HEADING FOR THE MASTERS LIKE TIGER? MAKE MYRTLE BEACH A STOP ON YOUR TOUR

Tiger Woods is back in the winner's circle and on the hunt for his next green jacket. Excitement about The Masters is already building to a fever pitch.

Maybe you're one of the lucky few heading for Augusta National. Maybe you're even luckier because you have the time to combine your trip to The Masters with some time on the links for yourself. If you're driving down from the Northeast to Georgia, consider zipping off Interstate 95 and heading over to Myrtle Beach. The prices are right and the weather is warm.

Check out the golf package specials offered by The Glens Group which offers 4 great courses of their own and some fine accommodations at their Village of the Glens. They can also arrange tee times for you at courses they don't own.

Pawleys Plantation is farther south. Staying there will get you about an hour closer to Augusta. With its majestic moss-draped live oaks and awesome azaleas, it will also put you in an Augusta National state of mind.

HUDSON RIVER CRASH SURVIVORS HEAD TO MYRTLE BEACH — BY LAND THIS TIME

Myrtle Beach has been adding direct flights into town faster than you can rack up putts on a slippery green.

But one bunch of guys won't be flying into Myrtle Beach for their golf vacation. The golf group that splashed into the Hudson River aboard US Airways 1549 in January says they won't be winging it into town next time. But they just can't stay away from the beach, so they're renting an SUV to drive on down.

When they get here in April, they'll be playing free golf courtesy of this golf-crazy town with a big heart.

And they'll also be getting a warm welcome from Martin's PGA TOUR Superstore. The king of Myrtle Beach golf stores for more than 2 decades, Martin's will be treating each of the guys to a free fitting session with a professional clubfitter. Then, everybody in the group gets a $500 gift card, plus free rental clubs so they can try out some new equipment during their rounds.

Can you say kid in a candy store? Wow! There's nothing even close to Martin's in New York or most other towns. It's a playground overflowing with everything golf -- priced right.

The guys won't have any problem finding cool stuff to buy with those 500 free bucks.

MARCH MADNESS: IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT BASKETBALL

Picking brackets. Watching games. Building every waking moment around basketball. Yep. It's March Madness.

But more and more, it means golf, as well as hoops.

So pack up and head out for some fun in the sun. Golf by day. B-ball at night. Surround yourself with your closest buds and do a little betting, a little drinking, a little screaming at the top of your lungs for your teams.

Coastal South Carolina's Pawleys Plantation has a four-night “March Madness” golf package for $399 per person. Here's the deal: double occupancy in a one-bedroom suite with two queen-size beds; two rounds of golf and two free replays; breakfast each morning; a $25 gift certificate for a great restaurant; free range balls.

I'm packing my bags right now.

SPRING BREAK IN MYRTLE BEACH: PARTY AT THE MARKET COMMON

Spring break in Myrtle Beach is about sun, fun, golf and partying.

This April, party central is The Market Common, located on the old Air Force base on the south end of Myrtle Beach between Hwy 17 Bus. & Hwy 17 Bypass.

No, it's not a mall. You won't be trapped inside itching to get out.

Trust me. If you like to eat, you need to find this culinary oasis. From Chinese-chic P. F. Chang's to the cool micro-brewery Gordon Biersch -- you won't find anything like these eateries anywhere else in Myrtle Beach.

You want atmosphere? The Market Common's got it. This beautiful little mini-town seems to have just popped up out of vacant fields, all shiny and new. Its buildings link together to form a stylish cityscape of shops, retaurants, wide sidewalks and comfortable park benches.

Locals started flocking to The Market Common shortly after it opened for business last spring. Lots of events lured them in. Now, with tourist season gearing up, locals expect to be joined by a steady stream of out-of-towners.

To launch the season with a bang, The Market Common will host its first birthday bash on April 4. They're rolling out the red carpet for visitors, so stop by and partake of the celebration. Most of it's free.

Here's the lineup of activities: at 4:00 p.m. everything gets off and running with family-friendly stuff like face painting, carriage rides, and some guy who bills himself as Mr. Wonderful the Magician. If that's not enough to tickle your fancy, look for an artist drawing caricatures and a juggler roaming the streets. But don't get freaked by the living statue while you're scarfing free food from the little town's very own “Taste Of The Market Common.”

Like all good parties, this one will end with a blast as the skies light up with fireworks at 8:30 p.m.

After a day laying on the beach or chasing errant shots around the links, wouldn't it be nice to cap off your Saturday with a trip to The Market Common? After that, you'll really have something to talk about when you get home.

Check it out: www.MarketCommonEvents.com.

HOW TO CHASE AWAY THE RECESSION BLUES WITH A BUDGET GOLF VACATION AT THE BEACH

Sick of winter and ready for a break? Got spring fever but feeling broke?

With The Masters right around the corner, you know you want to get away with the guys and get your golf season off the launching pad at some warm Carolina resort.

Think you can't afford it? Wrong.

I know. It's hard to justify heading to Hilton Head or Kiawah Island for a spirng break. Greens fees there are well north of $100.

But you can get your 2009 warm-weather break for cheap on other Southern fairways. There's always Myrtle Beach. It's the bargain basement of golf destinations, right? Well, not so much anymore – unless you know where to look. You can go all pricey on the “Grand Strand” playing Top 100 courses. Or you can low ball with some pretty nice tracks.

Me? I'd build a vacation with a little of each.

You can read all about Top 100 courses in Myrtle Beach in the golf magazines. I'll spare you the recap. What's tough is identifying the QUALITY courses at the bottom of the cost chain. Who wants to head south to play a dog track?

So, here's some help. A few tips on how you can get more for less.

There's a little course with a whimsical name and logo that doesn't get much love from the critics. But regular golfers who tee it up there adore the place. It's Possum Trot Golf Club. This little-known layout tucked off Highway 17 is beautifully maintained. Its greens are way better than those at a lot of the pricier courses nearby. And, the folks who run the place treat every visitor like royalty. In fact, Possum Trot is known as the “Friendliest Course On The Beach.”

Best of all, greens fees with cart are around $60. Got your attention, now?

Possum Trot has been around for a long time. It's a basic golf club. You're not going to see a big, fancy clubhouse there. Who wants to pay for that anyway? You don't tee it up on a grand stairway. You're looking for a good golf course. Possum Trot delivers.

It will remind you of England's great courses. Spacious fairways. Formidable par 5’s. Tricky greens. Then, there are the flowers. They're everywhere, like an English country garden.

Intrigued? Here's how you can build a great vacation around Possum Trot and play some of the beach's best for a lot less than you're pay for a couple rounds at Hilton Head or Kiawah. How does a 3 night/4 rounds stay-and-play package for around $300 sound? Play Possum Trot, then head on over to the breathtakingly beautiful Glen Dornoch along the Intracoastal Waterway. Fill out your trip with rounds at Heather Glen and Shaftesbury Glen.

Spend you nights in a beautiful villa. Enjoy free range balls, complimentary breakfast and discounted replays.

You can chase away those recession blues – even if you don't have a lot of green. Check it out at http://www.glensgolfgroup.com/specials/?id=25.

TOP 5 TIPS FOR CHOOSING A GOLF SCHOOL: PART 2 — THREE THINGS TO ASK BEFORE YOU SIGN UP

So you want to go to golf school?

Retired tour pros, club pros, young pros who can't get club jobs . . . everybody's got a shingle and they're all hanging them out. After all, just about all of them know more about the golf swing than the average recreational golfer.

But golf school is an investment of your time and precious few dollars. So, ask some questions before you sign up.

What's the school's instruction philosophy? Some schools will break your swing down totally and build you a new one from scratch. If you've got lots of time to practice, then this kind of school might be for you. Just remember, even pros who rebuild their swings sometimes take a year or more to get back in contention. And, just possibly, they have more natural talent than you.

A better option for mere mortals is to choose a school where they will take what you have and show you how to improve on it. Unless your swing is a bad version of Jim Furyk's, that's the way for most of us to go. Ask if they provide you with a take-home video analysis of the swing you brought to school, compared to how it looked on the last day of school. Ask for drills that can help you keep that “after” glow. At home, take your drills to the range three or four times a week and practice what you've learned. Faithfully.

Here's a critical question: how big will the classes be? Golf school should promise individual attention and you should demand it. Look for a school that treats every student as an individual even though you may be in a group lesson. Instructors should be attuned to unique characteristics such as learning style, physique and physical strength. The best schools have small classes with just a few students. If there are 10 people in a class, you're not in golf school ― you're at a clinic.


Who are the instructors? If the school carries a famous TOUR-affiliated name, chances are you'll be paying for the marquee and that big name's teaching "philosophy." But don't count on seeing the celebrity teacher – unless you pay mucho bucks. Instead, look for schools that have been reviewed and ranked in Golf Magazine. Read student comments online.

Some of the best (and most affordable) schools in the country are owned and run by people who have dedicated their whole lives to helping average people like you play better golf. They're not big names, but they know how to help average golfers make big improvements.

Know what questions to ask and you'll end up spending less coin and getting more out of your golf school experience.

TOP 5 TIPS FOR CHOOSING A GOLF SCHOOL: PART 1 — THE PSYCH UP

Game improvement. Every golfer wants it but few actually pursue it. Oh, we all talk about it. But only a few of us actually dedicate the time and effort it takes to move up to another level of skill.

Most guys just try to figure out the game for themselves. They hit buckets of balls never realizing they are actually grooving imperfections into their swings. Good intentions. Bad results.

Most women learn the game from their husbands or significant others. Bad Idea. He's likely to groove his imperfections right into your swing.

Maybe you've taken lessons. But what was your motivation? We've all signed up for a lesson with our local pro when the old golf game's gone south. But those desperate attempts to get back on track are more mid-course corrections than conscious steps toward a better game. As soon as the “problem” is worked out, we stopped working with the pro and got back on the course to groove new bad habits.

Here's the problem. You've got to stop thinking about a lesson as medicine. It's not a trip to the golf hospital. It doesn't involve something horrible shoved down your throat.

Golf instruction is fun. Isn't that why you took up the game? FOR RECREATION? ENJOYMENT?

Consider this: What better way to spend a vacation than hitting golf balls and getting tips from someone who really knows what he's doing? Laughing and learning in an environment that's totally about golf? Sign me up!

Golf school could be the best investment you ever make for both your game and your sanity. Understand the golf swing better and you can fix little problems as they creep in – before they descend into crisis mode.

But golf school's expensive, you say? Not if you know what to look for.

Watch this space for five tips on what to look for in a golf school. I'm heading out to hit some balls and work on what I already learned. Yeah- - my game's getting better every day.

MORE SHOES TO PACK: HUNTINGTON, WVA & ALLENTOWN, PA GET NONSTOP FLIGHTS TO MYRTLE BEACH

The hills of West Virginia are alive with news that Allegiant Air will start flying folks from the Mountain State to the low country of Myrtle Beach, S.C. in April. Word is that golfers are already dusting off their golf shoes and practicing their putting in family rooms all over Huntington, WVA. Nonstop service at last!

Allentown, Pennsylvania was also a big winner in the nonstop flight sweepstakes. Direct Air announced they will help Pennsylvanians escape to Myrtle Beach beginning March 12.

Travelers who plan to fly down to America's golf capital for a golf vacation, should check out The Glens Group's Just Pack Your Shoes Package. Don't pay extra fees for the airlines to carry your old clubs. Glens has the latest and greatest clubs all lined up and ready to take out on the links -- and it's all part of their package.

JUST PACK YOUR SHOES: MYRTLE BEACH FLIGHTS FROM CHICAGO ARE NOW NONSTOP

If you listen closely, you can almost hear the cries of joy drifting upward from the frozen streets of Chicago. Golfers in the Windy City can now get cheap -- and short -- flights to America's golf capital. Spirit Airlines has resumed its nonstop service from Chicago to Myrtle Beach.

Here's more good news. You can skip those pesky extra charges for your golf bag and clubs and just pack your shoes, thanks to The Glens Group. These guys run courses with awe-inspiring views and challenges to match. Now they're offering packages that include accommodations in neat Scottish-themed villas, plus three to four rounds of golf, free top-brand name rental clubs (Taylor Made, Callaway and Wilson), a new golf glove, Nike golf balls, free range balls and carts.

Best of all, they'll juggle room nights and rounds until you've got just the package you want. Kind of a one from column A and one from column B approach. Could it be that customer service is alive, well and living in Myrtle Beach?

If you're one of those who can't wait to try out the latest golf clubs, this could be your dream package. Let's see, try out new sticks on the course over several rounds? Escape the cold? Save big bucks? Sold!

HEY PENNY PINCHERS! NOW YOU CAN BUILD A BETTER GOLF GAME ON THE CHEAP

Would Tiger Woods hit the links without tuning up his game with his favorite instructor? No way! But Saturday after Saturday, you probably head out to the your local muni expecting to play like Tiger – but without the preparation. Yeah, I do it too.

So, what's the difference between Tiger and you and me? Okay. Besides the great game, good looks and gazillions of dollars?

He gets instruction. Regular instruction. Serious instruction. Because even a guy like Tiger knows it's the key to playing well.

But you've never even considered golf school. Why? Golf school is expensive. It's a luxury. And it's a recession, man!

Stop squeezing your pennies so tightly and get serious about your game.

There's a golf school out there that even I can afford. And it's one of the top 5 schools in America. Relatively cheap? Yes. Excellent? Absolutely.

I went to the Ritson-Sole School last spring for a tune up and plan to return this spring. My class had just 4 people in it and each of us got lots of individual attention from the instructor. And none of us paid an arm and a leg.

This year the school is sweetening the deal with a special “Best Ever Golf School Package” through May 18, 2009. Here's your chance to stay in Pawleys Island, S. C. at Pawleys Plantation, a resort that Travel and Leisure Golf calls “one of the most underrated in the Southeast.”

Here's how it works: You hang out at a beautiful resort with a very cool pub. You go to golf school in the morning and you take what you've learned out onto the Jack Nicklaus golf course in the P. M. You sleep in a luxury villa. And you pay less than a thousand per person -- which is about a third of what you'd pay for any of the other top golf schools in America. Sweet.

IS YOUR GIG FISHING? DON'T FLOUNDER AROUND WHEN YOU CAN FIND TWO GREAT FISHING SPOTS IN N.C.

Life's not all about golf. There's fishing too.

Remember lazy vacation days gigging for flounder and surf fishing with your Dad? Grab your kids and step back in time at Carolina Beach and Kure Beach on the North Carolina coast near Wilmington. These two friendly beach towns have the character of decades ago and the prices to match.

Carolina Beach is the spot to visit for surf fishing, bottom fishing, shell fishing and deep sea fishing. This is where the Cape Fear River, the Intracoastal Waterway and the Atlantic Ocean converge and the fish are jumpin.'

You like free? Carolina Beach has it. Past the boardwalk, you'll find miles of public beach where you can wade out into the surf or plant a pole. At the Carolina Beach Fishing Pier, you can drop a line — or drop some coin at the tackle shop, grill and arcade.

Over at Kure Beach, the locals will tell you the fishing is just as good. Some will say it's better and they'll quote chapter and verse about the Kure Beach Pier's international reputation as one of the best places to pier fish for king mackerel, Spanish mackerel, sheepshead, flounder and blues.

Need a place to bunk? You can find quaint family-owned beachfront motels that will stir up some fond childhood memories. Or you can score points with that special someone in a cozy bed & breakfast or oceanfront hotel.