The 2012 PGA Tour is just getting started, and many avid golfers are watching on TV.  Seeing the stars on beautiful courses is also getting a lot of golf fans  inspired to organize a family vacation that includes a couple of rounds of golf  on courses that offer something different than their local club.  But, what about the rest of the family?

Every golfer with kids, teens or tweens knows that balancing golfing desires with competing family interests can be challenging.  If you are lucky, the teens might share your excitement for a family trip to play courses in Ireland or Scotland.  Others, however, might roll their eyes at the idea of hitting the links as the high point of a family vacation.  To keep them happy, you need to plan a vacation that can mix up the golf  with some teen and tween friendly activities.

Here are some destinations in different parts of the country that might fit the bill:

Northern Ohio offers a number of great public golf courses including:

• Avalon Lakes in Warren:  After undergoing a renovation, this Pete Dye winner turned from a boring pancake of a course into a thrilling fun ride.
• Little Mountain Country Club in Concord: a woodland wonder know for its amazing design frequently makes the list of the best public golf courses in Ohio.

Nearby fun activities  for teens include:

• Cedar Point Amusement Park in Sandusky: Cedar Point is located west of downtown Cleveland.  It has 16 (!) roller coasters with reassuring names like Disaster Transport, Mean Streak and Wicked Twister. Turn the teens loose here while you hit the links!
• Jacobs Field in Cleveland : Known locally as the Jake, this is home field for the Cleveland Indians. This old style park is a favorite for anyone, of any age, who loves baseball.
• Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland: This museum has an amazing collection of rock and roll memorabilia with something for everyone.  Exhibits span the decades and feature everyone from Elvis and Otis Redding to the Beatles, U2, The Rolling Stones, Janis Joplin and Metallica.

If you time it right you might add on a day to visit Akron or  Dublin, Ohio when the PGA Tour is in town, if you can score some tickets.

Cooperstown, New York is an internationally famous destination for baseball fans but it has some pretty good golf available as well:

• The Leatherstocking Golf Course at the Otesaga Resort Hotel  on the banks of  Otesaga Lake, right in Cooperstown, is a vintage course featuring  small greens and narrow fairways that need a lot of forethought. Holes are over the hill and overlook the Lake as they tumble down to the edge of the water.  This can be a tough course on first timers!

Of course, if you go to Cooperstown you are not allowed to leave until you take the teens and tweens to a couple more sports oriented hits:

• The Baseball Hall of Fame.  Baseballs greats are inducted into the Hall in late July but the grounds and Museum are open all summer.  The Museum claims to house more than 38,000 three-dimensional items, three million books and documents and 500,000 photographs.  That is a lot of baseball memories.
• The Clark Sports Center, just outside of downtown Cooperstown.  It offers a one-stop shop for sports and athletic activities.  If your teens and tweens arent intersted in golf they can spend hours here swimming, rock climbing, playing tennis, shooting baskets or even bowling.  You might even get to sneak out to the greens.

This coastal town is the oldest city in the country and has many golf destinations including:

• King and Bear World Golf Village is  the only golf course in the world that is co-designed by Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer.  At more than 7,000 feet it is laid out amid lakes, pines and live oaks.
• Slammer and Squire World Golf Village designed with input from Sam (The Slammer) Snead and Gene (The Squire) Sarazen, is located near the King and Bear.  It offers a somewhat less challenging layout, but includes some memorable par-3 holes as it winds through the woods.

The teens and tweens wont want to miss this:

• The Beach!  But you knew that, St Augustine is right on the Atlantic Coast after all
• Surf Station offers morning camps where wanna be surfers can start out on safe soft boards then graduate to fiberglass rides.  Rentals are available for those who already know how to ride the waves!
• The Golf Hall of Fame is located right in Golf Village. There are historical exhibits and an IMAX theater.  Admission includes a round of golf!

With all these great ideas there is no excuse to miss out on golf during your next family vacation!

Thanks to our friends at the Golf Channel for sharing these great ideas with us!

 Tagged with: family travel, golf

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