If you had $5.5 million to spend, would you buy a private island near Hilton Head?

Here's the deal. I got this email and thought, "If I had $5.5 million to spend, would I buy an island off Hilton Head in South Carolina? Would you? It's big enough to build your own private golf course. No waiting for a tee time!   Here are the details: http://bit.ly/bHHAlZ   And no, I'm not selling nor buying the property...just curious...   UNBELIEVABLE SALE: SAVAGE ISLAND PLANTATION Price: $5,495,000.00 413 (+/-) acres of exclusive, private, recreational plantation adjacent to Palmetto Bluff and Hilton Head Island. This pristine Maritime Island has complete versatility as a sportsman's paradise or private retreat offering quail hunting, fishing, shrimping, crabbing, and relaxation. The property hosts a comfortable low-country lodge w/water views of Bull and Savage Creeks.  Price includes a Mainland Caretaker Cottage with Joint Dock Agreement (1/2 Undivided Interest) and Landing Easement. (Call for copy of all documents).  Experience the majestic beauty of South Carolina's Treasured Coast on Hilton Head Island. From lone reeds swaying in the marsh breezes to the flat, sandy beaches along the Treasured Coast to the thick forests of tall pines and live oaks, Hilton Head Island's pristine beauty and protected ecosystem of wild foliage and animals is a nature lover's paradise. Enjoy a variety of outdoor activities year round on Hilton Head Island and take advantage of warm temperatures and salt air. Golf at any one of over two dozen courses, some with views of the Atlantic Ocean. Kayak the tidal waters of the coast and see wildlife up close or go fishing in our ocean waters. Sail the bay waters of South Carolina and watch the dunes roll into the horizon. Or, hike beaten trails and lose yourself in the beauty of the Carolinas.

Website:  http://www.hiltonheadluxuryproperties.com

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Loch March Golf Course: Inspiring Publinks in Ottawa

Public golf courses that are both challenging and inspirational are a thorny issue. You want to invite your friends to play but, in the same vein, you hope word doesn't spread so that you are always assured a tee time!

Such is the state of affairs at Loch March Golf & Country Club in Kanata, Ontario.

Considered "impressive" by players who have made this their "slice of golf paradise" could become a double-edged sword as Loch March considers itself "exclusively public" with no memberships nor initiation fees, fully accessible to the masses.

Carved from three-hundred acres of unspoiled forest, Loch March is ranked as one of the twelve best public golf courses in Ontario.

The Course stretches to just under 7,000 yards with four sets of tees to choose from. A "risk/reward" test of skills for all abilities, Loch March allows you to play with different levels of golfer, from beginner to advanced, and impels you to use all of the clubs in your bag. Download the course onto SkyCaddie and you will gain even more of an edge!

 

The Beauty of Loch March Golf & Country Club

Before setting out with your foursome, prepare at the superb practice facilities complete with range, short game area and exacting 44,000 square foot putting green. During your round, enjoy the beautiful March Highlands and afterwards relax at the inviting 10,000 square foot Clubhouse.

Contained within a resort atmosphere, Loch March is friendly and service-oriented. The price per round is more than fair for the first-class experience you will receive.

When planning a vacation to Canada, add Loch March to your list of Ottawa golf courses. Then check out the great buzz surrounding Ottawa, from the culinary scene to the "sprawling collection of neighborhoods linked by greenways and canals." Modern yet charming with a decidedly French flavor, Ottawa is worth a visit.

Michelle Wie "out", Creamer "in" as new face of LPGA?

In his recent blog, Chuck Curti said that, as golf fans are waiting for Michelle Wie to live up to her potential and become the "Tiger Woods" of the LPGA, Paula Creamer may be stepping in to become the next "heroine" of women's professional golf.

"We’re still waiting." Curti woefully conveyed. "Wie has not yet lived up to her potential, and her performance at the U.S. Women’s Open last week was nothing short of putrid."

Where the Wie conundrum is certainly true, Paula Creamer, the girl who up until her win this weekend at the U.S. Women's Open never won a major, has now "earned the right to be the face of women's golf?"

Although Paula Creamer has nine career wins and is still a youngster at 23, how many golf fans have watched the LPGA  golf to get a glimpse of the Pink Panther making a tremendous save? How many more will do so now that Creamer is a major winner?

Perhaps Creamer's career "incentive" of working through a thumb injury to perform at the level it takes to win at Oakmont will be her "aha moment" and create the stuff of legends.

Creamer's thoughts?

"It just shows, you know, how much the mental side of golf can really take over. You know, I believed I could do this. I believed I could do this when I had a cast on my hand.

That's what I just kept thinking about was Oakmont, Oakmont, Oakmont."

Michelle Wie's take on the U.S. Women's Open MC? “A complete fail,” Wie said, adding, “There are a lot of things I need to work on.”

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Michelle Wie says "Tomorrow is a Whole New Day" at U.S. Open

Here is the Michelle Wie transcript after an apparent first round golf meltdown at the U.S. Women's Open. At least Wie remains positive and when you are positive there is still hope!

Will Michelle Wie make the cut? Oakmont is not allowing for easy scoring and the current projected cut is +11!

MICHELLE WIE
Q. You found yourself 8 over after eight holes. Must be dejecting. What do you say to yourself? It's not easy to make birdies and make up that ground.

MICHELLE WIE: Oh, yeah, it's like I'm playing fantastic right now. It's a great day. But, I felt a little better. Hopefully tomorrow will be a lot better.

Q. What are the things you need to improve on tomorrow?
MICHELLE WIE: Everything. (Laughing.)

Q. That's a tall order.
MICHELLE WIE: Hopefully I can pull it off.

Q. What kind of positives can you take away from today?
MICHELLE WIE: Positives? You know, I'm trying to find 'em. You know, just had a couple of good shots out there. I say a couple. Not many. But hopefully tomorrow will be a whole new day and hopefully I'll play a lot better.

Q. It's a tough not to get frustrated?
MICHELLE WIE: I was trying not to today. It's kind of one of those days where nothing goes as planned. But, you know, I felt better coming in, so tomorrow hopefully start off on the right foot.
Try and make up for a couple birdies and try and have a good weekend.

Q. Was it more your game or more the golf course that was troublesome?
MICHELLE WIE: Oh, it was definitely my game. I didn't play well at all today.

Q. You missed a lot of fairways.
MICHELLE WIE: Yeah, you can't really do that. Mostly I think it was just the putting that got me. You know, I felt like my irons were good. My wedges were good. I just need to put it in the fairways so I can hit those.

Q. (Indiscernible) After that, how do you settle yourself down?
MICHELLE WIE: There was nothing I could do. You know, I try my hardest and things didn't really work out. I just try to move forward.

Q. You played better on the back. Does that give you any hope for tomorrow, you know, a little bit of momentum going into tomorrow?
MICHELLE WIE: Tomorrow is a whole new day. I'm just going to go out there and try to shoot my best.



The U.S. Women's Open First Round Notes and Transcripts for the following golfers can be found here.  
Brittany Lang, -2
M.J. Hur, -1
Amy Yang, -1
Inbee Park, -1
Mhairi McKay, E
Sakura Yokomine, E
Cristie Kerr, +1
Paula Creamer, +1
Kristy McPherson, +1
Song-Hee Kim, +1
Eun-Hee Ji, +6

NOTABLE TEE TIMES:

---

Morning tee times

7:00 a.m.         (a) Kelli Shean*, (a) Jaye Marie Green, Esther Choe(# 1 tee)

7:33 a.m.         Natalie Gulbis, Inbee Park*, Pat Hurst (# 1 tee)

7:33 a.m.         Stacy Lewis, Amy Yang*, Alexis Thompson (# 10 tee)

7:44 a.m.         Juli Inkster, Jee Young Lee, Christina Kim (# 1 tee)

7:44 a.m.         Cristie Kerr, Yani Tseng, Anna Nordqvist (# 1 tee)

8:06 a.m.         M.J. Hur*, Helen Alfredsson, Katherine Hull (# 10 tee)

8:28 a.m.         Brittany Lang*, Momoko Ueda, Seon Hwa Lee (# 10 tee)

Afternoon tee times

12:30 p.m.       Mhairi McKay*, Brittany Altomare, Charlotte Majorkas (#1 tee)

1:03 p.m.         Ai Miyazato, Jiyai Shin, Michelle Wie (# 1 tee)

1:03 p.m.         Morgan Pressel, Maria Hjorth, Candie Kung (# 10 tee)

1:14 p.m.         Angela Stanford, Suzann Pettersen, Paula Creamer (# 1 tee)

1:14 p.m.         Brittany Lincicome, Sakura Yokomine*, Heekyung Seo (# 10 tee)

Interesting to see Ai Miyazato paired with Michelle Wie and that Wie already started Round 2 with a bogey!

MICHELLE WIE Live Scoring

Rnd 2  Rnd 1# 39 43 82  Status +12 +12 ROUND 2

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Michelle Wie sings the U.S. Open blues

Round one of the U.S. Women's Open is underway and it looks as if Michelle Wie is already struggling to stay above the cut line! Yet another climb to mediocrity for the golfer who was once on everyone's lips as the female Tiger Woods!

 

The LPGA leaderboard currently has Wie's score at +9 with three double bogeys, several bogeys with a few pars thrown in to add a little spice to the mix. Perhaps it would have been better if Michelle would have failed to qualify as it was during the 2009 Open where Wie wound up missing the cut by one stroke.

 

Sure Oakmont Country Club is a tough test but major tournaments are meant to bring out the best golfers and everyone is playing under the same conditions so, since there is plenty of golf left to play, get busy Michelle.

“It’s always a grind,” Wie says of the national tournament. “It’s a tough golf course. I just have to play the best I can and come out on top.”

 

Recent tweets by Michelle Wie ("themichellewie"):

On Oakmont CC  10:08 AM Jul 6th: So excited for the US Open this week! We are playing at Oakmont CC, so challenging but so beautiful! http://fb.me/AWfNyiHT

 

Is the U.S. Open all about the shoes for MW?   8:50 AM Jul 7th:  As for Check out my US Open surprise shoes from Nike Golf! I loveee them!!! http://fb.me/sxRa1SXi   via Facebook

 

Really want to get to know Michelle Wie? Check out her blog: http://ablackflamingo.blogspot.com/

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Top Golf Travel Destinations from Conde Nast - Fact or Phony?

The Top 80 Golf Travel Destinations in the June edition of Conde Nast Magazine were taken to task by golf and travel writer Larry Olmstead who has trouble understanding why some of golf courses and "dream destinations" were left off the list. These vacation hot spots, mentions Conde Nast, were chosen by thousands of resort golfers based on varying standards from course design, golf staff, rooms and service, dining and location.

The subjective nature of the article should hardly be perceived of as "stupid journalism" and should only be considered as a guideline for golfers sitting on the fence about where to travel and what golf courses to consider.

Four Seasons Resort, Maui at Wailea, Blue Course

In his first article about the "stupid in golf journalism", Olmstead states that, "a single respondent can make the difference between a property being ranked among the best in the world or being left off the list."

In his third tirade against the Conde Nast Magazine article, Mr. Olmstead continues to make a few serious points regarding omissions to the list and "how many will actually buy plane tickets and make reservations and tee times, and in the process, how many will get ripped off and waste their time. I especially pity those who will arrive at the “best” golf resort to find little or no golf at all."

The poll was based upon golf travelers' personal experiences and, although some people may disagree with the results, this should be considered as a "bucket list" of sorts, where golfers can check venues off the list, if lucky enough, not a "be-all-and-end-all" guide when traveling through Arizona, Hawaii, South Carolina and Florida.

I see Hilton Head Island Marriott is listed for example and, although I have enjoyed several vacations in South Carolina, both in Hilton Head and throughout Myrtle Beach, I cannot discount nor give this vacation spot accolades.

Therefore, when you peruse through the golf destinations on this list, use it as a "thought-provoker" and then get on the internet or ask friends and travel agents but make sure to do your research!

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