Tiger Woods may not be playing as he recuperates from knee surgery, but that doesn’t mean he’s not on the course. Today, the world’s number one golfer announced the new master plan for Tiger Woods Dubai, an exclusive golf community development in that Middle East country.Scheduled for completion in 2009, Tiger Woods Dubai will included the Woods-designed 13 million square foot Al Ruwaya golf course, a professionally-staffed golf community, a high-end spa, a boutique hotel with 90 suites and 14 bungalows, a Guy Savoy restaurant, an upscale retail arcade, and 197 residences, ranging from 50,000-square foot “palaces” to 30,000-square …read more

Next weekend, beginning on Memorial Day, the PGA Tour heads to my neck of the woods–to Muirfield Village Golf Course in Dublin, Ohio, just outside of Columbus. The Jack Nicklaus-designed course (one of his first) is ranked by “Golf Digest” magazine as the best course in Ohio and among the top 25 in the US. I grew up in Columbus and have fond memories of volunteering for the Memorial Tournament as a teenager. Here’s a fly-over of the course:

The PGA Tour is in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida this weekend for the Players Club Championship. This event is played at the TPC at Sawgrass Course, designed in 1980 by Pete Dye and his wife Alice.
Widely considered one of the most difficult courses in the world, TPC at Sawgrass is known for its signature 17th hole and its island green. Take a look at this beautiful, but challenging, course:

Golf architect, Paul “Pete” Dye will be getting the World Golf Hall of Fame’s lifetime achievement award this year, the organization announced on Tuesday. The 83-year-old Dye is responsible for some of the most beautiful and challenging courses of the late 20th century and into the 21st century. Among his more than 120 creations are the Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head, the TPC Sawgrass Course, and the Ocean Course at Kiawah.
Dye will be just the fourth inductee whose occupation is primarily golf design. He joins Robert Trent Jones Sr., Donald Ross, and Alister MacKenzie.
Other inductees will be announced …read more

Marriott’s 34 golf courses throughout the United States and Caribbean are set to become Audubon Cooperative Sanctuaries by the end of 2008. Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuaries promote evironmental stewardship and provide a protected habitat for wildlife.
Marriott-managed golf courses include:

Stone Mountain Golf Course in Stone Mountain, Georgia
Doral Golf Resort and Spa in Miami
Ritz-Carlton Golf Club in Jupiter, Florida
The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club in Orlando.
Learn more about Marriott’s commitment to green management in this video:

The best 50 male golfers in the world have convened at Miami’s Doral Country Club this week for the WGC CA Championship. The tournament, begun in 1999, has been played all over the world, settling in 2007 at Doral and the resort’s “Blue” course, dubbed the “Blue Monster.”
It would seem that it’s Tiger Woods’ tournament to lose. Not only is he undefeated so far this season, but he has won the event six times in eight starts, never finishing out of the top ten.
For a look at the “Blue Monster,” take a peek at this fly-over of the course:

In the spirit of St. Patrick’s Day, take a look at some of Ireland’s most beautiful golf courses in this video:

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

This week, a full field of PGA Tour players convene in Orlando for the Arnold Palmer Invitational Tournament at Bay Hill Club and Lodge. Get a feel for the layout of the course in this flyover video:

As the Midwest struggles through another winter storm and up to 30 mph winds (my Ohio backyard has about two feet of snow all over and drifts of up to four feet), let me share a picture of one of my favorite golf courses, the course at the Hyatt Cerromar in Dorado, Puerto Rico:

Stay safe and warm this weekend.
(photo © Flickr user: wallyg/cc license)

Wild Dunes, located in Charleston, South Carolina, has always been a favorite of golfers looking to combine challenging golf with a scenic, oceanfront setting. New to the resort for spring is a collection of condominium-style Wild Dunes Village accommodations with views of the Atlantic Ocean and the Intercoatal Waterway as well as modern touches, such as flat screen television sets and complimentary, high-speed Internet service–even valet parking.
Of course, golfers will be drawn to the two Tom Fazio-designed eighteen hole courses. Off of the course, there are miles of biking and hiking trails, a nationally-ranked tennis center, and uncrowded beaches.
To learn …read more