Alabama’s Gulf Coast Gearing Up for Visitors

The Gulf Shores Golf Association has announced that the area’s golf courses, beaches, and attractions are back in working order since Hurricane Ivan made landfall here last fall. As a result of an extensive renewal program, Gulf Shores is ready to welcome back the visitors it receives each spring and summer and re-introduce them to what has become one of the nation’s top golf-and-beach destinations.

“It’s been an incredible journey the past six months after the challenges Mother Nature gave us, but we’re excited for people to see that Alabama’s Gulf Coast is not only born anew, we’re in many ways better than ever,” says Bebe Gauntt, public reelations manager for the Alabama Gulf Coast Convention Visitors Bureau.

In addition to the area’s golf courses returning to shape (visit www.golfgulfshores.com for details), accommodations, restaurants, charter-boat fishing, parks and other attractions are prepared for the influx of visitors. It’s expected that nearly 95% of all lodging units will be open when peak season arrives in June, with many brand-new or newly refinished accommodations in place.

“Because golfers say that our group of 10 member courses is the equal to virtually any golf and beach destination in the country, we’re rolling out the red carpet in anticipation,” says Mike McArthur, Executive Director of the Gulf Shores Golf Association.

GSGA members include Timbercreek, Rock Creek, Glenlakes, Woodlands, Lost Key, Cotton Creek, Peninsula, Soldiers Creek, Cypress Bend and Kiva Dunes (recently named by Golfweek as the state’s top course and rated No. 58 in Golf Digest’s “100 Greatest Public Golf Courses” in the United States).

Two courses, Woodlands at Craft Farms and Lost Key Golf Club, were named among the Southeast U.S. region’s five “best deals” according to GOLF Magazine’s “Bang for the Buck” rating system, as published in the March 2005 issue. A third, Rock Creek Golf Club, was honored by the National Golf Foundation as the overall winner for the 2004 Customer Loyalty and Satisfaction Program Awards in the Daily Fee category. The annual awards are based on surveys fielded by the NGF throughout 2004.

For more information about the Alabama Gulf Coast, contact the Alabama Gulf Coast Convention Visitors Bureau at 800/745-7263 or visit www.gulfshores.com. For more information about the Gulf Shores Golf Association and its golf vacation planning, visit www.golfgulfshores.com or by call toll-free 888/815-1902.