Pala Mesa Resort

San Diego is among California’s top tourist hubs. Like the rest of the state, San Diego enjoys an almost-year round sunny weather and stunning landscapes that could only be found here. One of the things that tourists go to San Diego for is golf. A truly ideal golf vacation destination, SD has plenty of choices for lovers of the sport. One of its most celebrated courses is the Pala Mesa Resort Golf Course.

The resort course, which stretches on just 6,502 yards from the longest tees, is a massive structure for its size – more for the challenge and scenery than anything else. The Pala Mesa Resort Golf Course is characterized by several huge oaks, sycamores and elms. It is also a firework of greens and floral hues as it is heavily sprinkled with flowers of different colors making it one of the most beautiful courses in San Diego. Golf vacations here are well described as “challenging, beautiful, and peaceful”, a collective testament of the countless golfers made happy by the course. It is a perfect contrast of calmness in the surroundings, and a raging war of decisions in the psyche of golfers trying to get past the all the 18-holes with a neat scorecard.

The par-72 Pala Mesa Resort Golf Course has not only been praised by tourists who have had more than they bargained for for a golf trip. Golf Digest has given it an elusive 4 and a half-star rating while the PGA Professionals named it as among the Top 10 Courses in the San Diego County. It is in establishments like these that the natural splendor of San Diego is well beyond highlighted; it makes it outstanding – a tough feat in a state laden with some of the most beautiful cities in the world.

 

 

Virginia Beach National Golf Club

Of the many golf courses of Virginia Beach, there is one that many claim to be the favorite of the locals. Any course in Virginia Beach may find it hard to stand out because all the courses here stand at par with each other. Deciding which one is the best is difficult, but to ask which is the most loved is a different story. The answer rolls off of the locals’ tongues easily: Virginia Beach National Golf Club. And they would not think twice about sharing it with golfers looking for a golf vacation destination.

The 18-hole par-72 course could not be counted out next to its more expensive neighbors. As much as the other courses are created by the industry’s greats, Virginia Beach National Golf Club is a product of the combined genius of Pete Dye and Golf Hall of Famer Curtis Strange. It features natural grasses, waste areas, rolling fairways and tour-quality greens. The course stretches to more than 7,200 yards with five sets of tees to accommodate players of any skill level. And just as much as the locals have made this their personal favorite, it has also become the golf vacation favorite for many golfers.

As the Virginia Beach National Golf Club continues to earn a following from golf trip regulars, it has long since been earning the respect of countless tour champions. It has been hosting the Virginia Open of the Nationwide Tours and undoubtedly has broken as many hearts both of the champions and the aspiring champions alike. The excellent quality of the course and the fact that it bears the name of Virginia Beach may simply be that one huge reason why it is so well loved. Or maybe it’s just too charming that even non-locals fall in love with it all too easily.

The Signature at West Neck Golf Club

When the Signature at West Neck Golf Club first opened in 2001, everyone was raving about it becoming a “timeless classic”. The golfing community expected a lot from the golf vacation destination. Not surprisingly so, the course bears the name of an Arnold Palmer as its creator, and the idyllic golf location of Virginia Beach as its home. How can anyone not expect a magnanimous result from this collaboration?

And magnanimous it was. The course stretches to a good 7,010 yards from the longest tees, all 18-holes spread on dramatically landscaped terrain. The course is a perfect collage of thirteen magnificent lakes, some stunning natural wetlands, and strategically placed beach bunkers. The greens and fairways of Tifsport Bermuda and A-grade bentgrass are conditioned to a state that could only be described as impeccable. The Signature at West Neck Golf Club displays such an air of elegance and unquestionable beauty, perfectly matched with a layout that is sure to challenge golfers playing from any of its five sets of tees. There is in fact a good reason to expect much from this golf vacation haven.

Today, a decade since the Signature at West Neck first opened for play, it is still as beautiful. The newer courses in the area and even the wear and tear of time has not fazed the course. It has become a favorite for golf trips and has a growing list of regular patrons who come back over and over to enjoy the scenery and its own brand of challenge. Undoubtedly, it has become the timeless classic it was meant to be.

Red Wing Lake Golf Club

The old and the wise will always remind us that there is a perfect time for everything. There’s a time to build, and a time to rebuild. And that time for Red Wing Lake Golf Club has come in 2005. The 60s-era golf vacation favorite in Virginia Beach had to go through two grueling years of total makeover under the watchful eye of its management and the keen hands of the Kevin Tucker Design Group. It was a long wait, but it was worth it. The George W. Coob original design is now a classic with all the amenities that only new age golfing technology could bring.

It is safe to say that Red Wing Lake Golf Club is better than ever. The fairways now feature a lush carpeting of high grade Bermuda grass and the greens of bentgrass have been restored. The golf vacation destination also has new wetland features that provide additional challenge to golfers of any skill level. The drainage system has also been improved immensely using state-of-the-art facilities for better playability on the greens and the forward tees.

The 18-hole, par-72 classic golf trip haven now stretches to 7,142 yards from the longest tees. The good name that Red Wing Lake Golf Club has earned in the last 30 years since its first opening in 1962 has just reached an all new level with all the improvements it has undergone. It has all the essentials of a classic favorite, with all the goodness of modern technology that can accommodate both the seasoned golfer and the young golf enthusiast. Now, more than ever, is the perfect time for golfers to enjoy the course.

 

 

Heron Ridge Golf Club

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.

Riverfront Golf Club

The excellence of a golf course in layout and scenery is not the handiwork of one alone. It is the result of man’s collaboration with nature – how a golf course architect works his way towards achieving something good out of what nature already has. Such was the case of Tom Doak and the Riverfront Golf Club in Suffolk, Virginia. He was given a piece of land too beautiful to even touch lest it may ruin its natural splendor; but the genius of the designer prevailed, and the result is an award-winning golf vacation destination of world-class quality.

 The Riverfront Golf Club, as its name implies, sits at the mouth of the Nansemond River and at the mouth of the James River. It winds through riverfront acreage, tidal marshes, old gigantic oaks and vast rolling hills – a surprising attribute considering it is surrounded with mostly flatland. The old style course is an 18-hole, par 71 beauty that stretches to 6,735 yards from the longest tees. It makes optimum use of the surrounding waters as hazards, and the natural contours of the land to give the course an attitude. It makes for golf vacations that are not only beautiful, but challenging and interesting as well.

Because of its top caliber features, the Riverfront Golf Club has been awarded with accolades left and right. Only rightly so, it is the perfect reward for all the hardwork put into it. It holds 4 ½ stars from Golf Digest and ranks among the 40 Best Daily Fee Course by Golf and Travel Magazine. The golf trip haven was carved out of nature as if it were made by nature itself, and that makes it even more outstanding.

Kokopelli Golf Club

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.

Palms Golf Club

How can one person be in two places at one time? How could something twice challenging and twice satisfying come from a single source? These questions may not quite find the answers but golfers who have played at the Palms Golf Club know by heart where these questions are coming from. Mesquite’s first golf vacation destination continues to charm and confuse golfers with its very unique features that are both beautiful and challenging.

The Palms Golf Club is known for its perfect fusion of traditional and desert golf; the front nine being characterized by lush greens, water hazards and extended fairways while the back nine features rugged desert terrain – all that in a single golf course surrounded by picturesque desert views and over 200 palm trees. Either side of the course requires shot making techniques that are far from similar with each other – something that proves to be a huge test for any golfer regardless of ability. The 18-hole par-72 course stretches from 4,747 yards to 6,813 yards from the longest tees. A golf trip to the Palms not only takes the guests to one of the best courses in the state of Nevada, but to two varied golfing experiences all at the same course.

Because of its being a versatile course both in layout and scenery, golf vacations at the Palms Golf Club are made of a myriad of emotions at every hole. Any one of the lakes or 45 huge green side bunkers could make or break any golfer’s heart. But the stunning views of Mesquite’s desert landscape could easily make up for it; that and the many other amenities of Mesquite’s favorite. Where the Palms is concerned, perhaps it takes firsthand experience to find answers to the many questions plaguing this classic.

Valderra at the Ledges

 

Every golfer longs for a memorable golf vacation. It should be hassle free, fun, and nothing like he’s ever had. Needless to say, the golf course plays a role so major in the golfer’s search for that one of a kind vacation that a single flaw might ruin everything else. Good to know, there still are a few great golf courses that fits the role to a tee – just like the Valderra Course at the Ledges in Southern Utah. Regardless of whether the golfer plays as a pro, an amateur, or simply the recreational type, this golf course’s features will definitely play the part of the perfect course.

Located 900 feet above the St George, Utah Valley, this Matt Dye creation is more than some pretty face of a golf vacation destination. True, though, that it is a looker. With the red rick terrains of the desert surrounding the course and the unmatched view of the Snow Canyon State Park cliffs, it is quite hard to describe this as anything other than beautiful. But it is so much more than that. Its naturally rugged terrain makes it an even more rugged, tough course to play. Stretching 7,200 yards from the longest tees, the Valderra Course at the Ledges gives every golfer something to think about at every hole.

The most sought-after feature, however, of this course is its state-of-the-art facility. They have GPS-equipped golf carts, top caliber practice facilities, and their pride and joy: the Jack Nicklaus Academy of Golf at Valderra. The academy is packed with both high end equipment and the best pros to have for instructors. Truly, the Valderra Course at the Ledges not only plays the role of the dream golf trip destination, but actually lives it.

Falcon Ridge Golf Club

Mesquite, Nevada is blessed to have one of the most naturally stunning desert landscapes in the United States. The golden sand and the canyons look like they’re glittering under the sun. The stunning views and the rugged landscape are two characteristics of this desert terrain that golf course developers love about Mesquite, making it a highly favored location for golf courses. They pair it with a powerful course layout, an even better conditioning team, and the results are some of the best desert golf vacation destinations in the world. One perfect example of this is the Falcon Ridge Golf Club.

The 18-hole medium length golf course stretches to 6,550 yards of golf, with three sets of tees for golfers of various handicaps. The course features a good serving of rugged, rocky terrain characteristic of Mesquite. Its 18 spectacular holes of the Falcon Ridge Golf Club are spread across greens with interesting, fairly challenging elevation changes. The mesa views from the course complete the package for the ultimate desert golf vacation.

Mesquite, being its good old beautiful self, is home to a lot of other stunning golf courses. But Falcon Ridge Golf Club could so easily compete head to head with them, even the more expensive ones. It is a golf vacation destination that is made of the right amount of comfort, spunk and beauty that perfectly matches Mesquite’s natural splendor. A golf trip to Nevada will never be complete without a sidetrip to Mesquite, and Falcon Ridge should be on top of the list.