The Dunes Golf and Tennis Club in Sanibel Island, Florida is just one among the many. It just makes a small part in the Sunshine State’s long – really long – list of superb golf vacation destinations. But for some reason, this course stands out not only for its features but because it made a name among the top favorites of locals and visitors alike.
It could be the lush tropical views and features. The Dunes Golf and Tennis Club is painted with an Audubon International sanctioned 
wildlife preserve for background so its being beautiful comes just as naturally. And the unabashed presence of such creatures as alligators, ospreys, herons, and bald eagles makes an outing here even more interesting. It could also be the excellent 5,578 yard-, par 70-layout. Well, not really surprising; a design from PGA Tour champ Mark McCumber would hardly be anything other than superb. He has made sure his layout meshes perfectly with the natural attributes of the area, thereby making this course easily seem like a part of the preserve itself. A natural, so to speak. Or, it could be the impeccable maintenance on the course that draws people to it. Whatever good that the nature-designer collaboration has done to it is meticulously kept at its best form so any time will be a good time for a golf vacation.
It could be the scenery, the layout, or the conditioning – or it could be everything that makes the Dunes Golf and Tennis Club an excellent course. It could be any or all of it that has merited this course the Best of Sanibel Island for ten straight years. Whatever it is, it is what makes it a favorite star in countless golfers’ most memorable golf trips.
The 
in its wildlife inhabitants. Its 200 acres of nature preserve is home to several indigenous animals including the bald eagle. This is a favorite home to many animals just as much as it is a golfer’s favorite for their 
everyone else – the ones who are more popular with the larger crowd simply because they are so easy to be with. In a family of courses in a resort, that kinder, easier course will always be present too. Just like the 
a proof of its unparalleled beauty. But stopping at that feature is not giving justice to the totality of the work that designer Lee Trevino did here. The lakes along with a number of sand bunkers give as much grit to the course as it could get. Thankfully, though, the undulating fairways and the relatively flat greens make for easier recovery after an errant shot. Pretty much like the Flamingo, the Mustang is lined with many Florida pines and other native vegetation and could easily be said to be as beautiful. But what separates the two is the Mustang’s being forgiving, therefore less daunting and more inviting. Makes for enjoyable 
longest tees. There are five sets of tees, where the longest tees are close to being unforgiving but the middle and shorter tees are a treat to the lower-handicapped players. The course, moved perhaps by the pressure of staying out of its predecessor’s shadow, offers a different flavor to 
The 
This is not anywhere near Siena, Italy but any golfer could easily utter a hearty “Benissimo!” at the first sight of the 
last (and even after it), the 
Nevada Desert is a golden paradise of canyons and boulders that glow under the usually unforgiving sun, no doubt. Now to put the two together on the same sentence, any golfer’s imagination could go wild. But when it hits reality, it is not as wild. Though a bit rugged on the edges where the desert is most present, the course is a beautiful haven, a golfers’ retreat in the middle of the desert. Anyone who has played the 
by the designer to nature. Fazio, as excellent as he is, managed to create a course that highlights the desert the way spotlights would a superstar onstage. And he made it in a way that makes golfers feel like the desert and the 
Sometimes, the best way to enjoy life is to think outside the box. Whilst many people rave about all the great things in central Vegas, and while golfers scramble to get to the best there is within the city, the knowing golfers choose to go outside. Outside the city that is. Henderson, Nevada, a mere thirty minutes from the Las Vegas Strip, holds a wonderful secret in its midst: a 
could not get any better. Desert landscape, impeccably maintained greens, palms and pine trees, arroyos, large bunkers, and water features at just the right areas. Ted Robinson has designed this course to blend so well with nature it gives the feeling that 
As mentioned earlier, what sets this course apart are its water features. Water plays on 7 of its 18 holes, with the last three being close to submerged. A little bit overrated a description, but the challenge that water poses on the closing holes make it seem so. The 
standout among Florida courses for a number of things. For one, it bears some very dramatic elevation changes that are mostly unheard of in this flat side of the golfing country. The fairways are lined with trees, and water plays on six of the 18 holes but there are no forced carries to hurdle. This makes playing here truly fun and enjoyable; golfers are saved from the heartbreak. From too much heartbreak, that is. This course naturally does not go without challenge. The well bunkered greens will take care of that. 
the littlest amount of interruption on the natural vegetation and topography of the area. And the result is wild: miles and miles of natural sand dunes with some measuring twenty feet tall, huge rolling fairways, and bunkers that are a work of art in themselves. All that is spread on 750 acres of paradise, with tees measuring a whooping 7,607 yards from the longest ones – if that is not one big course, then anything else smaller than this is a mere miniature version. Featuring six sets of tees, the 
grand, is that it is well secluded from the usual Florida tourist hubs that are mostly overcrowded, to say the least. This gives 
GolfTrip.com - Golf Tips, Vacations, Packages, Destinations and more! 