Golf
Pictured: Clockwise Teeing off at Reynold's Plantation, Georgia; Desert golf in Arizona; Ocean breezes at Palm Beach, Florida
including America’s most northerly, the 18-hole North Star Golf Club in Fairbanks – a grass course with underlying permafrost that plays like a seaside links course. One of the most unusual courses
is Brickyard Crossing, designed by top architect Pete Dye, which plays around and even inside the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Or how about teeing up on the
par-3 14th hole at Idaho’s picturesque Coeur d’Alene Resort and hitting to the world’s only floating green? It is moved to different locations each day and can play from 95 to 200 yards. Florida has the most golf
courses with over 1,000. Top courses include Sawgrass Marriott, where stays give exclusive access to the TPC Sawgrass Stadium Course – venue of The Players Championship. California has more than 900
while New York State, Michigan and Texas each have over 800. Pennsylvania, home to 2013 US Open venue Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, near Philadelphia, is not far behind with more than 750. Desert hotspots include
Scottsdale, which has almost 200 of Arizona’s 300 courses, and California’s Palm Springs, with
over 250 area courses. Among others are Myrtle Beach
in South Carolina (aka the Grand Strand, with over 65 courses); the sandhills of North Carolina, where Pinehurst Resort is known as America’s ‘Home of Golf’ for its eight courses, including the famed Donald Ross-designed No. 2 Course, host venue for the US Open in 2014; and Florida’s chic Palm Beach County, with more courses than any other US county. Some areas group golf courses under themed trails, often around a designer as in Alabama’s Robert Trent Jones Trail. Others include
Mississippi’s Magnolia Golf Trail, Louisiana’s Audubon Golf Trail, Utah’s Red Rock Trail close to Zion National Park and the Tennessee Golf Trail, which incorporates the three Jack Nicklaus courses forming the Bear Trace Golf Trail. Stay in a resort and the golf is
right there on your doorstep, while non-golfing partners can enjoy leisure facilities such as spas. There are more than 100 resorts
in both California and Florida and they range from beachside settings such as at The Breakers in Palm Beach to Orlando’s Hyatt Grand Cypress and Walt Disney
Blaze a golf trail
There are some great value-for-money golf options in the US. Among the best, in terms of affordability and the quality of the golf courses, is Alabama's Robert Trent Jones Trail, a network of 26 courses on 11 sites that run from north to south down the spine of the state. Built to boost local tourism, all the sites, many with hotels next to the golf courses, welcome international visitors – and green fees average around $55.
World Resort, with its four 18-hole courses and a nine-hole Oak Trail course suitable for families. Other states with plenty of golf
resorts include Hawaii, Georgia, Virginia, Texas and Oregon. Or head to the Greenbrier in West Virginia, where every July the Old White TPC Course stages the Greenbrier Classic.
THE SUN Untitled-8 1
Explore the unforgettable paradise of Panama City Beach, Florida.
NEVER FELT SO GOOD.
Located in Northwest Florida, Panama City Beach is home to the “World’s Most Beautiful Beaches.” With great fishing, relaxing spa getaways, championship golf and world-class shopping, Panama City Beach is the perfect getaway.
visitpanamacitybeach.com 10/22/12 04:46 PM
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