The best value golf in uncertain economic times

By Chris Baldwin

updated 2:49 p.m. ET Oct. 20, 2008

Steven Flanagan thought about going without a golf vacation this winter. When you work in New York, and it seems like the financial world as we know it is crashing all around you, getaway visions come with some guilt.

Then Flanagan went through a particular ghoulish week at the office and realized the vacation is more essential than it first appeared.

"This may come across as a little crass — I realize a lot of people are suffering worse than I am — but my vacation ... helps keep my sanity," Flanagan said. "The truth is that my employer is paying me the same. It's not like they cut my salary, knock on wood. And I hear that there are a lot of good deals out there this year.

"Again, I don't want to sound like a jerk. But this might be a good time to take a vacation. The difference is, I'll probably only take one this year. Which means I have to get the golf and everything else I want to do into one trip."

Grant Brown, general manager at Craft Farms Golf Resort, 36 holes of Arnold Palmer golf on the Alabama Gulf Shores, saw this trend emerging even before financial bailout packages dominated the news. Golf vacationers are looking for more in their trips, for extra value, for a place that delivers more than what's expected, whether that's a luxury ocean condo for much less than you could stay in one somewhere else or good, memorable activities for those in your family or group who don't love golf quite as much as you do.

Yes, those type of folks can be hard to live with — but you still love them.

"You're seeing a lot more golf trips that have to be more than just golf trips," Brown said. "People are still taking vacations, but they're maybe only getting one big vacation a year. They want to fit a lot into that vacation and make the most they possibly can out of it."

With that in mind, TravelGolf.com has come up with five of the best value golf destinations for an uncertain economic time. Just remember, that's best value — not cheapest.

"I think value means different things to different people," said Kevin Drum, executive director of the Mississippi Gulf Coast Golf Association. "You can get great value out of a $500 per night hotel room."

And anyone who's stayed at a highway-side $39.99 per night motel knows you can also get horrible value no matter how low the price is.

So, forget focusing on the numbers for a moment. There's been more than enough obsession with figures recently. Seven hundred billion ring a bell? It's time to find the best golf values for your dollar:

Myrtle Beach and the Greater Grand Strand
We recommend the Grand Strand - but not for the reasons you think. Truth is, Myrtle Beach hasn't been that stereotypical cheap getaway of yesteryear for a long time now. Today's reality is all about playing high-end golf courses you won't forget like Caledonia Golf & Fish Club, True Blue, King's North at Myrtle Beach National, Pawleys Plantation and TPC Myrtle Beach.

Travel tool Course guide Traveling around the U.S.? Locate a nearby course

MyrtleBeachGolf.com offers packages where you can play a selection of the top golf courses in Myrtle Beach at a discount, though. Now, for something different in a vast golf playground that keeps redefining itself, there's also the new Waccamaw Golf Trail, a collection of courses south of Myrtle Beach that play through Lowcountry scenery, many over old plantation land, a long, long vibe removed from any souvenir kitsch. All the Myrtle Beach courses that let kids under 16 play free with a paid adult any time can turn golf time into family time, too.

There's a reason so many of those New York stockbrokers who started going to Myrtle Beach before they had any money stuck with the area after they hit it big - and now plan to keep going while their portfolios plunge.

"It's still a great spot to let off some steam," Flanagan said. "And the meals out here are a whole lot cheaper than in the city."

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