Resolve to Play More Golf
(for Less) in 2012

So, how are your New Year’s resolutions holding up?

For us, it’s so far, so good (as far as golf is concerned, anyway). See, every January we simply repeat the same resolution — to play more golf in the coming year than we did in the one just completed.

Admittedly, we’re fudging a bit and counting rounds played after Christmas toward our 2012 total. It’s our resolution, and we can cheat if we want to.

We’d never take that attitude to the links, of course, especially not the likes of Hunter’s Creek (Orlando) and Duran Golf Club (Viera, Fla.), where we had the good fortune to tee it up the last week in December. A quick take on each course:

  • Hunter’s Creek: Choose the right tees and you’ll thoroughly enjoy this old-school layout, not far from the Orlando airport on the city’s south side. Conditions are excellent and the fairways wide enough to accommodate the driver on most every par 4 and par 5. The scorecard shows lots of water, but it’s usually non-invasive and easily avoided. Great prices, too.
  • Duran Golf Club: This Melbourne-area track was our Featured Course (Value category) inlast week’s newsletter, and we must say we got it right. Catch it when the wind is down, as we (mostly) did, and you’ll think Duran is a pretty easy touch. On the flip side, the wind rarely relents for long, putting some real teeth in Chip Powell’s inventive design.

Remember to book through TeeTimes.netto get huge discounts on these and hundreds of other fantastic courses.

If there’s a course, resort or region you’d like to see featured in a future newsletter, drop us a line and we’ll make sure to include it!
Key: Upscale — $80 and up; Mid-range — $40-$79; Value — Less than $40

Prices quoted below represent the lowest available onSaturday, January 7, unless otherwise noted, and may have changed by the time you read this. Please checkTeeTimes.net for updated rates or different days.

 

Featured Course:UpscaleSilverRock Resort, Arnold Palmer Classic Course
La Quinta, Calif.
From $95

As a former host to the Bob Hope Classic (2008-2011), SilverRock’s Arnold Palmer layout boasts stellar bona fides. As the Coachella Valley course that sits closest to the Santa Rosa and Coral Mountains, it delivers panoramic views to rival any of its neighbors. As a municipal course – SilverRock is owned by the city of La Quinta – it ranks among the very best in America.

 

Featured Course: Mid-rangeLansbrook GC
Palm Harbor, Fla.
From $55

No architect makes better use of Florida’s natural gifts than Ron Garl, who touched up Lansbrook in 1991. With water in play on 16 holes, plus a bevy of bunkers and trees galore, Lansbrook may sound like a chamber of horrors. It’s not. The course tips out at 6,846 yards and offers four sets of tees, becoming more difficult by degrees as you step farther back.

 

Featured Course:Mid-rangeRed Mountain Ranch
Mesa, Ariz.
From $55

Say this for Pete Dye — he doesn’t do boring. At Red Mountain Ranch, the legendary designer utilized trademarks like railroad ties and Scottish-style mounding without detracting from the stunning scenery. The course is shorter and wider than many Dye efforts, but beware the pot bunkers and Sonoran Desert cacti. Their prickly clutches can prove difficult to escape.

 

Featured Course:ValueDesert Rose GC
Las Vegas, Nev.
From $39

The architectural team of Dick Wilson and Joe Lee made their bones in the South (Bay Hill, Doral), but successfully imported their style to Vegas at Desert Rose. The 47-year-old layout is on the short side, but narrow fairways demand focus. Desert Rose may lack the bells and whistles of its whipper-snapper siblings, but sometimes old-fashioned can be downright refreshing.