I will address the local golf situation first, sad as it may be, with snow falling this Sunday in the first week of March. Assuming it warms up beyond freezing, Painted Hills golf course in the Spokane Valley is open, on permanent greens. It's a bit brown out there, but it's golf on real grass, so what do you want, anyway? You can go play the regulation 9 holes, and then play their short course as well to get the rust off your short game... typically this time of year that's the weakest phase of the game for most of us.

Also, I got down to Columbia Point, in Richland, Wa last week. I really like that course... I know some who don't, and they usually point out the setting, how you either have the highway next to you, or a shopping center. It's not exactly set in a pristine natural environment, but I enjoy the actual course. If you can't play the Club at Black Rock, and you won't be in Colorado for some time, Columbia Point might be your only chance to play a Jim Engh designed course. He really did a lot without much natural help... the biggest compliment I can give is that it's just fun to play. I always want to go back after playing it.

The benefit to going down to Tri-Cities, even if some Spokane courses open, is conditioning. I was amazed at how well the greens were rolling down there. We won't see speeds like that until May, I fear. Nice job by the Columbia Point grounds crew.

If you are headed to West Palm Beach, FL, first of all... I hate you. Second, you might stop by PGA National, home of this last week's Tour event, the Honda Classic. If you play the host course (The Champion), bring a bunch of balls and prepare to get beat up. The multitude of water on the course, combined with the spring winds, make for a real challenge... as evidenced by the single-digit winning score. Be warned, though... greens fees are over $250, a lot to pay to shoot in triple digits. Thankfully, PGA National has 4 other courses to play, all easier and cheaper as well.

Plus, just up the road is PGA Village, a smaller, less pretentious version of PGA National, and they currently are having an "unlimited play" special... If you pay for one greens fee, you can play as much as you want that day based on availability. The one clubhouse serves 3 courses, so you shouldn't have any trouble getting on one of them in the afternoon. Based on the quality of these courses (2 designed by Tom Fazio, one by Pete Dye), this is currently my pick for the best deal in golf!

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