Conference 7.286::golf

76.0. "Trip Report" by CALLME::MR_TOPAZ () Mon Mar 02 1987 14:06

     It's been a long winter, in more ways than one.  I needed to hit golf
     balls, I needed to be on the course.  I found an air fare that got me
     from Manchester (NH) to Orlando for $268 (not the cheapest possible
     air fare, but it was available and it didn't require a lengthy advance
     purchase).  Then I called GOLFPAC, a company that takes some of the
     uncertainty out of a golf trip -- a single phone call to them (and a
     charge card) got me a pre-paid hotel room, greens and cart fees, and
     reserved tee times (I had my choice of hotels and courses). I didn't
     know a thing about Orlando-area courses, and the GOLFPAC people were
     able to give me information about the length, difficulty, facilities,
     and features of the courses that they use.
     
     I got to my hotel around 11pm and was relieved to find that GOLFPAC
     had indeed delivered a package of vouchers to the place.  Tee time the
     next morning was 9:04, at Disney World's Lake Buena Vista Club. The
     Disney golf course, unlike most other things in the area [and I'll
     spare you all my opinions of how the Orlando area in general and
     Disney World in particular is a monument to all that is garish,
     hideous, exploitive, tasteless, and grotesque], is no Mickey Mouse
     operation.  It is immaculately maintained, well laid out, and a
     reasonable place for both the low and mid-handicap golfer.  The main
     differences I noticed between the Disney course and New England
     courses are the lies that you get with the Bermuda grass (the ball
     *always* sits up on it -- no wonder the pros don't like to play up
     here) and the absence of any serious rough.  The Disney course,
     apparently like many of the better public and semi-public courses in
     Florida, provides a lot of the features that you don't always find in
     public courses back home: full clubhouse facilities (lockers &
     showers); a first-rate practice area with driving range, putting
     greens, and sand traps; and excellent hole diagrams on each tee that
     also indicate the pin placement for that day.  I didn't play all that
     well, but it felt great to be in the warm sun hitting a golf ball. 
     
     The course that I played on the second day (International) didn't have
     all the amenities as Disney (in part because it had just opened a few
     months before), but the course itself was nearly as good. It rained on
     the third and last day I was there, so I only got to play a few holes
     at Cypress Creek, but it too seemed like a fine place.  
     
     My only complaint about the golf is that all of the courses require
     you to rent a golf cart; supposedly, this is to keep things moving on
     the course.  I missed the walking.  I have nothing but compliments
     about GOLFPAC: they set up things nearly perfectly, and they went out
     of their way to help me out when I wanted to change a tee time. The
     total cost of hotel/greens fees/cart rental for three nights and three
     rounds was $285; you could probably reduce this by 50% if I'd stayed
     in a less lah-dee-dah hotel (it's odd -- the uglier a hotel is, the
     more you have to pay for it) and if I hadn't played at courses which
     had surcharges (Disney, for example, had something like a $28
     surcharge).  I am also holding my breath about ever seeing my clubs
     again: my flight to Manchester got canceled last night, and I went to
     Boston while my sticks stayed in Philadelphia.
     
     Anyway, I'd strongly recommend this type of boondoggle to anyone. It
     doesn't feel all that great to be back at work, but at least my face
     and bald spot are nicely burned so that everyone else in the office
     can be jealous.  
     
     --Mr Topaz 

    re: golfpac
    
    	do you have a number for them???
    
    

     re .1:
     
     In the US, call GOLFPAC at 800-327-0878.  
     
     --Mr Topaz

    
    Just thought I would throw in the details around my recent golf
    trip to Florida.  Myself and 7 other gentlemen ventured to the
    Grenelefe Golf and Tennis Resort, in Grenelefe Florida.  Grenelefe
    has 54 holes of golf and one of their courses, the west course,
    is rated one of the top courses in Florida. I can't continue the
    story without telling you about the flying arrangements we had.
    Against everybody's better judgement we flew Continental Airlines.
    We arrived in Orlando just fine but our golf clubs ended up somewhere
    in the greater Denver area.  Luckily we had no plans to play the
    first day anyway, but i wanted to at least hit balls.  our clubs
    arrived around midnight the first night so we didn't miss out on
    any golf.  I should add that the only luggage we checked were our
    clubs so they batted 1000.  Anyway, the golf was great.  like Mr.
    Topaz, my only complaint was having to take carts, but at least
    we were playing.  The weather was just great, 80-85 every day.
    As for the golf, the first three rounds were an adventure.  Not
    having hit a ball in 4 months really showed.  The last 2 days I
    played well and even broke 80 on the last day.  So at his point
    I didn't want to leave but the money was running out.  I would
    recommend Grenelefe to anyone.  We stayed in condo's right along
    one of the golf courses and the prices was right, 49$ a night, which
    included unlimited golf but not the carts.  For your information,
    Grenelefe is about 45 minutes south of Orlando, very close to Winter
    Haven for all you Red Sox fans.  I even saw Bill Buckner walking
    through the lobby of the reception center at Grenelefe.  Apparantely
    some of the players rent condo's there during spring training. 
    After all the fun it was back to Boston with 40 degree temps and
    drizzle.  At least my clubs made the return trip with me.  Oh well,
    just another week or two and we'll be wacking whitey in the northeast.
    
    CB