The Next Golf Adventure

2007-08-06T11:07:00.000-07:00

The Next Golf Adventure will be attending Incentive Works, Canada's Meetings and Promotions Show August 21-22, 2007. This is Canada's largest trade show for the meetings, incentive travel, special events and promotions industries. Exhibiting at a show of this size will allow The Next Golf Adventure to receive exposure from Canada's corporate meeting planners and incentive travel buyers.

2007-07-12T11:46:00.000-07:00

The Next Golf Adventure Launches New Website

Vancouver - The Next Golf Adventure has launched a new content rich user friendly website to compliment the original Flash site. Please visit http://www.thenextgolfadventure.com/ to view the Experiences for spring, summer, fall and winter. A Media page was also added to highlight the "buzz" created by the new concept in luxury experiential golf travel.

"We have created a site that appeals to our clients and potential clients. We are excited to receive feedback from people from all over the world looking for a unique golf experience," remarked Tom Monaghan, President of The Next Golf Adventure, Inc.

Another addition to the site is a sign-up feature that allows users to sign up to become a member of an exclusive TNGA Club. Members will receive newsletters, special offers, golf tips and merchandise giveaway opportunities by just entering email addresses. "We will be THE experiential golf travel company, combining unique getaways, concierge-style service and high level instructional experiences," noted Mark Burke, CEO of the company.

Fall and winter getaways are booking for warmer climes. For more information please contact The Next Golf Adventure at 1.800.548.6838 or visit the brand new website http://www.thenextgolfadventure.com/

2007-05-08T12:44:00.000-07:00

Experience Our Spring/Summer 2007 Destinations

Visit Big Sky and Nicklaus North in Whistler, Humber Valley Resort in Newfoundland, Bear Mountain in Victoria, Bandon Dunes in Oregon, Cordevalle in California, or Predator Ridge in the Okanagan to name a few of our Spring Destinations. Or join us for our Private Club Experience in Toronto at one of the area's most exclusive private golf clubs. Adventures combine PGA instruction, concierge-style service and an added adventure, three aspects that set us apart in the golf travel industry. Travel with your friends or entertain your clients. Arrange a one day golf camp or a 4 day all-inclusive golf immersion program. The options are endless. Call 1.800.548.6838 or email info@thenextgolfadventure.com for details

2007-03-28T08:16:00.000-07:00

Lorne Rubenstein, renowned golf writer and popular Globe and Mail golf columnist, teams up with The Next Golf Adventure™ to offer a unique golf getaway.

The Next Golf Adventure™ is proud to present Lorne Rubenstein as a guest host at a select number of destinations in 2007. Enjoy a round of golf followed by a fireside presentation that Lorne will offer. Learn about the behind the scenes action at PGA Tour events, top instructors, players and his own experiences in golf. Talk golf with a man who has seen and written about all the major golf events of the past three decades.

Lorne has written a golf column for The Globe and Mail since 1980. He has played golf since the early 1960s and was the Royal Canadian Golf Association’s first curator of its museum and library at the Glen Abbey Golf Club in Oakville, Ontario and the first editor of ScoreGolf, Canada’s Golf Magazine. Lorne hosted the TSN weekly show Acura World of Golf for 11 years, through 2005. He contributes features and columns to ScoreGolf and its website, www.scoregolf.com, and also to http://www.golfobserver.com/. Meanwhile, Lorne contributes to magazines such as Golf World, Travel & Leisure Golf, Links and PGA Tour Partners. He also writes a column for The Globe and Mail’s monthly magazine Report on Business.

Born in Toronto, Lorne studied at York University and the University of Guelph, where he completed an M.A. in psychology. He caddied part-time on the PGA Tour, and his first columns for The Globe and Mail were from the 1980 Canadian Open at Royal Montreal Golf Club. He caddied there for the Canadian golfer Jim Nelford.

Lorne has written for Toronto Life, Report on Business, Maclean’s, Saturday Night, City Woman, Esquire, Golf Digest, Golf Magazine, Golf Monthly (U.K.) Score, Travel & Leisure Golf, Cigar Aficionado, Links, Senior Golfer, Golf Journal, and Golf World. He has won three first-place awards from the Golf Writers Association of America—one for newspaper columns, one for magazine features and one for magazine columns--and one National Magazine Award in Canada. Lorne was inducted into the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame in 2006 and will be inducted in June 2007 into the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame.

Lorne has written nine books: Seasons in a Golfer’s Life, with Jim Nelford (1984); The Natural Golf Swing, with George Knudson (1988); Links: An Insider’s Tour Through the World of Golf (1990); Touring Prose, Writings on Golf (1993); The Swing, with Nick Price (1997); The Fundamentals of Hogan, with David Leadbetter (2000), A Season in Dornoch: Golf and Life in the Scottish Highlands, (2001); Mike Weir: The Road to the Masters (2003) and, with Jeff Neuman, A Disorderly Compendium of Golf (2006)

2007-03-02T08:07:00.000-08:00

THE NEXT GOLF ADVENTURE OFFERS UNIQUE GETAWAYS

Have you ever dreamed of golf by the ocean, under the warm sun, surrounded by friends and/or business associates and a qualified PGA professional by your side? Look no further, The Next Golf Adventure has just what you are looking for.
From pure golf experiences in Bandon Dunes or Scotland to warm weather retreats in Phoenix, Mexico or Florida The Next Golf Adventure offers everything you need. New for spring and summer 2007 we will be offering luxury excursions to Whistler Resort. All experiences include luxury transfer, golf, instruction, luxury accomodation, food and a region-specific adventure. All adventures also offer concierge-style PGA guides for your comfort and security.
Call us today 1.800.548.6838 for details. We will customize for you, so dream it up and we will make it come true.

2007-03-01T09:47:00.000-08:00

THE NEXT GOLF ADVENTURE DELIVERS FIRST NEWSLETTER

After careful planning and layout, The Next Golf Adventure delivered its first e-newsletter comprised of upcoming getaways, special events, media coverage and some general information on the company. Newsletters will be sent once per month to a wide range of avid golfers. Each month new and exciting ideas will be incorporated into the letter.

For the corporate group looking for a unique executive retreat think about a helicopter ride from Whistler to Pemberton with a stop along the way... the top of majestic Mount Currie where the group will take in the amazing valley view, hit some golf balls and have a bite of lunch. From there its back in the helicopter and touch down at Big Sky Golf and Country Club where the group will enjoy instruction and golf with a PGA professional. Lunch and dinner are included and after dinner, perhaps some skeet shooting?

We cater to all sizes and groups. From corporate to personal we can arrange the most elaborate golf outing to the most simple. Call or email us for more information. 1.800.548.6838 or info@thenextgolfadventure.com

2007-02-28T13:55:00.000-08:00

THE NEXT GOLF ADVENTURE TEAMS WITH DR. JOE PARENT AUTHOR OF ZEN GOLF AND COACH OF PGA TOUR STARS

Biography of Dr. Joe Parent
PGA TOUR Instructor, Author, Corporate Speaker

“Dr. Parent has been a great influence on my mental game. He’s given me very effective methods for working with thoughts and emotions, and for taking the negatives out of the picture. ZEN GOLF is the best book at connecting golf and the mind together. It’s for everyone, it really helps, and you’re really going to enjoy it.”
— Vijay Singh, World’s #1 Ranked Golfer 2004-2005

Dr. Joe Parent has coached the mental game in golf, business and life for over 25 years. A distinguished PGA TOUR Instructor, he has attracted such clients as Vijay Singh, recent # 1 golfer in the world rankings, Masters and 2-time PGA Champion. Dr. Joe is the author of the bestselling ZEN GOLF: Mastering the Mental Game (Doubleday). Golf Digest reviews describe it as “Soothing and enlightening, entertaining and provocative, here is a book that is highly original and exciting. Destined to become a classic.”
ZEN GOLF was published in 2002, quickly rising to the top of the list as the bestselling instructional golf book in America. Now in its tenth printing, there are over 175,000 copies in print world-wide, including foreign editions in seven different languages.
In the early 1970’s, Dr. Joe encountered the mindful awareness practices of Buddhism. While modern psychology pointed out self-defeating patterns of behavior, mindful awareness provided the most profound methods to transform them. As he completed his Ph.D., he began bringing his insights to golf, co-teaching clinics with a golf pro who was also interested in mindfulness and psychology.
Since then Dr. Joe has become a renowned and sought-after instructor of the mental game, teaching the path to success to hundreds of professionals and amateurs in golf and other sports, as well as in business and life. He is a highly regarded keynote speaker at corporate, celebrity and charity events hosted by companies such as Merrill Lynch, Dreyfus, LPL, Salomon Brothers, Bank of America, Fidelity, AIG, CB Richard Ellis, World Presidents Organization, PGA of America, the Tiger Woods Foundation, the First Tee Foundation and many others.
Dr. Joe has been featured on CNN, NBC’s Today in New York, HBO Sports, ESPN, and many appearances on The Golf Channel. The ZEN GOLF book is featured in a widely circulated MasterCard “Priceless” ad, and had its own cameo appearance being read by Ray Romano on “Everybody Loves Raymond.” Dr. Joe coaches Ray, Kevin James, Malcolm McDowell, Michael O’Keefe (Danny Noonan in Caddyshack) and many other celebrity golfers.
As a result of his writing and instruction of PGA TOUR players, Golf Digest Magazine named Dr. Joe to their first list of “Top Ten Mental Game Experts” in the world, and in the July 2005 issue featured him in their popular instructional section: “Breaking 100-90-80 and 70.”
Dr. Joe Parent teaches at the Ojai Valley Inn and Spa Resort, Ojai, California.

“When body and mind are synchronized in the present moment, we can uncover our inherent dignity and confidence. The ultimate goal is not just to help people become better golfers, but better human beings, ones who can relate to themselves and others in a genuine, kind, and courageous way.” — Dr. Joe Parent

For your next Zen Golf Adventure call 1.800.548.6838 or email info@thenextgolfadventure.com

2006-11-27T09:30:00.000-08:00

DUO TURNS GOLF INTO DUFFERS BIZ

Pros quit Capilano, create ‘travelling golf academy’

By TIA ABELL
for Metro Vancouver

A hot idea can seem to catch fire all on its own.

Take the sun-soaked trip golf pros Tom Monaghan and Mark Burke planned last January for six members from the Capilano Golf and Country Club, where the pair taught.

The pros accompanied the group as tour leaders and instructors; the members enjoyed an all-inclusive holiday plus attentive golf instruction under Phoenix’s blue skies.

“It was something for us to do in the winter time,” says Monaghan, 34, a transplanted Newfoundlander (with little Corner Brook accent left) who graduated from Orlando’s San Diego Golf Academy in 1997.

“And it kept us in teaching mode … we wanted to take our members and make some money, get some sunshine, play golf and jump-start our members’ season.”

But before long, other club members had heard of the excursion, explains 37-yearold Burke, a Woodbridge, Ont., native who competed on the Canadian Tour and the Golden Bear Tour.

“Guys would come up to us and say why didn’t we get an invite?”

The pros knew they were onto something. Two weeks after the Phoenix trip, they
began dreaming about a September adventure to the Bandon Dunes Resort in Oregon.

Monaghan got on the phone to do some research. And … “... the next thing I knew, I was booking it,” he says with a smile.

It meant risking a $5,000 deposit, but the magic of word-of-mouth didn’t let him down, and the trip sold out. That’s when the pair asked a golfing acquaintance and successful businessman to write up a business plan for them. Within four days, they had the plan
and his strong recommendation to go global.

“We cost it out and saw that if we did these trips with three-quarters of the year travelling, we could make as much as we do at the club, or more,” Monaghan says.

They incorporated as The Next Golf Adventure (thenextgolfadventure.com) in May and began organizing trips to luxury golf resorts in Florida, California and Mexico for winter/
spring 2007.

They’re launching their new “travelling golf academy” this week.

It’s meant quitting their jobs at the golf club in September, but the pros are fearless — and their partnership seems ideal.

“Tom makes it happen,” says Burke.

“Mark is the concept guy,” counters Monaghan.

Burke replies, “It’s both of us. When we get together, the ideas just flow. When I look back over the past four months, I think, ‘Oh, my God, look where we are today.’”

2006-11-13T10:06:00.000-08:00

BANDON DUNES BOOKING QUICKLY!!

Thank you to everyone calling inquiring about availability and packages to Bandon Dunes. The facility is one of North America's most popular golf destinations and books almost a year in advance. Accommodations on-site are scarce and the convenience makes the Lodge and cottages very appealing. If anyone is interested in a Bandon Dunes golf adventure please think about booking for the future now! For those extreme golf fanatics, there is no better place to play winter golf than Bandon. The wind blows and rains fall in the true Scottish-links style. We can arrange an extreme golf adventure for you and your group at reduced rates between November and February. Please call 1-800-568-6838 for details or visit http://www.thenextgolfadventure.com/

NEW DESTINATIONS RELEASED

Our destinations page on our website has been updated to include our Winter/Spring 2007 locations. Please visit the website http://www.thenextgolfadventure.com/ to view details on these destinations. Our offerings for 2007 include: CordeValle Resort in San Martin, California; Bandon Dunes Resort, Bandon, Oregon; The Ritz Carlton Club, Sarasota, Florida; El Tamarindo Golf Resort, Manzanillo, Mexico; Hacienda del Mar, Cabo San Lucas, Mexico; Wigwam Resort, Phoenix, Arizona. We have also discovered another gem in the Phoenix area called WeKoPa Resort. Look for details in the coming weeks.

CHASE THE SUN

Rain and snow have hit Canada. Are you sick of the cold, wet weather? Get away to warmer climes and be guided on your Next Golf Adventure. We will arrange everything for you. Just sit back and enjoy the golf, the surroundings, the company of your PGA professional, a drink, a fine dinner and the sunshine. We take care of the rest! At The Next Golf Adventure we help you Design your Experience.

2006-11-01T10:44:00.000-08:00

Let The Next Golf Adventure arrange your next golf outing.

Our adventures have caught the attention of a number of people, here's what a few of them had to say:

Tom Monaghan and Mark Burke promise a golf adventure, and that's what they deliver. I had the pleasure of visiting Bandon Dunes in their company, and I'm already looking forward to my next adventure with them. They're golf professionals who are professional in every way. They know and appreciate the game, they understand what golfers want, they take care of every detail to leave you free to enjoy the experience, they help you with your game, and they're gracious from start to finish. If you're looking to have a pure golf adventure, you've come to the right place. -Lorne Rubenstein, golf writer and columnist for The Globe and Mail

I just wanted to tell you and Mark how much I enjoyed the trip to the Golf Mecca of North America known as Bandon Dunes. Not only was the golf fantastic the venue that the two of you created was super. You made the whole experience for me one that I won't forget. I felt very comfortable playing with the two of you as well as Grant Rogers who is a real gentleman. I enjoyed the morning of instruction and know that my handicap will be heading lower because of that morning. I wish you nothing but success in the future and please keep in informed for your NEXT GOLF ADVENTURE. -Jerome Rak, Vancouver, BC Canada

Call or email us for more info or visit our website www.thenextgolfadventure.com

1-800-548-6838
info@thenextgolfadventure.com

2006-10-30T12:53:00.000-08:00

We have returned from Bandon Dunes Golf Resort and it was a resounding success... so much so that Lorne Rubenstein wrote this about the trip in the Globe and Mail on Staurday October 28:

Rubenstein: Oregon courses offer golf as it was intended
LORNE RUBENSTEIN

Globe and Mail Update

BANDON, ORE. — PGA Tour players are calculating precise distances while playing by yardages in the Chrysler Championship near Tampa, but golfers here are immersed in traditional golf. The three beguiling, walking-only courses at the much acclaimed Bandon Dunes Golf Resort invite golf that tells the player to throw away the yardage book.

"I don't know how far it is, but this is the club," a Bandon caddie is likely to say. Golfers can consult inconspicuous markers on the fairway, but most learn not to bother. The ground game matters, because the firm, fast fescue fairways welcome a bouncing ball. The golf's about more than the aerial game, into the fescue greens and the fairways.

So it was that a group of golfers from Vancouver, and one from back east, have been taking to Bandon Dunes, which opened in 1999, Pacific Dunes (2001) and Bandon Trails (2005). A fourth course will open in 2010. First-time Bandonistas realize quickly why the place has become the golf resort of choice for anybody who loves the game the way it should be played. Creatively, that is.

That's why Mark Burke and Tom Monaghan, who recently left their positions as assistant pros at Vancouver's Stanley Thompson-designed Capilano course, chose Bandon to introduce their clever new venture. They're calling it The Next Golf Adventure (www.thenextgolfadventure.com).

Each trip involves plenty of golf, some on-course instruction, and an extracurricular activity. This week's off-course recreation is today's fishing expedition on the Coquille River, which will take place Saturday following golf at Pacific Dunes.

Golf, of course, is the main thing, and the golf here is extraordinarily interesting. To cite one example of a typical Bandon situation, Jerome Rak found himself in an awkward but fascinating position. Rak works in the financial world in Vancouver and is used to figuring things out with mathematical precision, or at least trying to.

But now J.R., as his buddies call him, couldn't figure out what to do with the shot he faced. He was only 15 yards from the front of the green on the driveable, short, par-four 16th hole where the right side of the green is on the edge of the cliff above the ocean.

Easy shot, right? Flop the ball near the hole with a lob wedge. However, a small, deep pot bunker was directly between J.R.'s ball and the hole, which was cut on a portion of the green that ran away from him. His lie was tight. He was confused, so he consulted his caddy, and Grant Rogers, Bandon's director of instruction. Rogers was in the foursome.

"What would you do here?" J.R. asked Rogers.

"I'd putt it around the bunker," advised Rogers, a wise man experienced in Bandon Dunes.

J.R. accepted Rogers's advice, circumvented the bunker and putted up 30 feet from the hole. His partner, Capilano member Ross Henderson, soon holed a 40-foot birdie putt. No doubt J.R. had eased his mind by putting his second on the green rather than dumping it in the bunker or blading it over the green.

This was the perfect setting for Burke and Monaghan to introduce their venture. Just about every publication on the planet has voted Bandon Dunes the best resort in the United States. Many of its windswept holes traverse enormous dunes, while many of its gigantic greens are on plateaus overlooking the churning Pacific surf. It's dream golf. Stephen Goodwin called his engaging book about the making of Bandon by that very name: Dream Golf.

The courses demonstrate why ground-hugging, seaside golf is so invigorating. Golfers have been flocking to Bandon because something about this remote world where they're allowed to use a pull cart, or carry their own clubs, appeals deeply to them. Walking while pulling a cart or carrying one's clubs is near-heresy in American resort golf. But it's pure golf. A golfer can ride a cart here only if he or she has a medical certificate.

"People think about score here for a while, and then they forget about it. The beauty and the peace overwhelm them," said Rogers, an Oregon native. He was carrying his own bag. He was lost in the game.

That's what can happen at Bandon, where the idea is to abandon the yardage book. In this way, the golfer comes to his golfing senses, and senses the game fully.

2006-10-24T10:28:00.000-07:00

BANDON DUNES OCTOBER 2007

Our inaugural trip to Bandon Dunes will happen this week. We have our first nine clients and have some serious golf and adventure planned for them. Along with spectacular golf at Bandon Dunes, Pacific Dunes, and Bandon Trails we have Northwest Coast meals planned, a river fishing excursion and a few other "surprises", not to mention the golf instruction by PGA professionals. We have the lowest Amateur to Professional ratio in the industry (3:1) for the most individualized attention!!

We will update as often as possible and hope from here on in we will have some readers and feedback.