Golfdom, January 2017

Im Just Saying DISCOVER THE SUNSHINE STATE Start now and plan ahead Whatever your passion Floridas got it STEVEN WRIGHT CGCS Pine Tree GC Boynton Beach Fla How to do Florida Step 1 get out of your hotel room I often hear this complaint when the Golf Industry Show rotation returns to Florida There isnt much to do in Florida As a longtime resident I disagree And Im not talking about theme parks I have nothing against them In raising three children Ive spent my fair share of time and money at them Im talking about the great outdoors Everyone knows that you can play a lot of golf in and around the conference and show so theres that Within an hours drive in any direction you can find quality golf courses at a variety of prices If youre planning on doing that adventure out and away a little bit Youll be happy you did Most superintendents in the state know you are coming and make plans to accommodate extra play Just call ahead and plan accordingly Drop me a note and Ill give you some good ideas on where to play How about a day trip though Here are some ideas Florida has more than 250 state parks lots of them with trails and no mountains I a couple hours south to the Ft Pierce Stuart area to go sport fishing on a charter boat February is always a good time to catch sailfish Chances are youll catch more than one Plan ahead for this adventure I highly recommend it For more great fishing you only have to go about 30 minutes to Lake Toho in Kissimmee Lots of guides here will put you onto the best largemouth bass fishing to be found anywhere This is close by and again highly recommended The more adventurous can always go paddle boarding on either coast Surfing on Floridas coasts is quite popular too The Atlantic coast in Cocoa Beach is the closest beach to GIS 17 Water temps in February might be a deterrent or sharks but what the heck you only live once Those of you inclined to stay in your hotel room can always check out How to do Florida on YouTube You can experience all the fun us Floridians have without all that extra work Start now and plan ahead Whatever your passion Floridas got it Well except for snow skiing but there is Mount Dora Oh and crap I forgot to mention the Keys Thats another world and another story justsaying Steven Wright CGCS is golf course superintendent at Pine Tree GC in Boynton Beach Fla He can be reached at steven_ wrightcgcs@ pinetreegolfclub net or followed at @ wrightsteve19 suggest any of the parks with springs Blue Springs State Park just north of Orlando is easy to find and loaded with manatees this time of year Many of these parks offer kayak or canoe rentals Outfitters offer the same adventures on several lakes streams or rivers located just north of Orlando Many are easy to find and all the gear is right there One good resource is floridasprings org There are good hiking biking trails in and around Orlando too For example the West Orange Trail which gets a top 10 rating from Bike Florida Old abandoned railroad tracks have been converted to bike trails The West Orange Trail has urban and rural settings and the paths are both paved and natural so biking is easy and good exercise And obviously you can find rentals Hiking in Florida is also a big deal Not as scenic as Montana or the Appalachian Trail but darn fun A good resource for this is FloridaHikes com One trail near the convention center is the Tibet Butler Preserve Short and sweet in the Florida woods Sport fishing is a big deal in Florida and is one of my passions You can choose East Coast or West Coast action GIS 17 will be in the states center so both coasts are about the same distance away I would suggest the East Coast You can reach the Cape Canaveral or Daytona Beach areas in about an hour and be on a drift boat in the Atlantic shortly Or head 10 Golfdom January 2017 Golfdom com