There are three things a visitor to Louisiana should know before embarking on a golf vacation.

1.  Never, under any circumstances, try to hit a golf shot if your ball comes to rest near an alligator. You are going to see some of these guys in the lakes and bayous around some of the golf courses in Louisiana, but stay away from them. You get free relief and don’t even worry about trying to retrieve your original ball.

LAKE PLACID, N.Y. - Tooling along at 60 mph behind the protective glass windshield of an automobile on the freeway can seem kind of slow. Glacial, even. Pushing 60 in an open-topped bobsled down a track with more curves than Penelope Cruz and concrete walls with less padding than a steel cage match? When there's no snow in sight? That seems crazy. Snakes on a Plane crazy.

Birthplace Of America’s Music’ Offers Golfers A Lot More Than Just Great Courses And Gaming Action

Mississippi might not be the first place many of the nation’s golfers think of when they get a hankering for great golf and gaming. But savvy golfers have long known more golfers should put the Magnolia State on their radar.

By Carl Mickelson 

A 90-minute drive northwest of San Antonio to the rolling Hill Country and the chilly banks of the Frio River reveals a place as “uniquely Texas” as any golf property you might ever find. The final design collaboration of recently-split Austin-based architects Roy Bechtol and Randy Russell, ConCan Country Club winds through a lush valley completely surrounded by towering green Hill Country that you might as well call “Texas mini-mountains” (it’s as close to the Smoky Mountains as our Hill Country offers). 

Gene Bates, Scott Miller, John Harbottle, III. Not names that jump out at you. Not names the average golfer is familiar with unless that average golfer happens to be knowledgeable about golf course architects. These three men may not even know each other but they will forever have their names linked together in my mind following my recent golf outing to Northern Idaho and Eastern Washington.

Golfing destinations abound in the Columbus, Ohio area. The Buckeye State I'm told as a whole has fantastic golf. But if you have the opportunity to travel to Columbus, there are three courses you should make sure to visit.

Downtown Scottsdale, Arizona is known for its spas and luxury hotels and restaurants, but north of the city around Cave Creek, you'll encounter cowboy dive bars and wide open spaces, but still plenty of great golf courses like Boulders Golf Club and Troon North.

When the Island Resort & Casino unveiled Sweetgrass Golf Club in July 2008, Michigan’s Upper Peninsula transitioned from an outdoorsman’s paradise with a few quality golf courses to a formidable golf destination with a bevy sporting options to please the palate of all levels of golfers. The Upper Peninsula – affectionately nicknamed the U.P – features a troika of world-class golf courses, Sweetgrass, Greywalls and TimberStone, which maximize the region’s natural splendor and reflect the area’s Indian heritage.

Like peanut butter and jelly, ham and eggs, tea and crumpets, Sonny and Cher, Lennon and McCarthy, Brooks and Dunn, Tarzan and Jane, Donald and Daisy, David and Goliath, “Golf” and “Casinos” have entered the lexicon as ideal combinations. Las Vegas excluded, below are the five best casino golf course destinations we’ve played in the USA.

Louisiana is a unique, dynamic and growing state comprised of exotic people and attractions, not the least of which is the variety and quality of its outdoor adventures and sports opportunities.

This certainly holds true for the Louisiana Audubon Golf Trail, a collection of 13 golf clubs in the state.

"Build it and they will come." That's what the Kevin Costner character in the movie, "Field of Dreams" was told about building the baseball field in the middle of his cornfield. He did as asked and some of the greats of the game showed up along with his dad in the film.

You approach the tee, casually glance over your shoulder and spy no one but the rest of your foursome — three of your best friends –– leaning against the cart, waiting to see what you will do to redeem your game after the last hole. All eyes are on you as you line up the ball, practice your swing.

With 314 days of sun a year, and over 60 golf courses, it is no wonder that Scottsdale, Arizona has become such a mecca for golf enthusiasts and sun worshippers. Since my first trip there some 40 years ago, Scottsdale has grown by leaps and bounds to become one of the West’s most highly sophisticated business and vacation playgrounds.

A golf vacation to Southern California in the spring normally yields moderate temperatures, little rain (most years) and an almost mind-boggling number of quality golf courses to choose from. And that’s just counting the public and resort courses.  There are an equal number of great private clubs to play, but unless you know a member or find a charity tournament that has secured one of these exclusive golf courses for the day, then you are pretty much limited to those designated for public play.