As a history buff, Spain is a country that invokes for me strong images and emotions: El Cid, The Reconquista, Conquistadors, Miguel Cervantes and Don Quioxte, The Inquisition, Napoleon’s Peninsular War and De Goya (top left), The Spanish Civil War, Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali, Bullfighting, the Running of the Bulls.

Spain also invokes strong golfing images for me: Seve and Sergio and Miguel Angel Jimenez. The 1997 Ryder Cup at Valderama. Sun drenched fairways, reminiscent of the American Southwest, but with an old world flavor.

It was all brought back with the recent Volvo World Match Play Championships at Finca Cortesin. That was a terrific course, and surely one of the reasons that Spain is challenging for the title of golf capital of Europe. Spain is probably third on my list of places outside the US to play, after Scotland and Banff in Canada.

The fourth hole at Longaberger Golf Club in Nashport, Ohio. The course was Golfweek’s top ranked public course in Ohio in 2008 and 2009. It was designed by Arthur Hills and opened in 1999.

Loyal GolfBlogger Reader and Commenter Bkuehn has written a nice little piece about his Pebble Beach experience. It makes me curious what others think of the quintessential American course. Join the forums and add your comments here.

Watching the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open at the TPC Summerlin makes me think that a golf vacation to Las Vegas might not be such a bad thing. It’s amazing to me that we have the technology and money to turn vast desert expanses into oases of green for the express purpose of playing a game. Thanks to President Obama’s slamming Vegas vacations and the general state of the economy there are some tremendous deals out there. A colleague of mine and his wife flew to Vegas last weekend for less than I spent staying home and taking the boys to a dinner out and a movie. I’m not a gambler—graduate classes in statistics and probability have convinced me that using my money as firestarter is a better use than putting it down on a table game—but I do like the idea of visiting some of those amusement park hotels, such as the Venetian. And I’d naturally play a round or two.

I just got off the course here in Ann Arbor, and in the cool air it occurred to me—as it has many times before—that it would really nice to be able to take a golf vacation to Myrtle Beach or Orlando in the late fall. I’d still be on top of my game—avoiding the winter layoff awkwardness that would come with a February or March date—and the peak vacation crowds would be much diminished. The average temperature in October in Orlando is 85—a much more pleasant prospect than the 95+ I played in on my June trip there. Myrtle Beach in October is an even more reasonable 77.

But I get just three personal vacation days each year, and my nice trip would end up being a frenetic dash.

I’ve considered some other locations. A trip to Kentucky might be nice—perhaps the Bright Leaf Golf Resort about which I’ve heard good things. Or perhaps the French Lick Courses in Indiana. I’d love to play that Donald Ross there.

And of course, I could always just go Up North to, say, the Treetops Resort, and see some of the most spectacular fall colors anywhere.

I’m thinking about it.

Seriously.