Golf & Travel show runs through Feb. 19

Golf courses and resorts in Northeast Ohio and surrounding states are showcasing their wares.

three hours of the show that runs through 4 p.m. Feb. 19.

Brad Poplyk, the head professional at Legacy Golf Links in Aberdeen, North Carolina, manned the booth for Village of Pinehurst Golf Association.

Poplyk is a former Willoughby resident and Lake Catholic High School graduate who enjoys coming to this show every year because he can mix the business of promoting golf in the Pinehurst area with the pleasure of visiting his mother, Jean Poplyk, his brother and three sisters who still live in Northeast Ohio.

“This is a place where you make connections with golf travelers and get them thinking about your destination,” Poplyk said. ”Once we get them to the Pinehurst area, we know they’ll love it there.”

Stay-and-play packages that offer lodging and golf are the primary selling tools for Poplyk and other representatives of golf destinations who are exhibitors at this show.

Golf courses and resorts in Northeast Ohio and surrounding states are showcasing their wares, too.

Many of the show’s attendees gravitate to vendors with displays of golf clubs, bags, shoes, balls and clothing items.

Other popular features of the show are a manufacturers demonstration range where attendees can try out clubs on an indoor practice range, a holein-one contest, long-putt challenge green and instruction area where attendees can sign up for free, 10-minute lessons from area teaching professionals associated with the PGA Northern Ohio Section.

“This show is popular because people are tired of winter by now and anxious to get a head start on the golf season,” said David Griffith, tournament director for Northern Ohio PGA.