Dancing Rabbit

1) The Azaleas No. 15 at sunset
The Oaks, sandtrap No. 16
The Azaleas waterfall on No. 18

Yosemite Sam was often vexed by that Rascal Rabbit, Bugs Bunny. Too bad ol’ Sam never had the pleasure of chasing the Dancing Rabbit, the beautiful, challenging golf resort in Philadelphia, Mississippi. If a golfer is looking for a combination of golf and gaming in the warm hospitality of the South, Dancing Rabbit has everything you need. So much so that they’ve made all the lists for the Top Public or Resort Courses in the United States by the most influential golf magazines.

Named after the Dancing Rabbit Treaty between the Choctaws and the U.S. Government, Dancing Rabbit features twin 18-hole creations of Jerry Pate/ Tom Fazio. Called The Azaleas and The Oaks, they run through the tranquil forested hills of central Mississippi, in the Pearl River Indian Resort. For a golfer seeking the quintessential southern parkland golf experience, they are the next best thing to Augusta, winding past brilliant azaleas and dogwood bursting into bloom.

Built in 1997 (Azaleas) and 1999 (The Oaks) respectively, Dancing Rabbit’s two courses have very distinctive characters. Azalea is the lush, flower-spangled layout that runs 7128 yards from the tips (4909 from the front tees). With accepting fairways but plenty of trouble for wayward shots, The Azaleas features fewer elevation changes than The Oaks but might be the more challenging of the designs.

The 8th Hole, the No. 1 handicap hole, is a bracing par four that stretches 465 yards from the back tees. Errant drives are swallowed by a fairway hazard on the left side and overhanging pines down the right side. The green is a stingy 39 yards deep by 30 yards wide and is protected by a bunker front left. Take your par and smile.

Looking for a memorable par three? The seventh hole is a precise downhill carry 184 yards over wilderness to a shallow green. You need plenty of nerve to aim at the pin when it is tucked behind the yawning bunker front left.

The Oaks’ terrain changes and bunkering will be familiar to anyone who knows the other work by Fazio and Pate. After a carry over a long pond. the ninth hole rises gradually to a tricky green protected by a series of bunkers. Get on the wrong side of the green and a three putt becomes a definite possibility. Tantalizing short par fours are always the sign of a good course and No. 8 fills the bill. From an elevated tee, players can drive the green just 327 yards away, but long shots will find water while woods and bunkers lie in wait on both sides of the fairway.

Perhaps the best way to experience Dancing Rabbit’s charm is to stay in the luxurious rooms on the second floor of the clubhouse. Warmly furnished with views of the course, they have a charm all their own. Best yet, guests receive VIP carts with which to explore the nearby Silver Star Casino and Resort, a spectacular hotel/ gaming centre that houses spas, a conference centre and seven restaurants. Try the wine cellar at the outstanding Philp M’s, a gourmet restaurant named for Chief Philip Martin, the instigator behind Dancing Rabbit.

Rates for play & stay start from $150 for weekdays and $199 weekends. Dancing Rabbit is an hour northeast of Jackson, Mississippi, and can be reached by air from most of the major American airport hubs. For more info: www.pearlriverresort.com

dowbboy@shaw.ca

Kauai: Golf's Garden

1) Poipu Bay Golf Resort, No. 17 (courtesy Brian Oar)
2) Princeville, Makai Course, No. 6 (courtesy Brian Oar)

3) Kauai Lagoons Golf Club, No. 16 Kiele

4) Poipu Bay Golf Club, No.16





The cliff beneath the sixth tee box at the Princeville Makai golf course on Kauai’s north shore drops steeply down to a bed of gnarled volcanic rock and the churning Pacific Ocean. Makai’s Director of Golf Michael Castillo points down the sheer face to the twin trunks of a lonely palm jutting out 30 feet or so down the hillside. “That’s where we found her, her hands just riveted to the steering wheel of the cart,” says Castillo with a trace of awe.

According to Castillo, a golfer-- awed by the inspiring scenery on the island’s north shore-- had not noticed the cliff as she backed up her cart. Next thing she was hurtling backwards down through the scrub, headed for a grisly end. Enter the friendly palm which halted cart and rider before they ended up a hundred feet below on the rocks. “Couldn’t get her hands off the wheel,” says Castillo with a twinkle in his eye.

It’s easy to see how one could become easily distracted by the golfing beauties of Kauai, the oldest of the Hawaiian islands and aptly called the “Garden Spot of Hawaii”. Whether it’s Princeville’s breathtaking oceanside holes above the crashing Pacific surf or the windswept beauties of Poipu perched on the craggy red south shore, there’s a catalogue of unforgettable golf vistas to last a lifetime.

And if the views look familiar-- Kauai’s mountainous ranges have served as the sets for Jurassic Park, its beaches for South Pacific and its surf for Elvis’ Blue Hawaii. The island is also the vacation home for many movie and music stars who love Kauai’s tranquil atmosphere.

Into this sensual mix of golf and garden are a range of skill level and price points to please even the most seasoned traveller. Whether it’s the stern test of Robert Trent Jones Jr.’s Prince Golf Course (“Did you bring lots of balls?” I was constantly asked) or the more forgiving fairways of the Puakea course in Lihue, Kauai’s courses deliver both fun and value. (www.kauaidiscovery.com/activities/golfing/)

Perhaps the best known Kauai course is the impressive Poipu Bay Golf Course in the beach community of Poipu-- home till this year of the PGA Tour’s Grand Slam of Golf (Phil Mickelson holds the course record with a sizzling 59.) Its 210 acres run along the craggy red cliffs beside Shipwreck Bay, with the final five holes skirting a breathtaking trail along the dunes and rocks.

The front nine of this Trent Jones’ Jr. beauty-- which plays 7108 from the tips-- cut their way through brush and trees, offering few respites from the prevailing trade winds that can add two or three clubs to shot selection. Typical in No. 9, the toughest rated hole on the course. Playing slightly uphill and upwind 405 yards, it is protected by bunkers both left and right in the landing zone. The approach must again battle the trades to find a two-tiered green with nasty back flag positions.

Any of the shoreline holes makes a Kodak moment, but No. 16-- a downwind par four stretching 500 yards from the back-- is stunningly curved along the cliffs with views of whales and boats to draw the eye from the sneaky kidney-shaped green guarded by three bunkers. Drink deeply here; golf scenery doesn’t get any better. Poipu green fees can reach $200, but guests at staying at its Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort and Spa can enjoy excellent golf-and-stay packages that typically offer better value. Plus there are twilight rates for afternoon rounds. Perfect for beach time in the morning and then golf in the afternoon.

If you stay at the nearby Sheraton Kauai Resort, you might want to roll a few putts on the paspallum greens at the RTJ Jr.-designed Kiahuna Golf Club just minutes away. Many say the 18 greens at this highly affordable layout are the best in Hawaii. The friendly folks at the Sheraton will be happy to make the connections.

As mentioned, the Prince course (rated No. 1 overall in Hawaii) on the north shore is not for the faint of heart. The thrills start early on the downhill No. 1 that requires a crisp 230-yard drive to a fairway that kicks balls off into the brush if they’re even a tad offline. The second shot is over the river to a crested green that can also deliver shots to the rough or worse. There’s no let-up after No. 1 either, as the Prince emerges onto the ocean cliffs and then descends into heavily treed forests, always freshened by the prevailing trades that can turn the par-three No. 7 into a driver hole across a 205-yard chasm of sea, scrub and volcanic rock (Down below you can glimpse Sly Stallone’s beachfront retreat).

A course guide book or member are almost mandatory, especially on the Prince course’s back nine, to navigate Trent Jones Jr.’s challenges. This is definitely a course for serious players. But if your golf game is humbled, you can always take in the lush surroundings, the tropical foliage and the ever-present roosters that blanket the island since Hurricane Iniki in 1992. The staff are unfailingly helpful and solicitous. The best way to play the Prince is by incorporating it into a stay at the sumptuous Princeville Hotel nearby, perched on the crests above famed Hanalei Bay.

If you are interested in a value-priced challenge, head to Puakea, located just five minutes from Lihue airport. A unprepossessing course prized by the locals, Puakea starts in conventional fashion, running alongside Lihue’s commercial area. But the back nine-- the original holes built in the early ‘90s-- is a gem running through the old sugar cane farms with wonderful vistas of the Pacific below.

For a challenge try the tips on Hole No. 12, a 397-yard par four that plays dead into the wind with water down the right side. Or No. 17, a downwind par four that stretches 420 yards along a gentle dogleg left. A rolling draw is the only way to get to the green in two. Puakea is just a few minutes from the impressive and family friendly Kauai Marriott Resort and Beach Club, and games can be arranged through the concierge at the hotel. Rates are as low as $59 after 2 P.M.-- a great bargain.

Kauai’s bountiful golf options are about to get even better. The Princeville Makai course is set to reopen in the summer of 2009 after an extensive upgrade to 18 of its 27 holes. Meanwhile, Kauai Lagoons Kiele and Mokihana layouts in Lihue are being upgraded with the renowned oceanside Kiele holes set to re-open in 2009. They have 18 scenic holes open in the meantime if you want to play the fine Jack Nicklaus design.

And if you want to consider your golf options before choosing a course, a helicopter ride over the island takes you over all the best layouts. Jack Harter Tours will give you a breathtaking aerial view of Waimea Canyon, the Sleeping Giant, Waialea Falls in addition to the golf treasures on the island. Book online (1-888-245-2001) for the best prices and options.

Fairmont Turnberry Isle Golf

The twin courses designed by Reese Jones beside Biscayne Bay have been the signature of the Turnberry Isle Resort since it opened in 1970 under PGA great Julius Boros. But the combination of a $100-million overhaul of the resort by Fairmont Properties and some inadvertent pruning by Hurricane Ivan in 2004 has produced a unique golf destination in Miami’s Aventura area.

And who better to do the refurbishing of the two 18-hole courses than Florida icon and Golf Hall of Famer Raymond Floyd? Winner of four majors on the PGA Tour, Floyd has a native’s feel for the marshlands and tropical grasses that are such a feature of golf in the southeast United States.

While the rest of the estate was undergoing a stunning facelift to turn it into a Mediterranean villa, Floyd set to work texturing the flat 36 holes of Turnberry Isle, emphasizing changes in elevation and contour on the otherwise flat, sand-based Florida soil. To do so he brought in 700,000 cubic metres of subsoil. The cost was $30 million-- and the care and expense shows.

The result of Floyd’s extensive makeover, finished in 2007, is a shotmaker’s course that combines carries over water with tight, textured greens. (So much so that the LPGA will stage the Standford International on April 21-27.) Being a resort course, however, the layout is still very playable for the holiday or corporate golfer looking for some fun at 5500 yards or so.

Playing 7047 yards from the tips ( 74.9/149 course and slope rating), the Soffer course can be a very different experience each day depending on the winds off the Atlantic or the heat. With a stiff wind, shots can change by as much as two or three clubs. Given too much wind and baking sun, the greens can become hard to hold. The signature hole of the Soffer course is the island green on the 18th hole which can cap or ruin a round with its challenging approach. Don’t let the 64-foot waterfall distract you!

The highlight of the 6417-yard Miller course are the holes that circumscribe Lake Julius (named for Boros) on the back nine. The par-three No. 15 is a daring 200-yard carry over the lake from the back tees. While there are safe bailouts on the left side, Floyd rewards the aggressive shot with a receptive green nestled in front of a tropical garden. A birdie opportunity for the bold.

The finishing par-five is an eagle opportunity with an accurate second shot to the green placed at the foot of a dramatic waterfall. Be careful of the swale running across the 18th green-- being left on the wrong side can result in a three putt.

Another treat on the course is the Audubon-sanctioned bird refuge on Lake Julius which has the flamingos and tropical birds mandatory for snowblind travellers. When the round is over, players can sample the Bourbon Steak House (featuring the rare Kobe beef) or the Cascata Grille with a great view of the closing holes. The Michael Minna menu (try the tapioca-rolled yellow snapper) at the Bourbon is a world-class dining experience.

Prices for golf and stay packages at the 392-guest hotel start at $479 U.S. for low season to $899 for high season. The Fairmont Turnberry Island Resort is available from either the Miami or Fort Lauderdale International airports. For more information go to www.fairmont.com/turnberryisle/HotelPackages/Golf/ForetheLoveofGolf.htm.

Alabama Gulf Coast Trail

Ask golfers about the state of play in 2007 and they’ll tell you cost of play is becoming a growing concern. Finding an affordable golf holiday is a tougher than a cross-hill putt for par.

The Gulf Shores of Alabama are looking to fill that niche with a collection of fine courses tucked along the snow-white beaches on the Gulf of Mexico. Runnng from Pensacola, Florida to Mobile Bay, the area provides affordable play, a low-key lifestyle and a range of courses that suit every level of play. Temperatures are more temperate than Florida, but perfect for spring or fall play when Calgary courses are not open.

With prices that are a fraction of Florida, Arizona and California in the high season, the Gulf Shores area-- boyhood home to Jimmy Buffett-- has overcome the effect of Hurricane Ivan in 2004 to provide a family alternative for Canadian golfers. There are 15,000 new condo and rental units for visitors.

The jewel of the Gulf Shores golf track is Kiva Dunes, a windswept links resort just a few hundred feet from the beach that is rated the No. 1 course in the stat. Designed by Jerry Pate, Kiva Dunes runs 7092 yards from the tips through natural wildlife areas and cypress groves.

The No. 12 is a monster par-four that plays 452 yads with a long water hazard running the length of the hole. Depending on the wind off the Gulf, the hole can either be unapproachable in two or a real birdie opportunity. The sixth is another beauty, playing 428 yards bordered on one side by cypress and by marsh on the other. The heavily bunkered 18th ends in the shadow of the resort, a 458-yard test of nerve to end the par-72.

The rates at Kiva Dunes range from $75 US in low season to $98 in high season, but packages can reduce the price.

The nearby twin courses of Cotton Creek at Craft Farms were created from a former sod nursery. Designed by Arnold Palmer, the Cypress Bend and Cotton Creek layouts offer contrasting, inland styles. Cypress Bend is the more challenging 7072-yard par 72 that is rated 73.3 with a 133 slope from the championship tees. (But the red tees are a comfortable 5100 yards.) The par-four sixth is a 396-yard test that requires a skillful second shot over water to peninsula green. The 14th is an arrow-straight 435-yard par four that is bordered by a water hazard down the right side.

Cotton Creek plays long but wide open over its 6848 yards and can accomodate all levels of players. Rates range from $68 (low) to $82 (high) with discouts for twilight rates.

Among the other courses meriting the trip to the Gulf Shores are Lost Key, a tight 6841 yard Arnold Palmer design just across the state line in Perdido Key, Florida, Perdido Bay, the 7072-yard layout that hosted the PGA Tour’s Pensacola Open for 10 years, and Peninsula, a 27-hole complex alongside the Bon Secour State Wildlife Preserve, that was designed by Earl Stone.

The Gulf Shores area can be accessed from either Penscaola or Mobile airports. For more information on golf packages and accommodation, you can contact www.gulfshoresgolf.com.

Just a final word for those who get a little testy when anyone brings up the spectre of hurricane season. Locals politely but firmly point out that while Ivan was two years ago, Myrtle Beach, S.C., had three hurricanes last year alone. The Atlantic coast of Florida experienced five category storms in the 2006 hurricane season. The Carribean-- don’t even ask.

“You don’t measure people around these parts by the things that go wrong,” smiles native Kerry Teague of the Alabama Bureau of Tourism. “We’re a little bit stubborn that way.”

Circling Raven: Coeur D'Alene, Idaho

For better or worse, golf is a public spectacle, players passing each other as they make their way around a course. Getting away for 18 holes rarely means getting away from it all.

But at stunning Circling Raven Golf Club in Worley, Idaho, golfers can experience a unique reverie, playing largely out of sight of other players as they wend their way through the back nine. Even when the layout brings other signs of humanity, the 620 acres of rolling hills and wetlands just west of Coeur D’Alene still offer a special idyll and an excellent test of golf far from the frantic pace of outside life.

Playing 7189 yards from the tips, Circling Raven (named for a legendary native chief) has been honoured by Golf Digest, Golf Magazine and other prestigious golf publications for its combination of challenging golf and a natural setting in the northern Idaho hills. The Gene Bates design, rated 74.5 from the golds and a worthy 70.9 from the blues, has shot up the lists of must-play public courses in the United States.

Bates believes that a memorable course is known for its great par threes and great tees. By that qualification, Circling Raven is a roaring success with a clutch of lengthy, creative par threes to challenge visitors. Among the highlights is No. 13, a daunting downhill carry across wetlands that can play as long as 275 yards from the gold tees to the back flag positions, and No. 7, which plays 212 yards across a gully to a green set in an amphitheatre of trees.

When it comes to tee boxes, Circling Raven is also a memorable day in the country. The 406-yard par four No. 4 demands a challenging approach to a split fairway that can change by several clubs depending on the breeze. And on No. 11, it takes a precise, thumped drive to reach the fairway on the 446-yard par four.

Almost as compelling as the course are the changing colours of the surrounding grasses that go from emerald green in springtime to fiery reds in the summer and then to golden in the fall. And be prepared for the occasional moose or deer that make their home in the copses and bush that blanket the property.

Circling Raven is open from April 1 each spring till late October, and at $75 US in the spring or summer represents great value for the Canadian golfer heading south. (For more info check www.circlingraven.com) Affiliated with the nearby Coeur D’Alene Casino, Circling Raven also offers stay & play packages that top out at $255 at peak summer season.

Owned and operated by the Coeur D’Alene tribe, the golf course and casino have fast become staples of the northern Idaho tourist trail and an economic motor in the state.

As natural and subdued as Circling Raven may be with its native grasses and rolling hillsides, the Coeur D’Alene Resort Golf Course on the shores of Lake Coeur D’Alene is a high-end experience topped by the famous floating green on the 14th hole. Whether it’s the mahogany inlay of the golf carts, the vintage boat that takes you to the 14th green or the whiteclad caddies, the Resort course is perfectly designed for the well-heeled golf crowd.

Opened in 1991 and well known throughout the continent for its floating green that plays 190 yards from the tips, Coeur D’Alene is a course that can be enjoyed by both the skilled player and the occasional golfer who is out for a fun day. Immaculately manicured and groomed, the club attracts everyone from movie stars to businessmen on private trips and couples seeking a getaway at the 300-room resort just down the shore.

The elegant resort rising high above the lake has accommodation/ golf packages available to play the resort golf course (guests are transported by boat to the club) that start at $270 a night, but it can be also used as a base for golfers playing Circling Raven 20 minutes west of the city.

Coeur D’Alene can be reached by air via the Spokane, Washington, airport or by car (approximately six hours from Calgary).

dowbboy@shaw.ca

Tamarack Resort: Osprey Meadows

Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf were at centre stage for so long it’s a little surpassing to find them planting their flag in the beautiful lakes and hills of southern Idaho, two and a half hours north of Boise. The Tamarack Resort-- lying beside tranquil Lake Cascade and at the foot of the Payette River Mountains-- is as far from centre court as you can get.

And a good thing, too, for those looking for a world-class golf or ski resort that is not teeming with crowds. In that assignment, the Graf/ Agassi enterprise with Fairmont resorts, creating a four-seasons destination directly accessible from most major North American airports, is a grand slam.

A far cry from the congestion of Whistler or Vail, Tamarack is on track to develop a prestige year-round resort with both hotel and condominium accommodation by 2010. Whether it’s alpine or cross-country skiing, hiking, white water rafting or golf, there is enough to provide a well-rounded vacation for those at every level of expectations.

At the heart of the current resort and finely appointed chalet is the Robert Trent Jones Jr.-designed Osprey Meadows golf course. Managed by former Calgarian Tom Altmann, director of golf, Osprey Meadows is a challenging 7319-yard ramble through 400 acres of wetlands and forests outside the tiny town of Tamarack, Idaho.

The former grazing ground for the cattle industry has been transformed into a shotmaking gallery bordered by native grasslands and with a stunning variety of wild birds and animals. For resort players there are comfortable tee boxes starting from 5003 yards total distance; for the low handicapper the course features a number of challenging carries and pinpoint approaches to greens that belie the age of the three-year-old layout.

There are five par threes, five par fives and, at over a kilometre above sea level, enough extra distance to satisfy everyone. And when the wind blows on No. 2, there is enough distance for anyone. A beastly 495 yards from the tips into the prevailing wind that ends in a narrow, two-tiered green, the third-hardest hole at Osprey requires an accurate tee shot and an even more daring second shot to a narrowing fairway in front of the green.

It takes a precise hybrid or low iron to land the longest par three on the course at No. 17. A daunting 246 yards to a bunkered green it is truly a hole to take your par and be thankful. It also shows off Osprey’s greens which belie their young age.

The closing hole is a bold 90-degree righthand turn that leads up a gentle slope to finish beneath the timberland lodge resort. Playing 547 yards, the par-five offers the chance for an eagle putt with a strong second shot over a wetland and between the Douglas fir trees.

Green fees range from $75 in off-peak times to $119 in peak times. Packages that include lodging in the comfortable lodge and green fees are available by contacting the resort at www.tamarackidaho.com. Osprey Meadows can be reached via the Boise International airport and a scenic two-and-a-half hour drive north along the Payette River. (photos courtesy Wayne Freedman)

Osprey Meadows at Tamarack Resort
www.tamarackidaho.com

5003 yards/63.6/111
5916 yards/68.2/129
6737 yards/72.2/136
7319 yards/74.9/143

dowbboy@shaw.ca