Disney's Palm Golf Course

Recently my wife Peg, and I played Disney's Palm Golf Course. This course is located on the grounds of Walt Disney World. The greens fees are normally $140 per golfer (includes cart) however, the days are short in January so the course offers a special twilight rate of $70 per golfer (includes cart). This option works out well if you can get your tee time at two oclock. Our tee time was at two twelve on a Saturday and we were able to play 16 holes. We skipped holes 16 and 17 in order to play hole 18. Hole 18 has been considered one of the most difficult holes on the PGA tour. The FUNAI Classic is played here every year.

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What made this course particularly challenging is the placement of the sand bunkers. If you have trouble getting the ball in the air the sand traps will be problematic. Peg ran into this a few times. Many of the holes give you a choice of water on one side and trees on the other. When I say trees I really mean swamp. Alligators are not uncommon in this area so I considered any balls hit into these areas to be lost. If you are an average golfer or better I would definitely recommend this course. It was a lot of fun to play. The course staff was very friendly (it is Disney afterall). The golf carts were equipped with one of the better gps systems I have seen. The gps gave yardage information for all of the important shots on the course. It also shows you where both carts in your group are. I found this to be particularly helpful when the other half of our foursome was not in view. The golf pro shop had a variety of men's and women's golf apparel. All of the apparel had Disney's logos on it.

The Jewel Golf Course

The Jewel golf course on Mackinac Island. Mackinac is located in the upper peninsula of Michigan in the great lakes. It is only accessible via ferry boats or airplane. No motor vehicles are permitted on the island. We took our golf clubs with us. If you are staying at the Grand Hotel they will pick up your clubs at the ferry dock and deliver them to the club house.

The Jewel golf course is an 18 hole course owned and operated by The Grand Hotel. The green fees were $80 per golfer (hotel guest). The non-guest fees were $100. The jewel is the most beautiful golf course we have played. The front nine (known at the Jewel Nine) was relatively short. The course was in excellent condition. The main thing to keep in mind while playing this course is to play it smart. If you try to cut corners or take big risks this course will punish you. In other words keep it in the fairway. After the front nine a horse carriage will be waiting for you to take you to the back nine. The carriage ride takes about 15 minutes. You will be dropped off at restaurant called The Woods. The food here is very good. I recommend you plan on eating lunch here between nine.

The back nine (known as the Woods Nine) was a ton of fun to play. The longer and narrower fairways were quite challenging. In fact we enjoyed it more than the front. After the round the carriage will return you to the club house. TIP: Ask the carriage driver to take the West Bluff return route. You will not be disappointed!

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New Golf Equipment

With it being spring in Omaha. My wife and I were getting the urge to look at some new golf clubs. I was hesitant because we both had bought new clubs last year. We stopped by several stores that carry golf clubs. I hit irons from the leading manufacturers. I pretty much narrowed it down to two iron sets that I was interested in. The Taylormade R7 irons and the Callway x20 irons. It hit the R7's longer but I hit the X20's more consistently and straighter. I refered to Golf Digest's Equipment Hot List. Both the Callaway irons and the Taylormade irons ranked well in this year's edition. I had a tough decision to make. I bought the Callaway x20 irons with graphite shafts. The reason I choose these irons is because of the way they felt at impact. There was almost no resistance when you hit the ball. With the R7's I could really feel the club vibrate when I made contact. My wife went through a similar process and made the same decision. We bought her the same set of irons. She plays a men's set with regular flex because of her height.

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Quarry Oaks Tournament

This weekend I played another tournament with Mandy Houtz. The tournament was a four person scramble. Joining us were two friends of mine Jim and Chad. Both are very good golfers. We were competing with several teams of great golfers. It was a proverbial clash of the titans. The tournament was played at my favorite golf course Quarry Oaks. This tournament was a fundraiser for the Waverly school district. As a result each team was able to buy mulligans. If you play in a scramble I would strongly recommend buying mulligans if available. Even with players like Jim and Chad who are both capable of very long drives Mandy dominated on virtually every hole. We birdied 2 par fives and eagled the other. We finished the tournament 18 under. We had only one par all day long. The tournament was a lot of fun. I think next year will add at least one more female golfer to our team. I really enjoy playing with Mandy.

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Tournament for Heart Disease

Monday September 24 Mandy and I played in yet another golf tournament. The venue for this tournament was Oak Hills Country Club in Omaha, Nebraska. Joining us for this tournament was my good friend Bill and my wife Peg. First, Oak Hills is a beautiful golf course. I consider it one of the best golf courses in Omaha. The tournament was being held as an awareness for the American Heart Association. Nancy Griebel died suddenly from a heart attack. Heart disease is the number one killer of women in the United States. The AHA recommends that women get their blood pressure checked regularly. The event was a ton of fun for all.

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Stone Creek Golf Course

On September 29th I played in a 27 hole two man scramble with my friend Jamie. The tournament was held at Stone Creek Golf Course. The format was setup so that the first nine was a scramble format, the second nine was best ball format and the third nine was alternate shot. What made this tournament interesting was the 40 MPH wind. Every shot required the players to club down at least two clubs going into the wind. I could not believe how many of my shots went over the green with the wind behind us. Putting accurately was almost impossible as the wind would pull the ball off line. The tournament was a blast even with the wind. Stone Creek is a wonderful golf course. Blackstone is my personal favorite. Sandstone is the easiest and Greystone is the most challenging. The key to playing a 27 hole tournament is drinking plenty of fluids.

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Golf San Antonio Style

While on a business trip in San Antonio, Texas I had the opportunity to play the Palmer Course at La Cantera. This course is managed by the Troon Golf company. My business associates and I played from the gold tees. The yardage from the gold tees was 6535. This was one of the longest golf courses I have ever played. The scenery was outstanding. What was more interesting was that while we were playing the Palmer Course the PGA Texas Open was being played at the Westin La Cantera Championship course below us. We could see each group move to the different holes. It was pretty cool. Unfortunately Tiger was not playing. The Palmer Course was a lot of fun to play. The green fees were $125 per golfer but well worth it. This was one of the more difficult courses that I have played. The rough is virtually impossible to get a clean hit out of. I used my Taylormade 21 degree rescue wood alot that day. This course really makes you use every club in your bag. The texas heat was a bit much after 18. I recommend this course to anyone visiting San Antonio. It is located about 30 minutes from downtown.

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