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Top Notch Golf Courses

A discussion of top notch golf courses is a lot different than a discussion of favorite golf courses. Although each golfer might have his own favorite, there are a few that have always stood out.

Anyone with a serious interest in golf will have heard of St. Andrews in Scotland. This is not only a Mecca for serious golfers, but is also where the game originated. St. Andrews is really a whole series of different world class courses that surround the town and run along the rugged Scottish coast near the town of St. Andrews. Although some of the courses are over 100 years old, there are some new and modern courses mixed in for variety. Despite year round play, these courses are among the best maintained in the World. It appears that the Scotch have the experience to do this job correctly. They are known for hosting the British Open.

The courses at St. Andrews are across an ocean which poses a slight disadvantage for the American golfer and many who make this journey are a bit shocked by the higher costs and green fees here. Most people are too blown away by the awesome scenery and the sense of golfing history to notice and the thrill of playing St. Andrews is rarely a disappointment.

The Augusta National Golf Club is another top notch course. It was designed and built in 1933 by golf legend Bobby Jones and has hosted the Masters Golf Tournament since 1934. It is a private club golf course that has been in the news recently for more than just the Master’s Tournament. There are only about 300 members. The membership fees range fro $250,000 to $500,000 a year and in its entire history no female has ever been a member. Although women are allowed to play the course as guests of members, they are restricted from membership. This caused a bit of a stink recently as the National Organization for Women put pressure on the club to change its policy.

Pebble Beach in California is like St. Andrews in Scotland. It is not just one golf course, but rather a series of top notch golf courses all in one location. Pebble Beach could be better called a golf destination than a course. There are seven public or private courses located at Pebble Beach. The Pebble Beach Golf Links is one of the public courses and is possibly the most top notch course in America. It is the one of only two courses in America to make the top of the “best courses” list in Golf Digest.

St. Andrews, Augusta, and Pebble Beach might be the most top notch golf courses in the World, although another writer might pick another for this list. In the end, the choice might be personal. The most top notch course in the world, to an individual, might be where they shot their first par or even where they first learned to play and love the game.

Aazdak Alisimio writes about golf courses for GolfClubCourse.com.

Top Notch Golf Courses / Author: Aazdak Alisimo

Nike Hybrid Golf Clubs

Nike Hybrid Golf Clubs are available in two versions of two different models, for a total of 4 product lines. These include the Slingshot Hybrid and Slingshot Tour Hybrid, the CPR3 Wood and CPR3 Iron-Wood. This article will review the attributes of each of these hybrid golf clubs.

Slingshot Hybrid and Slingshot Tour Hybrid
Both of these clubs have an MSRP of $199 US for either steel or graphite shafts. The Slingshot Tour is targeted for low handicap golfers, and the Slingshot is for less skilled players. Both clubs aim to deliver a center of gravity (CG) that is low and as far back behind the face as possible. This type of club head design is geared to making the ball get up into the air easier and to be forgiving of off-center hits. Both clubs look like a hybrid or small fairway wood with the upper back section removed. This is readily evident on the company’s web site. The weight thus removed is then redistributed in a thick sole and a thick bar around the back of the clubs called a Slingback bar. The result of this design is to have 70% of the mass of the club head below the equator of the ball. The face plate on both clubs is made of 455 stainless steel which is normal for high-end hybrid clubs like these.

There are 5 clubs available in the Slingshot line. These are 2-6 hybrids. Perhaps it bears repeating that hybrid clubs are designed to replace long irons that are difficult for most golfers to hit solidly on a consistent basis. A 3 hybrid will replace your 3 iron, for example. All the clubs in the Slingshot product line are available for both left and right handed golfers. There is no women’s version of this model available, or for any of the Nike hybrid golf clubs models for that matter. Of course both steel and graphite shafts are available. Custom fitting options exist for club length (-1/2” to +2” from standard) and for lie angles (-2 to +4 degrees from standard). One would need to have a custom club fitting to know if he needs to order any of these changes. This is a good idea in any case for a person thinking of investing in a set of new golf clubs.

As stated, the Slingshot Tour Hybrid is for low handicap players. In fact Nike notes that their Tour staff requested such a model be developed. Four clubs are available in 1-4 hybrids. The shafts on the Slingshot Tour Hybrid are slightly heavier than on the Slingshot. The same options to customize club length and lie angle can be chosen.

CPR3 Wood and CPR3 Iron-Wood
These two hybrids have an MSRP of $139 with steel shafts and $159 with graphite. The CPR3 Wood clubs have a deeper sole and have more of a wood bottom footprint, thus the name. The upper back section is cut out, and thus again weight can be redistributed around the periphery of the sole to lower the CG and move it back. 2-5 hybrids are available, and all lofts come in left handed models. No women’s versions of this product line are available, nor are there any options for customization as there are with the Slingshots.

The CPR3 Iron-Wood has a smaller footprint which is more like a typical hybrid club. This version is targeted to lower handicap golfers and is available in 1-4 hybrids in either steel or graphite shafts. Left handed clubs are available, and as with the CPR3 Wood, there are no custom options for club length or lie angle.

Nike Hybrid Golf Clubs do not come with versions to provide a hook bias to help golfers with a consistent slice, or adjustable club head weight versions as is offered by Taylor Made, for example. It will be interesting to see if the popularity of those design features or the demand for women’s hybrids will be high enough to motivate Nike to add these types of clubs to their product offerings. Nike is certainly a top rank golf company, however, so if one of their models fits you properly, you will be playing with excellent clubs.

Walt Ballenberger is a life-long golfer and founder of Hybrid Golf Clubs, a resource site for golfers. For a Free Report entitled “How to Find the “Sweet Spot” on Your Golf Clubs in 10 Minutes” visit Hybrid Golf Clubs

Nike Hybrid Golf Clubs / Author: Walter Ballenberger
       
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Walt Ballenberger is web master for Hand Painted Silk Scarf owned and founded by his wife, Linda Ballenberger. For a $10 discount on your first purchase, visit Hand Painted Silk Scarf. Each silk scarf is unique and all are hand painted by Linda, an accomplished artist.
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Playing golf on your Costa Blanca holidays: Don Cayo Golf

Lots of people that rent an Altea holiday villa or an Altea holiday apartment do so because of the privaleged golfcourse of Don Cayo.

The Don Cayo Golf Club was founded in 1974 by Luis Campomanes Asumendi within the “El Aramo” Urban Development Project on the skirts of the Sierra de Altea mountains. It has a beautifull view to the sea from the main building and from a great part of the course. The course sits within the municipal area of Altea, a Mediterranean town standing out for the beauty of its historic town centre and its special sunny atmosphere. This has made it one of the favourite Mediterranean hideaways for artists, who come to work and live here from many parts of the world. Thanks to its special charm, Altea was chosen as the site for the Fine Arts Campus of the Miguel Hernandez University of Alicante, and it has a new Fine Arts Palace and a UNESCO Music venue as well.

A privileged enclave

The course nestles between the Sierra Bernia and the Mediterranean Sea - an idyllic spot in which to enjoy the beauties of nature. But apart from picturesque surroundings, it boasts an incredibly attractive design, making it a superb place for a great game of golf.

The course is owned by the Don Cayo Golf Club and its members, set up as a non-profit sports association. The Club is therefore semiprivate, and its members share the fairways and facilities with fee-paying golfers who come to visit.

Course improvements

Over the last two years, the club has become one of finest in the province, thanks to improvements in maintenance, upkeep and even course design. Special attention has been paid to the fairways, the slopes, the surrounding pine trees and landscaping, and new marble sand bunkers have been introduced along the course.

These initiatives were completed by a remodelling of the itineraries, so the course opened last spring with 18 new tee-offs, packing two completely different rounds into one 9-hole course. The two options are marked in different colours on the course cards and the greens.

With its revamped design, Don Cayo now enjoys a new lease on life. Players never have to repeat a single hole, making the game much more fun. Among the most significant novelties are par changes at 4 holes, hole 5 was reduced by 100 metres, the fairway at hole 1 has been modified with 4 new bunkers flanking its right side, making the dog-ieg more challenging despite the removal of a bunker formerly located right on the fairway.

Future reforms

All these improvements have been made under the new management team, with Alexis Garcia-Valdes as manager and Rosa Sastre as greenkeeper, giving golfers the best they could possibly devise. And another new stage will be completed over the next 3 years, with the renovation of the irrigation system and the future installation of a new water purifier that will enable a large lake to be created within the layout.

Once all this work has been carried out, there are also plans to renovate some of the greens.

Whatever you are planning to do on your costa blanca holiday, if you are a golf fan you can´t miss out on Don Cayo!

Tjeerd Geerts lives in Altea and is an expert on Costa Blanca Holidays

Playing golf on your Costa Blanca holidays: Don Cayo Golf / Author: Tjeerd Geerts
    
Tjeerd Geerts is living in Altea and is an expert on Costa Blanca Holidays
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