The Miami Beach Golf Club holds a long history that dates back to the early 1920s. It has gone from being part of a massive golf vacation destination project to a military training ground to what it is today: a well-loved golf course holding outings and tournaments and daily rounds. Golfers local and visiting alike enjoy the lush 128 acres of golfing goodness. The original 1920s layout has long since been renovated by the Arthur Hills/Steve Forrest and associates design group. The result is an elegant golf course backdropped by the awe-inspiring white sand Miami beach. There is a lot water and wind on the course, with fast greens and a few undulated greens.

Apart from making it more beautiful and fun to play, the Miami Beach Golf Club was also made more environmentally friendly on its renovation. The greens and irrigation/drainage system was changed to put the natural aspects of the course at the best position. This golf trip favorite measures 6,800 yards from the longest tees, par 72. But the kind of happiness it offers is immeasurable. golf trip

The Senator Course features quite a variety of terrains and surfaces that makes games here very exciting. This also gives the feel of a long game despite the fact that the course is only a little more than 6,900 yards from the back tees. What begins as a rather open layout finishes off with tighter, tree-lined fairways on the 11^th onwards. There is a reason to think that the first ten holes are a beginner’s preparation for the tougher test ahead. The holes start easy until they get guarded a little heavily, both with sand and water as well as trees. These natural elements make for the biggest and most beautiful features of the golf vacation favorite.

And there is nothing surprising about that. This course was made to blend well with its environment, and be a safe haven for native wildlife as much as a paradise for golfers. The Senator Course and the people running it look after not only their beloved patrons but to Mother Nature as well. Perhaps it is for that reason that this golf trip favorite ages gracefully. It lets nature takes its course, and it goes well along with it.

The original Bruce Devlin/Robert Von Hagge have been partly recreated – the greens mostly, but the project was more a restoration than a renovation. And it has never been any better. The Crandon Park Golf Club features a layout measuring more than 7,300 yards from the back tees, par 72, all set amidst and through mangrove thickets, saltwater lakes and some of the most challenging sand traps in Miami. Many of the holes are overlooking the beautiful Biscayne Bay. If that is not enough a distraction to any game, then nature will take its course and make a mark on anybody’s golf vacation.

And by anybody, it means anybody including the big names in golf like Ray Floyd, Chi Chi Rodriguez, Gary Player, Lee Trevino, and Arnold Palmer. They have all fallen prey to, if not the views, nature in its many forms in the Crandon Park Golf Club. They may be the alligators, the iguanas roaming freely about, or the many different species of birds that are as common here as the holes themselves. That, or the wind. Either way, nature and man will live harmoniously on this golf trip haven, and it will be this way for a very, very long time.

Sitting on the wide acreage surrounding the legendary Coral Gables Biltmore Hotel, the Biltmore Golf Course has been in the Miami golfing scene since the mid-1920′s. It was an original Donald Ross creation that has seen the best and worst of times. Over time, it has been fully restored to its classic perfection. As with most every Florida course, there is a lot of water on this layout, with significant but not overwhelming mounding to give just the right amount of challenge and grit. The result is and has always been a very entertaining and highly pleasurable course, perfect for golf vacations of stellar proportions.

And stellar they are. The Biltmore Golf Course has long since been the host of many of the biggest celebrities from different fields. From movie stars to dignitaries to athletes of different sports, this golf course has been able to attract them all with its undeniable charm and even more obvious excellence. The entertainment quality never gets old that golf trips hereabouts never stop with the first. Just as this course grows better and more beautiful overtime, so does every game here. It always grows better and better and better. Thankfully, the hotel and the rest of the course offer the best accommodations and even incomparably great services.

The Soffer Course was, like its sibling course the Miller, an original Robert Trent Jones Sr creation and went through an extensive overhaul in 2007 under the genius of renowned contemporary designer Raymond Floyd. What was once a typical Florida course of flat, watery layout was transformed into one of very impressive and exciting movements on the elevation. The water remains a traditional Florida layout – plenty, but now with more work done on the landscaping to make it even more beautiful that it already is. The best thing about this golf vacation destination is the part where it paris its remarkable beauty with astonishing play quality.

And astonishing as it is, golf trippers are not the only ones who fancy this course. Several tournament organizers have developed a liking to the Soffer Course that they make it the host of their competitions. In this course’s resume are several LPGA Tournaments and the ADT Golf Skills Challenge. There is no suffering here, only happiness. Golf trips here are simply, and without a doubt, better and merrier. The course measures 7,047 yards from the longest tees and plays for a par of 71.

The Miller Course of the Turnberry Isle took a general and major overhaul by Floyd in 2007, some 30 plus years since it first opened as a RTJ creation. From a relatively flat course following the natural contours of the Florida terrain, this new face of the golf course carries a more sophisticated and more exciting course with mounds and elevation changes. Moreover, Floyd added more water elements to the holes making it more exciting and extremely beautiful. And with the stunningly gorgeous Lake Julius as its centerpiece, golfers are assured of golf vacations that are as beautiful to play as they are to see.

Challenge-wise, the Miller Course is the friendlier of the two courses on the Turnberry Isle Resort. The other one, the Soffer, is lengthier and tougher, while the Miller is shorter and is played as the resort course. It is just the right mix of fun and fierce without going overboard either way, making golf trips here just as they should be: relaxing. The course measures 6,417 yards from the tips, and plays for a par of 72.

The Red Course could easily be likened to everyone’s favorite cousin. She is not the most famous in the family but rest assured, she will always, always be a delightful company and a reason why vacations are happy. This golf vacation destination is short and is probably the simplest of the courses, measuring only a short 6,146 yards from the tips, par 70, with 5 sets of tees for every golfer. What is most appreciated about this course is the fact that its holes are well balanced – sprinkled equally on the both sides of the course. And these holes are strategically guarded by any of the course’s 68 sand bunkers and water hazards. Most of them are, in fact, playing with water – 14 of the 18 holes to be exact. This golf vacation destination could not get any better, can it?

 That is until one actually plays the course, and only then will things escalate into the best golf experience yet. While this has none of the intimidation of PGA favorite Blue Monster, or the length of the Great White, the Red Course has its own paprika red kick to it. That comes in, ironically, the greens. The Bermuda greens run true and mildly undulating, albeit small in size. All the more challenging, with that much of sand and water and very little greens, shot accuracy is a definite must. That said, falling in love with golf trips here could not get any easier.

The Jim McLean Signature Course first opened as a Bruce Devlin/Robert Von Hagge original layout. In 1998, champion Jerry Pate laid hands on this course and just recently, the then Silver Course got its share of Jim McLean’s genius. The course went from one design to another, delicately playing with Florida’s natural environment in the process. Today, the signature course is known for its sixteen water holes and signature series of par 3s, the Bermuda Triangle from the 13^th to the 15^th holes. Oh, that and what the golf world’s dubbed as “the toughest opening three holes”. A promise like that does get golf vacations here more enticing yes?

And with all the raves it is receiving since opening in 2009, no one else could be any happier than Jim McLean himself. The golf trip favorite was his first full golf course design. An impressive thought the the first timer’s achievement was to outdo that of legends before him. The fair and challenging Jim McLean Signature Course measures 7,105 yards from the tips, par 72, with multiple sets of tees.

The Great White Course is one of the five championship golf courses at the Doral Resort. While the Blue Monster is the most well-known of the five for the PGA Tour stint, the Great White is not on the least list either. It is actually known for being the most beautiful and most unique being the only one that uses coquina shells for bunkers on every hole. The course was already known for being tough on the toughies and a fun experience for the high-handicaps. This feature was retained, and the rest made even better. Today, this golf vacation favorite is known for wide fairways bordered by hundreds of native palms, undulating greens made of prime native grass, remodeled bunkers, and water playing on all but four holes.

Measuring a whooping 7, 171 yards from the tips, the par 72 golf trip spectacle has also seen development on its drainage system. They made amends on the course’s cart paths, making the renovation even more beneficial for both the course and the player. And Greg Norman being Greg Norman, naturally, the original layout and the renovation both made very little impact environmentally. Great White Course took as much risk, and now enjoys as much benefits. This is perfectly a change for the best.

 The original Robert Von Hagge creation has been recreated by Raymond Floyd, making the once excellent golf course the best it has ever been. The Gold Course now features a beautiful traditional Florida layout, with gently contoured greens, strategically placed bunkers and sixteen of its eighteen holes playing on water. And because being on the top of the list means being excellent at just about everything, this golf vacation favorite went on to become excellent at being challenging and fun. The narrow, tree-lined fairways will take care of that aspect. As for the aesthetics, being in Florida and being in the Doral Resort have that department covered. Naturally.

And while the Blue Monster reaps viewers after viewers and more fans for the PGA Tour fame, the Gold is never to be easily overshadowed by it. It has its own tournament under its belt, the PGA Tour Qualifying School finals which it hosted in 1999. But more importantly, the Gold Course is a topnotch golf trip destination. It is the best and most preferred choice.