On Location: Ryder Cup 2014--What I Like Best

EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND--The Guru arrived in Edinburgh on Monday. I took a day trip to St. Andrews on Tuesday to roam the village and shoot some video of the Old Course. The last few days I spent wandering around Edinburgh and stopping in pubs for a pint here and there or attending the Ryder Cup matches in Gleneagles, about a 1 hr and 15 minute bus ride.

Here are some of the things I like best:

Best place to hangout in Edinburgh: The Grassmarket area has lots of pubs, a pedestrian walking area that splits two streets and an amazing view upward to the Castle.

Most annoying Ryder Cup player: The nomination easily goes to Ian Poulter or "Poults" as they call him over here. This guy really hams it up for the cameras and Euro fans. All the screams, fist pumps and chest thumps get really old after awhile. Especially when the U.S.A. is losing.

Best U.S.A. players: Rickie Fowler looks in top form and the rookie duo of Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed has delivered big time. I've been very impressed with their calm demeanor and confidence when surrounded by crazed Euro fans. These guys should be great Ryder Cup players for years to come.

(Photo courtesy of PGA TOUR)

Best holes at Gleneagles to watch the action: My favorites were in the stands on No. 11 and 13 and along the ropes by the green on No. 16 and 18.

No. 13 hole

Best Ryder Cup moment: Watching Phil Mickelson sink a two-footer for birdie on the 18th hole to secure a victory with his partner Keegan Bradley on Friday morning over Rory McIlroy and Sergio Garcia.

Best players to watch at Ryder Cup 2014: Jordan Spieth, Rickie Fowler, Justin Rose and Victor Dubuisson.

Best places at the Ryder Cup Spectator Village: I like the BMW display where you can get a picture taken while holding an American flag; the Standing Man Public Bar, a large saloon with all sorts of whiskey and beers; and the Scotland display, where there was an occasional free whiskey sampling.

Best dressed fans at Ryder Cup 2014: A group of guys from Michigan (clients of Premier Golf) put together a super patriotic outfit with kilts, Scottish hats and stylish vests.

Best pubs in Edinburgh: My favorites near my hotel (Radisson Blu) are Deacon Brodie's on the Royal Mile and Bee Hive Inn in the Grassmarket area.

Best pub in St. Andrews: Love the lounge bar at the Dunvegan Hotel just a half block from the Old Course. I shared a few pints with a couple of caddies on my visit. Wow, did I learn a lot.

Best celebrities I've seen at Ryder Cup 2014: Basketball icon Michael Jordan, former Buffalo Bills head coach Marv Levy, former Pittsburgh Steelers great Lynn Swann and former Ryder Cup captains Corey Pavin, Colin Montgomerie and Ian Woosnam.

Best fish & chips on this trip: Cromars Classic Fish & Chips in St. Andrews

Best park to sit and view the Edinburgh Castle: Princes Street Gardens

On Location: Ryder Cup 2014 Gleneagles Resort in Scotland

EDINBURGH,SCOTLAND-- The Guru is holed up in his nice room at Radisson Blu Edinburgh overlooking the Royal Mile. As I gaze out my window, I see pubs to the left and pubs to the right. One never has to travel far for a frosty pint in this great city.

Ryder Cup 2014 is going to crank up tomorrow with lots of anticipation. If you think the RC is big in the States, you won't believe the buzz over here in Scotland.

I know there are whiners and complainers out there who don't like the Ryder Cup. Some say the Americans just can't win anymore, others criticize the rowdy fans, still others just, well, love to complain about something.

I believe it has evolved into one of the world's greatest sports events. Not on par with the World Cup certainly, but right alongside in popularity, I believe, with Wimbledon and every golf major except the Masters.

While the American fans are drastically outnumbered, the ones that made the trip across the pond have lots of spirit and camaraderie and don't seem to be paying the doomsayers much mind. The ruthless writers over here have all but buried the American team before the first tee shot on Friday.

The decided difference I see in this team is the leadership of Tom Watson. He brings calm and confidence to a U.S.A. team that's been on the losing end more often than not the past few years.

I've been very impressed with how the Scots and European Tour set up the spectator village, corporate tents, food court, bleachers and retail store. It's a giant undertaking and they performed admirably. Despite the huge crowds, people seem to move about quite nicely.

My favorite spot is "The Striding Man" pavilion and bar, a giant makeshift saloon with pints of Guinness, lagers and whiskeys. The food court has everything from fish and chips and meat pies to hot dogs, cheeseburgers and roast pork sandwiches.

I'm looking forward to three great days of golf. Perhaps the Americans will break through with Watson's leadership, but, let the best team win.

Many thanks to Atlanta, Georgia-based Premier Golf, a luxury golf travel company and official distributor of Ryder Cup travel packages for the PGA of America, for partnering with me on this trip.

On Location: Turnberry Isle Miami Resort

One of my favorite places on the planet is the French Riviera. The stunning panoramas, refined lifestyle and superb cuisine make it a phenomenal getaway. For an American translation of a Cote d' Azur resort, Turnberry Isle Miami in south Florida is a luxury golf enclave with a decided French and Italian Riviera flair.

Set on 300 impeccably landscaped acres enveloped by tropical foliage, the multi-amenity resort is a wonderland of stucco facades, terra cotta roofs, pillars and arched promenades. Best of all, the secluded environment creates an atmosphere of exclusivity and isolation, yet, you're just a few minutes from the massive, luxurious Aventura Mall and only a 20 minute drive from glitzy South Beach and a wealth of dining, shopping and entertainment options.

GOLF

The two 18-hole championship golf courses--Miller and Soffer--were originally designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr. in 1970 and later redesigned by PGA TOUR great Raymond Floyd in 2006.

Floyd did a masterful job of modernizing the layouts and transforming them into fun-to-play, yet challenging resort courses with lots and lots of eye candy.

The courses have lush landscaping, coquina shell waste areas, waterfalls and other aesthetic touches. Contoured fairways, clever doglegs, sculpted bunkers undulating greens and strategically placed water features present many challenges.

Masters Champion Floyd has stated he wanted to achieve a "tropical Augusta look" so his design team created rolling berms planted with colorful indigenous shrubs to frame each hole. Turnberry Isle Miami courses are among the most photogenic in Florida.

The Soffer Course finishes in grand style with a spectacular 64-foot waterfall that provides a memorable finish on an island-style 18th green.  Stretching to 7,047 yards from the championship tees, the Soffer Course is the more difficult of the twosome. Landing areas are fairly generous, however, Floyd demands accuracy on approach shots to the greens or it's bogey time or worse.

Measuring 6,417 yards, the Miller course is a bit more kinder and gentler. While the Soffer Course is dotted with tall, majestic palm trees, the Miller has tropical trees like ficus, banyon and black olive.

For a video view of the courses at Turnberry Isle Miami, click to Golf Travel Guru T.V.

ACCOMMODATIONS/AMENITIES

Four towers with Mediterranean style architecture contain 408 guest rooms, which are pet-friendly and non smoking. Each room has a private balcony and is appointed in soft neutral tones of almond and beige with hardwood floors and plush carpeting. French doors open to flower-lined balconies with spectacular view of fairways and greens or pool gardens.

My room view

Room amenities include:

--47 inch LED flat screen TV
--iHome AM/FM clock radio and docking station
--Pet-friendly services
--Keurig coffee maker
--Luxury skin and hair toiletries
--Complimentary plush robes and slippers

Resort amenities include:

Exclusive Beach Club
Spa and fitness center
Marina
Jogging trail
Tennis center
Kid's Connection program
Valet parking

10 Little Things I Like:

1. The marble appointed bathroom with whirlpool bathtub, separate shower with large shower head and Molton Brown toiletries.

2. The delicious little green apples and tangerines and ice cold water with lemons and oranges at the front desk.

3. The elegant and comfortable Lobby Lounge with its plush furniture, hardwood floors, massive chandeliers and piano, which is great place to enjoy a drink after a round or before dinner.

4. The Tiki Bar at the Cascata Pool.

5. The convenient five-minute walk to the Aventura Mall.

6. The extremely easy access to golf just outside the back door of the resort. It's only 75 steps from the pro shop door to the starter's hut.

7. My room's balcony, a great place to enjoy morning coffee or a glass of wine in the evening.

8. The 1,600-foot long Lazy River at the Laguna Pool.

9. The spectacular tropical foliage dominating the resort that serves as a natural buffer from the outside world.

10. The Keuring coffee maker in my room.

DINING & LOUNGING

Bourbon Steak Miami, a Michael Mina Restaurant--The headliner restaurant at the resort, this contemporary steakhouse with its chic mirrored walls and wood burning grill features more than 1,000 bottles in its wine cellar. If you love grilled steaks, seafood and poultry, Bourbon Steak delivers big time.

Cascata Grill--With an outdoor terrace setting, this restaurant offers excellent al fresco dining with views of the Miller golf course and tropical vegetation.

Laguna Grill--Outdoor dining by the pool with a menu featuring salads, sandwiches, burgers and frozen cocktails.

Beach Club Grill--A casual eatery with sandwiches, wraps and salads.

Lobby Lounge--A classic cocktail lounge brimming with plush, comfortable large chairs and couches, a creative appetizer menu, fireplace and piano.

THINGS TO DO

Aventura Mall--A three-minute walk from the front door of the resort, this super mall has 300 stores and restaurants and a 24-screen movie theater. Anchor stores include Nordstrom, Macy's and Bloomingdale's. Restaurants such as Bella Luna italian restaurant and Johnny Rockets.

Bal Harbour Shops--The posh Bal Harbour Shops on Collins Avenue, about a 10 minute drive from Turnberry Isle has stores like Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue, specialty shops like Michael Kors and Bulgari and restaurants such as Zodiac Cafe at Neiman Marcus, Carpaccio and Makoto.

South Beach--About a 20-minute drive south of Turnberry Isle, this dynamic beach area is brimming with fashionable hotels, an internationally flavored dining and nightclub scene and a spectacular Art Deco district. Great shopping at upscale boutiques and numerous al fresco dining options are possible on Lincoln Road, which is lined by designer stores, sushi bars, elegant Euro-style bistros and steak houses.

Calder Race Course-- Located 12 miles from the resort, this gaming and racing complex features thoroughbred horse racing, 1,200 slot machines and poker.

LOCATION

The resort is located at 19999 West Country Club Drive in Aventura approximately 17 miles north of downtown Miami. Turnberry Isle Miami is 12 miles from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and 18 miles from Miami International Airport.

GET THE SCOOP

For more information on the resort, click to Turnberry Isle Miami Resort. To check on rates and availability, call 866-612-7739.

Winged Foot Golf Club - East Course

There has been much written about many of the world's greatest golf courses: Herbert Warren Wind gushing about Dornoch and Ballybunion; several books have been written about Bethpage; the romance of Hogan's Alley at Riviera, etc. The course in the top 100 rankings which gets little written about it is Winged Foot's East Course (ranked #66 in the world) designed, like the West, by A.W. Tillinghast. How is it that a course that ranks higher than Valderrama, Cruden Bay and Yeamans Hall is highlighted so little? Could it be that the course if simply riding the coattails of its bigger brother Winged Foot West (ranked #18 in in the world)? Which holes make it a top 100 course exactly?

I am blessed to live close to so much good golf and was fortunate to play Winged Foot East and West back-to-back on the same day so I could have a fresh comparison of the two courses. I didn't do justice to the East course on my first trip, so this post will focus on it.

Winged Foot is the only club in the world that has two ranked courses on my list, although a strong case can be made for both Sunningdale and Royal Melbourne to have two, but that's another story. Both golf courses at Winged Foot opened for play on September 8, 1923.  

The defining characteristics of both courses are the greens, which almost all slope back-to-front and have narrow entry areas. In the 1920s the press dubbed them "bottle-necks." Being above the hole is not recommended. In their 1923 brochure announcing the opening of both courses, the golf committee warned the golfer about the first two holes on the East course. "A dollar bill couldn't lie level on either of the first two greens with their pitches and roll." The second hole is named "Man O'War" because of the necessity of keeping your shot left, or, as in horse racing, in the pole position, to keep out of trouble. At the time of the course's opening "Man O'War" was a popular race horse.

The par three sixth hole, Winged Foot East, "Trouble"

The par three sixth plays uphill and is about 200-yards long. The hole's name, "Trouble,"--aside from the pitch of the green and the bunkers--is derived from the fact that there is O.B. down the entire right side. It has classic Tillinghast bunkering.

One of the defining features of Pine Valley is how each of the holes are isolated from the others. Not so at Winged Foot, where you see other holes when playing your hole and essentially have vistas of the whole property while playing.

Although all the greens on the course slope back-to-front there is never a time you think they are unfair; the ninth green, for example, has a hump in the rear that serves as a backstop. Tillinghast's description of Winged Foot sums up how much effort he put into the greens, "The holes are like men, all rather similar from foot to neck, but with the greens showing the same varying characters of human faces." If I do have one small criticism of Winged Foot it is, as Tillinghast himself says, that there are many similar holes; I find this to be particularly true on the front nine of the West course where almost a half-dozen holes are of the same basic type tee-to-green. The East has more variety in the style and types of holes.

The 10th green Winged Foot East

The tenth hole on the East Course plays back toward the clubhouse and is relatively simple, at only 353 yards. Although, as members will tell you, when the pin is tucked back left in a narrow part of the green behind bunkers, the hole is anything but easy.

The narrow 11th green, Winged Foot East

The eleventh hole is named "Broadway" because like the Great White Way, it bends slightly to the right. This hole is a great illustration of how narrow some of the approaches to the greens are; the difficulty of the greens is in direct proportion to the hole's modest 364 yards. Beware of short par fours. What Tillinghast takes away in length, he makes the golfer pay for around the green. The greens are made to accept shots coming in only on the line of play; being on either side of them you will find yourself playing army golf, marching back-and-forth across the green after failing to hold a delicate pitch shot on them.

 

The 12th green on the East Course

The par five twelfth is a difficult hole from tee to green and the #2 stroke index hole; what makes it particularly difficult is the approach shot to the green. As the opening day booklet says about twelve, "One big trap almost closes the green in front so the third shot must be pitched." It is a brilliant design, and why the 536-yard hole still gives players fits today. Try to land a long iron or wood into that narrow and well protected target.

The "Cameo", 13th hole at Winged Foot East viewed from the side

Tillinghast was a master of par three design, and the 13th hole on the East course is the best hole on the entire property in my view. Named "Cameo" it plays only 140-yards but is very narrow and requires a perfectly struck shot. As with all of the greens on Winged Foot's East course, if you are left or right, pitching a shot back onto the green requires precision because the greens are only designed to be approached from the front. The picture above is from the side, and you can get a good sense of how narrow the landing strip is from the tee.

Winged Foot East's 14th "Hell Bent", which doglegs to the right

The East course only has fifty-three traps, so this is golf of the strategic vs. the penal variety that you may find at a course like Oakmont. Although there are relatively few traps, they add to the scenic beauty of the course because your eye is drawn to them, and they are placed with maximum effectiveness to catch wayward shots.

 

The 15th hole at Winged Foot East, "Shrine"

The approach to the elevated green on the sub 350-yard fifteenth hole is over a brook, and as see pictured, the green falls off sharply to the right and rear. The East course finishes with a bang. The seventeenth hole is called "Lightning," since a "bolt of Jove" would be required to move the ball from some of the 207-yard hole's traps. The eighteenth is called "Taps," on a course that opens with a first hole named "Reveille," and "sails happily to a rising green."

A strong case can be made that the best stretch of holes on the property are the East course's eleventh through fifteenth. I am a big fan of the East course and personally prefer playing it to the West; I think it has more shot variety and is a more interesting routing.

Both are fabulous courses where you have to hit and hold the greens or you will have a long day. Although my feet hurt after playing 36 holes and from being on them for close to ten hours, my spirits were soaring as we retired to the majestic clubhouse for a drink. The total golfing experience at Winged Foot is the epitome of private American club golf, with its historic grand clubhouse, experienced and learned caddies, and world-class courses. Those that only play the major championship-hosting West course are missing something special if they skip the East.

Everything You Need to Know About Playing Golf in Florida

Hammock Bay Golf Club--Marco Island Marriott

Ya gotta play Florida.

There are nearly 1,400 reasons (golf courses) to tee up in the Sunshine State and more than 50 resorts with golf as their centerpiece amenity.

I've walked the fairways of hundreds of courses in the state, lost golf balls in lakes, wetlands, swamps and palmetto fields and had a great time along the way.

Check out the Guru's numerous articles for the best places to enjoy golf in Florida:

Play Golf on Marco Island, Florida 

Golf in Tampa-St. Petersburg: A Beginner's Guide

Play Golf on Florida's Nature Coast

Play Golf in South Florida

Play Golf in the Florida Panhandle in Bubba and Boo Country 

Play Golf at Streamsong Resort and Other Polk County Courses 

Play Golf in Port St. Lucie, Florida

Great Places to Tee up with Nearby Casino Gaming in Florida 

Play Golf Near Florida's Historic Towns

Play Golf Near Florida's Best Beaches 

10 Reasons for a Golf Vacation to the Space Coast in Florida 

10 Reasons for a Golf Vacation to Lake County in Florida 

Play Golf and Take a Cruise from a Florida Port 

Sarasota: Where Golf and Culture Combine for a Great Vacation 

Where to Find Great Golf and Fishing in Florida 

Play Florida's Top Resorts