Tom Fazio's TPC Myrtle Beach Curse Bings a Five-Star Challenge in Murrells Inlet, South Carolina

By Robert Gray, Contributor MURRELLS INLET, S.C. -- Golfers looking for a top-shelf experience along South Carolina's Grand Strand, and willing to pay the commensurate cash, may want to tee it up at the TPC of Myrtle Beach. It is the only Golf Digest-designated, five-star course in the Myrtle Beach area and ambitiously aims to give players of all abilities a taste of the tour.  "We feel that we are set apart by offering a product that allows the client to play where the pros play," said TPC Myrtle Beach's Keith Stanzel. "Our practice area is built with (PGA) Tour standards. Our golfers get the feeling of playing between the ropes." Lessons are available, and both weekend warriors and current pros use the manicured range to...

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Big Win for 'Johnny Golfer': Texas A&M Unveils New-and-Improved Campus Course

COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- For a day at least, the spotlight at Texas A&M wasn't on Johnny Football, aka Johnny Manziel, but on something almost as rare as winning a Heisman Trophy – a new campus golf course. Texas A&M has a brand new golf course on campus, thanks to an extensive overhaul  by: Aggie alum Jeff Blume Last weekend, Texas A&M unveiled its new Campus Course, a par-71, 7,008-yard gem designed by one of its very own, Jeff Blume, a 1989 landscape architecture graduate. Blume, who is based in the Houston area and worked with Robert von Hagge before opening his own firm in 1997, has quietly built a solid reputation as a designer. He puts this project near the top of his list of accomplishments, not only...

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More than €2m for Heritage Golf Resort

Lavish Facility Includes Only 18-Hole Course in Ireland  by: Seve Ballesteros  The well known Heritage Golf Resort in the Co Laois village of Killanard is to be offered for sale at a knockdown price of over €2 million after running into serious financial difficulties. The 225-acre facility had been valued at over €20 million during the property boom. Joint agents Colliers International and Hume Auctioneers will be handling the sale for McStay Luby who were appointed receivers by the former IBRC. The adjoining five-star Heritage Hotel, due to be sold separately by receivers KPMG, had also been valued at more than €20 million. The Heritage was developed and promoted as one the premier golf resorts in the country. The 18-hole...

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Some First Impressions, Second Thoughts and the Third Degree

It was another goofy, up-and-down kind of year where I live, here in the upper Midwest. Last year was awful, with record-setting heat and drought. This year it was so wet that delayed golf course openings hurt revenue at a time when the industry cannot afford it. We were six – ten inches above normal precipitation for the first half of the year. We saw the Big 10 add two more teams – Rutgers and Maryland – which now gives us 14 schools. But we are still the Big 10, proving even smart people sometimes cannot count. Our university system fought hard for a tuition increase until it was discovered they had over half a billion dollar budget stash the public didn’t know about. Talk about losing cred. And speaking of a stash, it’s a good thing...

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Mayakoba: Mexico's Mysterious Land of Mangroves, Cenotes and Championship Golf

PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Quintana Roo, Mexico – If the mysterious, one-lane road through the jungle or the welcome drink in the beautiful open-air lobby overlooking a lagoon doesn’t leave a lasting first impression about the Rosewood Mayakoba, the boat ride certainly will. Guests don’t simply walk to their rooms. They’re whisked away by water taxis to explore twisting canals and lagoons cut from the mangroves before reaching a lavish luxury suite. "We loved the boat to our suite,” said Tim Sperling, a Highland Park, Ill., resident visiting with his wife. "You saw wildlife, crocodile and exotic birds. That’s a neat first impression...As soon as I walked in the room, I said to my wife, "This is the first time any hotel room has thoroughly exceeded...

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Weekend Deals: Tee Times Coast-to-Coast for Oct. 25-27th

Golf now brings you the best weekend tee time deals coast-to-coast for October 25th. In North Carolina, Sequoyah National, one of the Asheville area's top plays, is offering $10 off tee times Friday-thru-Sunday. Golfers can also stay and play at the nearby Harrah's Casino and play two rounds of golf for as low as $169. In the Chicago area, Foxford Hills Golf Club is featuring a Saturday and Sunday special: golfers can play from 7-11 a.m. for $55 per person (normally $73), or $46 between 11-3 p.m. Twilight rates are $25. In the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains., Apple Mountain Golf Resort has a $50 weekend special after 11 a.m. or $40 after 1 p.m. Regular rack rate is $65. Near Atlanta, Stone Mountain Golf Club is offering...

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Trip Dispatch: Variety is the Name of Atlantic City's Golf Game

                                                                                      ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. – A golf trip to the Jersey Shore is no gamble. It’s a sure jackpot. For those who lose their golf shirt at one of the city’s 13 casinos, fear not. These unlucky golfers won't lose their wallet playing at some premier...

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Time to Visit Florida's Emerald Coast

It's about time to visit Florida's Emerald Coast once again. The Emerald Coast encompasses most of Northwest Florida's coastal region... the Panhandle. The Emerald Coast is considered one of the Sunshine State's top golf destinations, and rightly so. From Panama City Beach all the way to Navarre and Pensacola, you'll find many opportunities for great golf. So, just follow the links to find out all you need to know about vacationing in Destin and Fort Walton Beach! Golf aside, Destin and Fort Walton Beach have a lot to offer the vacationing public. Nice hotels and resorts; pristine, white sandy beaches; great food, lots of places to eat; and lots to see and do, including deep sea fishing or just loafing around and working on the tan. If...

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Time to Visit Florida's Golf Trail

Right now would be a good time to visit Florida's Golf Trail. The Florida Golf Trail operates differently to its peers in Alabama, Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana and all the others on the ever-growing list of states with trails, paths and traces. Although the FGT courses are, for the most-part, open to the public, and are also accessible to resort or hotel guests through a variety of golf packages and specials, the idea behind the Trail is to sell across-the-board memberships - you buy one and play them all. For you and me, though, as golf travelers, the courses along the Trail include some of the best in the state and thus are more than a little enticing, especially with some very heavyweight designers involved, including Arnold Palmer...

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Top Golf Courses in South East Florida

Miami Golf Courses are many and varied and include some of the most famous names in course design: Palmer, Nicklaus, Dye, Norman, to name just a few. If we go beyond the Miami/Dade limits, say to West Palm Beach, there are even more. These amazing tracts range in condition and difficulty from the decidedly mediocre to world-class. The listings below are the Miami golf courses and resorts I have personal knowledge of. I am happy to be able to recommend them all without reservatio...

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Chico’s Brings Symetra Tour to Cypress Lake Country Club, Fort Myers, Florida

Anthony Webber. iGTN Editor-At-Large. The road to the LPGA for 144 young women golfers representing more than 30 countries heads to the Cypress Golf Country Club in Fort Myers, Florida, the former home to LPGA Tour Founder Patty Berg. The Symetra Tour – Road to the LPGA, is the official developmental tour of the LPGA. The Tour’s mission is to prepare the world’s best young women professional golfers for a successful career on the LPGA Tour. The Tour’s top-10 money winners will receive full, equal status for the following season on the LPGA Tour. The Symetra Tour is coming to Southwest Florida April 28th – May 4th, 2014 for the inaugural ‘Chico’s Patty Berg Memorial’. “Chico’s is thrilled to be partnering with the LPGA” said Chico’s...

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Take Advantage of Golf Ahoy Cruise Planners Travel Deals

Get Exclusive cruise and golf-cruise travel deals delivered to your inbox GolfAhoy CP Cruise Travel Deals give advance alerts on cruise lines offering: limited time promotions complimentary shore exursions free cruise line airfare offers two-for-one cruise deals ship board credits kids sail free plans comp cabin upgrades secret sales American Express  Mariner Club benefits regardless of your payment method When making cruise holiday plans, a good cruise travel agent can help save you time and money. Golf and cruise travel agent specialists work for you but are paid a booking commission by travel vendors. Using the knowledgeable services of a GolfAhoy travel agent costs you nothing. Having your own cruise travel agent in your corner is pri...

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Reasons to Use a Professional Golf-Cruise Travel Agent

Are you debating whether to use a ‘live’ travel agent to book your golf cruise vacation or to go it alone by using the Internet on a ‘do it by-yourself’ effort? Travel agents, especially niche agent specialists, are a priceless resource when you’re spending hard earned income to take a pricy trip. Travel Agents are paid a commission by the cruise lines; golf resorts and wholesale tour operators and other vendors. Some travel specialists charge service fees – some don’t. “Having a travel agent in your corner is like having a trainer in your corner in a boxing match – no one in your corner when you need them most? – You’re lights out! You’re on your own.” Says Lori Henderson Webber, co-owner GolfAhoy Cruise Planners American Express Travel Related Services. We don’t charge additional...

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Golf Nova Scotia Canada Fox Harb’r Ranks #14

               Anthony Webber. iGTN Editor-At-Large. Wallace, Nova Scotia, Fox Harb’r Golf Resort & Spa receives high praise from Golfweek Magazine in its latest ranking of golf courses in North America. Fox Harb’r ranks as the #14 best golf course on their Best Modern (built post 1960) Golf Courses in Canada for 2013. The highly regarded resort opens for the season on Friday, May 10, 2013. Fox Harb’r Resort is home to the 18-hole signature Canadian Golf Hall of Fame Member Graham Cooke-designed golf course and the Seaside par 3 course. The Resort also features The Golf Academy at Fox Harb’r, specializing in programs that are custom-designed to truly improve a player’s game. One...

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Whistler Golf Stay & Play Deals from $139 Big Sky GC, Nicklaus North GC, Fairmont Chateau Whistler GC, Whistler GC

Anthony Webber. iGTN Editor-At-Large. Whistler, B.C. It’s tee time again in Whistler, with four championship courses and one world-class resort making the ingredients for a golfer’s delight – and the ultimate mountain golf experience. From lush rolling lakeside greens to scenic mountainside slopes, Whistler’s four championship courses – the Arnold-Palmer designed Whistler Golf Club, Robert Trent Jones Jr.’s Fairmont Chateau Whistler Golf Club, the Jack Nicklaus-designed Nicklaus North Golf Course and the Big Sky Golf and Country Club, designed by Robert Cupp, offer an unparalleled experience. Stay and play package start at $139 per person, per night make it easier than ever to master the Whistler golf experience. The Whistler...

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Why Pay Retail When You Can Save Up To 80% On Hotel Stays In Orlando, Hollywood, Or The Florida Keys

Auction Closing On October 9th OffersGreat Deals For Those Who Want To Travel This Fall And Winter. For those who hate to pay retail and prefer to shop at places like Marshall’s, TJ Maxx, and Home Goods,FloridaVacationAuction.com is for you!  Never pay rack rate at top hotels throughout Florida again - when you can stay at Four Diamond resorts at 80% off retail! Here are three of the top hotel and restaurants steals on auction during the week of October 2, which will be available for bidding up until 9:59 p.m. on Sunday, October 9: Hawks Cays Resort, Duck Island, Florida Keys: 3 Days/2 Nights Retail Value is $821. The Buy Direct Special Offer is only $680. Opening Auction Bid is only $165, a Savings...

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