Our last full day in Las Vegas started with a breakfast presentation from Papillon , the largest helicopter company in the area. From various locations they fly (fixed wing and helicopter) 3,500 tourists a day to the canyon! Interestingly their man told us 'Las Vegas is the barometer of the US economy being the principal example of discretionary spend'.

Day Two started with a visit to the Wynn golf course right next to the hotel in the centre of 'town' - the only 'town' course. Built on 85 acres, with huge amounts spent on it recently (800,000 cubic yards of earth moved to create serious undulations), the course looked to be of a very high standard and was excellently maintained. The green fee is $ 500, including a cart, the course all part of the luxurious surroundings for the two hotels.

Its been more than a decade since my last visit to Las Vegas and in that time the World has seen its ups and its downs. Las Vegas is a 'young city', a place now known across the Globe through featuring in The Godfather movies and even more known now from CSI. It is a place to gamble, it is the entertainment capital of the World, and after this trip, I can thoroughly recommend it as a place to 'golf' and explore the natural beauty of its surroundings.

With the dollar to pound exchange rate so much in the Uk's favour, there has never been a better time to visit the US. Las Vegas should be top of your list if you want a perfect climate, lots of things to do (apart from gambling)- and for not just golfers. There is a huge range of courses to play in the region and this feature is all about Lake Las Vegas Resort. The resort continues to expand its championship golf offerings in unrivaled natural settings after already establishing its position as a premier golf destination.

The mere sound of the name conjours up images of Indians, tepees, forests, streams and lakes, and the reality is that it would be well justified, for the Big Canoe is perched on the edge of the Cherokee National Park, in the Appalachian Mountains in Georgia. The site contains relics of the native Indian way of life, very rare wedding cairns have been found, and they have been correctly identified as being hundreds of years old.

A visit to the southern states of the USA will, for many golfers, mean a trip to Myrtle Beach, but there are options that will be breathtaking for the keen student of golf course architecture, in particular the work of the father of American golf course design, Donald Ross. Georgia, North and South Carolina are home to several of his classic designs from the early part of the twentieth century. Ross emigrated to America from his home in Dornock, after working with Old Tom Morris.

Canmore, Aleberta, Canada - Thanks to a new program launched this year at Canmore's Silvertip Golf Resort, golfers can get invaluable images of their golf swing and even compare how their swing stands up to Silvertip's touring professional Stephen Ames.