Friday, July 27, 2012

Legacy at Craguns in Brainerd MN


The Legacy at Cragun’s
by Larry Berle
For years Brainerd MN was a family beach and lake destination.  Then came golf.  Cragun’s was one of the leaders in turning Brainerd into a golf destination by bringing in the legendary Robt Trent Jones Jr. in 1998 to design not one but two courses at Cragun’s: Dutch Legacy and Bobby’s Legacy.  Today the area calls itself the Brainerd Golf Trail which consists of several courses here in Brainerd.
Today I played Dutch Legacy and it is a treat.  It plays through woods, wetlands and around a 100 acre lake.  We wound our way through 6879 challenging championship yards but it has 5 sets of tee boxes down to 4841 yards. So all skill levels can come and enjoy this trip through several eco systems.  We played 6225 yards.  Does it favor long hitters?  I suppose most courses do these days, but a thinking golfer can outfox a long hitter any day on this course. You really have to pay attention to your target selections. And you have to pay attention to club selection because the greens are large and the pin placement can make a one or two club difference.
This course boasts six par threes, six par fours, and six par fives. Most courses these days are; Ten par fours, four par threes and four par fives.  By far, I prefer this configuration because usually par threes and par fives are the most interesting designs and this course does not disappoint that expectation.
Number fourteen has two greens in two very separate locations. Lo and behold they want you to decide which green you are playing before you hit your tee ball.  Damn them!
 A couple holes have split fairways but unless you have seen number sixteen before  this par five, almost turns out to be unfair, with its split fairways and forced carries.
Dutch Legacy is not easy, make no mistake about it.  The slope and rating from the tips is 74.2 with a slope of 149 (average slope is 113 and the toughest slope rating the USGA has is 155.)
 In addition they have a 9 hole, par 27 course they call reversible-- for 45 (actually 46) total holes.  There is a finishing hole after the finishing hole on Dutch Legacy called the Gamblers hole (in case the game you are playing ends in a tie.)
Golf Digest has awarded it 5 stars and its certified as an Audubon signature sanctuary course.
In addition there are more activities for the family than you can shake a stick at and accommodations with choices from spacious hotel rooms to lakeside cabins.
If you go:
218-825-2789
1-877-ugolf18
Larry Berle is a golf travel writer who has played the entire Golf Digest Top 100 golf courses in America  read more at  www.GolfersDreamBook.com 

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Kids Club at Ritz Carlton of Reynolds Plantation


Kids Club at the Ritz Carlton of Reynolds Plantation.
First, let me tell you a bit about the Reynolds Plantation.The Reynolds Plantation on Lake Oconee, GA may have just about everything a family is looking for in a vacation.  It sits on the second largest lake in GA with 374 miles of shoreline. First of all it has 6 golf courses-- one for each day of the week and that precious day of rest. .
That takes care of dad, butWhat activities are there for the rest of the family?
Over twelve Tennis courts, over eleven miles of hiking trails, more than ten kayaks, nine canoes, Eight fabulous restaurants, seven pontoon boats, Six golf courses five clubhouses four marinas three speed boats, two swimming pools and a world class 26,000 square foot spa, That’s better than a partridge in a pear tree.  With all this and more this could well be the place  to spend the 12 days of Christmas for you and your family.
Reynolds Plantation is located an hour east of  The Atlanta Airport on Lake Oconee, a man made lake created by damning the Oconee River to generate electricity for the area.  The Reynolds plantation, stayed in the family trust for years, and was recently taken over by Met Life. I am looking for the Snoopy blimp, but I don’t see it. However everyone here seems thrilled by the new owners.
Like many Ritz Carlton resorts, these days, this Ritz Carlton has an active kids club, with a full time director and several counselors working in the program.  They try to keep a maximum of 5-1 ratio of counselors to kids on any given day.   When a kid arrives he can ride the small train that travels around the property.  There is an activities room with a live bull frog and a couple rabbits the kids can pet.There are many activities on the lake such as canoes, kayaks and a wake boarding school taught by a world class wake board champion, and of course, fishing.  
They have fishing contests where the kids can catch a fish and put it in a tank in the activities room so they can bring Mom and Dad to show off the pride of their catch.  (after the family checks out the fish is released back into the lake).  There is also a tour of this man made lake, led by a local historian,  They take them down to the damn and show them how the lake not only creates a recreational space but also generates electricity.
They also bring in one of the local tribal elders to lead the kids in a fire ceremony and to learn about the lifestyle of the Native Americas that have historically inhabited the area.
There is a community ice rink in the winter and there are concerts followed by fireworks every Sunday in the summer.
Lets just put it this way, if you are a kid on a trip to this Ritz Carlton you are one lucky kid.  And Mom, don’t forget the world class Ritz Carlton Spa.
If you go:
80 miles east of the Atlanta Airport  www.reynoldsplantation.com

Creek Club at Reynolds Plantation



The Creek Club is the only private club on property and the golf course, designed by Jim Engh, is the most visually stunning.  I love Jim Engh designs but some people find them too  tricked up.  I have met very few people who are ambivalent  about his work.  Head pro Wes Forester told us “some of the members  were questioning this course when they first joined but once they play it a few times have come to love it”.  EVery hole has an element of drama to it.  The back 9 has 3 par 3’s 3 par 4’s and 3 par 5’s  which is an unusual combination but.  John Deere put out a calendar of the 18 most brutally beautiful golf holes in the US and number 15 here was on that list.

This post is  sepearte because this club is private and not available for public play

Reynolds Plantation GA


Reynolds Plantation  
The Reynolds Plantation on Lake Oconee GA  may have almost everything a family is looking for in a vacation.  It sits on the second largest lake in GA  with 374 miles of shoreline. First of all it has 6 golf courses-- one for each day of the week and that precious day of rest.  
But don’t just come here for the golf because there may be lots of other activities you may be interested in.
 Over twelve Tennis courts, over eleven miles of hiking trails, more than ten kayaks,nine canoes,  Eight  fabulous restaurants, seven pontoon boats,Six golf courses five clubhouses four marinas three speed boats, two swimming pools and a world class 26,000 square foot spa, That’s  better than a partridge in a pear tree.  With all this and more this could well be the place  to spend the  the 12 days of Christmas for you and your family.
Reynolds Plantation is located an hour east of  The Atlanta Airport, on a man made lake created by damning the Oconee River  to generate electricity for the area.  It stayed in the family trust for years, and was recently taken over by  Met Life--  I am looking  for the Snoopy blimp,  but I don’t see it. However everyone here seems thrilled by the new owners.
We are an hour from Augusta, so Dogwoods, Azaleas and Georgia Pine frame these courses  similar to what you see on TV every year at the Masters-- I am even told the Azaleas bloom in the spring, just like the spring tradition of The Masters but sadly, not this week.
The Reynolds Plantation development  is large -- 7 miles long by 3 miles wide and over 90 miles of streets in the development alone-- with more than enough activities  to fill any vacation.  I could not experience all of the golf but here is an overview of what I played.
There are 6 golf courses here:The Jack Nicklaus-designed Great Waters course,  Two Bob Cupp designs, Plantation and The Landing, Tom Fazio's 27-hole National course, The Oconee designed by Rees Jones and a new private club, The Creek Club, designed by Jim Engh
The National Golf Club is 27 holes,  designed in 2000 by Tom Fazio, who has more golf courses in the top 100 in the U.S.than any other living architect today.  Depending on which 2 nines you play  it ranges from 7000 yards to  5200 yards-- so plenty of choices for every level of golfer.  Greens are  Bent grass and the fairways and all other grass is bermuda.
There are several holes with a creek running through it  that bring beauty and drama to the significant elevation changes of this course.  In Fazio style,  the greens are large and the bunkers are also large (there are 115, more than any other course here at Reynolds Plantation).  These sizes create an illusion of distance making greens and flags appear farther away then they really are. He incorporated the steep ravines and valleys  with three nines named Ridge, Bluff and Cove.  Once you see them you will clearly see how each got its name.  “The three nines are named for the type of terrain they feature.  No two holes are alike  but all share a consistency in feel for the way they match the natural contours,” said Fazio. 
The National currently plays out of temporary clubhouse but they have plans for a grand clubhouse that is scheduled for completion  in summer 2013.
Today we played Great Waters Golf Club. This 7048 yard course was designed by Jack Nicklaus in 1992.  This is the most scenic and because of that, probably the most popular of the golf courses here.  Most of the back nine winds  along the coves of Lake Oconee  but  although the lakes presence is soothing to the eye, it only becomes a threatening  water hazard occasionally.
“From the 9th hole on, I could have put every hole on the water” said  Nicklaus, but he used the water to his aesthetic advantage without over doing the penal aspect, with the possible exception of hole no. 14 a par three across a cove to a picturesque peninsula green.  I have played several Nicklaus designs and many are  almost too challenging (that is as politely as I can put it)  but this layout is quite user friendly. The fairways are  Bermuda but the greens  are a mini verde bermuda that has a much reduced grain compared to the old strains of bermuda and it putts wonderfully. The front 9 winds through the Georgia pines, pink dogwoods and azaleas, so the two nines are strongly contrasted.
The Landing, designed by Bob Cupp, also plays to 7029 yards and comes into contact with the lake on number 4 but is primarily a parkland course.  These greens are Champion Bermuda, but I understand they are changing soon to Mini Tif Bermuda in the near future. The Landing played host to the 2008 PGA Professional National Championship.
In addition to these wonderful golf courses, Reynolds Plantation is home to the Reynolds Golf Academy led by top 100 instructor Charlie King.  If that’s not enough, there is the Taylor Made  Performance Lab which does swing analysis and club fitting(this is one of only 8 in the U.S.)
 Reynolds Plantation is Rated 23rd on  THE 75 BEST GOLF RESORTS AT GOLFDIGEST.COM-- and to the best of my knowledge only Pinehurst resort with 8 courses, has more courses. 
An increasing number of people are using rental clubs rather than hassle with the airlines and pay those baggage charges to bring their clubs.  I used their rental set and had brand new, state of the art, Taylor Made woods, irons and hybrids.  They lease from Taylor Made and replace them with the newest they have to offer every year.  These were better than the clubs I would have brought and the charge was $75.00.  Traveling with clubs may not be worthwhile anymore.
The focus of the Reynolds Plantation is real estate and a majority of the play here is members, but except for the busiest weeks, there are plenty of tee times for the resort guests.
You can stay at either the 260 room Ritz Carlton or in one of the 60 cottages (luxury 2-3 bedroom homes really) which are beautifully appointed. These cottages are privately owned, but managed for rental by the Plantation management.  We stayed in a 2 Bedroom cottage overlooking the marina with wi-fi and luxuriously appointed (even granite counters).  These cottages are the way to go.
If you go:
80 miles east of the Atlanta Airport  www.reynoldsplantation.com
Rounds of golf range from $185 to $250 depending on the course and the season