Between Adidas, Nike, Tommy Hilfiger, Footjoy, Callaway and TaylorMade, there’s a number of options to choose from whether you’re looking for golf shirts, shoes, bags or balls.

At Genoa Lakes the pro shop is open daily while the Genoa Resort shop will open in the spring. Both shops carry top name brands in men’s and women’s golf equipment: gloves, balls, shoes and apparel: shirts, pants, skirts and hats.

Sunridge Golf Club in Carson City not only offers deals on clubs, but they also fit them for you too. Pros  will help meet your needs by fitting and adjusting for swing speed, height, shape & tempo as well as arm length and hand size. Call (775) 267-4448 for rates.

Empire Ranch Pro Shop

Silver Oak Golf and Event Center not only has a pro shop but a virtual one as well. You can shop online for the latest golf accessories or buy gift certificates here.

Ditto for the pro shop at Eagle Valley Golf in Carson City. They offer top of the line golf clubs, balls, shoes, hats and accessories. Plus you can pay for your memberships or sign up for lessons online through the Web store.

Offering a full selection of golf apparel and equipment, the Carson Valley Golf Club pro shop is open, winter hours, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Gift cards and season passes are available at the pro shop or by calling (775) 265-3181.

Be sure to check out the clubhouse at Dayton Valley Golf Club. This 15,000 square foot facility features a large bar and grill area, outdoor patio (weather permitting), special banquet rooms, full service golf shop, locker rooms, lobby and offices.

Empire Ranch Golf Course in Carson City features a well-stocked pro shop. Swing by before or after your next round to find that perfect item of golf equipment or apparel to complement your game. Gift cards are good for the pro shop, restaurant or the online shop.

What piece of golf wear, equipment or accessories are you loving in 2012?

New at Carson Valley Golf Course this winter are complimentary golf cart enclosures. The covers brace golfers from the wind and cold air, while protecting against rain and snow as riders glides their carts down the fairways. They are complimentary with regular green fees or at a cost of $3 per golfer.

Enclosed Cart @ Carson Valley Golf Course

With eight of the Divine 9 courses running through the winter (tee times vary, call head for hours of operation), weather permitting, there’s plenty of reasons not to let your game freeze up just because it’s cold outside. Here are some tips from The Weather Channel and Golf Magazine to take some of the chill out of your winter play:

• An unrestricted swing is key to playing well, but how do you do it without having to strip down to your short shirt sleeves, numbing yourself to the elements? Thin layers of clothes instead of bulky clothing will let you swing freely. A combination of long underwear, a turtleneck, a thin sweater and an outer shell will keep you warm without sacrificing mobility.
• Have you ever been so cold that when you hit a drive your numb hands felt the direct impact of club and ball? Golfers know the feeling and it isn’t a pleasant one. The most important body parts to keep warm are your hands and head. Wearing mittens or gloves (cover your non-gloved hand, too) between shots will keep your fingers from stiffening. And since body heat escapes through your head Grandma was right about that wool hat you have tucked away at home. Bring it with you and keep it in your bag. It’ll help keep your whole body warm.
  

  Pants, gloves and layers will help keep you warm.

• If you want to play and there’s no one else out on the course as committed to winter golf as you are, use the time wisely and warm up before teeing up. In cold weather, you’re more prone to injury so give yourself plenty of range and practice green time before your round.
• When you arrive at the course, get your blood pumping by walking briskly and making fast circles with your arms extended from your sides. Then do some light stretching before starting your warm-up.
• Would you tee up an ice cube straight out of the freezer? Of course not. Well, your golf balls shouldn’t be treated like a bag frozen brussels sprouts ready for the microwave oven or a stovetop saucepan. Colder temperatures reduce the distance a golf ball will fly, but it takes about 10 hours of exposure for a ball’s performance to be affected significantly. The night before you tee it up, keep your golf balls indoors, not in your car or the garage. They’ll retain their usual zip throughout the next day’s round.

How do you stay warm while golfing in cooler climates?

Put down the clubs and bring your appetite to Antoci’s at The Golf Club Genoa Lakes, Dec. 16 and Dec. 28. Antoci’s Italian Restaurant will re-open for these two nights. Chef Brandon Kealoha will bring back some old favorites and unveil some new delicacies. Reservation are required and we will seat between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. Call or email Marie Stokes at (775) 782-6645 maries@genoalakes.com. Space is limited so reserve early.

Ring in the new year with fine dining and party favors on New Year’s Eve at Genoa Lakes. Cocktails and appetizers begin at 6 p.m. inside Antoci’s and will move into the banquet room for a full dining experience featuring theme room stations of American, Italian and French food served from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. A decadent desert display tops off the evening, with a 9 p.m. ringing in of the new year. The cost is $60 per person (Plus tax and gratuity). Includes Champagne toast, party favors, a 9 p.m. balloon drop and dancing until 10 p.m. Reservations required (775) 782-6645 or maries@genoalakes.com.

Courses highlight 2012 memberships and season passes

Carson Valley Golf Course is wishing golfers a happy holidays by offering it valued-added 2012 season pass, which goes on sale Dec. 15. Family passes start at $999, single passes, $900 and couple passes at $1,550. Additional costs apply when adding golf cart. Click here for details.

Eagle Valley East and Eagle Valley West golf courses in Carson City have 2012 membership deals on both courses. Early bird, 2012 gold, silver and bronze memberships as well as punch card rates are available. Click here for details.

Sunridge Golf Club in Carson City offers its 2012 annual and monthly membership packages. Buy your 2012 membership before December 31 and receive 20 percent off. For the annual package and here for the monthly package click here.

Winter specials

Winter specials continue at Silver Oak Golf and Event Center. Winter rates start at $25 per round which includes a cart. Sign up for eSpecials run exclusively through the Silver Oak website. Sign up here. Once again Silver Oak is holding its holiday food drive. Bring 3 or more cans of food or non-perishable food items and get a free bucket of driving range golf balls. Bring 5 or more and get a bucket of balls, a hot dog and a soft drink. All food donations will be sent to Friends in Service Helping Need (FISH).

Dayton Valley Golf Club in Dayton continues to offer $30 rounds with cart seven days a week.

Daily golf specials continue at Empire Ranch Golf Course through December into the new year. To make a reservation or for more information click here. Empire Ranch features three 9-hole courses: The Comstock, River and Sierra.

Don’t forget

A limited supply of 2012 “Ticket to Paradise” passes are available at a cost of $289, which amounts to nearly 50 percent off the retail price to play. This is nine rounds of golf at nine courses, a total of 171 holes, 70,000 yards, at a cost that is less than $33 a round. The “Ticket to Paradise” is transferable, making it a flexible gift idea that’s valid throughout 2012 for holidays, birthdays, business or self-indulgence. Play anytime from noon on Sunday through Thursday, excluding holidays, with scheduled tee times available up to 72 hours in advance.

The Divine 9’s lodging partners include Carson Valley Inn , Best Western Carson Station, Hampton Inn & Suites, The Plaza Hotel, Hardman House, Gold Dust West, Carson Nugget, Holiday Inn Express Carson City & Minden and Courtyard by Marriott – and all feature golf packages for individuals and groups. To buy your Ticket to Paradise click here.

The Divine 9, nine courses in the Carson City/Carson Valley area, offers a limited supply of 2012 “Ticket to Paradise” passes at a cost of $289, which amounts to nearly 50 percent off the retail price to play. This is nine rounds of golf at nine courses, a total of 171 holes, 70,000 yards, at a cost that is less than $33 a round.

Here’s how it works: The “Ticket” includes 18 holes of golf, a cart and range balls at each of the Divine 9 courses: Carson Valley, Dayton Valley, Eagle Valley East, Eagle Valley West, Empire Ranch, Genoa Lakes – Lakes and Resort Courses, Silver Oak and Sunridge Golf Club.  The time to act is now because with only 300 of the tickets available, they do sell out early.

The “Ticket to Paradise” is transferable, making it a flexible gift idea that’s valid throughout 2012 for holidays, birthdays, business or self-indulgence. Play any time from noon on Sunday through Thursday, excluding holidays, with scheduled tee times available up to 72 hours in advance.

The Divine 9’s lodging partners include Carson Valley Inn, Best Western Carson Station, Hampton Inn & Suites, The Plaza Hotel, Hardman House, Gold Dust West, Carson Nugget, Holiday Inn Express, Carson City and Minden Courtyard by Marriott – and all feature golf packages for individuals and groups.

Tickets are also available at the Carson City Convention and Visitors Bureau, 1900 S. Carson St. in Carson City, Nev., (775)687-7410 or (800) NEVADA-1; at the Carson Valley Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Authority, 1477 U.S. Highway 395, Suite A, Gardnerville, Nev., (800) 727-7677 or (775) 782-8144.

While it will be closed on Thursday, Genoa Lakes Golf Club will open Friday for some great shopping deals on golf accessories, not to mention plenty of golf to play. The pro shop will have a Black Friday merchandise sale through Sunday. All golf bags are on sale and all merchandise is 35 percent off. Looking for a good Christmas stocking stuffer? Try personalized Titleist golf balls. If you pay for the golf balls Genoa Lakes will personalize them for you for free. Meanwhile go to their website for the latest deals on tee-times, including coupons from the site that can be printed and turned into the pro shop. While the Lakes Course is open, the Genoa Resort Course is closed for the season.

At Empire Ranch enjoy as many rounds of golf as you can on Black Friday weekend. Just register at here and print out a coupon to play Empire Ranch Golf Course on Black Friday Weekend for $40. The offer requires registration through the website. If you’re already registered, then login to their eSpecials page to print the coupon.

Carson Valley Golf Course is wishing golfers a Happy Thanksgiving weekend by offering up its family time specials throughout the weekend. The cost is $30 for 18 with a cart. The course is open seven days a week, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and open until 2 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day.

Other courses are highlighting their fall season rates:

— Sunridge Golf Club in Carson City has a 50 percent coupon special on its website where you can buy a round of golf and get a second round for $50 percent off. It amounts $22.50 each for two players. Go to the website here and click on the coupon for the special.

— Dayton Valley Golf Club in Dayton is offering $30 rounds with a cart seven days a week.

— Eagle Valley East and Eagle Valley West golf courses in Carson City have deals on both courses, the cost is $30 a round with cart.

— Silver Oak Golf and Event Center in Carson City is offering its winter rates at $25 per round which includes a cart.

Candy Cane Lane, a custom outdoor drive-thru holiday display at the Carson Valley Inn will be lit up for nightly viewing starting Thanksgiving evening, November 24.  Highlighted by thousands of seasonal lights, Candy Cane Lane is a variety of scenes with people and traditional characters and images getting ready for Christmas – a visual salute to the festive holiday season.  To view Candy Cane Lane, pull into the Carson Valley Inn parking lot at the RV Resort Entrance – between the Carson Valley Market and the Inn’s electronic sign. The lighted arches mark the way!

According to Carson Valley Inn General Manager Steve Chappell, “Candy Cane Lane was very popular last year and we’ve improved the experience for this year with a new sound system for the Christmas music and new moving parts on some of the displays.  We have also added many more lights and decorations to our new front casino entrance to further enhance the Carson Valley’s Christmas spirit. We plan to continue making more improvements each year.”

Candy Cane Lane adds to the visual holiday celebration done in the Carson Valley each year by the Town of Gardnerville’s light display in Heritage Park and the Town of Minden’s dynamic seasonal illumination of the Gazebo in Minden Park and along Esmeralda Street.  Combined with Candy Cane Lane and some spectacularly lighted residential properties throughout the Valley, these visual holiday displays provide a reason to make the short drive from the Reno, Tahoe or Carson City areas.

The Carson Valley Inn is located on US Highway 395 in Minden, NV near the start of State Highway 88, twenty minutes from Lake Tahoe’s south shore and 45 minutes south of Reno.  The property includes a recently-remodeled casino, 152-room hotel, 74-room motor lodge, 59-site RV Park and a convenience store with Shell gas and diesel fuel.  There are also three dining facilities including CV Steak, the Inn’s Nevada-style steakhouse featuring steaks, seafood, pasta dishes and more.

Candy Cane Lane at a Glance:

What:  Candy Cane Lane – A Christmas Season Outdoor Holiday Display

Where: Carson Valley Inn Parking Lot on US Highway 395 in Minden, NV

When: Dusk nightly from November 24 through December, 2011

Cost: Free!

Tip from Santa: Before Candy Cane Lane, check out the lights in Heritage Park and Minden Park (starting December 2).  After you enjoy Candy Cane Lane, stop in the Carson Valley Inn for dinner in Katie’s or CV Steak, or some coffee or hot chocolate in Job’s Perk.

The ace was a first for the Divine 9 media tour, a sun-up to sun-down round of golf and a 9-course primer of challenging layouts coupled with regional history and colorful stories. Twelve members of the press were in on the game, loading up on a shuttle bus packed with golf bags and coolers stacked with beverages. Sunridgewas the third stop for the golf outing. And was it ever memorable.

Don Marchand and his ACE ball.

Known for its water steep sloping greens and abundant water hazards, the ace was the 10th recorded for the 160-yard hole no. 4, and the third one for the hole this season. Sunridge reports there have been 15 aces at the course this year, with at least 100 recorded since the course opened.

Opened since 1998, Sunridge is one of several newer courses in the Carson Valley. The course features lots of topography with holes, many surrounded by water, being cut right into the desert hillside. Its open year-round, weather permitting and winter rates now in place at a mere $30 a round. Located at 1000 Long Drive in Carson City. Call (775) 267-4448.

Also a first this year was a writing contest sponsored by Golfchannel.com. Mike Moore of Houston, Texas, won a trip to Northern Nevada and a paid writing assignment for GolfChannel.com to cover the media tour.  The 64-year-old retired investment banker a won a $500 writing award, a story to be published on GolfChannel.com, lodging for two nights at Gold Dust West Hotel/Casino, and a two-night recovery stay at the Carson Valley Inn in Minden, Nev. where he explored the area’s activities, history, dining and played a tradional18-round at Genoa Lake Course.

The Divine Nine consists of an array of high desert golf courses in Carson City and Carson Valley that nestle the Sierra Nevada range: Carson Valley Golf Course, Dayton Valley Golf Club, Eagle Valley East, Eagle Valley West, Empire Ranch Golf, Genoa Lakes: Resort and Lakes Courses, Silver Oak Golf Course and Sunridge Golf Club.

The Divine 9 lodging partners include Carson Valley Inn, Best Western Carson Station, Hampton Inn & Suites, The Plaza Hotel,  Gold Dust West, Carson Nugget, Holiday Inn and Courtyard by Marriott – all feature golf packages for individuals and groups. Information on deals, packages and other Carson City/Carson Valley activities are available at: www.DivineNine.com. Each winter, The Divine 9 offers its “Ticket to Paradise,” plan where golfers can play on all nine properties for just $289, a nearly 50 percent savings and considered one of the most coveted golf deals around.

What’s the best tip  you received when you were just starting out?

Care to sample the life of a golf travel writer? Glamour, fun, laughs. GolfChannel.com and The Divine 9, a co-op of nine courses in the Carson City/Carson Valley area, are offering a $500 paid assignment for national publication and a Wild West trip to an aspiring golf correspondent.

If you’re a golfer who likes to write, an amateur travel writer looking for an offbeat gig, or a little of both who can tell a story and keep them reading, take a swing at the big time and reach over 380,000 readers, 50,000 Facebook fans and 30,000 Twitter followers on one of the country’s leading golf media outlets.

Submit a 250 – 500 word story on your favorite golf trip by Sept. 23, 2011 and you could be on your way to Nevada’s capital, Carson City, October 3-7, 2011, for one of the country’s most unusual writing assignments. It’s The Divine 9 Road Trip where golf scribes from around the country are shuttled with 15 fellow writers who play 2 holes at 9 different courses in 11 hours.

Whether it was the perfect buddy trip, girl’s getaway, top courses, memorable locals, funniest trip – demonstrate your first-person style and you could be aboard the shuttle bus, adjacent to the ice chest, wheeling your way around the courses. A panel of media judges from GolfChannel.com will determine the winner based on writing ability, storytelling and interest.

The grand prize includes a $500 writing fee, a published story on GolfChannel.com, round trip air into Reno-Tahoe International, rental car, lodging for three nights at Gold Dust West Hotel/Casino, welcome reception, awards dinner, rolling lunch, numerous hydration opportunities, plus memories for a lifetime. There’s an additional 2-night recovery stay at the Carson Valley Inn in Minden, Nev. to explore the area’s activities, history, dining and two 18-rounds rounds at Divine 9-member courses.

The Divine Nine consists of an array of high desert courses in Carson City and Carson Valley that nestle the Sierra Nevada range: Carson Valley, Dayton Valley, Eagle Valley East, Eagle Valley West, Empire Ranch, Genoa Lakes: Resort and Lakes Courses, Silver Oak and Sunridge.

Lodging Partners include Best Western Carson Station, Carson Nugget, Carson Valley Inn, Courtyard by Marriott, David Walley’s Resort, Gold Dust West, Hampton Inn & Suites, Hardman House, Holiday Inn Express: Carson City & Minden, and The Plaza Hotel. To enter, click here. To visit the travel section of GolfChannel.com.