How do you move beyond the chatter and noise inside your head during a round of golf? Cameron McCormick gives you three keys to get out of your own way in Hole 8 of Breaking Par.
Rory McIlroy and his coach Michael Bannon teach the setup and swing keys for hitting shots of various lies and distances out of the greenside bunker. Martin Hall hosts.
Rory McIlroy and his coach Michael Bannon teach the transition and downswing keys that lead to making solid contact on a variety of shots. Martin Hall hosts.
If you travel just North of Bandon Dunes you will reach the mystical land of the Sheep Ranch. Matt Ginella takes you on an exclusive look with Phil Friedmann, co-owner of Sheep Ranch.
The Open champions take center stage on this edition of Best Lessons Ever. Learn from the biggest names in The Open history including Greg Norman, Nick Faldo, Gary Player, and Tom Watson.
The Open champions take center stage on this edition of Best Lessons Ever. Learn from the biggest names in The Open history including Greg Norman, Nick Faldo, Gary Player, and Tom Watson.
When you get a bad lie, you need to change your setup. Martin shows you how to approach hitting your ball when it's in a divot, which requires you to make the divot even bigger!
Where you tee the ball matters. Every golfer has tendencies when they strike the ball, so depending on whether you usually fade or draw, Martin offers tips on where you should place it in the tee box.
Martin Hall demonstrates the effects of the ball being above your feet with a lofted club. What changes do you need to make to hit it close from a lie where the ball is above your feet?
Feherty travels to Houston, Texas, to meet 2-time major champion Jackie Burke, Jr. At 94-years-old, Mr. Burke gives Feherty the lay of the land and even a lesson at Champions Golf Club.
Forest Point Resort and Golf Course is a resort for all seasons on beautiful Lower Eau Claire Lake in the Barnes/Gordon area. It offers six cabins, five of which are modern log cabins that are well furnished with kitchens, bathrooms and carpeting (bringing your own towels is required). Mid-June through August rentals are by the week only, Saturday…
Lake Lawn Resort is set upon 250 wooded acres on the shores of Delavan Lake in the Lake Geneva vacation region of Wisconsin. Revived by new owners after a brief closure in 2011, the historic property has been entertaining guests for more than 130 years. Its 271 rooms offer either a patio or balcony to bring the outdoors to guests. Resort amenities…
The Sonesta Bee Cave is located 20 minutes west off Austin off Highway 71 in the Hill Country Galleria, home to a collection of shops, bars and restaurants. There is no golf course onsite but there is shuttle service to the nearby Lakeway golf courses, including public Falconhead Golf Club, and the hotel does have some limited access to the…
The Inn at HawksHead is a restored Old English Tudor Mansion with nine rooms for golfers. Guests also receive complimentary continental breakfast and discounted golf rates including carts, range use and club storage. In-room massage, fishing charters, beach rentals are also available. The only restaurant is at the course clubhouse. Arthur Hills…
Chateau Elan Winery & Resort is a golf resort located in the North Georgia mountains to the northeast of the Atlanta metro area in Braselton. This 3,500-acre estate is home to a nearly 300-room and suite resort (with a collection of villas as well), winery and four golf courses (one of which is accessible to members only). In addition to two…
Located in the Vail Valley, Beaver Creek Resort is a major ski resort area on Colorado's I-70 corridor, just west of the Vail area. There are three resort villages at each basecamp, and five signature properties: The Pines Lodge and The Osprey at Beaver Creek, both RockResorts, The Elkhorn Lodge, St. James Place and Trapper's Cabin. Guests can…
The Retreat, Links and Spa at Silvies Valley Ranch is among the most unique golf vacations in the world. It's certainly the largest, set on a 140,000-acre ranch in eastern Oregon. Why make the trek? It's home to a unique, reversible golf course design by Dan Hixson and a plethora of ranch amenities and activities to enjoy. There are only 34 guest…
Crystal Springs Resort is a 4,000-acre playground located only an hour across the New Jersey state line from New York City. It is one of the country’s largest golf resorts with six courses - Ballyowen, Black Bear, Cascades, Crystal Springs, Minerals and Wild Turkey – and three driving ranges. The Grand Cascades Lodge houses 220 guest rooms with an…
Tetherow Resort opened in 2008 in Bend, Oregon, and is one of the area's signature resort properties. This residential community and members club has a 50-room lodge as well as cabin rentals up to five bedrooms large onsite. The golf course was designed by David McLay Kidd and features rugged bunkering, large greens and undulating holes. It has…
Running Y Ranch Resort is located in Klamath Falls, Oregon on a 3,600-acre ranch at the foothills of the Cascade Mountain range in southern Oregon. Accommodations include an 82-room lodge, custom homes and chalets for larger groups, up to a 10-bedroom luxury home. The 18-hole golf course was designed by Arnold Palmer and has made the Golfers…
Reynolds Lake Oconee is a residential and resort community in Georgia about halfway between Augusta and Atlanta. The 12,000-acre development hugs Lake Oconee and provides 374 miles of shoreline and 21 miles of hiking trails. There are six golf courses, including one available exclusively to members (The Creek Club). Courses are designed by Jack…
The Tullymore Golf Resort in Stanwood offers multiple accommodation options, each near its two courses, Tullymore and St. Ives. Golfers can choose among the 36 rooms and suites of the Inn at St. Ives; the 24-room Hideaway at Tullymore; cottages, home rentals, condos and the Lodge at Tullymore, a unique hangout with 10 bedrooms with individual…
The A-Ga-Ming Golf Resort (pronounced Ah-Ga-Ming) in tiny Kewadin north of Traverse City has blossomed into one of Michigan's largest and most impressive golf resorts. Its original Torch course overlooks the popular Torch Lake, redesigned by major champion Chick Harbert in 1986. Since then, guest lodging, real estate developments and three courses…
Wildhorse Resort and Casino is on Native American tribal ground in eastern Oregon three hours away from Portland. It is owned and operated by the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. This resort and casino has 300 guest rooms and suites as well as an RV park onsite. It acquired the next door Pendelton Country Club in 2019 and…
Deer Run Golf Course & Resort is located on the 22-acre Washington Island five miles off the tip of the Door Peninsula, reachable only by ferry. The nine-hole course is guarded by plenty of traps and one large water hazard. The motel units have been refurbished with flat screens and new furnishings. Or you can upgrade by renting the two-bedroom…
The Lodge at Tamarron is a resort in Durango, southwest Colorado within the San Juan Mountain range. This mountain resort provides access to the adjacent, private Glacier Club's Valley Course, an Arthur Hills design. The Lodge provides a wide variety of sizes for accommodations from single rooms and suites to 3-bedroom townhomes. The lodge…
Located in Summit County, Colorado, Keystone Resort is one of numerous Rocky Mountain Resort areas owned and operated by Vail Resorts. Keystone is located off Highway 6, accessible from the I-70 pass from Denver to the county. Keystone has multiple lodging properties of many styles and sizes. They include Timbers, which has luxury fractional…
The WinStar World Casino and Resort in Thackerville started as a bingo hall on the Texas-Oklahoma border in 1991 but has grown into the largest casino resort in the world. Nowhere else features a larger collection of electronic games – more than 8,100, plus 100 table games, a 55-table poker room, bingo and more. The 1,399-room hotel complex houses…
Located just south of Denver in Littleton, Colorado is the Lone Tree Golf Club & Hotel. This is a small, 3-star boutique hotel with spacious guest rooms with kitchenettes overlooking the golf course. Golf side rooms have large balconies. Onsite at this parks complex is a bar & grill, fitness center and tennis courts. The course is operated by…
The Northern Bay Resort is located on the shores of Castle Rock Lake just north of the famed Wisconsin Dells. Luxury cedar-and-stone condos are spread between the course and the lake. The five-bedroom Bay House is also available. The Golf Course at Northern Bay is unique as the only course in the Midwest to feature replica holes from legendary…
The Dominican Republic makes a very strong case for the best golf country in the Caribbean. When Pete Dye was commissioned to build the Teeth of the Dog at Casa De Campo in 1971, it created one of the most sought-after warm-weather destination courses in the world. The impact this course had on both the resort and country's tourism was profound. Today, the Dominican Republic, which makes up the eastern half of the island of Hispaniola (shared with Haiti) has exceptional seaside golf courses. Not long after Casa De Campo emerged with four golf courses, the Punta Cana resort development emerged with scores of beachfront resorts (all-inclusive and a la carte) and an excellent golf offering of its own. The headlining course is Corales, designed by Tom Fazio and host of the PGA Tour. Just north, Punta Espada, a Jack Nicklaus design, is one of his finest works as well.
Each April, Augusta, Georgia is the epicenter of the golf universe. Since Clifford Roberts and Bobby Jones founded Augusta National in 1933, and started the Masters Tournament shortly after, this small town about two hours from Atlanta draws golf fans from all over the world to experience Amen Corner. Augusta National is one of the most coveted and exclusive private clubs in the world, but the area is full of other golf options both private and publicly accessible. And many of the private clubs like Champions Retreat or Forest Hills will open up their gates. Affordable golf can also be found at Fort Gordon Golf Course, a popular military facility designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr., or head to nearby Aiken, S.C. and play the affordable and historic Aiken Golf Club. Allister Mackenzie designed not just Augusta National but nearby Palmetto Golf Club in Aiken, which dates back to 1892. Golf history and southern hospitality converge nowhere better than around Augusta.
There's so much to see and do in Miami -- South Beach, the Miami Heat and Dolphins -- that golf tends to take a back seat. Still, the game is a big part of life in southeast Florida. If you aren't living in a gated golf community, chances are you want to be. Donald Trump has spent millions to revitalize Trump National Doral Miami, both the resort and its famed Blue Monster, recently redone by Gil Hanse. The four other golf courses at Doral are strong, as is Crandon Golf Key Biscayne, which offers nice views of the skyline. Donald Ross designed the classic Biltmore in Coral Gables. The food at Shula's Steakhouse in the clubhouse is better than the golf on the Senator Course at the Shula's Golf Club, but combined they make for a good day in Miami Lakes.
When you think of Louisville two things come to mind horse racing and hoops. Add golf to the list. The Ville has some pretty impressive tracks and not just for horses. Start with Valhalla Golf Club, a Jack Nicklaus design that's home of the 2008 Ryder Cup and 2014 PGA Championship.
Victoria, capital of British Columbia, sits on the craggy southern end of Vancouver Island. With abundant parkland, it’s known for outdoor activities. The city's British colonial past shows in its Victorian architecture, including stately Craigdarroch Castle mansion. Butchart Gardens, with 55 acres of vivid floral displays, plus statuary, water features and a carousel, is one of many formal gardens in the city.
It's pretty difficult to visit Green Bay and not notice that it's the home of the Packers. The "cheeseheads" are pretty rabid about the fan-owned team founded in 1919 that has more championships than any team in the NFL. Not bad for a city of just over 100,000 residents, the smallest to host an NFL team. But there's much more than football in this city that has long been a seat of Great Lakes shipping and paper mills. Fox River runs through downtown and empties into Green Bay, an ideal place from which to pull bass, whitefish and muskie. Other draws include Oneida Bingo and Casino, the National Railroad Museum with 70 locomotives and railcars on display, and the NEW Zoo. Close to town are several golf courses, most which have a supper club or restaurant attached. Plan your Friday round so you can finish in time for the weekly fish fry. Courses range from Royal Scot Golf Course, which claims to have the best conditioned greens in the area, to Royal St. Patrick's Golf Course that says "you deserve this golf" on its 500-acre British-style course that opened in 2003. Don't overlook Brown County Golf Course, a feisty muni set in woodlands with water hazards on 10 holes, some narrow fairways and quick greens. The Oneida Legends course at Thornberry Creek has 72 sand bunkers and 11 water hazards to pose many risk-reward choices. The city's northern position lends itself to a lot of daylight on summer days, so you can "pack" in a lot, maybe even a couple of rounds. Summer afternoons occasionally get a little steamy, but more often than not, the temperatures are comfortable. But to say you've been to Green Bay, even on a golf trip, you have to visit the Packer Hall of Fame where you can see tributes to legendary coach Vince Lombardi, team founders Curly Lambeau and George Calhoun, and franchise quarterbacks Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers. Peek into the outdoor Lambeau Field, named twice by Sports Illustrated as the "best stadium experience" and known for hosting a few playoff games in blizzard-like conditions. But you can only dream about having season tickets. The waiting list has 80,000 names on it. Wrap up your day with a meal at one of Green Bay's many landmark restaurants, from the four stages of chili at Chili John's that opened in 1913 to the anything-but-a-burger-and-a-beer Hinterland Brewery and Restaurant. Its upscale menu features marinated pheasant goat cheese pound cake, all enjoyed with the sounds of jazz drifting from the upstairs jazz bar. Kroll's (East or West) has been around since in the 1930s and is on the dining map for its broasted chicken. Of course, it is northern Wisconsin, so there are plenty of pubs, brewhouses and dive bars to cap your evening, too. Oh, and if just for the night, we suggest you claim to be a Packers fan.
Lake Geneva is less than 90 minutes from Chicago and even closer to Milwaukee, but it's a world away. The 9-mile-long lake is surrounded by a historic town, some of the best golf courses in Wisconsin, a four-star resort that began as a Playboy Club resort, and a string of enormous summer mansions built ín the 1800s by Americas most famous industrialists.
Golfers have long seen Milwaukee as little more than a waypoint between home and Destination Kohler, the legendary modern golf resort an hour north of town that is home to Blackwolf Run and Whistling Straits. But Cream City is more than just a travel hub. With a metro-area population of more than 1.5 million, it is a vibrant city with plenty to do both on and off the course.
Considered one of the country's prettiest capital cities, Madison, Wisconsin weaves around five lakes circled by miles of bike paths, parks and waterfront restaurants. Providing plenty of reasons for a golf trip are the city's four municipal courses and the renown collegiate course, University Ridge, the Robert Trent Jones II design that is home of the University of Wisconsin Badgers.
Edinburgh is Scotland's compact, hilly capital. It has a medieval Old Town and elegant Georgian New Town with gardens and neoclassical buildings. Looming over the city is Edinburgh Castle, home to Scotland’s crown jewels and the Stone of Destiny, used in the coronation of Scottish rulers. Arthur’s Seat is an imposing peak in Holyrood Park with sweeping views, and Calton Hill is topped with monuments and memorials.
Glasgow is a port city on the River Clyde in Scotland's western Lowlands. It's famed for its Victorian and art nouveau architecture, a rich legacy of the city's 18th–20th-century prosperity due to trade and shipbuilding. Today it's a national cultural hub, home to institutions including the Scottish Opera, Scottish Ballet and National Theatre of Scotland, as well as acclaimed museums and a thriving music scene.
Cardiff is a port city on the south coast of Wales, where the River Taff meets the Severn Estuary. It was proclaimed the nation’s capital in 1955. The revitalized waterfront at Cardiff Bay includes the Wales Millennium Centre, home of the national opera, orchestra, theater and dance companies, plus shops at Mermaid Quay. Architect Richard Rogers’ strikingly modern Senedd building houses the Welsh National Assembly.
Belfast is Northern Ireland’s capital. It was the birthplace of the RMS Titanic, which famously struck an iceberg and sunk in 1912. This legacy is recalled in the renovated dockyards' Titanic Quarter, which includes the Titanic Belfast, an aluminium-clad museum reminiscent of a ship’s hull, as well as shipbuilder Harland & Wolff’s Drawing Offices and the Titanic Slipways, which now host open-air concerts.
The newest university course to open, the latest on two new projects in California, the status of golf in Cabo and a new member-for-a-day auction offering private clubs access.
The Golf Advisor Staff has determined the 50 most spectacular courses where anyone can book a tee time. We've done our best to find courses around the world in a variety of settings, built in different eras by various architects and at different price points.
This annual, philanthropic, online auction gives you plenty of chances to bid for rounds at great public and private clubs as well as stay-and-play packages at notable resorts.
From Bethpage to Winter Park, Hartford to Hobbs and dozens of towns, cities and counties in between, municipal golf architecture in the U.S. has never been better.
The best Twitter follows for golfers are superintendents. You might think their jobs day-to-day can be monotonous, but it turns out no two are the same.
Elevated tees, narrow ribbons of fairways and hardly a flat lie await golfers who take on the 8,000-yard beast that is the Pete Dye Course at French Lick Resort in Indiana.
Also known as "The Hills," Mission Inn Resort and Club's Las Colinas Course was designed by former PGA Tour player Gary Koch. Opened in 1992, the course contrasts with the resort's other course, El Campeon, which is actually hillier and opened in 1917. Las Colinas has six sets of tees and measures 7,230 yards from the tips. Spread out through a development, the course features large greens, plenty of water and sand, and thick trees guarding many of the fairways.
Dating back to 1968, today's Grand Geneva Resort and Spa is family friendly and quite diverse. Golf remains central to the resort's amenities, which include horseback riding, zip-lining, mountain biking, tennis, swimming, skiing, snowmobiling, fine dining, and the luxuriousness of the WELL spa. Kiel Christianson offers a look at Grand Geneva's Brute and Highlands golf courses.
The TPC Scottsdale Champions course plays plenty challenging for tour pros and aspiring area golfers, playing as a par-71 to more than 7,100 yards from the championship tees and three forward sets. There are plenty of risk-reward moments throughout the design, such as a split fairway par-4 fifth hole and a drivable par-4 15th on the back nine. Brandon Tucker has more in this photo gallery.
Situated in the scenic, rolling hills of the far northwest corner of Illinois, Eagle Ridge Resort & Spa is unique both as a golf resort and as a vacation spot -- there is simply nothing else like it in the state.
The nine-hole Sharkbite Course at Lansdowne Resort and Spa near Washington D.C. is perfect for every level of golfer who wants to get in a premium golf experience in less than two hours.
Located just outside of Malaysia's largest city, Kuala Lumpur, Saujana Golf & Country Club is home to two of the country's best golf courses: The Palm and the Bunga Raya. And while the Palm course is a host to the European Tour's Maybank Malaysian Open, the Bunga Raya remains a very worthy follow-up.
The Jubilee Course in St. Andrews is one of seven courses operated by the St. Andrews Links Trust. Located in the heart of town and playing beside West Sands Beach and the River Eden, the Jubilee dates back to 1897. It originally opened as a 12-hole course but reopened in 1989 as a championship layout designed by Donald Steel.
Many of legendary course architect Alister MacKenzie's finest designs, like Augusta National and Cypress Point, are private. Here are seven you can play.
With zoysia fairways and bentgrass greens, Champions Pointe Golf Club can be stretched to nearly 7,200 yards. But with five sets of tees, it's playable by all levels.
The North Course at Mauna Lani Resort on the Big Island of Hawaii plays considerably tougher than the prettier and more player-friendly South Course. The North's elevation changes through a Kiawe forest provide plenty of twists of fate on the scorecard, and its moments of beauty are masked by difficult golf holes.
You won't find an architect better suited to design golf courses in Mexico and the Caribbean than P.B. Dye. Dye loves to shape wild mounds and undulating greens, and that philosophy served him well at the Iberostar Playa Paraiso Golf Club in the Riviera Maya south of Cancun. The course is another strong amenity of the Iberostar Playa Paraiso Resort.
Jasper Park Lodge Golf Course is located in Alberta's Canadian Rockies and in Jasper National Park, the country's largest and northernmost national park and a UNESCO World Heritage site. The golf course was designed in 1925 by Canadian architect Stanley Thompson, who just a few years later would go down the road and build Banff Springs as well.
The annual PGA Tour stop at at the Fairmont Mayakoba resort and El Camaleon Golf Club boost the profile of this Mexican property to elite status. Take a look at the beauty of the hotel and seaside setting of a championship-level golf course.
The Pacific Dunes course at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort has been called the best golf course in America. While that fact may be debatable, there's little debate that the links land on which Pacific Dunes was built is among the best in the U.S. and that Tom Doak created a links masterpiece.
Back
