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Pebble Beach, California You are sitting excitedly in your seat en route to your favorite resort destination. You have been anxiously awaiting this trip for months. Your old friends from various parts of the country are meeting you for four days of golf and reminiscing. You have been working tirelessly on your swing for the last few weeks because you want to be sharp. You are fantasizing about shooting scores 5-10 shots below your handicap and pulling the large pile of bet money in the middle of the table your way over tall drafts at the 19th hole. Does this sound familiar? If so, it is likely your golf has not been stellar on the grandest of stages, such as Pebble Beach, Spyglass Hill, Pinehurst #2, Whistling Straits, and Bandon Dunes. What is the elusive recipe for success at resort golf courses? As the Head Golf Professional at Spyglass Hill Golf Course for the past seven years, I see thousands of people each year arriving with high hopes on the first tee and disappointment on the 18th green. It reminds me of the airline flights to and from Las Vegas: hope and excitement reign on arrival; silent frustration dominates on departure. How can you give yourself the best chance for success on your next trip? Here are my top tips:  Spyglass Hill Pro Bill Sendell reminds golfers that whether playing at Pebble Beach or the Old Course at St. Andrews, the emphasis should be on having fun. Focus on the experience and not on the score: Most of the players I see are just too worked up about shooting a good score, especially if it is their first visit. Unfortunately, the first triple bogey will derail the person with this mentality. Most of the well-known resort courses have hosted one or more of professional golf's major championships, and part of experiencing that course is finding the spots where some of the great shots in golf happened. For example, Tom Watson's chip-in on #17 at Pebble Beach at the 1982 United States Open, Payne Stewart's 12-footer on #18 at Pinehurst to win the 1999 United States Open, and Vijay Singh's long iron to 5 feet on #17 at Whistling Straits to win the PGA in 2004 would be good places to visit during your round at those respective courses. Another challenge with resort golf can be pace of play. The best players in the world do not concentrate the entire time they are on the golf course; they try to focus for 30-45 seconds prior to each shot. When they are faced with a delay, they avoid thinking about golf to insure their focus is sharp when it is time to start playing again. You can tell some great jokes, appreciate the surroundings, or have a chipping contest...really anything to pass the time and stay loose. Show up intent on enjoying every moment on the course and you will not only have a better experience, you will most likely have a better score Take a caddie: This is big for the first-timer. Not only will you benefit from his/her local knowledge of the golf course, you will get a history lesson and some good humor. A good caddie can keep things in perspective and help you make good decisions during your round. Some people have the misconception that green reading is the only benefit a caddie can provide, but club selection is a common error at resorts because the player is not familiar with elevation change, wind direction/velocity, and moisture in the air. Virtually every player that takes a caddie will shoot a better score, have more fun, and possibly make a new friend in the process Play the correct tees: Do not stick your peg in the ground from the back tees if you typically shoot in the mid 80s at your home club. Take a good look at the course/slope rating to choose the correct tees. The course designer has provided multiple tee options for a reason: to increase enjoyment. Generally speaking, if you are a 5 handicap or less, you can handle the "blues" (with a caddie), but otherwise, play the regular tees. Trust me, if you play a great round and you want to brag to your buddies at home, no one will ask you what tees you played
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