Tag Archives: golf vacation destination

Heritage Shores Golf Club

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The Heritage Shores Golf Club in Delaware was created for the exclusive retirement community it belongs to. It was made for the seniors who want to enjoy their almost infinite downtime, living a resort life, golf vacations on daily basis, so to speak. But this does not mean golf here is kinder and well, old. On the contrary. The Arthur Hills creation actually finds itself some huge fan following from all ages.

 And that isn’t at all surprising. There is enough reason to love this golf vacation destination. With a maximum yardage length that stretches a little over 7,000 yards, par 72, and 5 sets of tees to choose from, this place knows no age nor skill level. Anyone who wants to play is welcome to play and explore the numerous water holes. And by numerous, it actually means close to 18. On top of these water holes, Heritage Shores Golf Club accentuated its beautiful layout with undulating fairways and large, well-shaped bunkers. And that completes the package. The layout is full of the right amount of challenging and visually enhancing features that all that is left for a golfer to do is just play.

 The best part about it comes in the form of green fees. Heritage Shores Golf Club knows just how important every dollar is, and it makes it count. Every penny used on a golf trip here is as good as it actually is. With a complete platter no golfer could ever resist, there is a close to a hundred percent chance this course doesn’t grow too old too soon.

Eagle’s Landing Golf Club

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This is one golf vacation destination that cares – for its environment, for its guests, and for the game of golf itself. There might just be nowhere else in Maryland, or the entire United States that gives as much value for money and game as the Eagle’s Landing Golf Club. This golf course gives more than what is expected of it.

 The Eagle’s Landing Golf Club is the first Maryland golf course to have been granted the Audubon Sanctuary certification. It has as much regard to its environment as to its golf. It could perhaps be because of the fact that it has an unparalleled postcard view of the Sinepuxent Bay and the Assateage Island National Seashore. And as is proven by the Audubon status, the natural wildlife remains untouched at the least, improved at the best. And the golf isn’t too shabby either. The Michael Hurdzan creation stretches to 7,003 yards of links-style layout playing from a variety of textures – wetlands, marshlands, saltwater marshes and Bermuda greens accentuated by an array of water holes, large sand traps and contoured greens. And all that excellent golf played at the most affordable price possible for its caliber. Budget-friendly golf vacations have never been friendlier and more enjoyable than this.

All these combined features have contributed to the list of merits listed under its belt.  These merits include an elusive Best New Public Golf Course from Golf Digest. With a resume quite as impressive, guests are assured of a jolly good time at the Eagle’s Landing Golf Club. It cares so much as to take the cares off of anyone’s golf trips.

Sunriver Resort – Crosswater Course

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The combined power of massive and scenic property (600-acres of woodlands and well-preserved wetlands) and human genius (legendary golf course architect Bob Cupp) created a topnotch golf facility in Central Oregon. And it is not just plain topnotch. The Crosswater Course in Sunriver Resort is on the honor roll of one of the most prestigious golf publications in the world (Golf Digest) as it is listed as among America’s 100 Greatest Golf Courses. It is also a winner in the hearts of many, many golfers who have this course in their list of favorites for golf vacations. And the reasons are quite obvious; not to mention, incontestable.

Sunriver Resort’s Crosswater Course is crossed on most every side by two beautiful rivers – the Dechutes and the Little Dechutes – thus the name. But the rivers do more than influence the name of this golf vacation destination. As they are almost omnipresent, water plays on most every single hole in the facility. That makes it both a visual delight and a treat to the golfer’s heart. And for everyone who’s up for some thrill, the signature hole on the golf vacation destination is the 687-yard, par 5 12th, as to why, let its monicker, The Endless, clue you in.

The winning features of the Crosswater Course do not end there, though. Apart from being a truly challenging course to play, the golf trip haven is as much a blessing for golfers as it is for the environment. Because the wetlands and the natural areas have been so well-kept and preserved, it has been granted the elusive Audubon International Sanctuary status. The course measures close to 7,700 yards, par 72, with five sets of tees to play from.

The Homestead Resort – Lower Cascades

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Low profile is not exactly low quality. The Lower Cascades Course of the Homestead Resort could prove that. This Robert Trent Jones Jr creation in the famed golf vacation destination in Virginia may have kept itself under the shadows of its more famous William Flynn sibling course, The Cascades, and may lack the experience of its classic counterpart Old Course, but that is not saying it isn’t quite a statement in itself. Au contraire. This golf course is actually known among the higher-skilled golfers for being challenging.

Although the Lower Cascades Course shares the same rolling, mountain terrain and dramatic elevation changes of the Cascades, this course is actually a little more open. This makes this course notoriously deceptive – appearing to be a less difficult for being challenging on many parts of the game. Golfers tend to forget the fact that this is an Robert Trent Jones creation – apart from the signature wide fairways and large greens, it also bears his penchant for risk reward play. The higher the risk, the bigger the rewards. That makes for golf trips that are anything but simple and ordinary.

Just as it is – open, wide, challenging and no doubt beautiful, the Lower Cascades Course is reaping its own merits. And many followers too. It is a beautiful cornucopia of nature’s features – including a beautiful stream that helps shape the course – and human genius that brings only the best quality golf vacations anyone could ever ask for. It may have easily been passed up for its siblings, but it is too much a loss to do so.

The Homestead Resort – Old Course

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The ‘Old Course‘ is pretty much okay for a description and a name. This course is, in fact, old – amongst the oldest in Virginia even, having been played since the 1890’s. But that is barely touching the surface. That does not, however, sum up to what this golf vacation destination is in its entirety. One would need a whole dictionary to find the right words to perfectly describe the oldest course on the famed Homestead Resort.

Originally, the course was a six-hole facility whose first tee is still being used to this day – America’s oldest in continuous use. The course was then extended to become a full 18-hole course with a design from the legendary course architect, Donald Ross. Subsequently, renovations were made on the Old Course by William Flynn and then more lately, Rees Jones. Today it measures 6,201 yards from the longest tees, par 72. The course has a very traditional layout that right from the very first hole promises a tremendous ending. And it does not disappoint. Despite renovations, the course has retained Ross’ saucer shaped bunkers paired with rolling mountain fairways and small greens. Golf vacations here are made interesting by the fact that there is an overwhelming collision of old and new features which make a wholesome challenge, a neat ensemble. To say the least, it is a true classic.

Despite the Old Course being, well, old, it carries a good enough amount of modern flair to keep up with the advancements of the game. And despite it having two competitors in its own stead – the Cascades and the Lower Cascades – this never runs out of its own golf trip fan-following. After all, old habits die hard. And for something old, this one never gets old.

The Homestead Resort – Cascades Course

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The Homestead Resort has three superb courses in it. But of the three, one of them stands out as its prized jewel – Virginia’s beloved classic Cascades Course. This spectacle of a golf vacation destination has a history of 80 glorious and colorful years – one that began as an original William Flynn design, later remodeled by Robert Trent Jones in the 60’s. And, just recently, it faced another renovation, this time to restore the original 1920’s design with a flair of modern. And through all that – remodeling and restoration – it still remained Virginia’s top; the only course in the state to be included in Golf Magazine’s elite lists of America’s 100 Greatest Public Golf Courses (#48) and the Top 100 in the World. That is, on top of being the consistent No. 1 Course in Virginia.

That shouldn’t be surprising. The Cascades Course sits in the stunning Allegheny Mountains – enough an assurance of a picture-perfect golf vacation. It is so beautiful that in fact, it is considered the most beautiful mountain course in the country. But it doesn’t stop there. The mountain’s natural topography has been the foremost influence in any game played here. Not so much as dictate, but influence in a way challenging to the better golfers and very generous to the handicap-challenged ones. In layout quality and beauty, this course is a definite topnotcher.

Thus, it is not surprising too that the Cascades Course has honed the careers of some of the world’s best. Topping the list of best golfers is the legendary Sam Snead who honed his championship skills in these very same greens. And with a very long and beautiful record as this, no wonder it is also topping the lists for America’s most favorite for golf trips.

Furry Creek Golf Club

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It can only be likened to a signature exotic dish. It cannot be found elsewhere, and it is almost imperative that each tourist get to try it at least once in his lifetime. The Furry Creek Golf Club is one that can never be compared to any other golf vacation destination – in Canada or anywhere – in beauty, in layout, and practically in everything else. To say the least, it is one that cannot and SHOULD NOT be missed.

The Furry Creek Golf Club is a Robert Muir Graves creation in British Columbia, considered by many to be BC’s most scenic golf course. And just as much as it is beautiful – thanks to the view of the Howe Sound and the views of the Coast Mountains, the course enjoys as much challenge. The elevation changes here are a good place to start – with a good 400 feet from start to finish. As to its being unconventional, ‘surprising’ can never suffice. It seems as if the balls here have a mind of their own, and for the careless or the instinctive, the ball tends to have a liking to the wooded areas. On a golf vacation here, the golfer must equally be armed with surprising moves to match. After all, this is nothing like any other course.

Its like preparing your palate for whatever gastronomical hocus-pocus this place has. A golf trip to Furry Creek Golf Club is a must-try: an exotic dining experience for golfers without the gruesome Fear Factor-esque quality. The course measures 6,025 yards from the longest tees, playing for a par of 72.

Whistler Golf Club-Palmer Course

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Arnold Palmer sure knows what to look for in a location for his next best golf vacation destination. When he was to build his first Canadian golf course, he chose the picturesque resort town of Whistler, and for obvious reasons. Snow capped mountains surrounding, thick natural mountain forests, abundant native wildlife, and the best possibilities on natural terrain flow – how could any golf course architect say no?And the result couldn’t be any more perfect: Whistler Golf Club – Palmer Course.

Broad fairways, glacier-fed lakes, man-made ponds, and a wide open wilderness bordered by the thicker of nature’s parts, the Whistler Golf Club – Palmer Course course is nature at Palmer’s best. What this legendary designer had in mind was to bring traditional golfing goodness in an unconventional layout – and by unconventional, he actually meant natural. The course follows the natural contours of the land, thereby giving more attitude and drama on the course’s elevation. And Whistler being Whistler, beautiful comes as natural as the fresh air. This creates a most perfect golf vacation scenario: scenic place, great golfing, and the best anyone could ask for in a holiday break.

And the goodness does not stop there. Apart from its high quality offering, the Whistler Golf Club – Palmer Course also offers some of the best services any guest could ask for in a golf trip facility. The service is so warm and welcoming that it feels like playing right at your own golf course. The practice area and facilities, too, live up to the bar of excellence set by the layout itself.

Nicklaus North Golf Course

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Jack Nicklaus could never have been more sure of his creation than the Nicklaus North Golf Course in British Columbia. This is one of the very few golf courses in the world that bears his name, one of those few chosen ones that risk everything that Nicklaus has worked for most of his life. But the risk was worth taking. Only a golf vacation destination of this caliber could carry not only the name, but the prestige and excellence that is Jack Nicklaus.

The Nicklaus North Golf Course is located right in the most beautiful part of Whistler, BC, Canada. It enjoys magnificent mountain vistas and features, to which Nicklaus weaved his signature course features all too perfectly. His trademark par 3s and bunkering are well placed around ancient firs, glacier fed streams, and the beautiful Green Lake. The course was designed to test out every golfers’ skill while optimizing the natural setting of the property – to make it work well with the layout and the play and go beyond the aesthetics. Views, layout playability – these are enough to call the course a true golfers’ haven. The on-course amenities only do so much as to cement this course into the golf vacation heaven status.

With a top-rated restaurant and grill, The Den, plus a fully-stocked Pro Shop, full service practice facilities and driving range, the pre- and post-game needs are surely covered. With close to 7000 yards of golf from the longest tees, par 71, and five sets of tees, golf trips are assuredly one for everyone. With Jack Nicklaus bringing everything into the table, there is not enough a reason to not believe that the Nicklaus North Golf Course is among his best works to date.

Big Sky Golf Club

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Some courses are only big on size and lacking in quality. Others are the opposite – big fun, small size. Others have it all on scenic quality. Thankfully, there are those rare ones who are as big as their talk. And the Big Sky Golf Club in Whistler, BC, Canada is a most perfect example. This golf vacation destination is listed as a favorite among local and visiting golfers alike. And the reasons are quite clear.

The Big Sky Golf Club is big in size. At 7,001 yards playing for a par of 72, there is so much to do in this land overshadowed by the snow capped Mt. Currie. It would be hard to single out the most scenic part here when crystal clear natural water features, large native trees, and an overcast of a mountain straight out of an oil painting are in the choices. And just as big on the looks, golfers are also in for a massive challenge. Let the same stunning water features tell the tale. Its designer, Robert Cupp, was big on using the natural attributes of the property in coming up with this piece. On top of that, he has filled the course with best quality grass and sand for the greens, fairways, and the bunkers well shaped to define the course’s attitude. All that presented on four sets of tees make this course perfect for the biggest golf trips.

Because of its big qualities, it does not come off as a surprise that the Big Sky Golf Club is granted 4 ½ stars by Golf Digest’s Places to Play. It is also as natural that it has granted the golf vacation haven the Best Course in BC. No wonder this course is also big on happiness.