Asheville, North Carolina isn't the first destination you think of when you think about Carolina golf, but courses like the Grove Park Golf Course and Mount Mitchell Golf Club, not to mention the awe-inspring Biltmore Estate, makes this beautiful city one to seek out.

Nary an episode of HBO's "Entourage" goes by without Vince and the gang swinging away on a high-end golf simulator. The compact, affordable Dancin' Dogg is an excellent budget option for us mortals who can't afford the $20,000 models of the stars, however.

This is for all you loyal readers out there who say it's not really the holiday season until you've read my annual Thanksgiving column. So here it is: giving "thanks" and "no-thanks" to all who deserve it in the world of golf.

Dave Dusel: "When going to the Smoky Mountains for golf, bring additional couples and rent one of the many chalets. There are many golf courses in the area and many outlet malls, the wives won't mind if you play 36 holes each day. Almost all chalets have hot tubs, pool tables, gas grills, separate bedrooms with baths and a peaceful setting. With full kitchens, the only meals out could be at one of the many great restaurants in Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge and Sevierville."

When Myrtle Beach golf early birds come out to the grand opening of the new Founders Club in February, they'll be met with a golf course seemingly wise beyond its youth.

The key to consistent short-game play is versatility. You need the right wedge or wedges for the myriad lies that you encounter around the golf course. Nicklaus Dual Slot wedges encompass a versatile combination of lofts and bounce angles, offering great versatility at a sound value.

The hit HBO show Entourage has put journeyman actor Kevin Dillon back on the Hollywood map. BadGolfer.com recently caught up with the avid golfer to discuss his golf game, his show, Winged Foot and Phil Mickelson.

Maui, the Big Island, Kauai, Lanai, Molokai or Oahu? - all the choices can make planning a trip to Hawaii maddening. But golf courses such as Jack Nicklaus' Experience at Koele and Greg Norman's The Challenge at Manele Bay, both on Lanai, make a Hawaii golf vacation worth the trouble.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: The International Network of Golf shouldn't hand out travel/golf writing awards. It's embarrassing. The ING is primarily a business network, a place for those in the industry to hobnob and do business. That's great. The organization recognizes good writing in other categories, but its "travel" awards section is a joke.

Lance Kulman: "I can assure you that after playing a few holes with (Annika), she will be ready for next year so Lorena should be prepared because I do not think that it will be as easy as it was this year. Lorena is a very good player, but she is not an 'Annika.'"

While some golf courses will chill you with difficult layouts, others can frighten the dickens out of a player with things that border on the supernatural. All around the globe there are golf courses like this, where graveyards and native burial grounds play host to your round. Or where ghosts make their homes amongst the bunkers and fairways. Here's a look at a few golf courses that give the term "spooky" a whole other element.

The Gary Player Signature Course at the Westin Mission Hills, the Desert Willow complex and TPC Stadium are just three golf options that make Palm Springs a great bachelorette party destination for ladies interested in golf. And with resorts like Desert Springs JW Marriot and Costa's nightclub, there's plenty do when your round of golf is over.

It was a stellar week for some of the biggest names in golf and sports last week, and this week's rankings have an international flair, as some Americans, a Canadian, a Norwegian, an Argentinean and a heroic Scotsman all showed that they have the stuff that GSR dreams are made of for one glorious week. Of course, with Halloween quickly approaching, we'd be remiss not to give a tip of the hat to Satan, who we truly believe has made it all possible for some of these mega-superstars.

George McNeill's second consecutive round of 5-under-par 67 was more than enough to help the rookie cruise to his first PGA Tour victory Sunday in the Frys.com Open in Las Vegas. The victory earned McNeill a $720,000 first-place check and a two-year exemption on the PGA Tour, a major relief to the nine-time Q-school participant. h

In the Florida golf scene, there's a need to stand out from the crowd. Highlands Reserve, like several Sunshine State courses lucky enough to be above the fray, literally, likes to highlight its elevation. The course sits high atop what is essentially a big sand hill, more than 100 feet from top to bottom, making for an atypical Florida golf experience.

Two years ago after Hurricane Katrina, the success story of Biloxi wasn't a given. But the coast has used the devastation to galvanize the destination. All the courses, hotels and casinos that were destroyed weren't just rebuilt, but made better.

Think Salt Lake City, Utah is an ultra-conservative town about as much fun as a trip to the dentist? Think again. Salt Lake City is a surprisingly laid-back town where you won't have to search with both hands to find a cold beer or good round on an affordable golf course.

For many music lovers, Austin, Texas, has a reputation as one of the best cities in America for live tunes, but it's got a lot to offer golfers, as well.

Jeff Gove and Chad Campbell both finished strong to separate themselves from the pack Thursday in first-round play of the Turning Stone Resort Championship.

Philadelphia carries a reputation of being a fat, cheese steak guzzling East Coast City. Only now it has tons of hot restaurants and nightclubs. It's a great scene for discovering underrated golf, and Baltimore golf courses like Pete Dye's Bulle Rock are only a quick drive away.

Pleasantly located in the northern Michigan village of Roscommon, Forest Dunes Golf Club is a first-rate residential golf community with a world-class Tom Weiskopf-designed golf course.

As if the PGA Tour needed another platform to prove who's the best player in the game, the winner of the first FedEx Cup is - surprise, surprise - Tiger Woods.

Barring a shocking collapse from golf's greatest closer, the first PGA Tour FedEx Cup - and the $10 million prize that comes with it - will go to Woods.

Here at the Golfer Supremacy Rankings, if there's one thing we love, it's seeing a Mickelson vs. Woods final-round match-up. And if there's two things we love, it's watching a Mickelson-Woods battle while snacking on some gouda. What can we say, we're suckers for cheese

Truly a sight to behold, the area around the Great Smoky Mountains in east Tennessee is also great for golf. Notable courses include: Patriot Hills, Gatlinburg Municipal Golf Course and Clinchview Golf Club.

The first round of the BMW Championship saw scores go low, as Jonathan Byrd heads to round two with sole possession of the lead at 7 under, while Tiger Woods kept up with the leaders with a 4-under 67 at Cog Hill. Here's what Byrd and Woods had to say after a first round where scores in the 60s were the norm.

It's safe to say the FedEx Cup is not off to the greatest start. Thus far, the comments on the great scheme have been fairly consistent, and have included lots of people murmuring things like "Errr?" and "Ummmm?" So, at very least, Finchem has people curious. That they are mostly curious about what the FedEx Cup actually is may be a problem, but make no mistake, questions are being asked.

Whatever you decide to do, stick to it and work on it. Good putting can make up a lot of strokes and bring that handicap down.

The South, when it comes to golf courses, is about more than just old plantations and moss-draped oaks.With its southern latitudes and comparatively slow pace, the South's golf courses run the gamut from links-style to modern to traditional. Of all the varied terrain in the South, islands are one of the most engaging venues in which to find yourself on a golf course. The South has plenty of them, both on the Atlantic side and bordering the Gulf of Mexico

One of the first things you will notice about the Tamahka Trails Golf Club at the Paragon Casino Resort are the hills, features that are seemingly out of place in central Louisiana. As part of the state's Audubon Golf Trail, this Marksville, La. golf course offers a different taste of the Pelican State, and that is a good thing

Rory Sabbatini's the key to whether these newfangled FedEx Cup playoffs with a point system that seems designed to confuse (why 5,400 points for second again?) work or not.

Niagara-on-the-Lake used to be one of those little Canadian towns nobody had ever heard of, but a new crop of high-end golf courses is turning the quaint town into a sought-after second home destination. It is an excellent example of how golf can invigorate a real estate market.

I really like Tulsa but it has one big drawback: Every year around this time, August inevitably shows up, bringing with it the sort of heat that would melt a monkey. The heat has been all the talk here at the 89th PGA Championship, and with good reason. It descends on the city like a plague of locusts, devouring everything in its path.

Hurricane Ivan landed a body blow on Grand Cayman Island's only 18-hole golf course in 2005. But after two years of surgery, the Links at SafeHaven is back open and primed to give you what you want in a round of Caribbean golf.

Facing a scorching Southern Hills, Woods held on to his lead Sunday to win the 2007 PGA Championship, holding off strong challenges from the likes of Ernie Els and Woody Austin.

Tiger Woods is now 13-0 when taking the lead into a Sunday of a major. Think he's invincible? Not so, says our man on the scene at the 89th PGA Championship in Tulsa, Okla.'s Southern Hills Country Club.

The Ritz-Carlton on Key Biscayne is Miami's only AAA Five Diamond resort, and it's a beauty. The resort overlooks the bay and the ocean, and has a Prada Beauty spa, excellent restaurants, and access to the nearby Crandon Park, a Robert Von Hagge/Bruce Devlin design that's one of Florida's top municipal golf courses.

Playing to 7,198 yards and a 136-slope rating from the tips, Southern Hills will play to a par of 70 at the PGA Championship, which should help to keep the leaders' scores from going very far under par, though in comparison to the 2007 Masters and British Opens, more scoring possibilities should be available for players.

Tee times for the opening and second round of the 2007 PGA Championship to be held Aug. 9-10 at Southern Hills C.C. in Tulsa, Okla. All times are CST. ...