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Please consider this free-reprint article written by:
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Article Title: Your Perfect Golf Vacation – Step Two
Author: Randall Ulbricht
Word Count: 1091
Article URL: http://www.isnare.com/?id=30359&ca=Sports
Format: 64cpl
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[at] with @)

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================== ARTICLE START ==================
You are only going to have one major golf vacation with your
pals per year. Make it the best possible by designing it
yourself. Forget the standard golf package and do it yourself.

In our last article we got to the minus two months point of
your schedule. You have researched and found the ideal
location, picked out the perfect house, sent out the word to
your pals, and settled on the dates. By this time, you should
have a confirmed group, any of which would just as soon lose
their right arm as miss the event.

Let's lock in the rental house. You DO need to get this done as
early as you can. If you are setting up your vacation during the
off-season like I do, you are in the driver's seat. Talk
directly to the property manager and negotiate a better rate.
Here is a summary of my discussion a few weeks ago.

"Hey, Tiffany. Randall here. It's that time again but our group
is smaller. We really like the house at ... but it is more than
we need. We will be staying a full week. I figured the owner
would rather have a bird in the hand and rent the house for a
full week instead of taking the chance of renting it for just a
couple days or not at all. We can afford $xxxx. I can pay you
today."

The result of this little conversation was that she immediately
lopped twenty percent off the advertised rate! You will never
know until you ask. Shoot for about a thirty percent reduction
and go from there. I slapped the deposit on my credit card and
emailed the group. (Yes, I was looking for praise.) You can
dust off the smaller details like arranging linens (if not
provided in the rate) and final payment later.

Time to grab tee times. What I recommend is setting up early
morning tee times for each day. You will have to get up earlier
than you may like, but scheduling tee times around 8:00 to
8:30AM will accomplish several things, including:
Being close to first off the box on rain or frost delays
(allowing a second 18).
Finishing your round early enough to grab a second 18 with
lunch in between 18's.
Allowing easier to change to later tee times if desired rather
than to move them earlier.

Over the Internet and by talking with local pros on the phone,
you have come up the courses you want to play. As with the
house, you DO need to get this done as early as you can so that
you can get the tee times you want. When scheduling tee times, I
prefer talking directly to the head pro. In general, you will
find more flexibility on prices. Other bonuses like getting a
second set of tee times while only paying for a replay fee are
easier. The head honcho is also more likely to bend the rules
to allow advanced tee times if you are beyond the time window
normally allowed.

Granted, this may be your first time in the location you
picked, but you can use about the same language as I do. I have
just locked in our tee times for February. I associate myself
with a golf course to let them know I am a "player" and the
pros seem to be more deferential in talking with a "player".
Here is a summary of a standard call:

"Hey Bucky, Randall from Snee Farm here. It's getting to be
that time of the year again for our annual golf vacation. You
have always treated us so well and given us such a great rate
in the past. The guys love the challenge of your outstanding
spread. I was just wondering if you fit us in again on February
23rd. We are looking to play 36 and would appreciate anything
you could do for us."

With that or something similar as an opener, I forecast that
you WILL get a great rate from most of the courses. Don't make
a second set of tee times at this point unless you get them for
just the replay fee. If you are playing during the on-season and
want to play 36, you may have to make and pay for a guaranteed
set of afternoon tee times. Some of the courses may have events
already scheduled when you want to play that particular course.
You may have to juggle this slightly and change already made
tee times, so complete your tee time set up within a couple
days.

Now you have your group, your house and your tee times. It is
time to get down to real business. Now is the time to get the
financial commitment. Send an email spelling out the
accommodations and the tee times. Ask for your troops to send
you at least half of what the final cost per man will be. Our
total per man is normally around $900 for all the lodging,
transportation, golf, food and beverages for the week.

Dining. In general we fix whatever breakfast we personally
want, make sandwiches to eat between rounds, and fix our own
gourmet supper (with loads of snacks to wreck our appetites
during the entire day and night). You can see our 2006 evening
meals by clicking on 2006 Schedule at the sample website
www.eye-mind-tricks.com/golf . To support all this, you will
need to know what the group wants and prepare a shopping list.
This year, I used a free survey website and built a
fill-in-the-blank survey for the troops. You can see that at:
www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=256691624905 .

You can use surveymonkey like that or ask the same questions in
an email. To give you an idea of what your shopping list will
look like for a group of eight and assuming you follow our
general plan, I put a close copy of last year's shopping list
at the above eye-mind-tricks website. Substitute the word
"shop" for "golf" to see it. With your shopping list built, you
will either grab the goodies before the flights of the group
arrive if you live locally, or have the troops assist on the
way to your house.

You are now at the minus one month point of building the
perfect golf vacation. The next article will provide recipes,
administration details, entertainment ideas, and odds and ends.


About The Author: Randall Ulbricht is a retired Nuclear
Submarine Officer. He currently works from home sharing
information via several web sites, including: Article Outlet
http://www.article-outlet.com and Knowledge
http://www.ezpromotes.com
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