Hello All,

Does anyone have a recommendation on a nice golf resort or city with good public courses that are in a decent price range?

I am on the East Coast (Boston area) and am looking to take a trip during the winter to pay a few rounds. I am open to flying anywhere in the US, east coast/midwest would be easier to get to if possible.

Thanks!

Myrtle Beach is usually a pretty darn good deal and in December-January the deals are really good. The weather can get a bit iff from Xmas - the beginning of February, but you can still get a lot of good days. Golf is down about 10% now and I've heard that courses are trying to find ways to discount rates and give out coupons although it's hard for them to do that since the rates are usually set a year in advance. Depends on what you're willing to pay.




3JACK

You'll be hard pressed to find a place in the Midwest in the winter to play golf. Some courses stay open, but you can never predict the weather. It could be 70 or 10...you just never know.

In winter, you'll hit most people's peak season...high rates. For my money, if you don't mind playing golf in the high 50's, go to the Robert Trent Jones golf trail. Average January temp is in the mid 50's, in February it's high 50's to mid 60's. It's VERY cheap that time of year, and you won't find better courses that close together anywhere.

I can give you a love of other ideas, but thought this would be good since you said "reasonable" and "midwest"..assuming you don't want to go to Arizona, Cal, Vegas, etc. because of peak season prices.

Thanks for the help dgrelecki. I am open to going to the South or West coast. What are your thoughts there?

Bend Oregon is a nice small place with many nice courses around

not much else to do there besides golf, but it's a nice spot

you do have to watch weather though, it does snow up there!

Winter time in Bend won't generally work-even if there isn't snow on the ground you'll be dealing with frost for certain-Bend is, after all, at 3600+ feet elevation at the eastern edge of the Cascades.

Your better bet is Arizona, Las Vegas, Southern California or even further south-Mexico. There usually are some good gold deals in Cancun, Puerto Vallarta and Cabo-I've used the Adventura resorts stay and play in Cancun and also played in PV.

A resort that not many think about is Barton Creek in Austin Texas...lots of GREAT golf, and it's not super overpriced...weather is always good.

The two best resorts in the country (IMHO) are the American Club (Kohler, WI) and Bandon Dunes (Oregon). Obviously Wisconsin is out for the winter, Bandon Dunes winter time is the best value. The weather is ALWAYS shaky there. Even in the summer, the average high is in the mid 60's. January-March the average high is in the mid 50's. When I played there my first round, I started in a sweater and rain gear, about the 5th hole was down to shorts and a golf shirt, ended up with the sweater, raingear, and a snow hat...VERY unstable weather.

If you're planning ahead for the trip, you want to make sure that the weather is solid. Barton Creek is a great value.

Another thing I thought of, it might be a great time to go to Pinehurst too, they have pretty mild winters (in the high 50's), although I've only been there in the summer.

I still stick with my original of RTJ golf trail as well, LOTS of great golf, but not much else. The best nightlife by far will be at Barton Creek (Austin).

Sorry, as I'm typing i'm thinking of others. Although expensive, Phoenix/Scottsdale has some great golf. You'll pay through the nose over the winter though. I've rented a house in Phoenix before and then gone all around, that's the most economical way. feel free to PM me, as I still have a bunch of info from my trips.

DG

Mesquite Nev. A friend and I went a couple of years ago between X-mas an New Years. Shared room rounds at Wolf Creek, Casablanca, Falcon Ridge, And Coral Canyon total cost $400 each.

We took at family vacation this summer at Innisbrook. The rooms are a little dated, but the courses are awesome and the staff was very friendly. I have not been to a lot of golf resorts, but my opinion is that they are first class. The person (who I think is a woman) who bought it recently is spending money on updating the clubhouses and other facilities. There are 4 courses, and one is the Copperhead course that hosts the PGA event (although you probably already knew that). That course was sooo hard and fun to play.

When you drive into Innisbrook it seems like you are really far away and remote, but you are not. So you can easily get to a different restaurant (or shopping) within a 5 minute drive. The prices in the summer were really cheap, and we are used to playing in the heat all summer anyway, so it was a great little getaway. I am assuming that rates will be higher in the winter.

I have also taken a couple weekend get-aways to the World Golf Village in St Augustine, FL. It is also a nice place to play, but it is not really a resort.

If you want cheap golf and decent weather go to the Santee Cooper area of SCarolina. Inland from MB, not as much to do, but golf is cheap and decent.
Can't beat MBeach for the most part for price and options.
Also check out Beau Rivage in Wilmington NC.

If you have the flexibility watch the American Express "last minute" offers on their web site.
You can book up to two weeks out and the prices including lodging to some great golf locations ( Hilton Head, Vegas, Scottsdale etc) are fantastic.

Also, Hotwire got me a $181.00 RT airfare from KY to Phoenix in February so you might look there as well.

Good luck,
Brad

Hilton Head, Scottsdale, and Myrtle Beach would be my suggestions.

A lot of decent golf courses in South Alabama/Florida/Mississippi. Have the RTJ course in Mobile, Timber Creek, Rock Creek, Soldiers Creek, Kiva Dunes, Craft Farms, Peninsula, etc in Baldwin County. I've heard good things about a few of the Casino courses in Biloxi.

Bluffton, South Carolina.....5 minutes from Hilton Head, about 25 courses in a 45 minute drive counting Savannah area and Hilton Head and for the most part, the courses play nice and can be a good deal compared to the country.

Other option is to fly into Birmingham and hit the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail. Almost the entire state of Alabama can be reached in under 3 hours from Birmingham.