If you are jetting off to warm weather this winter to play some golf read on for the pros and cons of renting or packing your golf clubs.

I hadn’t warmed up yet to my rental clubs at Savannah Harbor, but I trounced my square TaylorMade driver. I’m thinking to myself, “this is good.” Here I was on the first hole looking at a 95-yard approach to the green.

A little wind. A bunker in front of the flag. And, rental clubs. Hmmm, should I try the 9-iron? Really, when you think about it, it was a stress-free shot. Because if I didn’t hit it right, I had all of these excuses. That’s one of the beauties of renting rather than schlepping.

But, there are others – consider these. . .

• For one, no schlepping. Take along a pair of shoes and a hat. At most courses offering rental sets, you can usually count on a sleeve of balls in the deal. At Savannah Harbor, they were not included, but the nice starter offered up a few extra previously driven balls to compensate for my lack of local knowledge.
• Warm-up. In most cases, we usually take the time to actually warm up and practice a bit with alien clubs. Even hitting a few balls at the range to gauge distance will loosen us up more than the usual exercise of putting on the shoes.
• Try something new. Very often, the clubs available for rent are newer than the ones you’ve been playing with for the last six years. Top destination courses, in collaboration with the club makers and service providers, rotate in new sets (the better the course, the higher the likely price point) every year to two.
• A variety is nice. Renting clubs usually means you get to try out all kinds of clubs. It’s like online dating only safer – and with even less obligation. No one is trying to sell you these clubs, not overtly anyway, but you might still be buying. At some courses – Wailea Golf Club comes to mind – the option to upgrade rentals to “premium sets” offer even more temptation.

“Our premium demo sets are for the avid golfer thinking of buying new clubs,” Wailea’s PGA head professional Rusty Hathaway said. “We’ve got TaylorMade, Callaway, Titleist and Ping sets here, and, yes, we do have some in ladies fit.”

The demo sets run closer to $100 and the regular club rentals are $60 at Wailea. The cost often  represents a savings for many travelers over toting their clubs along. It’s typical to incur a charge of at least $30 for checked baggage, and that’s only the first piece; golf clubs could easily cost $100 to transport roundtrip, and more if they weigh in at more than 50 pounds.

For this story, I used a different rental set every day for five days in Maui, and then took another trip where I used yet a sixth set. More recently, I sampled fantastic Callaway sets at the Ritz Carlton Amelia Island and then at the Grand Del Mar.

I came away with a few observations that might be helpful if you’re debating pros and cons. Here’s my feedback.

Rent: Schlepping made a lot of sense to me because I was changing venues every couple of days. That gets old enough with just a suitcase, much less golf clubs. If I were staying put for a week, I could see bringing clubs – unless the resort offered rentals in a package, as many are starting to do.

Schlep: For me, it was difficult to select a good fit because I am tall and “ladies” sets do not fit me well. At Kiawah Island my caddie ran inside at the turn to fetch me a “men’s” driver. I was able to hit much straighter on the back nine. But men’s irons often are steel-shafted in rental sets and for me that seems harsh. I tried so-called senior clubs, but also landed steel shafts. In the end, I played my best round with “ladies” clubs on the last day.

Schlep one club: I found out that a given course may have different putters in otherwise similar sets, or have some demo putters. Ask in the shop about your options. After all, isn’t this our most important club?

One last tip. Keep in mind; it definitely takes a forgiving attitude to play with rental clubs, which may not perform the way your normal clubs do.

Remember that 9-iron on the first hole at Savannah Harbor? It got up in the air beautifully and came up about a yard short of the green, in the bunker. So here I was thinking, “I wish I had my own sand wedge.”

Susan Fornoff, a member of the San Francisco Bay Area chapter of Women on Course, is publisher of GottaGoGolf Magazine, where this article first appeared.

Forty-six women playing golf. Some for the first time. All of us having a great time. For some of us it was like a reunion – touching base with good friends from previous events. For others it was the very first trip with Women on Course. And to a person, it was memorable.

It was such a colorful weekend. Not just the lush green landscape and the deep red brick of the buildings, but bright shirts and skirts dotted the course. Whether we played the rolling hills of the Old Course, the flatter grass of the Lower Cascades or the challenging terrain of the Upper Cascades, you were bound to hear the shrieks of delight when it went in the hole and the gasps when it rolled so close to the rim. It was so much fun.

We first played a scramble on the old course on Friday and met on the lawn for a cocktail party afterwards. We couldn’t have dialed up better weather as we sat on the patio enjoying our wine and planning our evening dinner. We met new friends and now have more places to play golf. Most of us were from the MD/DC/VA area but we had members from Texas, Georgia, Massachusetts, Florida and California there too!

Saturday was your choice. Play 18 or attend a golf clinic and play nine. If you played 18 you could play your own ball or scramble. No pressure. Simply enjoy the game, the company and the beautiful weather. A few new members of Women on Course played their first nine holes of golf – ever! It was a rousing success.

A reception on Saturday evening in the Library was the perfect place to give out awards. A few late-comers missed the hors d’oeuvres – having extended the day and played 36 straight holes of golf! More talk over dinner and later, some dancing. Who knew we were so talented!

On Sunday, we “passed the tee” at breakfast and reminded each other to sign up for the next Three Day in Las Vegas. It was pretty obvious that this was something we all wanted to repeat. If you haven’t yet attended a three-day Women on Course event, be sure to put it on your calendar for October 26-28, 2012! See you there!  http://www.womenoncourse.com/events/vegas-3day.php

Last spring, Bob decided he really wanted to join a small private country club that is five minutes from our house – Montclair Country Club .  He had always wanted to join this club – mainly because of the location: so close, no traffic, the restaurant had a very good reputation and the course always looked like it was in good shape from what we could see from the street. What more could you ask for?  So we did.

And all of the above is true:  location, food and course.  But the one thing we didn’t count on that came as a complete surprise to both of us was the Montclair Ladies’ Golf Association (MLGA).

I have always wanted to play in a ladies league but it never seemed to work out.  Most leagues were during the week – when I have to work.    So when Bob told me Montclair had a ladies league on Tuesday’s AND every Saturday, I was thrilled. 

I thought I was going to find a group of women who had a nice little ad hoc league that tee’d off around 11:00 a.m. – following after the big boys.  What I found was the most organized ladies group I’ve ever seen – more than most men’s groups. Handicaps, tournaments, member-guests, skins, Board of Directors – the works.  MLGA also garners the respect of the golf club management and the men’s league.  No second class tee-times, no patronizing the “little ladies” and certainly no man challenging their right to be there.  On a Saturday morning. At 8:00 a.m.  The same time as the men’s league. The MLGA doesn’t follow the men. 

 I was simply amazed at this group of women which spans all ages and handicaps. Some women are more competitive than others.  Some are beginners and some have been playing for almost 40 years. How did this happen that this group is so strong and respected that their place is not behind the men?  Because in my golfing experience, it is unique to have such an organized woman’s league that plays on Saturday’s during prime time and isn’t subjected to some lousy tee-time during the week so they don’t get in the men’s way!

I had the good luck to sit next to Bernie Drohan at the holiday banquet and she told me the whole story of how back in 1975 she started the MLGA. It did start with a small group on Tuesday’s but grew to the point (now 60 members +) that the Saturday group was added for those who couldn’t play during the week. 

Bernie got it up and running and has been on the Board of Directors every year until 2010.  In the beginning there were only about 25 women and when they had their first banquet, they had to buy the silverware and table cloths for the club house tables.  They had their act so together during that first year, they were able to pull off their first member-guest tournament. Now, 36 years later, this women’s club plays a tournament every week.

What so impressed me was Bernie’s moxie. We are talking 1975 when golf was mainly a man’s sport and the golf club was mainly a man’s playground.  Women were playing – but were not nearly as supported as they are now. There was allot of discrimination against woman and minorities at private clubs (Augusta National, anyone!!!) Women were welcome – just as long as they didn’t get in the way.

But none of that even seemed to phase Bernie.  I don’t know if she didn’t know women were being discriminated against on the golf course,  just didn’t care or simply wasn’t going to stand for it. Most likely the latter – she is a pistol!  She was starting this league and it was going be on equal footing as the men’s club.  A proper ladies golf league.  And it was and it still is.

MLGA is awesome.  Every single lady welcomed me, was friendly and made me feel at home in their group.  Now that I know the history behind MLGA, I love it even more.  MLGA’s foundation started with one woman who gathered a handful of women who have turned into vibrant group who love to play golf.  They not only hold tournaments – they hold their own.

Wow … very exciting!  For those of  you who know Patty Atkins as the Women on Course LPGA teaching pro extraordinnaire and amazing Ambassador of ladies golf, you will be thrilled to know that  she was featured on TV!    She was on the LA Fox Morning Show this past Monday featuring “Women and Golf” with reporter Heather Ford.

They did two 5-minute segments and covered various topics, such as why women should play golf, business golf tips, club fitting, couples communication on the course and golf fitness.

She then gave Heather a short golf lesson and in just a few minutes greatly improved Heather’s swing!  Go Patty!

Patty will be at Amelia Island for our February 3-day Weekend and will be heading up the golf school portion of the weekend.  If you want to kick your game up a notch and want Patty to help – sign up for Amelia now!

Watch the segment!  http://www.fox5sandiego.com/news/morningnews/ Below the main video icon – scroll through the videos until you see the one that says “Heather takes a swing at indoor golf”

Lahinch Golf Club

The day  was so cold, windy and rainy that I didn’t stand a chance to get our potted plants into the ground.

Although we had signed up to play in the newly organized Friday evening “Social/Mixed” golf at Lahinch, I wondered aloud to my life partner, Kevin, would we have to play in this weather?  He said if the other couple want to play, then we have to play.  And play we did.  To prepare for the cold, I dressed in 4 layers and looked like I was headed to the North Pole. The other 3 had on shirts and shorts and looked like they were going to a tiki bar in Florida.  I kid you not!

We fortified ourselves with a bowl of soup and packed our waterproofs into our golf bags. Thankfully, the rain eased up and we went out to play with Margery and Brendan. Although we played in a 3-club wind at Portmarnock a few days earlier, this wind felt more fierce. Especially on the first hole, which is all uphill to a small elevated green – and actually, on every hole after that!

On the par-3 eleventh hole, Brendan,  a 9 handicap, walked up on the tee box and simply said “I don’t know.” His tee shot was in play, but none of our balls stayed on the green. The wind was a factor on every putt as well. The last time I played this hole at Lahinch, I birdied it, so I had a bit more confidence.  I think we escaped with a 5, but for the other team, it was a blank on the card.

With all the battling of the elements, one of the nicest things about playing with Irish golfers is is the same thing I like about womens golf,  I never feel as though I am battling with them personally. There may be a fiver, a pint, or a social-mixed-winner title (and some Euros!) on the line, but instead of tension, there are smiles, stories, and camaraderie as we walk to each tee and play each hole.

It is a pure links golf experience. There are no range finders, no GPS. The yardage is usually on a marker on each tee box, and there may be a 150 yard post on the edge of the fairway, or some embedded disks indicating 200, 150 and 100 yards to the green. You have to use your imagination and work it out for yourself what club to use.  A white stone may be your aiming point on a blind hole. On the famous “Dell,” the blind par-3 fifth hole at Lahinch, the stone is moved every day as the hole is cut in a different part of the green.

The more I play here, the more I marvel at the unique challenge that each hole presents. On a calm day, it is a magical stage of 18 dramas. Add the wind, and you feel more like a warrior—and a winner for just getting around the course.  Now where is that Tiki bar???   I am ready for a Mai Tai!

Taba Dale is a self proclaimed Golf Geek, learner and lover of Golf.  Author, writer/producer of the upcoming TV documentary series “Legacy of the Links”, dealer of fine golf art, and President of Premier Golf Travel, and  of Brian Morgan Golf, Taba (Pronounced Tay-ba, like the River Tay) can be found at www.ScottsdaleCollection.com & at www.BrianMorganGolf.com.

La Costa Resort & Spa

Where can women golfers go in the middle of summer to find the most perfect golf weather in the country?  Forty two women traveled for an unforgettable three day ladies golf experience at the La Costa Resort and Spa on July 30, 2010.

Hosted by Women on Course, members enjoyed meeting new friends, golf on some incredible holes, contests, food, wine, fashion shows, golf clinics and plenty of gifts and surprises along the way.

Callaway Golf provided a special treat when they previewed the new 2011 fashion line, and brought the latest equipment for women to try.  The first 20 women who signed up for the weekend received a club of their choice!  Spokesperson Debbie Keller, wowed the ladies with an entertaining swing demonstration that ended by hitting a golf ball off a tee held in the mouth of an unsuspecting teen!

At the farewell breakfast each guest had a minute to reflect upon her favorite memory of the experience that was meet with laughter, thoughtfulness and a sense of empowerment of all that was accomplished.

So where to next?  Pack your golf clubs and attend the first ever Three Day Golf School Experience at Rancho Las Palmas Resort in Rancho Mirage, CA on November 11 to 13, 2010.

And don’t forget to bookmark the Women on Course calendar to keep abreast of all of the fun activities across the country!