Like beautiful birds, women flock together. Whether on vacation, on shopping expeditions or relaxing at spas, women like to get spend time with their friends, having fun and escaping their busy, often over-scheduled lives. Female golfers, in particular, are indulging in “girls’ golf getaways”.

According to the National Golf Foundation, the number of occasional female golfers–women who play between one and seven times a year–has jumped from 2.6 million in 1997 to 4.3 million. Add to this the Sorenstam/Wie factors, and the popularity of the sport translates into a boom in golf trips.

An editor at Travel Agent magazine, Joe Pike said, “Vacations with girlfriends or female relatives are a significant trend. Women are increasingly taking active vacations together and more luxurious vacations than in years past. Travel agents say these getaways are not merely weekend retreats, rather they are between four and seven days long.” (more…)

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Pebble Beach is widely regarded as one of the most beautiful courses in the world. It hugs the rugged coastline and has wide open views of the ocean. In 2001 it became the first public course (i.e. open to the general public for play) to be selected as the No.1 Golf Course in America by Golf Digest. Greens fees are among the highest in the world, at $495 (plus $25 cart fee for non-resort guests) per round in 2008. (more…)

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Doubletree Golf Resort San Diego

Location - San Diego

Details - The Doubletree Golf Resort is a first class resort nestled in the lush rolling hills, 23 minutes from downtown San Diego and is 23 miles from San Diego International Airport. This breathtaking property is a golf lover’s paradise……

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Woods has won 13 professional major golf championships, the second-most of any male player, and 63 PGA Tour events, the fourth-most of all time. He has more career major wins and career PGA Tour wins than any other active golfer. He is the youngest player to achieve the Career Grand Slam, and the youngest and fastest to win 50 tournaments on Tour. Woods has held the number one position in the world rankings for the most consecutive weeks and for the greatest total number of weeks. He has been awarded PGA Player of the Year a record nine times, the Byron Nelson Award for lowest adjusted scoring average a record eight times, and has tied Jack Nicklaus’s record of leading the money list in eight different seasons. He has been named Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year four times, a record he shares with Lance Armstrong. (more…)

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Massive overhanging trees line the fairways of the two Robert Trent Jones, Jr. layouts, built in the 1960s. Surrounded by vineyards and wooded hills, and watered by ponds, lakes and three creeks, the courses have good bones, having hosted many PGA Tour and PGA Champions Tour events. A new grounds maintenance program and a $4 upgrade has raised course conditions to near-perfect, creating a stiff challenge, especially on the greens. Tees were leveled, bunkers restored and fairways re-sodded, among other improvements. Club member and U.S. Open winner, Johnny Miller, who lives in the neighborhood, said, “(The courses) …are so popular because they are traditional, natural designs, not tricked up with railroad ties and funny bunkers, and the place is run like a gracious, old-style resort.” (more…)

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In the glamorous Hollywood heyday of the 1920s and 1930s, Errol Flynn, Ginger Rogers and their movie star cohorts routinely made the 100-mile trek over the mountains to Palm Springs in unairconditioned cars to relax at the tiny, Spanish-style La Quinta Hotel. They basked in dry, warm air and played on the nine-hole golf course, the first in the valley, for the green fee of a dollar. (more…)

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The course
The course is a par 72 that is set among the many trees of the Del Monte Forest. The course is noted for its many dogleg holes as it bends through the forest. Many holes have elevated greens with undulating slopes to make putting difficult. Almost every hole has at least one bunker and several have ponds fronting the green. The second hole, a par three, actually has two greens, which allows for many pin positions. Another interesting fact is that the course has five par three holes and five par five holes. Most courses have only three (four at most) of those.

The course measures 6,861 or 6,833 yards from the back (blue) tees with a slope rating of 74.6/144 for men. From the middle (white) tees the course measures 6,254 or 6,237 yards with a slope rating of 71.5/138 for men and 76.3/141 for women (as a par 73). From the front (gold) trees the course measures 5,471; 5,403; or 5,396 yards with a slope rating of 72.1/131 for men and 71.6/131 for women. Spikeless or non-metal spike golf shoes are required to play at Poppy Hills.

Matt Gogel holds the course record of 62, which is ten under par.

Criticism
PGA Tour players have criticized the fact that Poppy Hills replaced the Cypress Point Club after that course did not immediately admit an African-American member to its private club, despite the asking of the Tour. Cypress Point is set on the Pacific Ocean and has been called one of the best golf courses in the entire world, not just Northern California. At Poppy Hills, players have complained about the number of dogleg holes and the course’s poor drainage during the common winter rainstorms.

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The holes on the course are named after characters in Treasure Island, the book by Robert Louis Stevenson. The first hole (Treasure Island, par 5 of 595 yards) goes downward and to left almost 90 degrees. From the tee, a player can see the tops of the trees in the Del Monte Forest, the Santa Cruz Mountains, and the Monterey Peninsula. The green is fronted by a large bunker and the Pacific Ocean is in view. Another famous hole is the fourth, Blind Pew (370 yards from the blue tees), which Robert Trent Jones has called it his favorite par four because of its options. The green is the most photographed on the course and is surrounded by ice plants.

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Your golf travel to California would roughly touch on 5 distinct destinations: Southern California, San Diego, Palm Springs/ Coachella Valley, Monterey Peninsula and Northern California. You can expect great golf, affordable golf packages and a respite from the hum drum life in each of these California golf vacation destinations. (more…)

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