A family-friendly triathlon, historical ghost walk, fun haunted house and a new twist on getting rid of recyclables highlight the fourth weekend of the 6th Annual Beaches to Woodlands Tour of Santa Rosa County.

“Finally, the weather is changing, getting cooler and that usually means that Halloween is just around the corner,” said tour coordinator Karen Harrell. “What can be a scary holiday is actually a lot of fun in Santa Rosa County.”

Originally posted January 2009

Alabama’s only Arnold Palmer Signature Design Courses – Cotton Creek Golf Club and Cypress Bend Golf Course – have been purchased by the Honours Golf Company.
Craft Farms Golf Resort was originally established in 1987 by the Craft Family. Rated 4½ stars by Golf Digest, Cypress Bend is the newer of the two Palmer courses featuring a more forgiving resort-style layout with wide fairways, vast landing areas, large undulating greens and a unique system
Cotton Creek, the first Palmer designed course, offers a traditional layout with tree-lined rolling fairways, large undulating greens, and well-positioned bunkers. This golf course offers numerous risk/reward opportunities; however, it can be quite challenging at times with over 7,000 yards to play from the tips.
“We seek to align with golf courses that share our common vision for quality and our passion for golf,” said Honours Golf CEO Bob Barrett.
“The Craft Family has built and established a solid reputation for two of the finest courses along the Gulf Coast. And, the location provides us the opportunity to offer a variety of premier golf experiences and golf packages to local golfers and visitors to the Gulf Shores area. “
Honours Golf currently owns and manages two other golf courses in the local area – Peninsula Golf and Racquet Club located in Gulf Shores, Ala., and Rock Creek Golf Club, located in Fairhope, Ala. Honours Golf offers Snowbird package deals for multiple rounds of play at its individual Gulf Coast courses which also includes Marriott Bay Point Resort in Panama City, Fla..
Craft Farms is the 13th golf facility owned and/or managed by Honours Golf. To learn more: www.honoursgolf.com or (866)-HONOURS.

by Karen Harrell
Originally posted December 2008

Boo Weekley, Bubba Watson and Heath Slocum are all PGA Tour players who hail from the same Milton High School in Northwest Florida. They all share one other connection – they grew up playing at Tanglewood Golf and Country Club in Milton.
In fact, Weekley – one of the stars of the U.S. Ryder Cup team this summer – has won two PGA Tour events at the same venue that somewhat resembles the Tanglewood layout.

It’s a narrow, tree-lined course.
Many of the holes have doglegs, so it favors the straight hitters and golfers who can work the ball.
The greens are small, so accuracy is a premium. Sixteen of the 18 holes have out-of-bounds on one side or both. There are three different men’s tees to match the varying level of skill of the golfer.

“The course is very playable,” said Charlie Daniels, who is a club pro along with J.J. Dunn. “It’s not a difficult course and it’s walkable.”
Fees are $24 with cart Monday through Thursday and $28 with cart Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
“Our rates are as cheap as anybody in the area,” Daniels said.
In 1986, the course was expanded from nine to 18 holes. It is a par-72 that measures 6,330 yards.
The facility includes a driving range, the putting green has been recently redone, pro shop, Grille and party rooms are available for rent.
The pro shop is open from 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. and The Grille offers great food from 6:30 a.m. until 5 p.m.
Come by to play. Who knows.
You might see a PGA Tour pro playing a round there.

Directions: On I-10 take Exit 22, (Avalon Blvd.) Go north on Avalon Blvd.
Approximately 7 miles, turn right on highway 90. Approximately 2 miles, turn left on Glover Lane (at 3rd traffic signal).
Continue straight on Glover Lane, as it will turn into Northrop at intersection of Glover and Berryhill Road. In 1 mile Northup dead-ends into Willard Norris Road (Hwy 191), turn left. Tanglewood drive is on left, ½ mile, follow signs to clubhouse on left ½ mile.

Phone: 850-623-6176 Address: 5916 Tanglewood Drive, Milton, FL
http://www.tanglewood-golf.com/

In the heart of Northwest Florida, there is a golf course that offers 36 holes of fun and challenging action in a picturesque setting.
Bluewater Bay Resort in Niceville, just north of Fort Walton Beach, has four nine-hole courses designed by golf architects Tom Fazio and Jerry Pate, a Pensacola golfer currently playing on the Champions Tour.
“The conditions are excellent,” said David Trimm, general manager. “It’s a little shorter than most modern-day courses. It’s narrow, heavily wooded with bunkered greens. It has a nice variety of holes.”
Golfers play along the shoreline of Choctawhatchee Bay and then move through southern woodlands followed by a journey through a pristine wetland area. Trimm said they receive a strong contingent of Snowbird players in January, February and the first of March.
They have a play card for Snowbirds for 12 rounds for $450, which includes greens fee, cart fee and taxes. That averages out to $37.50 a round and the card is transferable.
It’s for members of the Walton County Snowbird Association or Destin Snowbird Association. “It’s been hugely successful for us,” Trimm said.
Regular fees March through August are $75 before noon and $62 afterward.

Snowbirds looking for a golf course in Northwest Florida where the terms “Best” and “Favorite” are common themes, should look to Regatta Bay Golf and Country Club in Destin, Fla.
The 6,894-yard, par-72 semi-private course owned by Legendary is located along the Choctawhatchee Bay and offers great golf for all levels.
Among the accolades: Florida Golf News magazine voted the course “the #1 Favorite Golf Course in Northwest Florida” and readers of Emerald Coast magazine named the course “Best of Emerald Coast.” Also, Golf Digest ranked the course among its “Top 200 Places to Play in North America,” as well as one of the “Top 15” courses in Florida. And don’t forget for the last three years, it has been rated as having the best golf instruction on the Emerald Coast.
“Regatta Bay has won more recognition than any golf course in the area,”
said Dan Shelton, Director of Golf.
He said the Snowbirds have arrived and a winter special is available for
them. They can purchase a 10-round pass that comes out to $54.50 per round, well below the winter rate of $89 a round. And the pass includes two free lessons, a video swing analysis, as well as a Legendary privilege card that offers a 10-percent discount at its restaurant and pro shop.
“Snowbirds are one of our major groups who play this time of year,” Shelton said.
The design of the course is what Shelton attributes to its numerous recognitions. Designed by Robert C. Walker, a former lead architect for Arnold Palmer, the course has numerous tee selections, which allow the golfer to decide how challenging he or she wants the course to be.
The landing areas are forgiving and the greens are protected by many bunkers.
“It’s definitely a player-friendly course,” Shelton said.
The signature hole is the par-5 18th hole. It’s risk-reward setup makes it one
of the favorite finishing holes along the Emerald Coast. The green is protected
on one side by a lake and has a picturesque view of the clubhouse.
Among the amenities include state-of-the-art Parview GPS system on golf
carts, clubhouse with pro shop, Rutherfords 465 restaurant, on-course beverage carts, chilled apples on the 1st and 10th tees and mango-scented iced towels.
Golfers can call 850-337-8080 to set up tee times or they can book online at
www.regattabay.com

Originally posted January 2008

When Snowbirds play at an Honours Golf course along the Gulf Coast, they are greeted at the first tee with a complimentary apple.
And the deal they get to play golf during the winter season at Honours Golf is just as tasty.
“Our Snowbirds just love it,” said Todd Edwards, director of Golf at Peninsula Golf & Racquet Club in Gulf Shores, Ala.

Also in the Honours Golf family are Rock Creek Golf Club in Fairhope, Ala., and Bay Point Golf Resort & Spa in Panama City.
Snowbirds enjoy a great golfing experience at these courses during the winter.
Peninsula is a semi-private club on the Fort Morgan Peninsula. It has 27 holes and is nestled beside the Bon Secour Wildlife Preserve and winds throughout live oaks, cypress and other vegetation native to Gulf Shores.
Peninsula and Rock Creek offer a six-pack special for Snowbirds that can be used at either location. It’s good for six rounds of golf with cart and is valid through Feb. 29. The cost is $325.
Edwards said Peninsula’s attraction to Snowbirds is its “player-friendliness” and its Global Positioning System on every golf cart.

“We have four different tee boxes on each hole to accommodate every skill level of player,” he said. “We have wide landing areas and wide fairways. And the golf course is in superb condition.”
Edwards added that they have always had a strong Snowbird following as word of mouth spreads about the course. He estimates about 20 Snowbirds clubs are in the area.
“January and February are without a doubt extremely heavy for us for winter visitors,” he said. “And it’s the fellowship we share. The Snowbirds come here to have coffee and get to know the staff.”
Rock Creek Golf Club is a semi-private club located off the eastern shore of Mobile Bay. It has 18 holes that stretch more than 7,000 yards.
The signature hole at Rock Creek is No. 2, a 434-yard par-4 that drops 70 feet from the tee to the fairway. Then the second shot has to carry over wetlands to a green that features a 30-foot high bulkhead wall.
The rest of the course is a nature scene with Alabama water wastelands, tall pines and hardwood forests.
“I think the undulation of the course is really unique to this area,” said Chad Leonard, Rock Creek general manager. “We’ve got a lot of rolling hills and you just don’t find that in lower Alabama. I think it probably reminds the Snowbirds of home.”
Rock Creek has been recognized by Golf Digest with 41/2 stars and is in superb condition.
“I think the course conditions are what set us apart,” he said.

Bay Point Golf Resort and Spa is located minutes from Panama City Beach in Florida and has two 18-hole courses – the Meadows course and the Nicklaus course.
The club has two several specials for Snowbirds – from the popular 6-Pack and the 12-Pack golf specials to the 25-round, 50-round and Unlimited packages. Check the Web site for prices.
“Because of the demand we saw last year, we worked long and hard to find the product that would appeal to them,” said Jay Iskow, director of golf and general manager of Bay Point. “It’s like a temporary membership.”
He pointed out that the uniqueness about Bay Point is the two different styles of the two courses. The Nicklaus Course, recently renovated at a cost of $5 million, is a tough test of golf with more length and difficult hazards to transverse.
The Meadows Course doesn’t have the forced carries and severe hazards.
“It’s a friendlier golf experience,”
Iskow said. “It’s definitely two different golfing experiences.”
He said they will plan some Snowbird events in January and February as the bulk of the winter visitors arrive. “They are a big part of our business.

Steve Bobe, the golf professional at A.C. Read Golf Course at Pensacola Naval Air Station, recalls a recent conversation with a retired military Snowbird.
“He said he had been retired from the Navy for 26 years,” Bobe said. “He never played golf at the course when he was a flight student. He went out and played and came back and said, ‘Holy mackerel, I missed it 26 years ago.’ He was all excited about it.”
A.C. Read is one of several military golf courses on the Gulf Coast that are available to Snowbirds, both retired military and civilians retirees alike. All offer great tests of golf in the usually quiet atmosphere, only broken by the sound of military aircraft taking off and landing.
The A.C. Read facility has 54 holes, including the Lakeview and Bayview courses. Rates vary according to rank, as well as civilian rates.
If Snowbirds join the Navy League at the course, they get a $4 discount off normal civilian rates for greens fees.
Bobe said they get a lot of Snowbirds playing in the winter.
“There’s a contingency of groups out there,” he said. “The course is in really good shape. It’s on a pretty piece of property in Northwest Florida with the live oaks, the bay and the Gulf.”
Farther east is the Falcon Course on Eglin Air Force Base in Niceville, Fla.
The course is built on a stretch of rolling hills, pretty rare for this part of the state. The greens are heavily undulated, so good putting skills are necessary.
And the Falcon Course is the third-ranked golf course in the Air Force.
Nearby at Hurlburt Field is Gator Lakes, so-called for its numerous lakes, as well as numerous alligators and other critters.
Pelican Point Golf Course on Tyndall Air Force Base in Panama City offers an incredible view as its stretches along the Gulf of Mexico.
It also stands out in another way. It’s the only military golf course to use bright red golf carts.

A.C. Read Golf Course
Location: Pensacola Naval Air Station, Pensacola, Fla.
Holes: 54.
Fees: Varies by rank; civilian rates available.
Services: Driving range, putting and chipping greens, cart and club rental, food service, locker room, restaurant, lounge.
Information: (850) 452-2454

Whiting Golf Course
Location: Naval Air Station Whiting Field, Santa Rosa County, Fla.
Holes: 18
Fees: Military $8 for 9 holes; $11 for 18; DOD $9/$14; guests $12/$18; public $14/$22. Carts: $10 for 18 holes, $6 for 9
Services: Driving range, putting and chipping greens, cart and club rental, food service, lockerroom, restaurant, lounge.
Information: 850-623-7348

Falcon Course
Eglin AFB Golf Course
Location: 1527 Fairway Drive, Niceville, Fla.
Holes: 36
Fees: Varies by rank.
Services: Driving, putting and pitching greens, lockerrooms for men and women, lounge, snack bar, cart rental.
Information: 850-882-2949

Gator Lakes Golf Course
Hurlburt Golf Course
Location: 91300 Golf Course Road, Hurlburt Field, Fla.
Holes: 18
Fees: Varies by rank. Regular fees are $18 greens fees, $11 for cart.
Services: Driving range, putting green, café.
Information: 850-581-0007

Pelican Point Golf Course
Location: Sabre Drive on Tyndall AFB, Panama City, Fla.
Holes: 18
Fees: Varies by rank.
Services: Driving range, putting and chipping greens, carts and club rental, snack bar/lounge, lockerroom.
Information: 850-286-2565

Originally posted March 2007

Rolling mounds. Pot bunkers. Few trees in sight.
What might look like a golf course in Scotland is actually The Moors Golf and Lodging, located in Milton, Fla., just a short distance from Pensacola.
The par-70, 6,800-yard course is a picturesque design and for 11 years was the home to the Champions Tour event, the Emerald Coast Classic (named the Blue Angels Classic for the final two years), featuring winners like Raymond Floyd, Lee Trevino and Gil Morgan.

Originally posted January 2007

Robert Warner has played golf all over the United States, but recently visited Lost Key Golf Club in the Florida Panhandle near the Alabama border.
The course had just reopened in July after almost two years of redesign and repair after Hurricane Ivan flooded the course with 3 feet of saltwater in 2004.

Originally posted December 2006

Winter visitors who want to mix gambling and golf can find the perfect match along the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
The Beau Rivage in Biloxi, Miss., opened the exclusive Fallen Oak golf course in November 2006.
The course was designed by the legendary course architect Tom Fazio. It is located adjacent to the DeSoto National Forest and it shows as stately trees line the fairways. It’s a challenging course of an 18-hole, par-72 layout that measures 4,487 yards from the back tees. Water comes into play on more than half of the holes.

Originally posted March 2009

A unique golfing experience is available at The Origins Course, which is located in WaterSound, just north off U.S. 98 between Destin and Panama City Beach.
The course, created by The St. Joe Company and managed by the Troon Company, is a six-hole regulation course that alternatively plays as a nine-hole executive course and a 10-hole, par-3 layout through the use of alternate tee boxes and auxiliary greens.

Originally Published February 2009

Snowbirds looking to retire in a golfing mecca can find plenty of courses along the Gulf coast to keep them busy.

From Panama City to Bay St. Louis in Mississippi, there are about 100
courses offering about 2,000 holes of golf.