There can be many beautiful golf courses. But there can only be a few ones that offer a golfing experience untarnished by the presence of homes and the noise of the freeway. And fewer ones, still, offer a true wilderness golfing experience without being miles awat from civilization. Among these “fewer ones” is the Cross Creek Golf Course in Temecula. There’s nothing here for golfers to enjoy but golf and nature. And the golf vacation destination is just minutes off the highway. How they managed to keep it as secluded without necessarily being remote is a secret they would probably want to keep to themselves.

The Cross Creek Golf Course is like a world of its own. It is surrounded by groves of sycamores and age-old oaks and the wide wilderness. Golfers really need not be surprised if a coyote shows up; they are pretty much a commonplace around here. The Arthur Hills design was perfectly inserted into the natural setting that even natural wildlife could not tell there were some changes. This course treats the golfers on a golf vacation characterized by dramatic elevation changes, holes that play through natural creeks, and the sights and sounds of the great outdoors.

Despite its being located in the “outbacks”, golfers need not worry about amenities. The 18-hole par-71 course, that stretches to 6,940 yards, is complete with everything a golfer would need on a golf trip: a fully-stocked pro-shop, an excellent clubhouse that serves great meals, a good practice range and putting greens – not to mention 4 ½ stars from Golf Digest. A golfer needs to bring are good ball-striking skills, wise choice of tees, a sense of golfing adventure, and himself. Because nothing stands between the him and the Cross Creek Golf Course. Absolutely nothing.

Art conservatives are usually wary of remakes. At best, the reaction is just plain scornful. At worst, they border on the outrageous. Many conservatives of golf design must have crossed their fingers when Ted Robinson and Dave Fleming handled the renovation of the William Bell design in what is now known as the Willow Glen Course of the Sycuan Resort in San Diego. But from the looks of it, the golf vacation destination looks rather pleasant that even the tightest of conservatives would be beckoned to agree and enjoy a round or two.

The Willow Course of the Sycuan Resort is part of a grand, 54-hole facility. The course is surrounded by a good helping of oaks, pines, eucalyptus and plane trees, and is secluded mostly from the rest of the course by a range of hills. This makes for rounds of golf that are serene at most, peaceful at best. In perfect contrast to the calm surroundings, golfers would have to battle inner turmoils from the rather difficult course layout. Playing on several holes, the Sweetwater River puts its own name in vain and gives golfers something to be bitter about along with several ponds on the course. The strategically placed bunkers and elevation changes also play their roles in making it hard to decide whether this course is easy or not. The bottomline is, it has the capacity to bring EPIC into every golf vacation.

It must have been difficult for old school artists to see the classic being remodeled. Good thing the Willow Course of the Sycuan Resort does not fall short of the glory days of its predecessor. The golf trip haven is every bit as amazing as the original, and conservatives need only give it a shot and they are surely in love.

Great things come from small beginnings, or so they say. But none of these great things happen overnight. They take a lot of time, hardwork, and an ample amount of passion – not to mention the usual heaping of difficulty – to be achieved fully. With Heron Ridge Golf Club, it was the collaborative genius of Gene Bates and Fred Couples of the PGA Tour fame. This Virginia Beach golf trip favorite was, unbelievably, once a flat piece of cornfield bounded by oaks, Elm trees and natural wetlands.

From the looks of it today, there is not a trace of its agricultural past left. It has now become a championship 18-hole par-72 golf vacation haven that’s a good fifteen minutes away from the Virginia Beach Oceanfront. Its unusual elevation, natural hazards and the constant blow of the ocean breeze, and all come together to give every visitor at Heron Ridge Golf Club a unique experience at every hole. The water hazards that play on 14 of the holes also give the golfers something to think about during and even after the game. The course requires not only excellent shot making skills, but even better techniques and strategies to get past the tricky greens and mounds of the course.

A golf vacation destination with an attitude, Heron Ridge Golf Club has more than enough elements of challenge and fun to make for a novel story for a golf course. The 5 separate tees makes it perfect for any golfer, handicap regardless. With all its merits and growing list of patrons, Heron Ridge has indeed become so great that it could only look back to its humble beginnings with a contented smile and look towards its even better, greater future.

Southwestern Native American Indians have it in their legends the tale of a god named Kokopelli who is both a trickster and a lover, tricking his way into people’s hearts, and making people fall for him a la Casanova. It must be this same tricky and lovable quality of the god that it shares with its namesake of a golf vacation destination. The Kokopelli Golf Club in Apple Valley in southern Utah makes golfers fall for it over and over but only after tricking them into playing this ‘plain-looking desert course’.

At a glance, the golf course does look plain – meaning, flat. The difficult terrain would present itself right when the golfer has settled with the notion that it is going to be easy. The 18-hole spectacle stretches to over 7,600 yards from the longest tees and winds around jagged lava rock canyons and some more rugged desert terrain that makes it challenging. Kokopelli Golf Club, though, is not all tough holes. Sure there are a lot of difficult ones, especially those that play right along the canyons, and a few uphill bunkered ones. But what’s a golf vacation made of heartbreaks? The risk-reward system course has its share of fairly easy holes too, giving golfers a break from heartbreak.

The stunning picture of the surrounding desert and mountains are a perfect break for the senses too. Southern Utah is blessed with some of the best vistas in the west and Kokopelli Golf Club sits right where all the good sights are seen at every angle. It takes golfers to a golf trip filled with satisfying rounds and unparalleled views that it makes it easy for them to forgive it for tricking them – and of course, falling in love with it one round after another.