Click4TeeTimes

SITE

SEARCH

GOLF COURSE SEARCH:

GOLF CALENDAR

submit your event here
May 2012
SuMoTuWeThFrSa
293012345
6789101112
13141516171819
20212223242526
272829303112
3456789

PEOPLE

Untitled Page

Have Kids, Will Travel

A family vacation to Mexico is a great opportunity to bond with the family, relax and sneak off by yourself to play some golf.

BY ERIC TRACYPublished: January, 2006

I took a week off last month for a family vacation to Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo, Mexico. Traveling with my 2-year-old and 5-year-old for the first time, I didn’t know what to expect. I did know, however, that I’d need to escape once or twice, so I took my golf clubs.

Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo is on the Mexican Riviera, 450 miles south of Puerto Vallarta. Although the two towns — Ixtapa and Zihuatanejo — are only 4 miles apart, they’re as different as a driver and a sand wedge.

Ixtapa is a modern resort community that was built in the 1970s as a quaint alternative to Acapulco, 150 miles to the north. Ixtapa’s Hotel Zone lines the Pacific Ocean and features more than a dozen family-friendly options. Many of the hotels are all-inclusive, and most have Kid’s Clubs with all kinds of activities so parents can feel good about dropping off their little ones for some private time if so desired.

Zihuatanejo, on the other hand, is a small town that has managed to preserve its image as a Mexican fishing village. Most of the accommodations are small hotels on cliffs that overlook Playa La Ropa and its wonderful, sleepy beach.
Since I brought my clubs, I had to check out the two golf courses in the area — Club de Golf La Marina and Club de Golf Palma Real.

The La Marina course was built in 1994 and designed by Robert Von Hagge. It’s the more difficult of the two, and green fees in the high season are around $100 with a caddy.

Robert Trent Jones Jr. designed the Palma Real course, which opened in 1977. Green fees are about $30 cheaper and the layout is much more forgiving — except when you hit a ball in or near the water. I saw a couple of alligators soaking up the sun and looking for a morning snack the day I played.

AGE-OLD DEBATE: I had a panic attack while tacking up my 2006 golf calendar. When did Father Time become a sprinter? The fact that Tiger Woods turned 30 a few days ago doesn’t bother me half as much as the fact that this year I become eligible for senior discounts at almost every golf course.
Happy New Year! Pass the prune juice.  

Eric Tracy can be reached at eric@themulliganman.com.


2006 PREDICTIONS: I wish I could brag about last year’s fearless forecasts, but I can’t. Bookies make their living off guys like me who are only 30 percent right. However, I did hit one of my predictions right on the money when I wrote that Tiger Woods would regain his No. 1 ranking, win two majors, six tournaments and earn Player of the Year honors. That bull’s-eye alone earns me the right to create a new list for 2006:

 Tiger Woods and wife Elin will announce they’re going to have a baby girl.

 The winning score at the Masters will be around par.

 Ernie Els will make a remarkable comeback from knee surgery and win three times, including a major.

 Vijay Singh will continue to be boring.

 Valencia’s Jason Gore will mirror Jack Nicklaus’s first complete year on the PGA Tour by winning three times and dropping 30 pounds.

 Sergio Garcia will win his first major.

 Fred Funk, without a pink skirt, will win his first Champions Tour start in July — the U.S. Senior Open.

 Morgan Pressel will win on the LPGA Tour before Michele Wie does.

 The U.S. Ryder Cup team will lose in Ireland.

 Woods will again earn Player of the Year honors.

2006 RESOLUTIONS: Every year I promise to work on my golf game so that at the end of the year I’m a better player than I was when the year began. With that in mind, I can’t help but get better by doing at least half of the things on my 2006 Golf Promises List. Wish me luck.

 I will arrive at the course in plenty of time to warm up.

 I will stretch before every round.

 I will practice my short game more than my long game.

 I will pick one putting stance and stick with it for the entire year.

 I will walk at least nine holes of every 18 I play so I can work up to walking all 18.

 I will take a lot of the unnecessary stuff out of my golf bag so I can do the above.

I will never again try one of those slice-it-around-that-big-tree-while-keeping-it-four-feet-off-the-ground-and-then-stop-it-on-the-green shots.

 I’ll simply pitch it back to the fairway and take my medicine like a man.

 I will learn the true meaning of course management.

 I will use my 3-wood for more tee shots.

 I will not buy any more putters until I’ve given the 23 in my garage an adequate chance to get the job done.

 I will get new grips on my clubs.

 I will order a piece of fruit and a bottle of water at the turn instead of a hot dog and a beer.

Yeah, right.