Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Hawaii Golf Courses in Oahu and Maui

Hawaii map
One of my life-fulfilling wishes is to visit Hawaii, especially Oahu, where the entertainment value is high, the beaches and scenery are unparalleled and the golf is plenty.

And so I was excited to be asked as a guest on The Golf Club Radio Show with Danielle Tucker, to chat about the 60th Jennie K Invitational, the condition of Mid Pacific Country Club and Hawaii Golf in general.

As I googled and then clicked on the link to "Mid-Pac" Country Club, as it is called, you can't help but notice the beautiful scenery; crystal blue waters, mountains covered in light, fluffy clouds and sunsets that take your breath away. "Mid-Pac" is both "challenging and enjoyable" as stated on their website but, during our conversations with a few of the golfers prior to their respective rounds, I could see that the emphasis focused on "demanding".

Questioning Jason Amoy, Superintendent of "Mid-Pac" and also a guest on the Show, led me to understand the amount of work needed to make the greens and the course USGA "friendly" as well.

Although "Mid-Pac" is a "private" Country Club, you might be able to contact the Head Professional and obtain a tee time. It's worth a try!

There are many other stunning Hawaii golf courses, so bring your sticks or rent a set because you will have such fun figuring out the trade winds that you will want to play golf every day!



Palmer Course at Turtle Bay Resort
Several such "gems" are the Arnold Palmer and Tom Fazio Courses at Turtle Bay Resort. Located on Oahu's North Shore, Turtle Bay Resort is best known for the LPGA and Champions Tour events held at the beginning of the golf season. Turtle Bay Resort is now also the home of the Hawaii State Open.

NBC Golf Analyst Mark Rolfing stated that "the Palmer Course is the best course on Oahu and Golf Digest listed it as one of the "2009 Top-100 Public Courses in America."



Ko'Olau Golf Course
If your preference is to gaze at the amazing Ko'olau Ridge Mountain while being surrounded by a lush, tropical rain forest, plan a visit to the Ko'olau Golf Club. Rated the Number One Golf Course on Oahu by Golf Digest and nicknamed The Worlds Most Challenging Golf Course, tee times are about $130 per person which could be considered a "bargain" depending on how you score!



When planning your Hawaii golf vacation, also consider Ewa Beach Golf Club, which is carved from a forest and considered a 'links' course as well as Honolulu Magazine's favorite, Makaha West Golf Club at Makaha Resort.

If you are not sure that you can get around to 18 holes or you want to play 27, score a tee time at Hawaii Prince Golf Club which offers three interchangeable nines.

For travelers who are considering 'island-hopping' through Hawaii, Maui is considered to be a premier destination for golf. Only a 30 minute flight from Oahu (about 70 miles) it is close enough to travel back-and-forth a few times in order to play some of the courses there.

Morgan Pressel won the inaugural LPGA Classic held at the magnificent Kapalua Bay Course there and is the Resort's host professional. The Ka'anapali Golf Courses are more "must-plays." For those who wish to play golf near a volcano, don't miss "Old Blue" or Wailea Golf Club, at the base of Mt. Haleakala.

I believe that skorts are a fashionable way to dress on Hawaii golf courses and so I think I will reserve the grass skirts for the hula at the Luau party afterward!

Click on the link to schedule your Hawaii tee times.

Monday, June 14, 2010

Tiger Woods Not Alone on Jupiter Island

The 10,000 square foot behemoth on Jupiter Island that Tiger Woods calls home is finally near completion but will Woods feel lonely when he moves back in?

Hardly as he shares the Island with some very high profile celebrities including Celine Dion, Nick Price, Burt Reynolds and Greg Norman. Norman tried to sell his digs last year for $65 million, couldn't find a buyer, dropped his price to $45 million, took it off the market and now has placed the mansion back into circulation for $65 million.

Former Lehman Bros. CEO Richard Fuld used to own digs on Jupiter Island but "sold" it to his wife for $100 after the company plummeted into bankruptcy.

Here is a picture of the old TW "house" and a link to the renovated Tiger Woods estate which includes a 9,500 square foot exercise building, oxygen therapy room (for when the air gets too thin) and two pools. I understand that one of those pools is a "reflecting" pool for when Tiger needs to rethink how his life has changed over the past year.




<=====Tiger Woods' house BEFORE renovation

Click here to see the NEW and IMPROVED Tiger Woods Estate and pictures of Celine Dion's and Greg Norman's digs.

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Birthday Gifts for Phil Mickelson, the man who has it all!

For Phil Mickelson's 39th birthday last year, wife Amy presented him with a dinosaur head, possibly a "Tarbosaurus bataar."

What do you give the "man who has everything" as Mickelson called himself?

Before you say "rocking chair", I've come up with gifts that Phil might appreciate for his 40th birthday.

1. One year of assorted Krispy Kreme donuts. Mickelson's favorite!

2. A winning assortment of "goodies" from Callaway. Mickelson has been testing new Callaway equipment and now needs the right driver, swing adjustments and confidence boosters to secure the U.S. Open trophy.

3. Five Guys now Six Guys? Mickelson won the bid to franchise Five Guys Burgers in Orange County, CA. Perhaps a winning shake to go with "the best burgers I've ever tasted"?

5. First tee time with Paddy Harrington and Y.E. Yang at the 2010 U.S. Open? Nah!

A "pairing" with Tiger Woods would be a better gift with Mickelson thrashing Woods and coming out of the shadow of the world's number one golfer.

6. Okay, so we really can't give the gift of The Grand-Slam of Golf to Phil but it would be a great birthday wish. Phil is on his way with this year's Masters win. A little bit of confidence goes a long way.

Probably, the most important birthday wish I could offer to Phil Mickelson is for Amy and mom to make a full recovery. You just can't put a price on good health!

Monday, June 07, 2010

Lady Classic Golf Glove gives all-over tan and shows off a great manicure

Golfers can usually see that I am left-handed because I suffer from "ghost-hand", that dreaded affliction which comes from one gloved paw and the other one open to the effects of the sun.

Up until recently I grabbed golf gloves off the shelves, searching for a small, right-handed leftover that other lefties missed and that I could scavenge.

No more searching is needed as I have found the Lady Classic Golf Glove.

With a variety of colors and styles available and a unique UV Filter Fabric which offers SPF10 sun protection, the Lady Classic Solar Glove gives women the option of obtaining a great tan on the "ghost-hand" while looking tres-chic on the golf course.

Take a Lady Classic on vacation as well, remembering that the sun is not your friend.

The Lady Classic Golf Glove also comes in a soft-flex, ring finger and half-glove for showing off that glowing new manicure.

Grab a new T-Glove (which secures a tee to the glove) for your husband for when he asks, "What did you get for me?"

Check out the large selection of Lady Classic Golf Gloves: go to LadyClassic.com or call 1-800-669-LADY

Wednesday, June 02, 2010

Web-Series offers a 'Behind the Greens' look into the 2010 PGA Championship

Did you ever wonder how a golf tournament is created? Most people rarely realize the dedication and hard work necessary to transform a course such as Whistling Straits into the venue needed for the PGA Championship.

In the new web-series "Behind the Greens", fans can share in the excitement in the "building" of the 92nd PGA Championship, following the Course Superintendent, Operations Manager and Championship Director as they plan the event.

From the initial "build-out" on June 20th, you will be able to watch as Whistling Straits is transformed into a "small city", adding bleachers, tents, skyboxes and making sure there is "enough power cords to keep the mini-city running."

The web-series officially begins Thursday, June 3rd, but you can watch this cool trailer of Behind the Greens right now!

Tuesday, June 01, 2010

Is Nicklaus ready to skin Woods before the Memorial?

When Jack Nicklaus instituted the first nine-hole skins game before the 2009 Memorial Tournament, he chose Tiger Woods as one of this group. Fans got an eyeful watching the two greatest golfers in the world play side-by-side with Woods chipping in at eighteen to seal the deal.

Last year, Nicklaus said, "They had me paired in the other group, and I said, uh-uh. I said, 'I haven't played with him for nine years. I'd like to play with Tiger.' So they said OK. I'm really looking forward to it."

This year tells quite a different story as Nicklaus has extricated himself from Woods' group instead pairing himself with Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els, Sean O'Hair and Kenny Perry, all perceived by the public to be stand-up guys.

Not that Steve Stricker (one of my favorite golfers besides Mickelson), Zack Johnson or Jim Furyk won't add a bit of pizazz to Woods' foursome (Rory McIlroy has possibilities as you can watch the girls swooning all around him) but what was the method to Nicklaus' decision?

Bleacher Report asks, "Couldn't Jack have played with both of them?"

A Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus and Phil Mickelson pairing would have left all of the other great PGA Tour golfers struggling for television time. The only way you could get the cameras rolling on Team "B" would be if there was a hole-in-one or if one of the guys started cussing about something (microphones will be in use by the players.)

It's also good to switch up the golfers from one year to the next. Kenny Perry played in the 2009 Woods/Nicklaus group and he isn't in the Golden Bear's 2010 "fivesome".

Maybe Jack just doesn't want to hustle too much. In 2009 Nicklaus "made fun of himself for playing several of the par-4s like par-5s and suggested he needed to play from the forward tees." Tiger may be a tad too competitive for Nicklaus. Mickelson, just cut from the Colonial last week, may be more to his pace.

This feels a bit like Ryder Cup whimsy, doesn't it?


Free admission for kids tomorrow and, for those fans nowhere near Dublin, Ohio, you can catch the action on the Golf Channel from 1:00p.m. to 3:30 p.m.