World Golf Village - St Augustine

Will be in Orlando for about 3 weeks starting from 2nd week of Dec 2010 and part of my itinerary is to visit the World Golf Village at St Augustine again. This may sound to be a longshot but is there any kaki happen to be visiting coincidentally and possibly to have a game together ? Just do not like the idea of bringing the golf set all the way to play alone

Nice!

Play the King and Bear, definitely worth the experience.

TPC Sawgrass is quite forgettable except for the last 3 holes. Whats ironic was that wife and I were so looking forward to it and left kinda disappointed but were so impressed with WGV the next day without any expectations.

If you wanna game Orlando courses, can give Orange County National a try. Both Panther Lake and Crooked Cat are decent. They r playing the Q school there again this year from 1st-6th Dec so if you are goin 2nd week, might still be able to experience 'tour level' conditions.

Otherwise, if you wanna try some 'links style' courses, do Grand Cypress New course. Jack Nicklaus has modelled it after St. Andrews' Old Course and although the grass is different, its pretty cool playing it.

December can get pretty chilly mate. They just came out of a harsh winter where temps dropped to low 30s*F at nite and some days didn't get past 50*F so be prepared. Heck, it even snowed 1 early morning during the Disneyworld marathon last year. Florida's weather is always a guessing game so be prepared.

Do some research. Online booking of tee times are always cheaper than call-ins or their official websites.

S70B wrote:

Nice!

Play the King and Bear, definitely worth the experience.

TPC Sawgrass is quite forgettable except for the last 3 holes. Whats ironic was that wife and I were so looking forward to it and left kinda disappointed but were so impressed with WGV the next day without any expectations.

If you wanna game Orlando courses, can give Orange County National a try. Both Panther Lake and Crooked Cat are decent. They r playing the Q school there again this year from 1st-6th Dec so if you are goin 2nd week, might still be able to experience 'tour level' conditions.

Otherwise, if you wanna try some 'links style' courses, do Grand Cypress New course. Jack Nicklaus has modelled it after St. Andrews' Old Course and although the grass is different, its pretty cool playing it.

December can get pretty chilly mate. They just came out of a harsh winter where temps dropped to low 30s*F at nite and some days didn't get past 50*F so be prepared. Heck, it even snowed 1 early morning during the Disneyworld marathon last year. Florida's weather is always a guessing game so be prepared.

Do some research. Online booking of tee times are always cheaper than call-ins or their official websites.

Thanks mate. I am not new to florida / orlando as have been there upteen times and the last being 2009 summer where i put up at the Marriott Grande Vista where the Nick Faldo Academy is. The sian part is not having any kaki to golf with as wifey always prefers shopping while the children never say they have enough of the disney crap. Imagine I have been to so many nice courses like kapalua, poipu beach, pebble beach, torrey pines etc and thats it LOL !

Have not been to TPC Sawgrass though and its like 30+ miles away from St Augustine, may have to include that in my itinerary

Great. Dun bother with Sawgrass. Its not worth it.

Wish you luck in ur search. I do miss my friends there though not the place.

Paging for S70B ! Am departing on 11 Dec and appreciate much if you could advise if there are any golf-bargain stores between Orlando and St Augustine worth visiting. I have no clue at all since the last trip was confined to everything 'Disney'. Any idea also if the Ecco-Freddy Couples shoes are now readily available in stores.......kumsia kumsia !

Dude

In Orlando, not as many choices for purchases compared to Atlanta or Dallas but there are a couple of stores that are decent.

You can't beat Edwin Watts in terms of selection and choices. Their Superstore in Orlando is the best of the lot although they have other smaller outlets close to it and even a clearance centre but I didn't really find any good deals.

In their Superstore, they have some Scotty Cams CT for display and even TW's backup. Good selection of clothes, equipment and clubs. They also carry Scotty items like the headcovers and Pivot tools.

http://www.edwinwattsgolf.com/RetailView?storeId=10001&catalogId=10001&storeNbr=13

Their clearance centre. Next to a Buffalo Wild Wings joint.

http://www.edwinwattsgolf.com/RetailView?storeId=10001&catalogId=10001&storeNbr=17

They have a couple of outlets along International Drive that is the road leading towards the Convention Centre but i found them small with limited selections.

The other is the Golf Galaxy but I have been to several Nationwide and this one isn't one of the bigger nor better ones. Still worth a shot to visit since its oni about 800yds away from the Edwin Watts Superstore.

http://www.golfgalaxy.com/florida_stores.aspx


You can try the Golfsmith pretty close by but I thought it was pretty ordinary too.

http://www.golfsmith.com/retail_store.php?store_number=055

They have 1 further north on the I4 near Apopka but I didn't wanna travel too far for a possible disppointment though it looks pretty ok on the website.

http://www.golfsmith.com/retail_store.php?store_number=063

There are a few others but I walked out empty handed meaning its not worth a visit.

Ecco-wise, best bet is the Edwin Watts Superstore. Call them when you reach there. I'm sure they will have stock.

You can have a shot at the Prime or Premium Outlets for the Ecco outlet. They do have stock sometimes though most of the time not in a size you prob are in.

Now golfing-wise its different. Tons of world-class courses around Orlando OUTSIDE Disneyworld area so if you are itching for a round at a solid course, lemme know.

Forgot to add that in St.Augustine, the best bet for a golf store is that PGA Tour Stop in the World Golf Village itself. Pretty normal club selection but not bad in terms of apparel.

Kudos to you Rex, you've been a great help, thanks lots !

Rex... Does the US have Prepaid Sim Cards?
Roaming will be quite expensive when i go in January...

Hi Jon, as far as I know, AT & T does have prepaid Sim Cards. A friend in the US got me a card when I was there in 2009.

NP WM88. Always here to help.

Yes they do Jon.

T-Mobile (Sucky recep in certain areas but I stuck to it for 2 years becos of the number)

AT & T

Sprint

Verizon

Just approach any of their stores and you can purchase one. I would advise bringing some form of ID like Sg Driving License or Passport as it is 1 'security' step for them prior to issuing you a card.

Different per min charges dependant on how much value you purchase/top up. Basically, the more you buy, the cheaper it is.


However! I would advise going into Wal-mart or Target, approach their electronics section and purchase one of those phones with card included. Much Much cheaper and the hp+card with ~$10 value is ~$12-20 only! Same value and you get a US phone that you can use and throw haha.

S70B wrote:

NP WM88. Always here to help.

Yes they do Jon.

T-Mobile (Sucky recep in certain areas but I stuck to it for 2 years becos of the number)

AT & T

Sprint

Verizon

Just approach any of their stores and you can purchase one. I would advise bringing some form of ID like Sg Driving License or Passport as it is 1 'security' step for them prior to issuing you a card.

Different per min charges dependant on how much value you purchase/top up. Basically, the more you buy, the cheaper it is.


However! I would advise going into Wal-mart or Target, approach their electronics section and purchase one of those phones with card included. Much Much cheaper and the hp+card with ~$10 value is ~$12-20 only! Same value and you get a US phone that you can use and throw haha.

Hahaha... Nice One Rex!!!
Gonna need one with data so i can still check my work emails... Data roaming is a killer!!!

Wah, DATA Roaming is quite tricky and ex but you can try going to Macs. Most of them have free Wi-Fi. Some Starbucks, Borders and IHOP have free wireless too.

Better ask MC about roaming packages from Singtel. I think he signed on a package that allows him to roam at local Sg rate in certain countries and US is one of them.

Hi Rex, the Ecco Feddy Couples Street shoes is not available in retail stores and I was told that there is still a long waiting list. Managed to get an orange pair though at the premium outlet store yesterday. Have yet to visit Edwin Watts although having driven past a couple. The weather is awesome I must say, looking forward to hit the super stores soon !

Sounds great buddy!

Grab those Pre-CC wedges while u can.