US Airways Magazine - The 19th Hole


	HIDDEN TREASURE Located at the Pebble Beach resort in Monterey, California, Spyglass Hill is second mate to the nation’s most famous golf course. Still, the layout, named as an homage to Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island, isn’t exactly unknown: It’s ranked in the nation’s Top 10 and it has one of the best front nines you can play. This past spring Spyglass celebrated its 40th anniversary with $8 million in improvements. At nearly half a million dollars per hole, the renovations include 700 more trees, upgrades at every turn, and a new drainage system. An additional 120 yards make the layout into a sea monster that will continue to humble PGA players at the AT&T; National Pro-Am for years to come. One thing that has not changed, however, is the unbelievable setting, with spectacular views of the Pacific from between towering sand dunes. Visit pebblebeach.com.

HIGH TEE

About 2 billion golf tees are sold every year, and manufacturers have promised greater accuracy and more distance with all sorts of weird hi-tech tees that use bristles, plastics, and other gimmicks. One of the biggest variables in every tee shot is the exact height of the ball, since a few millimeters can mean the difference between a shank and the sweet spot, especially with today’s oversized drivers and high faces. Now one company promises the most elusive thing in golf — consistency — with wood. Aimed specifically at the various-sized clubs, Pride Golf’s Professional Tee System offers four different length tees (up to 4 inches, the maximum allowed by USGA rules). Color-coded packaging lets you match your brand and model of clubs to the perfect length tees, for pennies. Available at golf shops nationwide.

LEADING IN GOLF

The Leading Hotels of the World has long been one of the hospitality industry’s most reliable names. The organization brings together independent, upscale hotels from around the globe and gives them the marketing and reservations clout of the big chains.

This summer the association introduced Leading Golf, a collection of discounted packages at some of its premier golf-resort members that combine golf, lodging, and other amenities. The program launches with a dozen properties worldwide, including such renowned destinations as The Old Course Hotel in St. Andrews, Scotland; the Scottsdale Princess in Arizona; and One & Only Palmilla in Los Cabos, Mexico. Package options include family-inclusive, golf/gourmet, and unlimited play.

To participate, Leading Hotels requires each property to offer at least three package options. For example, Palmilla offers unlimited golf for two on its 27-hole Jack Nicklaus Signature course, breakfast and gourmet dinner nightly, plus extras like souvenir shirts and hats. Prices start at $840 per night, a substantial savings over the à la carte rates, especially if you play more than 18 a day. Go online to lhw.com.

TURNING PRO

Almost every golfer who has hit a perfect shot or flirted with a scratch handicap has wondered if they could play with the big boys. In Paper Tiger, golf writer Tom Coyne finds out. Coyne is a doubledigit, better-than-average player when he decides to try his hand at Q-school. The program is a series of qualifying tournaments that gives a handful of victors the spoils as card-carrying PGA Tour players. Coyne dedicates a year to the task. Paper Tiger is a page-turner full of insights into the world of competitive golf. To find out if he qualifies for the big time, read Paper Tiger by Tom Coyne (Gotham Books, 2006; $26).

CITY OF BROTHERLY GOLF
Golf-starved Philadelphians now have a new place to tee it up: the Lederach Golf Club, just north of the city. Lederach follows current design trends that seek to reshape as little of the natural landscape as possible. The resulting course has a links feel with undulating fairways that roll across ridges and valleys. There’s little water and no forced carries. The challenge on the layout comes from features such as false fronts, swales, and grass bunkers around the greens.

The course is a municipal facility of Lower Salford Township. It’s both affordable and family friendly, with an extensive kids’ golf program and junior tees that play just 2,785 yards. (From the back it offers a stiff 7,000-plus yard test). Fees start at $32 a round, and tee times can be made 8 days in advance. Go online to lederachgolf.com or call 215.513.3034.

LOST AND FOUND
Technology now makes it easy to find lost balls. Radar Golf sells a handheld electronic ball detector that uses radio frequencies to locate balls up to 100 feet away, even in thick grass (but not in water). The device operates for 5 minutes, the time allowed to search for lost balls according to USGA rules. The finder works with Radar Golf balls, which are high quality and have a tiny microchip. The balls conform to all USGA regulations and cost $40 a dozen. Radar Golf will put an end to the expense of lost balls. The system, which includes the scanner, a dozen balls, and a ball bag, costs $250. Check out radargolf.com for more details.

CAROLINA ON MY MIND
Few residential golf locales are hotter than South Carolina. With easy access from Savannah and Hilton Head Island, the area along Highway 278 from the ocean to Bluffton is booming. With many new residents coming for golf, several new communities have opened. But it’s a place where house-hunting golf lovers don’t need the latest, as the region is home to some of the most highly ranked and historic residential courses in the U.S. Celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, the Long Cove Club is credited as one of a handful of courses that invented the gated golfcommunity movement. LCC has ranked as high as 19th in the country and No.1 in South Carolina. For more, check out longcoveclub.org.

Another time-honored gem is on Daufuskie Island, just off of Hilton Head. The unique 29-hole Haig Point put Rees Jones, the “U.S. Open Doctor,” on the design map in 1986, and it was quickly ranked 28th in the U.S. This golf community also operates a ferry for residents. Visit haigpoint.com.

For part-timers not ready to purchase, Chechessee Creek offers the Cottage Partnership Program. On the cutting edge of golf’s latest residential trend, this type of fractional ownership has all the benefits of owning your own home. These cottage buildings with coastal low-country flair are actually luxury homes and were named “Cottage of the Year” by Southern Living magazine. And the course is equally good, a strong effort from the design team of Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore. Go online to chechesseecreekclub.com.