Are These the Best Golf Courses to Play in the USA for Beginners?

Golf blogger Angela Harper has compiled a short list of a few of the best golf courses in the United States and has shared it with Golf for Beginners blog. In the opinion of GFB, these courses are not meant for beginners nor for the faint of heart. Do you agree? 

Golf can be a wonderful game, ripe with precision and either tension or relaxation... depending on who you're playing with and the course you've decided to play. For the most part, even if you're a beginner, you should still start on a regular field where you'll be able to practice real swings instead of a typical mini golf course. You may believe a smaller course will be easier to master, however if you want to be really good as gold you will need to practice your swings at full force and in the exact conditions you were meant to play. Although the golf courses listed below are a few of the best courses to play in the USA, I recommend you play courses which are more forgiving, or from more forward tees allowing you to get the most out of your game.


1.      Pacific Dunes in Bandon, Oregon

This 18 hole has a par 71 and it opened back in 2001 by design of Tom Doak. There is a great variety of terrain here ranging from nice green grass to sand dunes and you'll have a wonderful chance to enjoy golfing here at its best. You can even attend the training facility available on the grounds as well as the driving range. You can find it on the following address:

57744 Round Lake Drive, Bandon, OR 97411

2.      Tournament Players Club at Sawgrass

Located in Jacksonville in sunny Florida, TPC Sawgrass was built in 1980 and has served as the location of The Players Championship for many years now. The area is specifically built to accommodate spectators so if you're feeling brave you can invite your friends to behold your incredible skills. The island green on the 17th hole is a great place to go diving for golf balls! It is an 18 hole, par 72 golf course and you can have some quality time there on this address:

110 Championship Way, Ponte Vedra Beach, FL 32082

TPC Sawgrass 17th hole

3.      Pebble Beach Golf Links

A rather more difficult 10-hole, par 72 golf course located in Pebble Beach, California. You can enjoy a better challenge here and their driving range and training course as well. The place was founded in 1919 and it carries quite the history with it. The prices for the green might be a little steep though they are definitely worth it because of its gorgeous destination right by the ocean. You can find it here:

1700 17 Mile Drive, Pebble Beach, CA 93953

Pebble Beach Golf Links

4.      Spyglass Hill, California

Once again located in Pebble Beach, this particular course was created in 1966 by the famous golf arhitect Robert Trent Jones Sr. who created an incredible amount of those around the 50 states. It is said that the first few holes of this course are the most difficult in the world, so you might want to skip it if you're not feeling up to the challenge. You'll be able to find it on here:

Spyglass Hill Rd & Stevenson Drive, Pebble Beach, CA 93953

5.      Whistling Straits, Wisconsin

Created by Pete Dye and designed on par with the instructions of the founder Her Kohler, this is a nice 18-hole, 72 par golf course right on the shores of Lake Michigan. Whistling Straits been the host of the PGA Championship in 2004 and 2007 US Senior Open as well as being a wonderful place to play links-style golf. You can visit and play on the following address:

N 8501 County LS, Sheboygan, WI 53083

Whistling Straits

Guest post by A. Harpert- a passionate traveler and adventurer by hobby and calling. She's a real expert in finding the most amazing holiday rentals for your vacation.

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Woods and McIlroy Agree, Stress Kills Your Golf Game. Five Easy Fixes.

Why is it, on occasion, pros like Rory McIlroy begin by playing one of the greatest rounds of golf and end up with one of the ugliest scorecards at the end of eighteen holes? What happens when that mental breakdown occurs and what can be done to stop it?

I received an email today which prefaced these questions with a reminder of McIlroy's falling out at the 2011 Masters: from erratic drives to some of his worst putting and chipping, Rory's golf game completely unravelled. Why? Jon Wortmann, University of Connecticut golf coach and leading stress-relief expert Dr. Julian Ford believe that McIlroy ignored his stress instead of 'acknowledging it, labeling it and embracing it.'

Since that fateful Masters, McIlroy has considerably upped his game. Instead of stressing that he was trailing in the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai, Rory kicked it up a notch when he needed it most and birdied the final five holes to win. European Tour Golfer Paul McGinley called Rory "Tiger-esque" as Woods "laid down the platform over the last decade as to how to go into overdrive in a tournament."

Rory McIlroy stepped up his game, acknowledged his position, embraced it and moved forward with momentum: Tiger Woods although once the teacher of stress management, has done much damage to himself and to his golf game through "suffering and self-sabotage" and, due to this ongoing trauma, may never return to his former greatness.

Although the average golfer may never achieve the focus that either McIlroy or Woods can actualize during a round of golf, the combined efforts of Wortmann and Ford have written, "Hijacked By Your Brain: How to Free Yourself When Stress Takes Over" offering easy, do-it-yourself strategies you need to know to make stress work for you, not against you.



Here are a few golf tips written by Wortmann to help improve your confidence and limit stress on the course:

1. "We try to hit the ball harder." The moment we think about hitting the ball further than we usually do, it triggers an alarm (the amygdala) in our brain. Our brain knows our driver usually goes a certain distance. It knows what our go-to or stock swing feels like. The moment we try to get a little more out of it, our brain knows it's not possible, it wants to prevent us from making a mistake, and the ensuing tightness from the stress response causes a tight swing. Tight swings produce over the top snap hooks or blocks when we don't release the club.

2. "We try to make putts." When we try to make a putt, we focus on the result rather than the process of making a great stroke. The only things we can control when putting is the direction we start the ball and how hard we hit it. Just like trying to hit the ball too far, our alarm wants us to stay focused on making a good stroke. The thinking center in the brain can only focus on one thing at a time. Thinking about making the putt (the future) makes it impossible to focus our mind and body on what we need to do in the present to make a firm, confident stroke.

3. "We think we can play our best without warming up." Our memories centers in our brains are filled with the great shots of our lives. The problem is some days we've got our "A" game; other days, we can't hit a fairway even if it's 200 yards wide. Warm up is the time where you let the brain see what the body is doing that day so it can help us focus on the shots we know we can execute.

4. "We think there is something wrong with us when we can't take the shots we hit easily on the range to the course." The pressure of playing, whether with buddies or in a tournament, is a totally different environment than the range. The brain doesn't care if you miss a shot on the range. Your alarm cares deeply if you're playing for a score. It doesn't want you to miss, so it sends a stress signal (that's the tight feeling, nervousness, or breathing quickly) to make sure you pay attention to what you're doing. The good news is that the answer to playing better on course is a fun one for every golfer: you simply have to play more on course or in competition and your brain will get used to the pressure (as long as you work on focusing on consistent swings, not hitting it harder or thinking too much about results).

5. "We think one good round means we've figured the game out." Golf is different every shot and every round. That's what makes it challenging. Our brains love a challenge; that's why even playing bad golf can be rewarding. The road to better golf is lumpy, often with more terrible and mediocre rounds than great ones. We have to celebrate the days when we have the energy, time, and serendipity to play well, and realize that the bad rounds are a chance to learn what we need to practice, both the mental and physical skills of the game we love. Celebrating the great rounds as rare and precious is how we value the memory. The stronger our emotional attachments to memories, the more easily we can repeat what we've done well before.

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Click for more information on "Hijacked By Your Brain: How to Free Yourself When Stress Takes Over"

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Unusual Golf Courses from the Earth to the Moon!

When it comes to playing golf, there are many places to execute your best shots from local courses to some great destinations around the world. Traveling globally let's you experience unique and even strange golf courses during your travels. Golf writer Angela Harper shares her favorite adventures and unusual destinations with Golf for Beginners blog.

The beautiful thing about golf is that you can either play it as a relaxing game or as a competitive sport depending on who you play it with...however there is one thing we all agree on – there is nothing better than a gratifying golf course! There are a number of strange and unusual golf courses we have heard about that we wish to share with you. Here goes:



 1.      Lunar golf course?
We know this is still in fiction, however American astronaut Alan Shepard was the first man to ever hit a golf ball on the Moon. Ever since then the Japanese company Shimizu Construction has a plan for a golf course on the moon complete with blueprints for eventual future development when and if the opportunity arises. Very optimistic and daring...right?

 2.      Nullarbor Links Golf Course
By far the longest golf course in the world, this Australian wonder spans a whopping 1365 km. The average distance between two holes is 66 km so you better hope your golf cart is capable of running for miles upon miles. Take plenty of water and a great deal of  patience as the course may take up to almost a week to complete.

Coober Pedy Golf Course

3.      Coober Pedy, Australia
And of course, once again here we are in Australia: this particular course is a very strange experience since the area is so dry and arid there is simply no vegetation. You can also play at night using phosphorescent golf balls which make it unforgettable. It makes us wonder whether you need night vision goggles to play or do they use powerful flashlights to illuminate the area? Night golf, however, requires an appointment and a minimum of four people to stage so choose your friends (or enemies) wisely before embarking on this adventure.

 

4.      Uummannaq, Greenland
By far the world's coldest golf course where everything is played at sub-zero temperatures at otherwise the same rules. You are using a high-contrast orange ball since the surface you're playing on is completely white and with slightly larger holes and shorter distances between them. Dress warm and enjoy a golfing experience like no other.

The Lost City Golf Course

5.      The Lost City Golf Course
Located in Sun City, South Africa this course is a beautiful experience with gorgeous greenery in an otherwise more arid climate. It is mostly known for its aptly-numbered hole number 13 which has real living crocodiles living near it so the place usually serves as a graveyard for golf balls that ventured too far into croc territory. Prepare to lose a few golf balls playing unless you're willing to tackle the crocodiles in search for your missing ball.

 6.     Bonus: Camp Bonifas UN Base
If you are feeling very adventurous and you don't mind the friendly North Korean military base not far away from the golf course, their watchful eyes and the nice fairway surrounded by landmines you might have a great time. Then again its only one hole and the only chance you'll have to experience that would be if you are working with the UN so its hardly a working golf course, however it is worth the mention because of its interesting location.

Guest post by A. Harpert- a passionate traveler and adventurer by hobby and calling. She's a real expert in finding the most appropriate rental and vacation homes for your perfect trip.

Voice your opinion on Twitter @Golf4Beginners and friend us on Facebook!

photo credits: A View from the Meadow.  Coober Pedy, SouthAftrica-travel.net

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