considering winter trek south - good course density areas?

[thePiRaTE]

Hi All,

Myself and a friend or two are considering a trek to winter playable areas South of the Canadian border. Likely destinations include FL or CA, but really, we're just beginning to plan.

What I'm interested to learn of are areas with a good density of decent courses within an hour or so drive of each other.

Thanks for thoughts.

 

[bradharris]

Tampa or SoCal.

 

[mashnut]

If you want course density and warm winter weather, Charlotte NC and Dallas TX would be at the top of my list. FL and CA are even nicer weather wise, but neither has the same course density.

 

[Dave242]

West coast of FL (gulf coast) has a lot of really good courses. Not great "best of the best", but it would make a cool trip (well....warm trip) to visit. They are spread out, but bunched close enough together that hitting 3 per day is a breeze (and 4-5 per day is doable if you are in the mood).

I have played basically all the good courses on the I-75 corridor, and doing a map search filtered on 3.5+ rated courses, there are quite a few other courses too.

I know talking and thinking about road trips is fun (probably the point of this thread), but the map browser feature here on DGCR is really useful from a data stand point. I have rarely been disappointed by courses rated >3.0 here and I have rarely been pleasantly surprised by courses rated <3.0.

 

[DavidSauls]

How many days (or weeks) are you taking?

Are you driving to your destination, or flying there and renting a car?

 

[reposado]

Also depends on when exactly. I'd say the Carolinas would be good for November. December, January, I think the gulf coast weather trumps density

 

[Dave242]

Also depends on when exactly. I'd say the Carolinas would be good for November. December, January, I think the gulf coast weather trumps density

While a lot of things beat the cold of Canadian winters, if you are planning to go to NC, count on 45F for a daytime high and 30F for evening and morning temps in the months of Dec-Feb. You certainly can get nicer weather than that (or worse), but that is pretty typical.

Hearty Canadians might love that weather, but if you are taking the time and expense to travel, I would head to areas that are in the 60-80F range.

 

[thrembo]

The greater Tampa area has a lot to offer. No 5 star courses, but a bunch of good ones and a full service DG store. Plus beaches, Bush Gardens, an active night life and more.

 

[DavidSauls]

While a lot of things beat the cold of Canadian winters, if you are planning to go to NC, count on 45F for a daytime high and 30F for evening and morning temps in the months of Dec-Feb. You certainly can get nicer weather than that (or worse), but that is pretty typical.

Hearty Canadians might love that weather, but if you are taking the time and expense to travel, I would head to areas that are in the 60-80F range.

Maybe a little warmer. South Carolina highs average low-to-mid 50s in January, almost 60 in February. Which means half the days are much warmer.

But if you're looking for a tropical vacation, yeah, Tampa area (sidetrip to Orlando) or SoCal would seem the place to head.

**** If you're planning this for January, check out the Canyon in Brooksville, Florida. It's a temporary revival of the best course I ever played. It's open for 2 tournament weekends, but a casual player with good timing could get in a round or two on the practice days. ****

 

[jtreadwell]

I'm considering moving to Austin, TX, and part of that is due to there being 53 courses within 25 miles of the city according to DGCR. If you're looking for other stuff too like a great music scene, Austin would be worth investigating. Of course, it IS surrounded by the rest of Texas...

 

[Martin Dewgarita]

I'm planning my fall trip to return to the NC/SC/GA/VA area, after travelling the entire country, this is where I can't wait to return and show my dad.

 

[TOURNEYPLAYER]

Charlotte is great. but winters get cold. 40s and stuff. sometimes colder.

brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

 

[Dave242]

Maybe a little warmer. South Carolina highs average low-to-mid 50s in January, almost 60 in February. Which means half the days are much warmer.

Well, I have been gone for 5 years and with global warming, I'm sure it is now much warmer than when I left.

Plus, if you plan for colder, you can always take layers off. Also, I checked the averages published on weather.com, and Columbia averages a full 10F higher than Asheville. But, even Asheville is MUCH warmer than Calgary!

One day I will make it to Gran Canyon....I stopped by there years ago and the owner did not allow me on the course since it was raining. Wuss.

 

[thrembo]

I'm planning my fall trip to return to the NC/SC/GA/VA area, after travelling the entire country, this is where I can't wait to return and show my dad.

I see that you still haven't made it to SW Florida yet...

 

[tallpaul]

^^^^Even for the big travelers, it's a long way down to south Florida, from north Florida...

 

[thrembo]

^^^^Even for the big travelers, it's a long way down to south Florida, from north Florida...

Can't argue that.

 

[Martin Dewgarita]

It's possible that we could dip into Florida, but the possibility of south Florida is pretty low... like Paul said, but the likelihood of making it there in the next few years is a bit higher.

 

[Dsplayname]

The IDGC is probably the best bet. Warm weather, 3 great courses in one park, several more nearby. It's only like a 30 minute drive from the IDGC to the Hippodrome.

 

[DavidSauls]

Well, I have been gone for 5 years and with global warming, I'm sure it is now much warmer than when I left.

Plus, if you plan for colder, you can always take layers off. Also, I checked the averages published on weather.com, and Columbia averages a full 10F higher than Asheville. But, even Asheville is MUCH warmer than Calgary!

One day I will make it to Gran Canyon....I stopped by there years ago and the owner did not allow me on the course since it was raining. Wuss.

I was really thinking more of Charlotte. Asheville is definitely a lot colder.

 

[reposado]

**** If you're planning this for January, check out the Canyon in Brooksville, Florida. It's a temporary revival of the best course I ever played. It's open for 2 tournament weekends, but a casual player with good timing could get in a round or two on the practice days. ****

this is possible? i cant really do the tournament on a sunday. but i would love to play this course based on pictures/others descriptions.