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Indian Wells Celebrity Course, Trip Review

admin — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 21:52:36 +0000

December 31, 2009 By Tinou Bao

Indian Wells Celebrity Course, Trip ReviewAfter a great round on Tuesday at PGA West (Stadium Course) I had a horrible day Wednesday at Terra Lago (North). Wasted the entire morning taking care of low pressure in the tires. By the time I got to Terra Lago it was too late to grab breakfast or warm-up at the range. I’ve heard good things about Terra Lago but driving up to the clubhouse nothing really impressed me. After checking in I noticed the course was packed. Felt like I was at the local muni on a Sunday, even more after seeing the condition of the fairways. Should have paid a little more and played a nicer course.

Started off with a par but the rest of the day was blah. Definitely did not break 100. Part of the problem was I was playing with this couple who were absolute beginners. They didn’t know golf etiquette like who’s away or not stepping in your putting line. Took so many mulligans. Made concentrating/focusing that much more difficult. The bigger problem was I just wasn’t hitting the ball that well.

I couldn’t end 2009 with a bad round so I decided to play Indian Wells Celebrity Course today. Golfweek rates Indian Wells very highly on their “Best Courses You Can Play“. The Players Course is #10 and the Celebrity Course is #14 (California rankings). Picked Celebrity because the discount was bigger. As soon as I drove into the resort I knew I would have a good round despite my lower back cramping up. The clubhouse was great, the locker room was first class, staff was very friendly. After checking in I headed to the driving range. If there was one thing I didn’t like about Indian Wells it was the driving range. Has this weird mound running across. But the practice putting greens was awesome.

Things started off pretty bad, triple bogey. But I bounced back with a bogey on the 2nd then GIR and 2-putted the 3rd for par. Made mental mistakes on the 4th and 5th holes for doubles. But then I went bogey, par, bogey, par. 46 out. Not on pace to break 90, but felt like I was playing really well, felt like I could par every hole.

Back nine started out great. GIR, 2-putted for par. Not sure what happened on the 10th, carded a triple. But the one thing I’ve learned over the past few rounds is you can’t let a bad hole ruin the rest of your round. Then I went on a good stretch: bogey, par, bogey, bogey, par, double, bogey for a 45 in. Had my only 3-putt of the day for that double.

Course was in good condition and I really like the layout. No houses line the fairways so you can really go for it without worrying about breaking windows. Undulating greens were fast but not too fast so very playable. Really like the greens, thought they were more interesting than the Stadium Course. Frankly, even though TPC Stadium is more famous and has more name appeal I prefer the Celebrity Course. If I were to play again I’d play Celebrity over Stadium.

Great end to 2009. Top priority for 2010 is to get my chips about 3-4 feet closer. Right now it’s chip, 2-putt. I need to get it about 3-4 feet closer on the chips so that I can have a better chance at 1-putting. That brings the bogeys down to pars, doubles to bogey, etc.

Holiday Travel Tips

admin — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 17:30:08 +0000

Travel can be a somewhat stressful experience no matter what the time of year you are traveling, but taking a trip during the holidays can multiply that anxiety to an unbearable level if you do not properly prepared. Whether you’re packing up for a cross-country flight or loading the car for a road trip to spend holiday time with friends and family, these ten simple tips will help you get the most out of your vacation time and manage your travel stress during the busiest season of the year.

1. Have a Game Plan

2. Make Sure You Know What You Are Committing To

3. Make Arrangements for Home

4. Create a List

5. Try and Travel on Off Days

6. Be Prepared

7. Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff (My personal favorite)

8. Know You Are Not Going to Get It All Done

9. Recharge Your Batteries

10. Enjoy the Trip Home

Don’t endure your return — celebrate it. Put yourself in a good mood and enjoy the process of easing back into normal life. Worrying about the dog, bills and what you have to get done when you get back to work will just undo all the hard work you did to de-stress in the first place. Don’t you want to hang on to vacation bliss as long as you can?

Indian Wells Hotels Earn 2010 AAA Four Diamond Awards

admin — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 17:27:36 +0000

Visit http://au.sys-con.com/node/1141364 for complete article and list of hotels.

Indian Wells, California Resorts to make list: Hyatt Grand Champions Resort, Villas, and Spa, Miramonte Resort & Spa and Renaissance Esmeralda Resort and Spa

LOS ANGELES, CA — (Marketwire) — 10/13/09 — Sixty-six Southern California hotels and 32 restaurants have earned the 2010 AAA Four Diamond Award, the Automobile Club of Southern California announced today. Six locations appear for the first time on the 2010 list, including the SLS Hotel and the Montage in Beverly Hills; two in Rancho Mirage; one in Pismo Beach and one in San Diego County.

The coveted rating plaque featuring a design of four raised simulated diamonds and the AAA Four Diamond Award logo are presented to hotel and restaurant general managers and executive chefs to recognize the award-winning properties, which rank among the top 3.4 percent of more than 2,600 Southern California hotels, motels, and restaurants inspected by the Auto Club, the nation’s largest AAA affiliate.

“North America’s AAA Diamond Rating System is a long-time trusted method of rating lodgings and dining establishments, especially during what has been a difficult economic year for the hospitality industry and also for travelers,” said the Auto Club’s Approved Accommodations Supervisor Patricia Marenco. “Southern California’s hotels and restaurants that earn the AAA Four Diamond award maintain a very high standard of service in their hotels and restaurants in order to continue pleasing their guests.”

AAA’s Diamond rating program is the only hotel and restaurant review system in the nation that uses specially trained full-time field representatives. As part of AAA’s national network, the Auto Club’s own staff reviews establishments in Southern California without prior notification using objective and detailed rating procedures.

Lodging inspections include at least one unannounced inspection each year. Inspectors review and rate exterior, grounds and public areas, room décor, ambiance and amenities, guest room, bathrooms, housekeeping and maintenance, management and staff and guest services. Once the inspection process is complete, properties that meet all requirements receive a rating of one to five Diamonds.

AAA approves and rates more than 31,000 lodgings and 27,000 restaurants each year throughout the U.S., Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean. A wide range of property listings are included in regional TourBook® guides, with a yearly distribution of nearly 20 million, and on AAA.com, where many travel planning and information services — including the well-known TripTik® Travel Planner, TourBook® listings and Diamond Ratings — are now available to non-members as well. The AAA Four Diamond rating is exclusive in that less than 4% of all AAA approved properties achieve this rating.

The 2010 AAA Five Diamond Award lodging and restaurant recipients will be announced in November.

‘Ramble California’ offers offbeat travel ideas

admin — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 15:30:27 +0000

The Times-Standard

Posted: 07/26/2009 01:37:09 AM PDT

GOLDEN, Colo. — Eric Peterson says California “just might be the greatest state for road trips.” And he’s written a new book to prove his point: “Ramble California: A Wanderer’s Guide to the Offbeat, Overlooked, and Outrageous.”

The book includes sections on Los Angeles and Southern California, on San Francisco, on Central California’s coastal areas and valley, on the High Sierra, on places in the California desert like Joshua Tree National Park, Death Valley and Palm Springs and, yes, the North Coast also has several mentions in the book.

Peterson writes about the Captain Courageous roadside memorial in Klamath, the Curly Redwood Lodge in Crescent City, the Willow Creek-China Flat Museum and other locales. He also spends several paragraphs on the infamous “Emerald Triangle,” focusing on Humboldt, Mendocino and Trinity counties.

Listings highlight others quirky attractions, too, like the Bunny Museum in Pasadena, San Diego’s haunted Whaley House, and Barney’s Beanery in Hollywood, where chili has been the house special for decades. Some chapters are more travelogue than guidebook, like “A Beer Drinker in Wine Country,” and “Sand and Surf and a Fence into the Ocean,” about a six-day, 300-mile trip that included 50 miles by bike and time on a surfboard.

The $19 paperback, published by Colorado-based Speck Press, is part of a series of “Ramble” books by Peterson, which also includes guides to Colorado and to the U.S.

Separately, the California Travel and Tourism Commission has just released its free annual road trips guide. Copies of California Road Trips 2009 can be ordered from (877) 867-3748 or downloaded for free from http://www.visitcalifornia.com/visitorsguide. The booklet highlights places like Calico Ghost Town, Old Mission Santa Barbara, and the Sundial Bridge in Redding. The Web site also has a deals section at http://www.visitcalifornia.com/summerdeals mentioning hotel offers, gift cards and gas card credits, and options like the Southern California City-Pass, which bundles theme park tickets at a discount.