Courses: Hershey Country Club East and West, Hershey Links, Spring Creek (9 holes)

      Where:

1000 East Derry Road, Hershey, Pa., 17033

      Par, yardages: East, 72, 5,645 to 7,115; West, 73, 5,276 to 6,860; Links, 72, 5,335 to 7,009; Spring Creek, 1,701 to 2,125

      Greens fees: See story for information on stay-and-play packages

      Phone: 1-717-533-2360; 1-800-437-7439

      Website: www.hersheygolfcollection.com

      A couple of months ago, I was invited to Hershey, Pa., aka "The Sweetest Place on Earth,'' to play the Hershey Country Club East Course as part of a media preview for the PGA Professional National Championship.

      It was my first visit to Hershey, home of the internationally famous chocolate company, but it will not be the last.

      I made the trip with good friend George Sweda, the retired golf writer from the Plain Dealer. George, a Concord Township resident, is a member of several golf Halls of Fame. George may not know everybody in the golf world, but there aren't many places in the continental U.S. where George doesn't know someone.

      With the media event in Hershey as a "tent pole,'' we turned the trip into a four-day tour of the Hershey-Harrisburg-Lancaster area. Gettysburg and its many historical attractions are in the same area, but we didn't have time to visit there.  We will next time, I assure you.

      It's an easy drive from Northeast Ohio to Hershey-Harrisburg-Lancaster. Depending on your desired pace and how many times you elect to stop, it will take about six to seven hours to complete the drive through some pretty Pennsylvania countryside.

      The Hershey Golf Collection is part of the Hershey tourist nexus that also features the Hersheypark amusement park, Hotel Hershey and Hershey Lodge.

      Although the walk-on greens fees at the Hershey Golf Collection's three 18-hole courses are on the high side, there are stay-and-play packages that bring the cost into the realm of affordable. Go to www.hersheygolfcollection.com and check out the packages.

      A golf vacation here is definitely a splurge, but the place has so much to offer it's worth the expense.