The game of Golf as we know it has been played ever since 1672 in Scotland. Since that time, it has become very popular. Golf is one of those sports that span a lifetime of playing "the game".

Golf is one of those games involving ball play that does not have a defined field of play. The golf courses are magnificent but they are all different without even 2 being alike. This is pretty incredible since every other ball sport has a prescribed field of play. (There are some sports that may not follow an exact dimension of playing field but might have to settle for what is available such as indoor polo.) When you think that no 2 courses are alike and there is an estimated 32,000 courses throughout the world, this is simply incredible. Of course this is what makes golf what it is. You can travel all around the country or the world and never play the same game twice.

What about the courses themselves?

Are you looking for a course near your home?

Are you looking for a course near a vacation you plan to take?

Are you looking for a golf vacation and don't know where to start?

You can pick up the latest copy of one of the Golf magazines and read up on the latest "best" courses as rated by that publication. I received a call a few years back from someone trying to recruit me into his business. Magazine "A" spotlighted that company as the company of the month! I told the caller, that Magazine "A" highlighted whoever paid them the fee. End of Conversation. You want my advice on choosing the right course for your vacation? If you can stand the higher green fees, read the magazines and when you get there for your vacation, there will be the copy of the article under the glass and on top of the glass will be the "New and Higher" green fees. That's ok if you intend to do nothing else but golf.

If you go on vacation and intend to take in other attractions, find the attractions that you want to see to decide where you want to go. Then look for your golf courses and resorts. Unless you live right there, you will always find courses that you have not played. Even if you vacation there every year, by the time you get back, there will probably be another golf course built anyway! (Just a side note. Can you imagine any publication having enough staff time to play about 8,000 courses, in the United States alone and rate them for their top 100 picks?)

If you are looking for courses right where you live, you can take the time and visit the course and see it for yourself. If you are planning a vacation, this may be a different story. You can do a lot of research on the Internet. Don't limit yourself to the private courses because some of the public courses are very well maintained. After all, if your travel hundreds of miles for your vacation, I'm sure you will want to "try out" a number of courses while you are there.