Best Golf Resorts of the World

Troon’s New Slow Play Remedies: Time Par & Pacesetter Tips

Waiting for sloooooow players ahead makes golfers stamp their feet, grit their teeth, lose their grip, throw their clubs in the water hazard and wish they were home watching golf on TV.

The new “Troon Values Your Time” program encourages awareness of pace-of-play standards that help your round move along efficiently, making it enjoyable for everyone, not just for your Uncle Jake who hits the fairways only once a year.

Time Par – Each Troon facility calculates its own Time Par by evaluating the appropriate length of time a golfer should comfortably play and enjoy the course. That Time Par is communicated to customers when booking their tee-time and in displays in the pro shop, on staff uniforms, on scorecards, yardage books, and on signage throughout the property. Yea!

• At the Westin Mission Hills Golf Resort and Spa and the Club at Savanna Harbor, the Time Par is 4 hours and 15 minutes.
• At the Makai Golf Club at Princeville, it’s 4 hours and 18 minutes; and at Indian Wells Golf Resort Celebrity Course, it’s 4 hours and 33 minutes.

Pacesetter Times – Troon facilities are also implementing Pacesetter Times, which are designated morning tee times reserved for players committed to playing in at least 20 minutes under the facility’s Time Par. Get out there early and go for it!

Pacesetter Tips:

• Play Your Tees: choose a set of tees with a rating of 142 minus your handicap index; or just tee it forward. Real men play from tees that match their abilities.
• Play Ready Golf (tee to green): at your ball or on the tee box and ready to play . . . . hit the darned thing! Take no more than 45 seconds to hit your shot.
• Be Cart Smart: drop off your partner and drive to your ball. When you leave the cart, take three clubs, not one. Park behind greens.
• Use Rules with Discretion: take no more than 3 minutes to look for balls and take relief. This is not the PGA Tour.
• Keep Moving: proceed quickly to your ball, choose your club and be ready when it’s your turn to hit.
• See It, Read It, Hole It: while others are putting, prepare for your putt, putt it and go on to the next tee.
• Be Accountable: slow play isn’t just the fault of other players. The faster you play, the sooner you get to the 19th hole.

Founder/editor of BestGolfResortsofTheWorld.com, Karen Misuraca is a travel and golf writer from the California Wine Country. She blogs golf travel and writes about Deep Culture Travel. Check out Karen's new iPhone app, California Coast North.

New Golf Magazine for Women: Travel, Gear, How to Play

Long-time golf journalist and author Susan Fornoff has launched GottaGoGolfMag.com, a multi-faceted, online golf magazine just packed with everything that women want to know about the fun and the challenges of the sport.

The coolest, newest outfits, golf gear, gifts and accessories are on display, and insider info about which courses and resorts are most welcoming and enjoyable for female golfers (in the latest issue, California's High Sierra is featured, along with Savannah Harbor and Maui).

Rather than advertisements, the magazine publishes personal, in-depth reviews of clothing, shoes, golf clubs, practice gear, and more. And, how about Annika's recipe for grilled cheese? Food and drink at the 19th hole? playing and practicing tips? a lively blog and the latest LPGA news and events? It's all there.

Founder/editor of BestGolfResortsofTheWorld.com,  Karen Misuraca is a travel and golf writer from the California Wine Country. She blogs golf travel here and writes about culture and eco-travel at DeepCultureTravel.com. Check out Karen's new iPhone app, California Coast North.

 

Troon Tune-Up in Scottsdale

One of only 10 such facilities in the country, a Callaway Golf Performance Center has opened at Troon North Golf Club in Scottsdale. Using the same Callaway club fitting system as Els, Mickelson, Sorenstam and other pros, the facility combines high-speed cameras and ball-flight simulators, 3-D imagery and precision software to analyzing a golfer's clubhead and ball speed, launch angle spin rates and more.

The Troon Tune Up package at the nearby Four Seasons Resort Scottsdale at Troon North includes, per night, a 1.5-hour golf lesson at Troon North, daily lunch and round of golf for two, and luxurious casita accommodations at the resort. Rates start at $1,015 through the end of the year.

The legendary Pinnacle and Monument courses at Troon were recently transformed by Tom Weiskopf, who rerouted the two, resulting in an even more dramatic marriage of the turfed landing zones with the stunning desert landscape and the iconic granite boulders, the towering saguaro cacti and the sandy washes. The greens are new, and bunkers were reconfigured or removed on both tracks. At the Four Seasons resort, an intimate compound of Pueblo-style casitas in the highland foothills of Pinnacle Peak, rooms and suites are newly renovated--most have kiva fireplaces and deep soaking tubs, and some have outdoor showers and private patios. The lobby, lobby lounge and the Talavera restaurant have a new look, too, and even wider vistas of the spectacular Sonoran Desert panorama.