Monday, January 26, 2015

Top 5 Reasons to Plan a Gulf Shores Golf Getaway



Why choose Gulf Shores for your next golf getaway? Here are five outstanding reasons, in no particular order.

1. Signature courses

The Alabama Gulf Coast is known for its golf, and a lot of that has to do with the champion courses designed by names such as Jerry Pate, Bruce Devlin, Robert Von Haage, Earl Stone, and, of course, Arnold Palmer.

2. Variety

There’s not just one type of course in Gulf Shores. A tour of the different courses gives you views of beaches, bays, woods, and refuge areas. You’ll tee off surrounded by oaks and pines, cruise your cart along creeks, over marshland, and on rolling terrain, and putt surrounded by the sounds of sea birds and woodland chirpers.

3. Beautiful weather

This one seems obvious, but it’s such an important part of making Gulf Coast golf the blissfully pleasant experience that it is that it can’t go unmentioned. The Gulf weather makes golf extremely enjoyable year-round: the warmth keeps our winters mild, the sea breezes keep our summers pleasant, and everything in between seems to hover around that perfect weather sweet spot.

4. Beach town atmosphere

When we talk about the warmth of a beach town, it doesn’t just mean the temperature. Locals and visitors alike are infected by the friendliness that comes from the intersection of Southern culture and laid-back beach life. You’ll never find yourself stressed when you know you’re minutes from white sands, and a day out on the courses is sure to be as congenial a day of camaraderie as it gets -- whether it’s with life-long or brand new friends.

5. Entertainment for non-golfers in your life

Don’t fret if you dream of a golf getaway but don’t know what to do with the non-golfers in your party. Gulf Shores is the perfect golf destination, but it’s also the perfect vacation destination in general. Non-golfers can shop, hike, fish, participate in watersports, pamper themselves, and, of course, enjoy our white-sand beaches. There are endless events, endless activities, and you can be certain you’ll never hear any of your companions complain about boredom.

Monday, January 12, 2015

How to Celebrate Mardi Gras After Golfing

Mardi Gras is February 17 this year, and for something exciting to give you an extra reason to visit the Gulf for a few rounds of golf at your favorite courses, there’s no more festive Gulf tradition than Mardi Gras! If you aren’t from the area, you might not know that Mardi Gras originates in Mobile, not New Orleans, and locals celebrate it with pride. Celebrations begin long before Fat Tuesday itself, and the Alabama Gulf Coast tends toward a more family friendly atmosphere for the festivities, so if you have a family, don’t be afraid to take the kids to the parades. They’ll have a blast!

There will be parades and celebrations just about any time you’re there, so you can very easily fit them around your golf schedule. You can pick and choose from a whole calendar of events, from cities close to Gulf Shores - Daphne, Fairhope, Foley, Dauphin Island, Orange Beach - that will have our events as well, scattered throughout the days leading up to the 17th and on the 17th itself. If you’d rather stay close to home, start Fat Tuesday off with the Gulf Shores Mardi Gras parade at 10 a.m., leaving you time to head off afterward for an afternoon round of golf, or to head over to LuLu’s at Homepoint Marina for a Mardi Gras Boat Parade and some live music. However much you feel like embracing the Mardi Gras season, you can find something that allows you just as much as golf fun and Mardi Gras fun as you like.