, fantastic condition. Like you, I doubt i'll ever play there either.

I posted last week about any ideas people might have for a place for spring break. We were just about set to book Sawgrass but we backed off because it wasn't really the best deal (I definitely plan on going soon though, if possible). I think we're gonna go to Sandestin. Looks like it has a bunch of accommodation, golf, and dining options for pretty decent prices. Other than what the website has showed me (and the good things I've heard about the place), I don't really know all that much about it. Still, it looks like a neat resort with, like I said above, a lot of different options (although I won't likely get beach weather when I'm there in March, but that wasn't really a priority). Has anyone been there? What are the courses like (which ones should I play twice)? Should I expect crowds or long rounds in mid-march?

I would guess it would be easy. I've noticed that at resort courses, there are rarely foursomes booked for tee times. I think it's because most of the places I've seen are "family" destinations, so there are many situations similar to your's.

I'm trying to think of a good place to go on Spring Break. My most important factors are places where I can play/practice a lot (golf season starts the next week) and decent weather (by golf standards, really, but beach weather would be nice too ). Our situation is that we're pretty much only looking at Marriotts because my Dad has a bunch of reward pts with them because he works in Atlanta (we live in VA) and stays in the same Marriott every week. So far we've looked at Casamagna Marriott in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, and Sawgrass Marriott, in Ponte Vedra. None of us have ever been to Mexico (and my mom is especially skeptical) so I don't really see us going there, although it looks pretty cool. I think Sawgrass is a good option because I've always been dying to play the Stadium and there are a lot of other courses nearby, not to mention the practice facilities there. I do have a couple of concerns. First, my Dad rarely gets to play golf anymore......has not time to due to where he works.....so he has become extremely rusty. I know that the Stadium course is one of the toughest in the world. Do you think it would still be fun for him? Would we have a lot of trouble with crowds (people riding your butt trying to play through or obnoxious playing partners)? Any other tips about Sawgrass or other places would be awesome, thanks!

with regards to feb weather.....it's cold. I'm sure you're used to it being from PA, but I'm pretty sure this is going to be the coldest winter ever (which is funny because it will beat out last year's winter). As of yesterday, you could still easily find snow pile left from a 2-foot+ dumping of snow the week before Christmas. Today, we got just a bit over a foot. Since VA usually doesn't get this much snow, I'm sure the courses have had problems. We're scheduled to get more snow this week, and it wouldn't surprise me if we got one more big one in February. My guess is most of February will be highs in the lower 40s maybe, probably upper 30s. But, we almost always have a couple of unusually warm days per month (last week it reached 65.....today the high was like 21) so you might get lucky. As far as golf is concerned, I haven't ever played in Williamsburg (I really don't know why....I guess a mixture of laziness and busyness) but all of my buddies have. The one you have to play is Golden Horseshoe - gold course. From what I hear, it's probably the best public course in the state. Other options are Kingsmill (River Course....home of big LPGA event and used to host a PGA tourney too.....is nice but I've heard people say they like the others just as much). Golden Eagle at the Tides Inn (one i have actually played) is nice in that it is deserted this time of year, but I think it's only a decent design and the conditions certainly could be better with their resources.....still kick's a muni's butt though and it's a really fun course overall). I would also recommend Royal New Kent, which is between Williamsburg and Richmond. Definitely the most unique course in the state. Americanized-Links course that is one of the toughest public course in the east. Bring a lot of golf balls. I played one of the most solid 9's of my life on the back and still shot 40 with a double on 18. Always crowded on weekends, but if you can stand a 5 hour+ round, it'll be worth it. Food-wise.....Pierce's Pit BBQ is the way to go. Everytime I ever go to Williamsburg, I have to get it, even though it's a bit inconvenient to get to from the highway. Have fun in my state!

Im 17 years old and play golf pretty seriously. Unlike most kids my age, I take school golf more seriously than independent tournaments, just because I love team sports and care more about my team winning than playing for some crappy college team. This winter in track season I tore my labrum in my right hip (i also have a cyst there....so my situation is identical to A-Rod's), but played through golf season in the spring. It didn't really bother my game that much (although I have a hard time with hanging back because it's hard to get through on it). Went back to the doctor after the season and he decided I needed surgery. I'm getting surgery on August 13th and probably won't be able to play golf until at least a month afterwards. We went back to the doctor last week to see if I could get more physical therapy on my shoulder (which I injured last golf season) because I'm gonna be on crutches for a couple of weeks, so he had me take an MRI and it reavealed tears(labrum again) there as well, so I'll most likely get surgery on my shoulder next summer, maybe earlier. Anyone here have any advice on how to recover from surgery? Will I need to change anything in my swing?

this is my 4th open (including bethpage in 02) If you're picking two days to go, tuesday and sunday are the best. Tuesday in the best practice round because most of the players are there practicing but it's a little more laid back than wednesday. I didnt go to a practice round in 02, but Phil did give me his ball after walking off of his last hole of the first round (i was a cute little 10 year old)..... i remember angel cabrera gave out some stuff too but i dont remember much else.....in 04 at shinnecock i went monday thru sunday, which if you can ever do this, you must because it is unreal to be around the open for a full week....anyways, i got almost everyone's autograph (4 covered hats) but no tiger....phil stayed for 2 hours signing after his practice round.....i asked tiger at the turn for a autograph and stevie said he would sign after 18....i went to 18....tiger worked on the green for a couple of minutes, threw his putter on the bag, passed all of his fans with no expression and walked straight to the clubhouse.....that is why i hate him....im gonna try again this year, and hopefully he'll sign or at least ill catch him being a jerk on camera.....good idea asking for a kid because mike weir refused to sign for any non kids