Banyan Tree Hotels & Resorts manages premium luxury resorts, 5 star hotels, top golf courses & the world’s best spas in the world’s top luxury vacation spots. See the best resort vacation promotions & holiday packages in Phuket, Bintan, Maldives, Seychelles, Mayakoba, Bangkok, Sanya, Lijiang, & more. Video brought to you by Travelindex Network and Travel & Tourism Foundation.

More travel and tourism information at the World’s largest travel and tourism directory:

http://www.Travelindex.com/

http://www.TravelFoundation.org/

Duration : 0:5:9

Read the rest of this entry »

Technorati Tags: banyan tree


Cascata used to be the private club for Ceasars and when they got bought out by Harrahs it went public. Very pricey at about $400 a round, but spectacular course cut into the desert mountains. About 30 min outside of the strip. A waterfall runs down thru the range and into the clubhouse.

I am from Maryland and will be traveling to Scottsdale for a golf vacation in November. The flight and hotel are paid for so i wont need a package deal.
What courses should I play (and about how much are greens fees)?
I’d like something different then I’m used too. We have mostly wide courses lined with woods and a few ponds on our courses here.

There are several great courses around the Phoenix / Scottsdale area that will be very different from the layouts you are used to. A couple to consider would be:

Wie-Ko-Pah in Fountain Hills (east of Scottsdale)
The Raven at Verrado in Goodyear (west valley)
Sun Ridge Canyon in Fountain Hills
Great Eagle in Fountain Hills
TPC Desert Course in Scottsdale
Kierland Links in Scottsdale
Sanctuary in Scottsdale
Vistal in South Phoenix

There are many more, but these are some of my favorites. Each (with the exception of Kierland) are desert courses with some great views, etc. Rates for those courses in September would range from around $50 (Vistal) to somewhere near $110 (Wie-Ko-Pah). There are always internet specials and the Thursday edition of the Arizona Republic always carries golf coupons in the sports section.

The top four listed are my favorites in the area and are playable at a reasonable rates. The Raven is a bit of a drive from Scottsdale (50 miles) but worth the drive and they take care of their visitors.

Good luck

Utah’s Best Vacation

Posted by on Dec-5-2009

See why St. George, Utah and Zion National Park were named Utah’s Best Vacation Destination, Trip Advisor’s number one travel Hot Spot, and the Best National Park in the U.S.

Duration : 0:2:3

Read the rest of this entry »

Technorati Tags: golf, Utah, vacation

What are your thoughts on new popular golf destinations?
What new golf vacation spots would be popular among golfers in upcoming years?

if i understand your question correctly – youre asking for destinations that are not currently hot spots, right?

If thats the case, i say costa rica. thats a growing tourist destination, very US tourist freindly and south america has a growing presence in professional golf.

coasta rica also has the beaches, mountains etc and is really reasonable budget wise.

I know this is asking a lot but I would prefer that the resort be in or near the Carribean, Virgin Islands, (E.) Mexico, etc. I would prefer an all-inclusive resort (extra $ for golf & SCUBA is ok but it should be at or near the resort). I am looking for a large group vacation (20-40 people), 1/2 are avid golfers and 1/2 are divers, so both activities should be average quality or better. THANKS

The 4 seasons hotel at Punta Mita is one that offer what you want, but if your budget isn´t that high there is also Mayan Palace resorts at Cancún, Puerto Vallarta.

http://grupomayan.com/mayan-palace/riviera-maya/

My sister and I are looking for an all-inclusive beach vacation that includes golf lessons. Has anyone ever heard of this or tried it out?

Any suggestions?

Thanks :-)

Myrtle Beach or Florida would be the choices to look at, but most intensive golf schools where you go for four or five days don’t allow for much beach time. You usually take instruction in the morning and then play 18 holes in the afternoon. Then hit balls at the range after your round, have dinner and get up and do it again the next day.

Games to play on a golf outing?

Posted by on Nov-22-2009

I’m going on a family/friends golf vacation in which we go for 4 days. Usually we have 8, 12 or 16 guys. In the past we have played 2 man and 4 man scrambles, team match play, etc. This year is different because we only have 7 guys who have committed to going.

Does anyone have suggestions for any golf games for 7 players?

I copied this from a golf website (sorry but it’s kind of long). It is a narative by Chi Chi Rodriguez. My friends and I will play this with any number of players, not just four. However, we also play in one big group (we play on a casual, uncrowded local course) and I don’t know if you can do that where you play. Hope this helps and enjoy your vacation.

Here’s howl to play Wolf . . . and aren’t you glad your golf game is better than my pun, which was awolful?! Please, stop, the laughter’s hurting my side.
Wolf is a classic four-player game that creates a different team on every hole or a gutsy one-on-three situation. An order one through four is established on the first tee and will continue to roll over through the entire round. The first player in the rotation tees off first on number 1, followed by players two, three, and four. On number 2, the second player in the rotation has honors, followed by players three, four, and one. The third player has the box on the number 3, followed by players four, one, and two. And player four leads off on hole number 4, followed by players one, two, and three. The wheel then repeats, starting with player one on the 5th hole and continues to turn over through the entire 18 holes. How the order is picked doesn’t matter – by height, alpha­betically, shoe size, or show of hands.

The player teeing off first on a hole is the wolf (my, what sharp teeth you have). As the wolf watches (my, what big eyes you have) the other players in the group tee off, he has the option to pick one of them as a partner on the hole, the rub being that the wolf must choose the player immediately after his tee ball. No waiting to see how all the players fare off the box before choosing. If the wolf chooses to partner with the second player, he must announce his intentions before the third player tees off. If the wolf passes on number two, he can tab player three but only before the last player hits. The same goes for the third player. If the wolf decides none of the shots are to his liking, he may go the hole alone and play against the other three.

To win a hole, the wolf and his partner, or the wolf alone, must combine to make a better ball score lower than the opposing team. A tie is a wash. A higher score, and the bet is won by the hunting team. A wolf playing alone receives double the bet if he wins and pays double to each of the other three players if he loses.

A brave variation of the game is to play Lone Wolf in which the first golfer on the tee announces he will play the hole solo immediately after his drive and without seeing any of the other tee shots. In Lone Wolf, the winnings are tripled, but so are losses, and again it’s triple to all other players in the group. For those truly wild animals who would keep Marlin Perkins safely above in his helicopter while Jim Fowler runs through the burning forest floor, the Lone Wolf may declare his intentions to go it alone before ever putting his tee in the ground. In this case, all bets are quadrupled. Happy hunting.

All bets on tied holes may be carried over but most often are erased and started new on the next tee. Because the 17th and 18th holes are left over after four turns of the rotation, the player in last place is generally given the courtesy of teeing off first and being the wolf on the final two holes.

Wolf strategy is as much about self-confidence as it is about faith in a partner. A good player will go it alone as often as possible, especially on par 3s and 5s. Because this is a game played to full handicaps (3/4s or 2/3s for complete strangers), it helps to check to see who may be getting a stroke on the hole. Partners can be picked either to help win a hole or just to share losses, depending on your own tee ball. Hit it and howl golfers.

cheap golf vacations?

Posted by on Nov-20-2009


I have a house in myrtle beach (10 years) and it is easily the best golf vacation (except maybe Pebble Beach). Also it is very cheap and kids play free on a vast amount of courses. However, it is beginning to get discovered so it tends to be crowded (which really pisses me off).

We are going on vacation soon and want to go somewhere with really good courses. What are some of your favorite courses and their locations?

San Fran; GOlden Gate Park Disc GOlf Course
Orlando; gordan Barnett Park