A recent vacation to the panhandle of Florida after a side trip to Columbia, South Carolina to see the solar eclipse of the sun on Aug. 21, lead us to the much appreciated good food and nice beach locations in Destin, Florida. There are worse reasons to go golfing than a solar eclipse, see my best eclipse photo:

My favorite holes were at the end, this is the view of the Emerald Bay Golf Club clubhouse from the eighteenth fairway, headed toward the green. Before this hole, you finally reached holes with views of the bay, notice on the picture below, both Bob and I had our chips on the green with only one chip. A nicely maintained course allows chips to land and stop, with some roll, but not speeding across it like greased lightning, something that can happen in Florida where greens dry out.

One thing that was nice was the tees were all numbered, I through V (see photo below), using Roman Numerals, to allow golfers to select their tee by their handicap and by the associated usual score for the hole rating known as the course slope: read slope about from the Georgia State Golf Association webpage:
​www.gsga.org/index.php/Handicapping/detail/C86/course_rating_faqs.

When we played golf in Baden Baden, Germany at the Baden-Baden Golf Club, we ended up playing with rental golf clubs. The MacGregor golf clubs were much different from our usual golf clubs; I play with Kunnan Golf Clubs and Bob normally plays with Callaway Big Bertha golf clubs.

Is Renting Golf Clubs Worth it?

Yes and no. You do pay plenty to rent golf clubs, but to ship golf clubs via the airlines is usually at least $30 per bag and more like $50 per bag each way, while rental golf clubs cost from $20 per bag on up. If you play once, you've saved a bundle on shipping fees and saved annoyance hauling them to the airport and you don't take the risk of loss or damage of your golf clubs. Anytime we've planned to play golf several times on a vacation, we've deemed it well worth our time to ship them.

Here's a comparison of two golf bag covers we've used; in general they cost from $30 to $1000 depending on the quality.

The main difficulty I had playing with the rental golf clubs was due to a lack of golf glove; without a glove, the golf club reverberated in my hand and I had more slippage and less control. Also, the surprise with rental golf clubs is that most golfers keep their glove, tees, balls, hats, golf ball markers, golf repair tools, golf ball retriever, suntan lotion or sun block, lip gloss, golf shoes, golf range finder, etc. in their golf bag. Most rental golf bags don't provide any of this golf equipment. 

Yet, we did rent golf clubs and I am glad we did so. My golf score was off a little from my golf handicap, but we got to experience golf in a foreign country at a golf course we would never have visited. It's a rather fun experience to find golf culture pretty intact around the world.

Mini MacGregor Golf Club Review

From my husband's view, he liked the MacGregor golf clubs better than his Callaway golf clubs. I've wanted to get a set of Callaway golf clubs because they were heavier than my Kunnan golf clubs and a heavier club cuts through wet turf much easier. I haven't needed a heavier set since I moved to Orlando, Florida because the grass rarely gets as thick and heavy as it did in the Seattle area during the wetter months.

I was less happy with the MacGregor golf clubs since I found it more difficult to get any loft. They also exchange my favorite fairway drivers, the five wood and seven wood for hybrid clubs and these weren't as effective on the fairway. Hybrids are good for heavy turf so if we'd played earlier in Spring I might have like them better. The edges of the clubs seemed soft and the club head didn't launch the ball as well. I did keep pretty straight on my shots which is the reason I don't like many other brands. 


Choosing a Golf Club

When I chose the Kunnan golf clubs, the  manager at ProGolf Discount found me the correct size and told me the ladies clubs tend to have a lot of flex in them, especially with graphite handles which the MacGregor also used. I tried about six brands of golf clubs at the ProGolf discount driving range in the store. The Kunnan golf clubs gave me the cleanest hit and straightest drives. A club that is good for a straight hit saves a golfer a great deal of grief on the golf course.

On our recent trip to Germany, we reached the lovely spa town of Baden-Baden  and it was incredibly hot, so hot you didn't want to move unless you were perhaps a true German and wouldn't even mind wearing leathers to ride your motorcycle on a 90F+ day. 

As I flipped through the hotel's guide to where to find the wonderful parts of town, I spotted an ad for golf.  So I said, "Why not?"

My husband agreed, somewhat hesitantly. The price turned out to be about 200 Euros at the local golf course, the Baden-Baden Golf Club but because it was a holiday, and there was a tournament, we would start about 10:00 on the first come first serve schedule.

The hotel got us a taxi who dropped us off at the Pro Shop/Sekretariat, the later served since the Pro Shop was closed due to the holiday. The woman in the office very kindly found us rental golf clubs, sold us golf balls, found us some tees, checked us into a golf cart (most people were walking but it was hilly and extremely hot), and rang us up for it all along with 18 hole fees.

The good news is all those trees offered welcome relief from the heat. The course is rather short and our main challenge from the narrow spots in the course and from rental equipment and from creative use of the hilly terrain.

Many times the hole was out of sight, around a hill, over a creek or below a drop. We had fun and I can say that the small golf club restaurant served good food--Bob had a cold salad, me a Cornish hen.

Well, for me it was easy because I had a husband who made all the arrangements for staying at the Barcelo Bravo Palace Deluxe Resort in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic including all of our tee times online the internet (the link takes you to their webpage where you can arrange a room and a tee time). That was the first step.

The second step involved getting our golf clubs to the golf course. We took the resort train from the pick up stop at the end of our hotel building (the place is very large) but I think perhaps getting the golf cart first and picking the clubs up in the same spot would have been much easier.

The third step is checking in with the pro shop--lunch is available in the dining room right next door and since our first tee time was late in the afternoon, this mean lunch first was a great choice. The restaurant here has a dubious reputation for being really slow with some of the people we met, but for us it worked out fine. The restaurant didn't open until 12:30 so we had drinks first until they opened. Barcelo Bravo Palace Deluxe is an all inclusive so the beer (Presidente), Coca Cola light, hamburger, roast beef sandwich, and a dessert had we wanted it were provided without charge. The tee time cost us a charge for use of the golf cart. Had we played 5 times instead of three, the cost would have been less but as it was ended up at $40 per person. 

Afterwards, we were able to store our golf clubs at the Lakes Golf Course.

The fourth step is choosing the appropriate tee. My husband thought the blue tee distance was about his pace for his first game, the next two were played at the more typical white tee. The reason is on a couple of holes over the water, the distance can be pretty long. My husband had a much happier, less stressful time on the white tees. For women, the red tees play within a usual handicap.

Other hints about playing the course involve the challenges. One of the hallmarks  (see photo above) of the Lakes Course at Barcelo Bravo Palace Deluxe are the scenic golf shot lakes especially the number 9 and number 18 hole with their wood braced raised greens. 

Play it with the exact right club (the holes play long when faced with wind) with a high arching chip shot.

Another is the hidden greens (see photo to the left). Place your approach shot so that a high, arching chip shot that lands and stops is your best bet.

Another hint is to stay in the center of the course, choose the right distance club to stay out of the lake with any additional roll.

A last warning is to stay out of the sand traps. Many are hidden. You get over one sand trap only to fall in the smaller one hidden behind.

The Barcelo Bravo Palace Deluxe golf course is in excellent condition. We played after heavy rain and found you had to punch the ball hard to get it in the hole on the green and we also had to walk (most of the course was closed via cart path only rules due to soggy turf). Two days later, the greens were fast and driving on the course was allowed. Rain drizzled and was a relief from heat, the heavy rains came at night. Be prepared with sun protection.

Note: WiFi from the Barcelo Bravo Palace Deluxe resort isn't available on the golf course.

If you're a beginner golfer, you might wonder why they put sand in your golf cart cooler.  See the photograph to the left, it shows how you can use the scoop provided to take some out.

This sand is used for filling holes made on the golf course when you take turf (a divot) with your shot and leave it stripped to the dirt.

One of the reasons that you fill the hole with sand is it is very hard to play golf on a surface that is not level. The most important place to fill your divots is on the tee.

In the fairway, replacing divots with sand is also important. If you're sitting and waiting for your turn to play and see a huge hole in the fairway, feel welcome to fill it. You're performing a community service for all the golfers when you do.

There is often a box where you can grab sand to fill divots sitting on or near the tees. They come in a variety of shapes and styles.

Sand is also provided with a shake bottle which you use to pour sand on the grass where you've left a divot. This handy bar at the Walkabout Golf Course is used to swap empty shake bottles with full bottles.

Sometimes sand also contains grass and fertilizer. This occurs most often in Spring and Fall when grass is able to get a better start. When sand is wet, sometimes it is easier to grab and handful than it is to take a scoop or pour.

When visitors arrive at Legends Golf Club in Clermont, Florida near to Orlando, the elaborate waterfalls framing the entry gate may seem intimidating, but after you're through with a game of golf, you'll understand that this golf club was well designed to create wonderful memories of challenging golf. Legends is open to the public and during the warm summer off-season they offer a $179 all the golf you can play card May 1- October 1 after 1pm, after 3pm get a $10 deal on cart. They have a deal on golf balls for use on the large outdoor driving range, too and a large putting green.

The clubhouse is reassuring to visitors since it is quite small and staff very friendly and helpful. The small pro shop stocks visors, socks, clothing, and the usual golf supplies and snacks. A meal with your golf ticket for $12 is available, I think to keep wait staff well up to the task of serving large groups. I had chicken tenders, my husband a club sandwich. Food was tasty and arrived quickly including refills on soft drinks and seconds on beer.

The tower advertising Legends Golf Course with the purple golfer is played on the back nine which is a bit tougher to play than the front nine. Legends Golf Course makes good use of the unusual for Florida hilly terrain.

Close up of the tower. Below, the Legends #14 par 3 hole can be tricky to play, hit long because the ball is likely to roll down hill (see golf photograph below).

This golf course is pretty favorable to women player's with the purple (normally red) tees playing an average of 108 for 5200 yards approximately. 

Most tees have wide open fairways and usually you can avoid any but occasional trouble. The rough is pretty rough now due to all the rain--over 8 inches, bring extra golf balls. The course ends with several back to back uphill holes so make sure you have enough energy to get through this fun course.

When my husband and I visited Panama City, Florida, we found it quite warm and beautiful and of course had to play golf. Our first game was played at the Bay Point Resort Golf Club (seen in the photograph to the left), the only time available was in the afternoon. Since we moved to Florida, we try to play in the morning because it is cooler. Luckily, Bay Point Resort Golf Club had two advantages that made it wonderful to play. 

The pro shop is a small place, but very welcoming and they have pretty nice items for sale. On one hole during our golf game, they offered us a golf deal, bet you'll land on the green and if you win, you get double your money at the pro shop, if you lose, keep 1/2. So my husband and I each bet $5 and we both lost, but we managed to pick up a nice palm tree pineapple marker clip for me and then my husband found a Nike Golf shirt with a pocket so he picked that up.

But the two advantages I mentioned Bay Point Golf Club had, what are they?

The first is they managed to keep old large live oaks near the tee, so even if you do wait to tee off, you do so in the comfort of considerable shade.



The second advantage that Bay Point Golf Club has is the cool refreshing breeze coming from the ocean. The golf course is along the coast, but except for the parking lot beside the marina, golfers rarely see the ocean.

This golf photograph shows my favorite hole--it has this lovely lake and bridge (only to leave).  The Bay Point Golf course has many water hazards, but most don't interfere with your game as long as you hit the ball straight. Many of the holes are quite narrow. 


Luckily, most of the golf carts have a GPS device that explains how far from the hole you are and show a map of the hole so you have advance warning. The Best Golf Courses with the Most Water Hazards may have you traveling all around the US in order to try them out.

 Walkabout Golf & Country Club in Mims, FL is a fairly low key place--seating for the dining room is in a screened outdoor area with comfortable seats. The price is reasonable for a round and golf cart.

The Walkabout Golf Course is currently in excellent shape with green lush fairways. The mid-nine restrooms come awfully early after the third hole and thirteenth hole. It makes the last six a bit pressured. That's the information. It has two great to play holes that bring fear to the heart of first timers. Here's just a bit of advice to prepare you for playing here. 

One thing you should plan on this course is to play your club that goes straight, otherwise you will likely end up in one of the lakes or woods. Even then, you might end up in a trap. The women's tees make for a short but tough round.

From the sixteenth tee, it looks like all there is is one giant sand trap right in front of your nose. It's night quite true.

Driving to a point just left of the monster trap shown here (about 140 yards for women, 180 for men), will set you up for a easy second shot to the green. After your drive, you can actually see the flag from either side of this mound. You aren't entirely safe, there's lots of water on the left and the green is quite small. I used a seven-wood for another 120 yards, then a small chip to the green. Play it safe but don't get scared by this monster trap.

The eighteenth hole has a creek that you can't see from the tee box, so make sure you have loft on your drive because a low ball ( worm burner ) that bounces down the course will get caught. You have over 150 yards from the women's tee and over 180 yards from the men's tee before running into the river, seen just before the tree. The river is quite wide (thirty feet) so your next hit needs to go up two clubs to the green and over at least 80 yards. I drove (140 yards) then chipped closer to the river (30 yards) before using a seven wood to go another (100+ yards). I still needed to chip onto the green. Near the river is quite wide, but from the tee, you're quite narrow. Choose your straightest, longest drive, the move as close as you can to the river, you'll need it.  The 150-yard distance marker is back 50 yards from the river's edge so a five wood (140 yards for me) might not make the river.  It's best to plan ahead otherwise you'll pay extra strokes for losing your ball.

If you play Walkabout Golf & Country Club golf course, plan on a good challenging round, average food, and a friendly crowd.

If you are a beginner golfer, try learning two clubs to start. For drives, begin with your seven wood. A seven wood will give you the most loft from the start. It is meant to be a fairway wood and because of its small head size, it will handle dips in the fairway much better than any other club. The seven wood for women will net you about 120 yards, +- 30 yards. When you're hitting from the tee, place your tee nearly level with the ground.

The reason for choosing one club is to help build your rhythm of hitting the ball. Each of the clubs vary as to where you place the ball in your stance. And the bigger the head on the club, the heavier it is to swing. The biggest problem most beginning golfers have is having strong enough wrists.

Do women's push ups in bed to help build your wrist strength, or alternatively against the wall. And swing the club fifty to one hundred times if you have the spot to do it. You don't need to have a ball or worry about where it will go to just take the swings.

The other club to start with is a seven iron, because it two is one of the easier, longer distance irons to hit due to loft. Many prefer to start with the eight iron. A seven iron will net you about 90-100 yards +-20 if you're a woman. 

Many men have a really easy time hitting golf balls long distance when they start. Men are more likely to use their wrist muscles in other tasks--carrying loads, hammering, using a screw driver, raking, shoveling, etc. Gardening is an alternate way to build wrist strength.

Why not start with all the clubs? Consistency is swing, timing, placement. 

This video from Peak Performance Golf on how to stop topping your fairway wood may be very helpful.

We arrived early at Waterlefe Golf and River Club in Bradenton, FL and it was a good thing, because my husband and I were both hungry. The Grille Room service was awesome and the food tasty--I had the fresh turkey slices on a homemade nut bread that was very good and came toasted like I really like. My husband had a deli sandwich and loved the cranberry mayonaise that came with my sandwich. The Grille Room is cozy, but had enough tables for a party of twelve, us and several other folks. It was a busy Friday due to the Veteran's Day weekend.

So we were paired up with another couple who live in Germany and visit Florida several times a year. I got to use my three or four words I know in German, to their amusement--somehow Aufgang(sp?) doesn't come up in many conversations. Waterlefe Golf and River golf course has many, many holes in which water is located along the course edges. It's quite pretty. Most of the water hazards don't come into play since the fairway is quite wide. But there are many long carries over water hazards, some 

The Waterlefe Golf Course has bathrooms midway on each nine of the 18-hole golf course. I couldn't resist taking a picture of the lovely art on one of the walls, which shows a bit of humor in the otters playing with golf balls and storing them in their nest.

Other places to get golf art include:
FineArtAmerica
Artist Rising
Golf  Player Mania

One advantage of Waterlefe Golf and River Club is their access to the Upper Manatee River and some homeowners could lower their boat at the River Club into the river and head out to the Gulf of Mexico. See Picture below. They also have GolfLogix by Garmin GPS devices on their golf carts.