Longaberger, Nashport, Ohio

This was our annual trip to Longaberger. Love this course. But it played quite a bit harder than last year because there was three days of rain prior to us golfing. It was cart path only and because it's such a hilly course, this made it quite tiring for us. But it was in good condition, as it was last year. The greens were pretty fast and the pin placement was pretty challenging on most holes. Women's tees are quite a bit forward of the men's - which is nice. They had a cart girl this early in the season! Darius Rucker (of Hottie & the Blowfish) was golfing in a foursome in front of us. We didn't see him...the girl at the turn told us he was there. The weather was nice, golf moved at a pleasant pace, and all in all, it was a really good day. Had a glass of wine up on the patio over the 18th hole after golf which made it even better!

Apple Valley Golf Course, Howard, Ohio

We tried to golf this course on Monday but got rained out. We were only able to do 3 holes...it was just drizzling but very cold and windy. The clubhouse gave us a raincheck with no problem and we golfed there today. It was still cold but we were better prepared...cuddle duds, winter gloves, etc. The course was very, very wet...I don't think I've every golfed on a wetter course...and was cart path only. I liked the course - even though it was a bit side by side. The holes were nicely set up, nice mix of dog legs, water and sand. Some of the fairways were a bit narrow but not many. The par 3s were nice, long but not too long. The women's tee boxes were nice and the greens were OK, a bit fast. It was hard to tell about the fairway conditions because it was so wet but they appeared to be in good shape for so early in the season. I didn't see any bathrooms so I'm going to assume they'll have port-a-potties out. There was no cart girl, which was OK, but when we went in at the turn we asked for coffee and were told there was none. We asked could they make it and were told no...just no! We got hot chocolate, which was good, and asked for Bailey's...none of that either! Got Kahlua, which was good in the hot chocolate. I just couldn't believe they said they wouldn't make coffee - it doesn't seem you should say that to customers. We had sandwiches, which they made fresh and were quite good. Would golf here again...in nicer weather of course!

University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM

This was a really beautiful course...it was like golfing in a park. I guess because it's a college course they keep it beautifully maintained. It wasn't a really long course but played really well. The tee boxes (both men & womens) were in mostly good shape. The fairways were beautiful and manicured! The greens were nice though challenging. There wasn't a lot of water on the course but there was a nice par 3 (hole 11) with water in front of it and a nice dogleg par 4 that a river on the left side that was really pretty. There were rabbits everywhere. Nice bathrooms and a very attentive cart girl. We got hot dogs on the turn which weren't really good but we were in a hurry and didn't want to wait for a sandwich to be made. Would definitely golf here again!

Towa Golf Course, Sante Fe, New Mexico

This was another very scenic course like we golfed at yesterday but not in as nice condition. It was quite rough, the tee boxes, fairways and greens. However, we still liked it! The course was long but very playable. They advertise that they have the only island green in New Mexico (see picture) which is a nice par 3 with an elevated tee box. There were lots of elevated tee boxes, which I enjoy. There were nice bathrooms on the course but no cart girl this early in the season. Would golf here again but later in the year when it would be in better condition.

Paako Ridge, Albuquerque, NM

Golfed here Tuesday, April 5th. Very nice course with impressive views. The course wasn't in really good condition this early in the season, but it wasn't too bad either. They had areated the greens on the back nine and we couldn't even get the flags out of the holes on 3 of the holes. We teed off on several elevated tees and the views were spectacular. The fairways were in good condition and the greens on the first nine were OK. It started out kind of cool but warmed up quick. The clubhouse was really nice - but didn't eat here so can't talk about the food. Would golf here again in a minute.

Apollo Beach, Florida

We golfed at the Apollo Beach Golf Club yesterday. It was another older course, 45 years old we were told. This was a very windy day and the ranger suggested playing the forward tees, which Jerry did. There was water on every hole which made it quite challenging. There were also quite a few sandtraps and bunkers. The fairways weren't very nice yet and the greens were nice in some areas but not so nice in others. Some were really fast and some were really slow. We did see course workers working on the greens, though. No cart girl but lots of water on the course and a bathroom accessible from several holes on each 9. We were behind a foursome that kept us waiting quite a bit (especially when they were putting), but it was much quicker than the day before. We liked this course and will probably play it again.

Silver Dollar Golf & Gun Club, Tampa, FL

This is the course we started to golf in January but got rained out (stuck in the men's room). I added the "gun" to the name this time because we really could hear the gunshots today! Today was one of the few 5 1/2 hour rounds I have ever done. It is a community in Florida so we followed an older foursome that really held up the entire course. Fortunately, everyone behind us saw what was happening. There are 3 nine holes - the Bobcat, Panther & Gator. We played the Gator & the Panther. The course was pretty flat but there was a lot of water holes that kept it interesting. The fairways were in good condition especially considering the time of year and the greens were OK too, although pretty tough because there were a lot of odd pin placements. Women have a huge advantage here cause our tee boxes were much closer. There was a bathroom on the Gator but I didn't see one on the Panther. The cart girl was around frequently and had hot dogs on her cart! I wouldn't mind playing here again cause I par'd almost every par 3 but it's not a must if I come to Tampa again.