Hooters Tour Coming to Gulf Shores; Red Snapper Fishing Season Underway

(GULF SHORES, ALABAMA) – Anglers seeking golf and Gulf Coast fishing – a popular buddy-trip combination in Gulf Shores of Alabama – can partake in recreational red snapper fishing this summer through July 19.

“This is a popular time to visit Gulf Shores and combine golf with a wealth of coastal activities,” says Duncan Millar, executive director of Golf Gulf Shores (www.golfgulfshores.com). “This time of year golfers can easily play 36 holes a day at one of our nine courses as well as fish on one of the coast’s hottest spots.”

While many fishermen are now heading to the region for red snapper, there are many other offshore and inshore species to pursue year-round, including grouper, redfish, king mackerel, bonita, Spanish mackerel, amberjack, cobia, and an occasional blackfin tuna or mahi mahi.

Alabama’s Gulf Coast is also home to one of the world’s largest charter fishing boat fleets, with a dozen marinas and hundreds of vessels from which to choose. A variety of fishing options are available – from deep-sea trips to back-bay excursions – that suit any angler’s needs.

Golf stay-and-play packages throughout the Gulf Shores region can be customized for groups, with stay-and-play golf packages starting as low as $72 per person, per night. Sport fishing charter companies abound in the Gulf, with rates starting at $550 per four-hour expedition.

For more information about the fishing and golfing options available as well as a customized quote, visit www.golfgulfshores.com.

Other News and Notes from the Gulf Shores Golf Association:

Gulf Shores Visitors Vow to Return: Travelers who booked recent trips to Gulf Shores at golfgulfshores.com have continued to post glowing remarks about their experience in the area, with nearly 100% indicating they “intend to return.”

Said one traveler from Ontario, Canada, “We loved our Gulf Shores experience. Plenty of high-caliber golf to choose from and the best beaches I have ever seen!”

A visitor from Pennsylvania commented on the conditions of the courses, saying they “were in the best shape I’ve ever seen,” while another avid “road trip” golfer from Alabama reported, “I have been taking golf trips with the same three guys for over 20 years and Gulf Shores is in the Top-3 all time.”

To get a customized stay-and-play package for any size group, visit www.golfgulfshores.com.

Hooters Tour Coming to TimberCreek: Golfers tackling the courses at Gulf Shores this summer can compare their games with some of the world’s top players at the NGA Hooters Professional Tour’s TimberCreek Golf Classic Aug. 8-14. The 72-hole tournament begins Thursday, Aug. 11 at TimberCreek Golf Club with the final round scheduled for Sunday, Aug. 14.

TimberCreek has limited spots still available for the Wednesday Pro-Am, which pairs a three-person amateur team with an NGA Hooters Professional. The team entry fee is $750 per threesome and includes golf, six tickets to the Pro-Am party, golf shirt, tee gifts and prizes. The August 10 Pro-Am will have dual shotgun starts at 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. Entry deadline is July 15. See www.golftimbercreek.com for more information.

TimberCreek is a 7,026-yard Earl Stone design boasting terrain more reminiscent of the inland Carolinas than the Gulf Shores’ coastal topography. The facility’s 27 spacious, flowing holes are sculpted from a forest of flowering Magnolias, Dogwoods and Loblolly Pines.

Winner of Golf Gulf Shores Technology Prize Package Announced: Rich Carter of Ballwin, Missouri has been awarded a technology prize package worth $2,000, courtesy of the Gulf Shores Golf Association.

Carter was randomly selected as the winner of the contest, which automatically entered anyone who booked a trip to Gulf Shores this past spring at www.golfgulfshores.com. Carter and five friends made the trip to Gulf Shores in March and played 10 rounds of golf at six courses during a five-day stay.

Included in the prize package was a Sony PS3 with Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2011, an Apple iPad and a 42-inch LED-LCD HDTV.

For details on future contests or to sign up for a free subscription to the Golf Gulf Shores monthly e-newsletter, visit www.golfgulfshores.com or call 1.888.815.1902. To view up-to-the-minute news, photos, events and special offers, see facebook.com/GolfGulfShores or follow Golf Gulf Shores on Twitter at http://twitter.com/GolfGulfShores.

About Golf Gulf Shores
Golf Gulf Shores is the moniker for the Gulf Shores Golf Association, the partnership that promotes the destination and its custom golf packages built by its partners, for golf groups, families, and corporate outings. The destination offers nine golf courses, countless lodging options and a wealth of outdoor activity on its 32-mile waterfront destination. Course highlights:

Cotton Creek at Craft Farms – Arnold Palmer Signature Design with generous fairways lined by Southern Hardwoods, undulating greens and a championship test from 7,028 yards, and owned and operated by Honours Golf.

Cypress Bend at Craft Farms – The sister Honours Golf property to Cotton Creek, the Arnold Palmer Signature Design meanders through cord-grass accented lakes which come into play on nearly every hole.

Glenlakes Golf Club – Scottish-style links course designed by Von Hagge and known for its extensive bunkering and postage-stamp greens.

Kiva Dunes – A “Top 100 Course in America” by Golf Digest, the Jerry Pate design is the only beachfront resort course in Gulf Shores.

Peninsula Golf and Racquet Club – Owned and operated by Honours Golf, the 27-hole facility offers chilled apples on the tee. The 830-acre park includes 30 lakes and fairways surrounded by Bon Secour Wildlife Preserve.

Rock Creek Golf Club – Also owned by Honours Golf and boasting rolling terrain and fairways lined by pines, the Earl Stone design overlooks freshwater wetlands and the Rock Creek basin.

TimberCreek Golf Club – This 27-hole design was crafted by Earl Stone and feels like an inland Carolina course with fairways lined by loblolly pines, dogwoods and magnolias.

Gulf Shores Golf Club – Formerly known as The Golf Club of the Wharf, this was the Gulf Shores’ first course. Opened it 1960, it was redesigned by Jay and Carter Morrish in 2005.

For more information: www.golfgulfshores.com, 888-815-1902.