Indian Canyons Golf Resort – North Course

One of the biggest questions golfers face when planning golf trips to Palm Springs is where in that golfer’s paradise to play in. Unless they have an entire month to play one Palm Springs course a day, coming up with a decision is rather difficult. These golf getaways are too precious to waste on a course that they would rather have spent time elsewhere playing. In these scenarios, no one goes wrong with a trip to the Indian Canyons Golf Resort. A game at its North Course will make one see what Palm Springs golfing is all about: only the best.

The North Course makes up half of the 36-hole facility that is the Indian Canyons. It sits in the beautiful canyons part of the foot of the stunning Mount Jacinto. The 6,943-yard, par-72 golf course is a creation of the renowned golf course architect William P. Bell. On this beautiful piece of earth, Bell utilized a classic design, with water hazards totaling to 6, and some of the best combinations of natural and man-made features. The course is made even more beautiful by the accents of olives, palms, and other native trees. But what this golf vacation destination is most proud of, apart from the excellent golf challenge it offers, is right smack at the heart of it.

The Walt Disney fountain is located right where everyone can see it, and where the scenery is always at best. It can shoot up to 100 feet of water – an extremely refreshing view in the part mountain-part desert haven. Taking golf vacations at the North Course of the Indian Canyons erases all doubt and question. Nothing goes wrong here.

Indian Wells Golf Club – Players Course

The best things in life are a perfect combination of direct opposites. The contrasting polarities, when tastefully meld together becomes a glorious spectacle. But that takes a lot of genius, patience and hardwork to achieve. It takes a good eye for detail to create an effective irony and not something that looks out of sorts. Take the Players Course of the Indian Wells Golf Club for example. This golf vacation destination is where the old meets the new; and instead of looking like a total chronological mess, it effectively takes its guests on a warp to a time and place where golf is the only thing that matters.

The Players Course of the Indian Wells Golf Club is a 1980’s original layout that was recently given a major facelift by John Fought. Fought has mixed his new concepts and made use of many of the old features of the course. The result was a perfect cocktail of some finely aged wine and something new. The course measures almost 7,400 yards from the longest tees, par 72. It features holes that are well-secluded from each other either by the mounding, bunkering, or trees old and new that Fought utilized in the design. But the best thing about the golf vacation favorite is yet to be unveiled.

Apart from the trees, flawless conditioning and maintenance and great layout that the Players Course of the Indian Wells Golf Club enjoys, the course also abounds in so much naturally beautiful surroundings. John Fought has well captured the views of the surrounding mountain ranges from any hole – and that remains uninterrupted as there is not a house in sight. In here, golf trips are really about golf trips – and only a course as good as this could transport anyone to this kind of paradise.

The Mountain View Course at the Desert Willow

When a golf getaway was intended for real vacations – no tournament type, pure fun, really easy rounds, one golf course in Palm Desert, California fits the part perfectly. The Mountain View Course at the Desert Willow Resort seems to have been made especially for that purpose. Despite the golf course being seated next to a known difficult sibling course, the Firecliff, this will assure its guests of the vacation part in golf vacations.

The Mountain View Course at the Desert Willow is a par-72 course measuring just a little under 7,000 yards from the back tees. Like its sibling course, it was made by the duo of Dr Michael Hurdzan and Dana Frye with the help of PGA veteran John Cook – the same team that made the toe-curling Firecliff. How they made the Mountain View to be as relaxing and as fun as it is, that remains quite a mystery. Here, there are no forced carries, not as many bunkers with just 93, and water on seven holes – and though it is practically surrounded by desert, the desert part is restrained to give way to wider fairways to make for easier shots. Golf trips here are made for everyone – that despite its being rather easy, the extremists of achievers in golf will find reasons to relax and enjoy this spectacle as much.

Anything this enjoyable cannot be unattractive. Of course this golf vacation destination has perfected the combination of fun and beauty – it cannot NOT be beautiful. The Mountain View Course at the Desert Willow is blessed with the most stunning desert mountain scenery with lots of native vegetation paired with an even better landscaping and conditioning. If that does not make for a relaxing golf experience, nothing else will.

La Quinta Golf Resort – Mountain Course

In any competition, anything new always has a tendency to be hyped up. Things may not always be as good as they appear or pretend to be, but because of all the attention it gets, everyone is scrambling up to see what it is. In the long run, under too much scrutiny, the tiny imperfections will give it away. And only the truly excellent shall remain. Such was the case of the Mountain Course of the La Quinta Golf Resort. After many years, it went through the many stages of hype and attention, but it has remained in the top. This is one golf vacation destination that is able to justify its accolades – words are not needed.

Playing a single round at the Mountain Course will answer questions why this is among the Top 100 Courses in America. Out of the tens of thousands of courses in the US, with several thousands in the state of California alone, it emerged as amongst the 100 best. Thanks to the beauty nature has endowed this part of the planet, the golf vacation favorite enjoys what it enjoys today. Thanks, too, to the genius that is Pete Dye, every inch of the beautiful Santa Rosa mountains that it utilized was made to full use, bringing out its perfection.

And golf trips are laid out to perfection as well. Games here consist of playing through well-shaped bunkers carved out in the desert mountain, perfectly manicured greens, and the most unusual and natural rock formations. And it does not end there. The beautiful scenery surrounding the Mountain Course is yet a different story. Together they make more than 6,700 yards of golf heaven. No hype. No exaggeration. This is golf at its finest, and only a game here can justify that.

PGA West – TPC Stadium Course

It would be too hard for any golfer to resist playing the TPC Stadium Course. Apart from a very beautiful reputation, the golf course is able to live up to it. Famous for both vacations and top tournaments, this golf vacation destination brings Pete Dye’s name to the Best of all Times list over and over and over.

The TPC Stadium Course is located in La Quinta, California, and is only one of the five championship courses on the facility. But this is deemed the best. Always has been, always will. The golf course boasts of multiple inclusions in many Top 100 in the US and Top 100 in the World lists by countless big names in golf publication. And who would not want to put it among the best? The island par 3s are nothing like anything the world has seen; the bunkers are almost monstrous at the least, and the undulations are never predictable. This course is so tough it went on to becoming one of America’s 50 Toughest Courses, and the scariest for pros. It was so scary that after the first Bob Hope Chrysler Classic was played here, many pro golfers signed a petition requesting for the tournaments to not be played here. But that should not stop anybody from taking golf trips here.

And it did not. The TPC Stadium Course has long continued to become a classic favorite for tournaments – a favorite for both the players and even more so the spectators. Why, this Scottish-style layout would not be called the ‘Stadium’ for nothing! So whether on a golf vacation here as a player or a spectator or both, there’s no reason to resist coming over. Neither is there the will power to do it.

The Biltmore Golf Course

The Biltmore Golf Course is a true classic. It is a very fine Miami wine, a golf vacation destination that has aged gracefully and has not grown outdated. Generations after generations and champions after champions and never once falling short of amazing even in the face of new golf courses.

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.

Turnberry Isle Miami – Soffer Course

Longer. Tougher. Better. Prettier. Soffer. Thankfully, the Soffer Course is not as it sounds – golfers do not suffer on their golf vacations here. Not at all. On the contrary. One of the two Turnberry Isle Resort courses in Miami was making waves when it first opened more than thirty years ago; even more so now with its now face, new everything.

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.

Turnberry Isle Miami – Miller Course

Just as it was, the original Robert Trent Jones Sr layout was good and deemed to be among the best and most beautiful in Miami. But things had to change for the better. Whatever was better than the best, Raymond Floyd interpreted and delivered. Today, the Miller Course of the Turnberry Isle Resort bears a charm and quality that is mostly unheard of in most Miami golf vacation destinations.

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.

Doral Resort – Red Course

Red in the Red Course at Doral is not red as in fierce, hot and feisty. On the contrary. Red on this golf vacation favorite is love bubbles. This Miami course, despite lacking the domineering and daunting grit its siblings have, is one of the most lovable courses in the famed Doral Resort.

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.

Arnold Palmer’s Bay Hill Golf Club – Championship Course

This is the course that is closest to Arnold Palmer’s heart. The Championship Course at the Bay Hill Golf Club was a course he played first in the mid 60’s that he subsequently bought some ten years later. Whatever it was that he saw in the course at that first round, it must have been good enough to make him want to own it. Today, this course bears the signature of the legend himself both as the designer and the owner. With this golf course’s too personal a relationship with Palmer, golfers and visitors will have a peek and feel of how the legendary golfer wants his golf vacation destinations.

 The Championship Course was an original Dick Wilson design that sits on a 270-acre property on the edge of the Butler chain of lakes. Its terrain is caught between hilly and flat – something that is mostly unheard of in Central Florida. The course is famous for being an honest-to-goodness, straightforward course – nothing is hidden and everything is in plain sight. That does not equate to being easy though. Series of water, sand and other hazards all make for an exciting round at this golf vacation favorite.

Apart from serving golf trips, the Championship Course is also the home of the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Not that it comes as surprising. Whatever it was that Palmer saw in there the first time, he certainly has done something to channel that first love appeal of the course to countless golfers who come to visit. The course measures over 7000 yards from the tips, par 72, with multiple sets of tees.