Finding Holiday Inspiration

If you love the holidays and golf, then you’ll appreciate the following collection of golf establishments featuring a holiday theme.

How could you not feel festive at Canada’s Holiday Park Golf Course? Carved out of the South Saskatchewan River Valley in Saskatoon, Holiday Park combines natural scenic beauty with great golf. Its championship 18-hole course is designed for an advanced level of play, and the picturesque back nine contains some of the most enjoyable and demanding golf holes in Saskatchewan. In addition, Holiday Park offers an executive 9-hole course that measures 2,479 yards.

In Florida, the Sunshine State, you can enjoy year-round golf on two courses at the Holiday Golf Club. Located in Panama City Beach, Holiday Golf Club’s featured course is an 18-hole, par 72 championship track; there’s also a lighted 9-hole, par 3 executive course.

Holiday Island, Arkansas, is a 4,500-acre development that includes two golf courses. This planned community is a vacation getaway that’s less than an hour from Branson, Missouri.

Regardless of the time of year, every golfer is always “on holiday” at any of these Holiday golf courses.

Getting Started
To ease into the holiday season, you might want to gather a little inspiration by visiting Pumpkin Vine Golf Course in Lancaster, Ohio, or Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club just south of Portland, Oregon. Pumpkin Ridge features two courses: Witch Hollow and Ghost Creek.

A stop at Cranberry Valley Golf Course in Harwich, Massachusetts, or Cranberry Highlands Golf Course in Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania, might also provide a little holiday inspiration. Recently, the Zagat Guidebook for America’s Top Golf Courses bestowed Cranberry Valley with an “excellent” rating.

As we close in on Christmas, a visit to any one of the following may rekindle fond memories of family dinner gatherings. Turkey Creek Golf Club in Lincoln, California, features an 18-hole course with a back nine that resemble Germany’s Black Forest region, complete with wild turkeys. Golfers may want to test their skill at the Golf Course on Turkey Mountain in Horseshoe Bend, Arkansas. One of north-central Arkansas’ finest courses, Turkey Mountain features a challenging 18-hole course with rolling hills, dramatic elevation changes, wooded valleys and freshwater lakes.

Turkey Run Golf Club in Waveland, Indiana, is an 18-hole championship course six miles from Turkey Run State Park on State Road 47. Another option is the Golf Club at Thanksgiving Point, just south of Salt Lake City, Utah. This championship course, designed by Johnny Miller, measures a whopping 7,728 yards and creatively uses the natural mountain desert landscape to enhance the overall golf experience.

Christmas Spirit
As the season draws closer to an end, you might want to visit a place like Snowflake Municipal Golf Course in Snowflake, Arizona. The golf course is in east-central Arizona at an elevation of 5,000 feet. There’s also the Mount Snow Golf Course in West Dover, Vermont, or Holly Meadows Golf Course in Capac, Michigan, just north of Detroit. Also in Michigan, near Kalamazoo, you can find a little angelic inspiration at Angels Crossing Golf Club.

Ending with a crescendo to the holidays is a visit to Christmas Mountain Village, Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin’s premier golf and ski resort. There’s also a wonderful golf-RV facility in Indiana: Lake Rudolph Campground & RV Resort, Christmas Lake Golf Course, Holiday Village, and a shopping center called Kringle Place. How could you not find the spirit of the holidays when visiting this joyous establishment? Imagine: golfing with Santa Claus in July. That should be enough to keep the spirit strong until December.

And if you find yourself in a tropical mood for the holidays, Christmas Island Golf Course awaits you in the middle of the Indian Ocean.

If that’s not enough, try donning a Peace on Earth Golf Shirt from MagentaStudios.com, then hitting the links at Peace Portal Golf Club in White Rock/South Surrey, British Columbia near the Washington border.

The 19th Hole (and a few last minute Christmas gift ideas)
If you are looking for a gift for the lady golfer in your life, you might want to consider products from Fairway Skins Company, maker of superior high-fashion ladies’ leather golf gloves and pouches. The company recently received a “Best New Product” recognition at the PGA Fall Expo in Las Vegas. Fairway Skins creates products known for their fashionable design as well as high quality and performance attributes. Made from the finest cabretta (kid) leather, Fairway Skins gloves feature colorful antique botanical prints, which grace the back of each glove. They come is six different floral designs including passion flower, blue lily, morning glory, Spanish iris, tulip, and night blooming cereus. Fairway Skins products are available in select golf shops across the U.S. and on the company Web site at www.fairwayskins.com.

Rick Stedman is an avid RVer, golfer and writer who lives in Yakima, Washington. He can be reached at rstedman@gmail.com