Nine spectacular ways to add the country’s most enviable greens to your next getaway
As travel companions go, you can’t ask for a more agreeable, well-connected group than your golf clubs. This inseparable group of can inspire visits to myriad destinations—especially if you appreciate the many forms a golf trip can take. From the golf-till-you-drop “mancation” to the romantic round by the sea, golf getaways link us to the game, to each other and to ourselves. Resident greeniac Jon Rizzi gives us his top nine picks in the States and beyond.
1 The Buddy TripBANDON DUNES GOLF RESORT - Bandon, Oregon
The Play: The fickle winds can redirect shots into the ocean and the fairways can pinball drives into fescue thicker than porridge. Yet there’s no closer approximation to Scotland in North America than this troika of walking-only courses on the Southern Oregon Coast. Playing 36 holes a day on any combination of Pacific Dunes, Bandon Dunes and Bandon Trails unites friends who appreciate the game in its purest form. Afterwards, settle bets in McKee’s Pub, where you can wash down a plate of grandma’s meatloaf with pitchers of Widmer Hefeweizen. A fourth course, Old Macdonald, will join the Bandon rota next year.
The Stay: Bandon knows its clientele. Its Grove Cottages cater to foursomes, with a quartet of private bedrooms leading to a huge parlor, patio and fireplace. The compound boasts other equally well-appointed accommodations, including those in The Lodge—where The Gallery Restaurant offers haute Pacific Northwest cuisine and a worldly wine list.
The Way: A four- to five-hour drive from Portland International Airport. www.bandondunes.com
2 Family FunAMELIA ISLAND PLANTATION - Amelia Island, Florida
The Play: As their names suggest, each of Amelia Island’s four highly regarded 18-hole courses—Ocean Links, Oak Marsh, Amelia River and Long Point—embraces different elements of the natural beauty on this barrier island northeast of Jacksonville. Of the four, the Amelia River layout, with its wider fairways and strategic spread of teeing areas, best accommodates different levels of players, making it a good place for a family to spend a few hours. Or the group can bike, fish, sail, swim or just lay on the beach. Parents heading to the spa or stores can sign up children 10 and under for the resort’s award-winning Kids’ Camp Amelia; the resort also offers a bevy of age-appropriate programs for teens.
The Stay: The 249-room Amelia Inn & Beach Club works well for families with small children. Dozens of villa clusters dot the 1,350-acre property, creating sumptuous enclaves of privacy—all with views of the golf courses, ocean or woodlands. The Verandah, one of the resort’s six dining facilities, accommodates both the filet mignon and chicken-finger crowds.
The Way: Amelia Island Plantation is a three-hour drive from Orlando International Airport, and 45 minutes from Jacksonville. www.aipfl.com
3 Romantic RoundsCABO DEL SOL BEACH & GOLF RESORT - Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
The Play: Golf may not rank with, say, skinny-dipping, on most couples’ lists of romantic activities, but the courses at this luxurious tropical resort stir players of every level—including golf virgins. The Ocean Course (Jack Nicklaus) and Desert Course (Tom Weiskopf) combine the Baja Peninsula’s strikingly varied geography to undeniably dramatic effect. Running along the shoreline, the three finishing holes on the Nicklaus course have killed many a round; fortunately, sunset over the Pacific softens the sting.
The Stay: Sequestered amid palm trees and flowering gardens, the resort’s lavishly appointed private villas with their own entrances and pools are the way to go. In addition to golf, the area is renowned for sport-fishing, scuba diving, sea kayaking and other aquatic activities. The area’s stores and restaurants (as well as its wild nightlife, if you’re interested) are just an air-conditioned car ride away. Ask your personal concierge to make the arrangements.
The Way: Cabo Del Sol is a 30–40 minute drive from Cabo San Lucas Airport. www.cabodelsolmexico.com
4 High TeeTHE BROADMOOR RESORT - Colorado Springs, Colorado
The Play: You can lick your chops about hitting a golf ball at 6,000 feet above sea level, but you still have to chip and putt—and that’s where the courses at this grande dame of Rocky Mountain resorts show their teeth. Located adjacent to the magnificent pink hotel, the Donald Ross-designed East course has vexed professionals and amateurs with its illegible greens since 1917, and Robert Trent Jones’ West layout followed suit more than 40 years later. Jack Nicklaus, who won the 1959 U.S. Amateur here, designed The Broadmoor’s Mountain course in 2006.
The Stay: After recently investing untold millions in upgrading its North Tower, the five-star, five-diamond European-style resort is debuting luxury cottages along the 17th and 18th fairways of the East course. The hotel’s Penrose Room specializes in fine dining, while Charles Court, Tavern and Summit provide eclectic contemporary cuisine. A world-renowned spa completes the experience.
The Way: The Broadmoor is 20 minutes from Colorado Springs Airport and 90 minutes from Denver International Airport. www.broadmoor.com
5 The PilgrimagePEBBLE BEACH RESORT - Pebble Beach, California
The Play: With the possible exception of Augusta National, no golf course has captivated the popular imagination like Pebble Beach Golf Links. And, unlike the home of The Masters, the annual site of the AT&T Celebrity Pro-Am is open for public play—as long as you’re staying at one of the Pebble Beach Company’s three resorts. A round of golf alone can reach as high as $495 a person on the famed Links Course (it’s only $330 on its estimable sisters, Spyglass Hill and Spanish Bay). But you’ll be walking in the footsteps of such greats as Bobby Jones, Jack Nicklaus, Bing Crosby and Bill Murray. Savor the view on the fabled 7th, site of Tom Kite’s famous pitch in the 1982 U.S. Open. Try Watson’s Chip on 17.
The Stay: Luxury abounds at Pebble Beach. The Lodge and Inn at Spanish Bay are exquisite, while the Casa Palermo on the first and second fairways of the Links Course exudes a private estate ambience. Pebble boasts an over-the-top spa and a dozen restaurants, though it’s almost sacrilege to skip your post-round meal of Del Monte Artichoke Soup and a juicy burger in The Lodge’s famous Tap Room.
The Way: Pebble Beach is 75 minutes from San Jose Airport and 2 hours from San Francisco International Airport. www.pebblebeach.com
6 The AcademyREYNOLDS PLANTATION - Greensboro, Georgia
The Play: Situated on 10,000 acres equidistant from Augusta and Atlanta, Reynolds Plantation comprises five stellar courses, an enormous boat-filled lake and a Ritz-Carlton Hotel. It has also devoted 16 acres to the Reynolds Golf Academy, run by Charlie King—a Golf Channel host whose popular “Red Zone School” and “Essentials of Golf Schools” have helped earn him national recognition as a Top 100 instructor. In addition to King’s high-tech equipment, Reynolds houses a TaylorMade Performance Lab that fits you for clubs using cutting-edge, 3-D motion capture technology.
The Stay: The stately Ritz-Carlton Lodge offers 251 sumptuous guest rooms, plus a 26,000-square-foot spa. More than 80 miles of shoreline and walking trails through rolling, old-growth forest weave through the property. Water-ski, swim and heed the mantra of the company that developed it: Linger Longer.
The Way: Reynolds Plantation is a 75-minute drive from Atlanta-Hartsfield Airport. www.reynoldsplantation.com
7 The AdventureFOUR SEASONS GOLF CLUB COSTA RICA - Guanacaste, Costa Rica
The Play: Long known as an ecotourist epicenter, Costa Rica has quietly developed a golf heritage worthy of its lush, environmentally diverse land. The newest addition, an Arnold Palmer-designed course set high on the bluffs of the northwestern Papagayo Peninsula, plunges dramatically through stands of huge trees, which part to reveal sweeping views of the Pacific Ocean from 14 holes. Exotic birds make for a vocal gallery, and the clubhouse evokes the Sydney Opera House.
The Stay: Pura vida, the Costa Rican salute to the good life, defines this Four Seasons experience. Indigenous woods and stones appoint the hotel’s 145 balconied guest rooms and suites. Swim in one of three pools, kayak in the calm waters of the gulf, ride a zipline or hike through the local rainforest—alive with waterfalls, hot springs and tropical lagoons.
The Way: Peninsula Papagayo is a five-hour drive from Costa Rica’s capital city of San José. www.fourseasons.com/costarica
8 The Sweet LifeTHE HOTEL HERSHEY AND HERSHEY LODGE - Hershey, Pennsylvania
The Play: Like everything at the chocolate-flavored resort, Hershey provides diverse golf experiences that appeal for the entire family. For adults into golf history, there’s the Hershey Country Club; the original layout, now known as the West Course, hosted the 1940 PGA Championship and had the immortal Ben Hogan as its club professional for ten years. The 40-year-old East Course is a tough, bunker-laced challenge designed by George Fazio. The visually stunning Hershey Links was designed by the female-friendly team of Hurdzan/Fry, while the nine-hole Spring Creek Golf Course remains the first course in the nation dedicated to junior players.
The Stay: Hershey is home to Chocolate World, Hersheypark, Zoo America and much more. The grand hotel combines Gilded Age glamour with modern surprises like a full menu of chocolate spa treatments—including cocoa massage and a chocolate fondue wrap. NOTE: Only guests of the Hershey Hotel and Hershey Lodge can get on the Country Club’s courses.
The Way: Hershey is a two-hour drive from Philadelphia International Airport and slightly longer from Ronald Reagan National Airport. www.hersheygolfcollection.com
9 Desert SolitaireBORREGO SPRINGS RESORT - Borrego Springs, California
The Play: More down-to-earth than Palm Springs or Indian Wells to the north and far less crowded than San Diego to the west, unheralded Borrego Springs delivers 27 holes of scenic, challenging golf. Surrounded by mature date palms, desert blooms and views of the Santa Rosa Mountains, the Cary Bickler-designed nines unfurl around five lakes and menacing bunkers.
The Stay: Low-key luxury is the mantra at this 100-room retreat near the 600,000-acre Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. Six tennis courts, horseback riding trails and two heated swimming pools round out the activities. Enjoy southwestern favorites amid the area’s famed pink grapefruit trees on the patio at The Arches restaurant, then stroll into artsy Borrego Springs; this home-grown hamlet is home to numerous art galleries as well as a performing arts center.
The Way: Borrego Springs is a two-hour drive from San Diego. www.borregospringsresort.com
