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HIT THE GREENS | It's almost too cold to golf in Chicago, but here's how to get in a few swings around the world
For my money the best golf options are right here in Chicago. I should know. Of the 350 member courses listed by the Chicago District Golf Association in Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana and Michigan I've played 192 during my 36 years as the Sun-Times golf writer.
Unfortunately there comes a time each year -- and it's right about now -- when those options are no longer available. Sure, there are Chicago courses that stay open year-around, but it just gets too cold -- even for a diehard like me. Now, there are ways to fill that golfing void. One is to stay here and visit the indoor facilities that have sprung up in recent years. Another is to make some trips -- and I don't necessarily mean to renowned hot spots such as Pinehurst in North Carolina; Kiawah Island, Myrtle Beach and Hilton Head in South
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Carolina; Doral, Amelia Island and Innisbrook in Florida; Troon North in Arizona; Bandon Dunes in Oregon; Pebble Beach in California, and Kapalua in Hawaii. Those are just fine, and a treat to play anytime, assuming you have the time and money to do it.
Not all of us are fortunate enough to maintain a steady diet of such vacation trips. You can find a way around that problem if you're able to make at least a few short trips to warm weather spots and can budget your time. As this newspaper's hockey writer I make lots short trips, and they take me to California, Florida and Arizona -- where golf is a year-around sport -- as well as cities like Nashville, St. Louis and Vancouver, where the golf season is a bit longer than it is in Chicago.
I've found you don't have to go to the resorts or even the upscale public facilities in those cities to enjoy a few hours on the links. The courses listed in literature available at the hotels can be expensive and frequently hard to get on at the spur of the moment. A better way to find a course is to go to the phone book in the city you're visiting. There's a lot more options there than at the hotel's concierge desk.
Here's how you play year-around golf when you don't have much time but feel you just might want to cure that golfing itch.
First, you don't bring your clubs along -- unless, of course -- you're making a driving trip. They're cumbersome at airports, and it's not necessary to endure that aggravation. Just pack your golf shoes, appropriate clothes and a small bag containing a few balls (I always have six), tees and a golf hat. They take up very little space. Rental clubs are available at most every course these days. Sometimes they aren't much good, but I've found that playing with rental clubs -- even bad ones -- brings a new, mentally-challenging aspect to the round. After all, you're not trying to win the U.S. Open, you're just trying to enjoy a few hours in a usually pleasant setting. If you can't squeeze in a round, no problem. Maybe you just have time to hit balls at a driving range. That's not so bad, either, but you do want to at least have your golf shoes available.
Next, check out your time availability after you get settled in your new location. If it permits golf, go to the phone book and see what public courses are nearby. Call ahead to check on greens fees and tee time availability. If you're on a tight budget seek out the municipally-owned courses. They're generally cheaper. If your time availability is iffy find a nine-hole or par-3 course. They may not be entirely fulfilling, but they're still fun.
It's always a good idea to ask a local's advice on where to play. You can get some great bargains that way.
The best of my such ventures came on a visit to Tampa, Fla., a few Decembers back. I had my doubts about finding a course on a Sunday afternoon in great weather, but I was told I'd have no problem if I was willing to make a 30-mile drive.
"You'll find a course that doesn't cost much and there'll be nobody on it,'' I was told.
Still doubtful, but with nothing else to do, I drove to the Abbey -- a course owned by St. Leo's College. For $23 I got an 18-hole greens fee, rental clubs and the use of a power cart on a virtually empty -- though admittedly very basic -- course. That course has changed ownership since my visit, but the greens fees are still virtually the same. Further down the road is the 36-hole Bobby Jones Golf Complex in Sarasota. It's been a long-time favorite, mainly because of the cost factor and the availability of tee times.
I also found an extraordinary deal in Los Angeles. For years my trips to California had been generally disappointing golf-wise. I always felt that, considering the climate, there would be plenty of golf options. There are some, but it took me years to find the best one. Staying near Los Angeles International Airport, I was advised by a local friend to take a half-hour's drive to Los Verdes, a county-owned course in Rancho Palos Verdes. It's just a 10-minute drive from Donald Trump's more famous Trump National. The Trump course generally carries a greens fee around $300. Los Verdes charges $22 walking on weekdays and another $13 if you want a power cart, and -- believe me -- it's a great layout. The only problem is, it's usually quite busy. The locals know a good thing when they see one, but -- playing as a single -- I was able to get paired without a long wait.
Another excellent option is Rancho Park, which is in the heart of Los Angeles and is rich in golf history. The Los Angeles Open was played there for years. Like Los Verdes, it doesn't cost much but it's not easy to get a tee time and your round won't be a quick one. You might find it easier to get out at 36-hole Brookside, a moderately-priced facility in the shadow of the Rose Bowl football stadium in Pasadena.
Usually when I'm in L.A. I don't have enough time to spend even a half-day on golf. That's why it's nice to stay at the Manhattan Beach Marriott, just a few minutes from the airport. It has its own nine-hole course and another, The Links at El Segundo, is less than a mile away.
It's much easier to get an 18-hole round in around the San Francisco-San Jose area. The San Jose Municipal course and Santa Clara Country Club have been regular stops for me when I'm in that area.
While trips to Florida and California mean surefire golf opportunities, you don't have to go as far as you might think to find a course open in the winter in a milder climate than Chicago. The Missouri Ozarks offers year-around golf and handles the cold-weather months well. I've enjoyed Osage National and Witch's Cove, and the Club at Old Kinderhook, Seasons Ridge and Dogwood Hills also have been well-recommended. Around St. Louis I've enjoyed myself at two courses just over the Illinois line -- Spencer T. Olin in Alton and Annbriar in Waterloo -- at times of the year when golf was too difficult in Chicago.
Another on my docket for this winter is Country Creek, in Franklin, Ky., 30 minutes from Nashville. With some of its holes visible off Interstate 65, Country Creek's designer and owner is Kenny Perry, the veteran PGA Tour player. Not know for his design work, Perry tells me his course is user-friendly and that's enticing. So is the $28 (with cart) greens fee for 18 holes on weekdays.
If you don't mind paying top dollar you can try Pebble Beach Golf Links in California, where a greens fee is $425 or the Blue Monster course at Doral in Florida, where the price can reach $295. Then there's TPC at the Canyons, where a greens fee can run $265, or the Bali Hai Golf Club, where it can cost $295. Both are in Las Vegas. Expensive golf isn't hard to find, but you'll find the price is frequently not worth it.
The bottom line is, don't give up on playing golf just because cold weather is setting in. Keep your swing in shape by visiting the indoor facilities here on at least a weekly basis, then -- when the opportunity exists on the road -- take advantage of it. There's plenty of affordable golf to be played in the next few months if just look hard enough.
LOS VERDES, 7000 W. Los Verdes Dr., Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif., 25 miles from Los Angeles, (310) 377-7888.
MANHATTAN BEACH MARRIOTT, 1400 Parkview Ave., Manhattan Beach, Calif., five miles from Los Angeles, (310) 939-9954.
THE LINKS AT EL SEGUNDO, 400 S. Sepulveda Dr., El Segundo, Calif., five miles from Los Angeles, (310) 322-0202.
SAN JOSE MUNICIPAL, 1560 Oakland Rd., San Jose, Calif., (408) 441-4653.
SANTA CLARA GOLF & TENNIS CLUB, 5155 Stars and Stripes Dr., Santa Clara, Calif., 12 miles from San Jose, (408) 980-9515.
OSAGE NATIONAL, Osage Hills Rd., Lake Ozark, Mo., 150 miles from St. Louis, (573) 365-1950.
THE CLUB AT OLD KINDERHOOK, Lake Rd. 54-80, Camdenton, Mo., 140 miles from St. Louis, (573) 346-4444.
DOGWOOD HILLS, 1252 State Hwy. KK, Osage Beach, Mo., 160 miles from St. Louis, (573) 348-3153.
SEASON'S RIDGE, Horseshoe Bend Pkwy., Lake Ozark, Mo., 150 miles from St. Louis, (573) 365-8544.
WITCH'S COVE, Horseshoe Bend Pkway., Lake Ozark, Mo., 150 miles from St. Louis, (573) 365-8544.
SPENCER T. OLIN, 4701 College Ave., Alton, Ill., 25 miles from St. Louis, (618) 465-3111.
ANNBRIAR, 1524 Birdie Ln., Waterloo, Ill., 25 miles from St. Louis, (618) 939-4653.
PEBBLE BEACH GOLF LINKS, 1700 17-Mile Dr., 115 miles from San Francisco, Pebble Beach, Calif., (831) 624-3811.
DORAL BLUE MONSTER, 4400 N.W. 87th Ave., Miami, Fla., (305) 592-2000.
TPC AT THE CANYONS, 9851 Canyyon Run Dr., Las Vegas, Nev., 10 miles from Las Vegas, (702) 256-2000.
BALI HAI GOLF CLUB, 5160 Las Vegas Blvd., Las Vegas, Nev., (702) 450-8000.
THE ABBEY, St. Leo, Fla., 30 miles from Tampa, (352) 588-2016.