Golf with Santa Claus

It doesn’t matter what time of year you visit Santa Claus, Indiana, the holiday spirit fills the air 365 days a year. What you find in this Hoosier state town near the Kentucky border are constant reminders of the holiday season, including Lake Rudolph Campground & RV Resort, Christmas Lake Golf Course, Holiday Village, and a shopping center called Kringle Place.

Lake Rudolph features 121 rental RVs, 32 king-size rental RVs, and 19 cabins. Owner Philip Koch says they also have 82 rental golf cars, miniature golf, lake fishing, paddleboats, horseshoe pits, nature trails, free Wi-Fi Internet hot spots, swimming pools, a camp store, and discount tickets to a nearby theme park, Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari.

This southern Indiana RV resort was named the 2004-2005 National RV Park of the Year by the National Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds (ARVC) in the large category (251-499 sites). “Our goal five years ago was to make Lake Rudolph one of the best parks in the nation,” says Koch, “and our staff has done a tremendous job in making this goal a reality.” In addition, the Lake Rudolph Web site also received recent accolades. ARVC selected Lake Rudolph for its Web site of the Year honors. The user-friendly site contains useful information and photos that convey a comprehensive overview of this family-friendly establishment.

The resort’s king size rental RVs are a colossal 44 feet long with three slideouts. The units can sleep eight—four adults and four children—and offer all the amenities of a regular RV. They feature a king-size bed in the master bedroom, and a private half bath. There’s also a queen bed and four twin bunks in the second bedroom. All king size rental RVs come with a picnic table and fire ring with grill attachment.

The resort is minutes away from Lincoln State Park and the Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial at the site of the farm where Abraham Lincoln grew up. It is also near the Christmas Lake Golf Course. This 7,275-yard par 72 was labeled by Golf Digest Magazine as one of the top 75 public golf courses in America. Indiana Business magazine also rated the course as the seventh most challenging in Indiana. Featuring four sets of tees, Christmas Lake Golf Course was designed by Edmund Ault in 1967. Ault is known for designing the Tournament Players Course at Avenal in Potomac, Maryland, and for remodeling the Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Maryland.

Using two completely different approaches, Ault designed Christmas Lakes’ two nines as differently as driver and putter. The front nine is relatively flat, with just one dogleg, while the back nine is very hilly and not quite as open. You might even see Santa golfing at times.

For more information on Christmas Lake Golf Course, call (877) XMAS-GOLF or visit online at www.christmaslake.com. For Lake Rudolph Campground and RV, call (877) RUDOLPH or visit online at www.lakerudolph.com.

The 19th Hole (and a few chip shots)
An article about Christmas wouldn’t be complete without a mention of gifts. For the golfer in your family, here are several ideas for the holidays.

The BallBrella is a unique gift option that doubles as an umbrella and a golf ball retriever. The retriever telescopes to 96 inches when needed, and retracts into the handle when not in use. The umbrella itself measures a substantial 60-inch arc, and is made of fiberglass ribs and shaft for strength and flexibility. It also has an ergonomic rubber handle, and fluorescent ball retriever. You can order the BallBrella with a custom imprint for a golf tournament or other special event. It retails for $39.95. For information, contact Golf Innovations at (901) 382-3069 or visit www.ballbrella.com.

The G-Clip from Fine Tune Golf is a very functional 4-in-1 compact golf tool that allows you to organize all of your golfing accessories in a convenient belt clip. The G-Clip received the PGA Tour Partners magazine’s highest-ever reader approval score for an accessory. Weighing only one ounce, the G-Clip is stainless steel and waterproof. It comes with a glove grip, a divot tool, two ball markers—one enamel, and another of antique silver finish—and a tee holder that can accommodate any length tees. It retails for $15. For information, visit www.finetunegolf.com.

If you’re tired of hitting your golf ball into the next fairway or out of bounds, you might want to consider the Swing-Channel Golf Mat. Mike Coombs, inventor of the Swing-Channel Golf Mat, says, “ If you swing in a straight line or channel, and assuming you address the ball squarely each time with the club head, there is almost no reason you will NOT hit the ball straight. It is simple physics.”

The Swing-Channel Golf Mat does not guarantee you will hit the ball straight every time. However, Coombs says that using the mat does guarantee that you will hit the ball consistently straighter and farther.

The Swing-Channel Golf Mat has two separate and distinct swing-channels built in. One is the athletic sports turf swing-channel from which you can hit balls off the mat itself. In this swing-channel, you can hit off a rubber tee in the mat or you can take the tee out and just hit off the mat. The second channel is the open or exposed swing-channel through which grass comes up when the mat is placed on grass or lawn. For information, visit www.easygolf.biz.

Happy Holidays!

Rick Stedman is an avid RVer, golfer and writer who lives in Yakima, Washington. He can be reached at rick.stedman@charter.net