Back
The short course revolution continues to boom in 2025.
At least six major golf resorts have added one within the past six months, including Garland Lodge and Golf Resort, Boyne Mountain and Harbor Shores in Michigan, French Lick in Indiana, Big Cedar Lodge in Missouri and the Williamsburg Lodge, Autograph Collection, in Virginia. It's a trend that's a decade old now but still being refined and improved. As much as I would love see more municipal and public courses add short courses, that's just not likely with land constraints.
Golf's biggest - and best - golf resorts are the perfect playgrounds for adding a short course. If these facilities want to attract more buddies trips, they need to give those groups an afternoon alternative after a morning round. Some groups are fine heading to the casino, pool, or, at my advanced age, just relaxing before dinner. For the younger, go-hard crowd, though, playing a short course remains the best way to make some memories while essentially killing time.
The question we are always asking is: Who's next? There are still hundreds of high-quality golf resorts that don't offer a short course experience yet. Some of them will never build one because they don't have the land or it's not an essential piece of their business plan. We know that prime California resorts like the Ritz-Carlton Half Moon Bay near San Francisco or the Omni La Costa in SoCal's desirable San Diego County will never have the space to build a short course. That's fine because both have great public short courses (Golden Gate Park and Goat Hill Park, respectively) within an hour's drive.
There are others, though, that seem ripe to join the short course revolution. It's hard to fathom that nearly half of America's largest golf resorts - 12 of 28 - still don't offer a short course, proving there's still plenty of room for more. Here are 11 golf resorts that could really improve by adding a short course:
The Broadmoor
Arguably America's best mountain resort, The Broadmoor features the demanding East and West courses loaded with rough and slick greens. The East course tends to host the U.S. Senior Open every 5-8 years. The Broadmoor and its affiliate properties encompasses more than 5,000 acres in the greater Pikes Peak region near Colorado Springs, so there's plenty of land to add a killer short course.
Innisbrook Resort
Innisbrook's North Course shrank from 18 holes to 9 after its last significant renovation in 2017, so maybe having 72 holes was just too many for the resort north of Tampa, Fla., best known for hosting the PGA Tour's Valspar Championship. Maybe someday that extra land can become golf again in the form of an entertaining short course.
Turtle Bay Resort
Golf in Hawaii is facing significant challenges right now, from water issues that have closed Kapalua's famed Plantation Course to a decline in tourism that is straining the local economy. Turtle Bay has a secret weapon, though: a blank canvas to create the perfect short course with glimpses of the ocean. The fact that its George Fazio course has been closed since the onset of the pandemic, missing the resurgence of golf everywhere, seems like a lost opportunity. Oahu lacks that perfect bucket-list course to attract die-hard traveling golfers. Maybe pairing a fun short course with the current Arnold Palmer course would help.
Grand Traverse Resort
With more than a dozen high-caliber golf resorts, the competition to attract golfers is fierce in northern Michigan. Grand Traverse Resort boasts one of the best locations of all of them, just minutes from downtown Traverse City's restaurants, breweries and beaches. To add a short course, an architect would need to chop up the resort's Spruce Run layout, which has always been the third option behind the terrific twosome of The Bear by Jack Nicklaus and The Wolverine by Gary Player. If I were on the payroll, I'd advocate to turn nine of its holes into a great short course and the rest of the land into an affordable, emergency nine for locals and casual golfers who don't want to play 18 holes. Variety is vital for every golf resort.
Nemacolin
After visiting Nemacolin this spring, I found that two opposite truths can make sense in Farmington, Pa. There's so much to do that Nemacolin can entertain any golf group without a short course. However, with so much land, and so much potential to really improve its standing with golf groups, Nemacolin needs a short course. Both of Nemacolin's two Pete Dye courses, Shepherd's Rock and former PGA Tour host Mystic Rock, make it tough to shoot your handicap. Adding a wild, thinking-outside-the-box short course along the lines of the new Cliffhangers course at Big Cedar Lodge or The Baths of Blackwolf Run (another Dye-dominated golf property) would fit with Nemacolin's ethos of Real Life Magic.
Horseshoe Bay Resort
Spread across 7,000 acres of beautiful Hill Country west of Austin, Horseshoe Bay could likely find space to build a short course that's great for resort guests, locals and even members who are currently spoiled playing the Summit Rock Course and drinking and dining in its new ginormous clubhouse. I understand why they don't. Between the summer lake life and the Ram Rock, Slick Rock and Apple Rock courses, plus the Whitewater putting course, which is surrounded by waterfalls, there's already plenty to do for families.
Legends Golf Resort
For all the great golf in Myrtle Beach, no other golf resort offers a short course, so if Legends were to add one, it would give the resort a leg up on the competition. According to our Tim Gavrich - who's an expert on the local golf scene - the 36-acre driving range could be reduced by 5-10 acres to accommodate some sort of short course.
Primland
It's been suggested to me in the past that resorts with only one course aren't really "golf resorts". They're simply resorts that offer golf as part of its amenity/entertainment package and not really focused on the game. Primland's Highlands Course ranks among America's best resort tracks, but without another course anywhere nearby, it doesn't attract the serious buddies trips it could. Maybe adding a short course could change all those negative perceptions. Sitting on top of a mountain, I'm sure Primland has a nice parcel of land for a premier short course. The question of Is the effort worth it? remains the biggest hurdle to making my fantasy a reality.
Suncadia Resort
Situated on the sunny side of the Cascade Mountains in Cle Elum two hours east of Seattle, Suncadia is a 6,400-acre golf resort community where I could see myself retiring. I'd have two resort courses at my disposal - the Prospector Course and Rope Rider Course - plus the chance to find a member friend who would get me on Tom Doak's Tumble Creek now and then. I'd send my wife to wine therapy after she got done chasing the grandkids at the indoor waterpark or outdoor pool. The only thing missing is that short course where I'd teach those little whippersnappers how to play much better than I ever could.
Shanty Creek
Some of Michigan's largest golf resorts - A-Ga-Ming, Shanty Creek and Gull Lake View - still don't have short courses. I think Shanty Creek is the most likely candidate to be next in line. The Summit is a fine course, but compared to the stunning Cedar River, Hawk's Eye and The Legend, it's a piece of land that could provide a blank slate to do something cool, whether that's just a short course (between 9-18 holes) or a hybrid course that's mostly par 3s but with a few drivable par 4s and maybe a short par 5 that add the chance to swing the driver for some thrilling risk-reward moments.
Montgomery Marriott Prattville Hotel & Conference Center at Capitol Hill
Almost all of the stops along the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail are home to a short course. It's notable that Capitol Hill, its largest outpost with 54 holes on the Judge, Senator and Legislator courses, doesn't. That could be rectified with some creativity. The large practice area and driving range could be re-imagined to include a short loop. There's enough space to make it happen.
Which top golf resort do you believe needs a short course? Let us know in the comments below.
Comments (0)