Located in the central-west region of Florida, aptly known as the Nature Coast, Cabot Citrus Farms is set across 1,200 acres of pristine natural beauty about an hour north of Tampa. Boasting dramatic elevation changes, sandy soil, and rolling hills canopied by towering sand pines, palmetto trees, and century-old moss-covered oaks, the unique…
Located near Washington D.C. in northern Virginia is Lansdowne Resort, located on the Potomac River just 30 minutes from Washington Dulles Airport (airport shuttle available). This AAA Four Diamond, 296-room and suite property is home to 45 holes of golf, including a 9-hole short course designed by Greg Norman, the Shark Bite course. Norman…
Turf Valley Resort, located on 1,000 acres easily accessible from Baltimore and Washington D.C., offers 172 guestrooms and suites, along with 26 extended-stay villas. An indoor pool, hot tub, sauna, seasonal outdoor pool, three tennis courts, volleyball court and outdoor children’s play area can keep guests, especially families with children,…
Finding a quality public golf course in the Washington, D.C. area is about as easy as finding a lobbyist or lawyer on K Street. Like the D.C. population, the golf course selection is large and diverse.
There’s no better place to stay in Annapolis than the Annapolis Waterfront Hotel. Nestled right by the water, stepping out on your balcony gives you a bird’s eye view of Chesapeake Bay, and provides nothing but relaxation as you sip your drink and watch the ships sail across the water.
Baltimore is more than crab cakes and the Orioles. It also has a popular golf scene. Start at Greystone Golf Course in nearby White Hall. Designed by Joe Lee, the championship course includes 140 feet of elevation changes.
Built on land occupied until 2000 by a maximum-security prison, Laurel Hill Golf Club was a revelation when it opened to golfers five years later. The transformation of the forbidding property, formerly marked by guard towers and razor wire, to perhaps the Washington, D.C.-area's premium public golf address is an intriguing success story.
Hampshire Greens Golf Course in Silver Spring, Md. has the conditioning and quality design to match its affluent zip code. But the most compelling reason to play here is Hampshire Greens' combination of convenience and price. Finding another muni of this pedigree 10 miles from the Beltway in Washington, D.C., is downright impossible.
Reston National Golf Course reflects a philosophy of leisure and privacy. It's a classically designed, secluded golf course lined with mature trees on gently rolling landscape that makes for as timeless a setting for golf as you'll find in the otherwise maddening hubbub of the Beltway.
Blue Mash Golf Course filled a glaring need when it opened in 2001. In a wealthy area with plenty of open space, there wasn't a single upscale public golf course in Montgomery County, Maryland. Blue Mash changed all that. Kevin Dunleavy has more from Laytonsville, Md.
Located in a park-rich region of Northern Virginia, General's Ridge is a relatively short public course, where long drives are less effective than accurate placement. There's dog legs, blind holes, hills and ravines aplenty - but it's the slick stiff grass on the greens that will have you struggling to make par.
Jack Nicklaus' opening tee shot this week at Potomac Shores G.C. in Dumfries, Virginia came about seven years later than it was supposed to. Revived by SunCal and managed by Troon Golf, hilly Potomac Shores is the only public-access Nicklaus Signature design in the Beltway.
Forest Greens Golf Club in Triangle, Va., may seem like a private club, but in reality, it's a daily-fee track with perks like on-course beverage services and a large practice area. It's a fair course, without a whole lot of tricky drama or hidden treachery. With big, welcoming fairways and huge, modestly fast greens, this is a golf course you can enjoy again and again.
There are many stay-and-play options in the Baltimore/Washington, D.C region, but none can match the combination of upscale amenities at a reasonable price, the private-course conditions, the diversity of courses and the Interstate convenience of Turf Valley in Ellicott City, Md.
The 45-hole Lansdowne Resort and Spa in the heart of the Virginia wine country will change what you think you know about golf in the Washington D.C. area.
Beltway big wigs aren't the only ones in the D.C. area who can enjoy top-notch golf, thanks to the public Raspberry Falls Golf & Hunt Club in northern Virginia. The course is in most parts not only wide open with few parallel holes but affords plenty expansive views of the sparsely populated surroundings - a welcomed sight from the dense metropolis just minutes away.
For Washington-area players, a trip to Augustine Golf Club in Virginia is like seeing an old friend who suddenly looks robust after a long illness. After closing in 2010, Augustine re-opened with little fanfare in April 2012. Irrigation and drainage work was extensive, roughly 1,000 trees were removed, and greens and bunkers were redone. The once-great course isn't quite what it used to be, but it's definitely recovered and poised to regain its original stature.
Billed as "the public's country club," the beauty of the land at Augustine Golf Club, near Washington, D.C., is unmistakable, and course designer Rick Jacobson made good use of it. On most of the tees, you can see the entire hole, including where the bunkers and hazards are. There really aren't any blind shots.
Laurel Hill Golf Club, which opened in 2005, has quickly become an old favorite. There aren't many trees and water only comes into play on one hole. Instead, the challenges come from the length and the elevation changes. Designer Bill Love also incorporated sprawling, asymmetric bunkers that both narrow the fairways and protect the greens.
RedGate Golf Course is gaining traction under the direction of Billy Casper Golf Management. Few courses in the Washington, D.C., area can beat its convenience or price. And none can match the neighborhood feel of the traditional 6,378-yard, par-71 track, which dates to 1974.
Hampshire Greens Golf Course in Silver Spring, Md. has dramatic twists and turns; canted fairways; deep, sprawling bunkers; undulating greens and several blind tee shots. Playing longer than its 6,837 yards, Montgomery County Golf's signature facility is a rigorous challenge, especially for a first-timer.
Reston National is one of two courses located in Reston - but it is the only public one. Located halfway between the District of Columbia and Washington Dulles International Airport, this Ed Auld design sits on gently rolling, mature land filled with tall trees and features just a handful of water hazards.
Potomac Shores G.C. -- a Nicklaus design in northern Viriginia -- got seven years of grow-in before it opened in 2014. The result is a course more mature than its age.
Potomac Shores Golf Club, an upscale public course in Dumfries, Va., is set on rolling, forested hills on the banks of the Potomac. Almost every hole on this Jack Nicklaus design is encircled by dense forest, and very few holes are very flat. Most tee shots feature beautiful, elevated vantage points. Greens are large and undulating, so precision on approach shots is the key here.
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.
Despite its "private" status, anyone can access the 36 holes of golf at Turf Valley in Ellicott City, Maryland with a stay-and-play package. Turf Valley's Hialeah Course is the tougher and more scenic 18. The Original Course is longer but has more room to miss and fewer hazards. Both have true, fast greens and premium conditioning.
Turf Valley offers some of the best golf in the greater Baltimore-Washington area. There are two 18-hole golf courses at the resort, the Original and the Hialeah. Though each has a distinct layout, they both take advantage of the rolling hills of the idyllic landscape.
Raspberry Falls Golf & Hunt Club is a public access course in the metropolitan Washington D.C. area. It was built in 1996 and designed by Gary Player, who called the site "perfect for a golf course." The land is very scenic and natural, and the namesake falls run down along the 18th tee box.