GOLFING THE INTRACOASTAL WATERWAY
        Imagine being on a small cruise ship gliding along the Intracoastal Waterway
between Ft. Lauderdale and Savannah, then getting off every day  with your own
golf clubs to play some of the most well-known courses in the country. That's
the way it is on the Clipper golf cruises.
        We boarded at Ft. Lauderdale and passed waterfront homes, yachts, shrimp
boats and fishermen as the ship zigzaged through salt marshes, canals, and
wilderness areas, later past villages and cities, drawbridges opening as we
went.
        Golfers first got into the swing of things at PGA National at West Palm
Beach. The next day in Cocoa Beach they were bussed to Walt Disney World Golf
Resort, and had a choice of playing on the Palm Course or the Magnolia Course,
or at the Grand Cypress Resort. Your bag is ready on the cart when you arrive
at tee time, all arranged by your supercaddy who has driven by van to get them
there while you lounged on the ship enjoying the view.
        In the next port -- St. Augustine -- golfers played the Ponte Vedra Ocean
Course, about 30 minutes away, and non-golfers took a tour by tram of old St.
Augustine, the oldest city in the United States, with streets of ballast rock,
restored buildings, old houses and museums. The Clipper docks at the city
yacht pier, at the same inlet where Ponce de Leon landed in his search for the
Fountain of Youth and Don Pedro Menendez de Aviles landed his mission for King
Phillip I of Spain to start the settlement in 1565.
        At St. Simons Island, Georgia, golfers played at Sea Palms, or at St. Simons
Island Club. For non-golfers there was a bus tour of St. Simons with its
historic lighthouse and museum, a fort and beautiful homes on nearby Sea
Island. Slave cabins still stand, as well as massive live oaks and foot-thick
grapevines growing on land that once was cotton plantations.
        At Savannah the ship docks at the waterfront, where streets are paved with
ballast stones and bricks from Savannah River mud. A bus tour of the city
features homes being renovated in one of the largest historical restoration
projects in the nation.
        For the veteran traveler, besides the golf theme, the appeal was the casual
atmosphere. A man need never wear a tie.
                -- Shirley Linde, Tierra Verde, Florida