Mayfair Lakes Golf and Country Club

There is nothing too simple or fairly good about the Mayfair Lakes Golf and Country Club. If anything, this favored golf vacation destination just minutes from Vancouver has most everything in excess: beauty, playability, and challenge. And in all fairness to it, there is nothing excessive about that claim.

The Mayfair Lakes Golf and Country Club is a Les Furber design, measuring a good 6.641 yards from the longest tees for a par of 72. What is most noticeable about this course, as is apparent in its name, are the lakes. There are several lakes on the property that are connected by a canal. This allows for water play on 13 of its 18 holes. That is topped only by the presence of a total of 90 bunkers – and that combination only spells one thing: H-A-Z-A-R-D. Not to mention, breeze coming in from the Pacific makes its presence known in a manner that could never be mistaken as discreet. And it surely is felt on the scorecards as well. The course is further defined by very fast greens and some lush fairways. And since it has taken to heart its being excessive in excellence, golf vacations here are never just defined by the golf features. Mother Nature has her hand on this, to which the designer and the developers happily obliged.

Where scenery is concerned, the towering North Shore Mountain and surrounding Coast Mountain Ranges will take over. They make for a most stunning and most refreshing backdrop for the Mayfair Lakes Golf and Country Club. With a course that is a little too much of everything – everything good, that is – it would only be fair to say that golf trips here come in excess too; never stopping with firsts or seconds!

Fairmont Chateau Whistler

There is such a superstar appeal to the Fairmont Chateau Whistler. This premier Canadian golf vacation destination has so much drama in it that it might as well pass up in Hollywood.

The Fairmont Chateau Whistler is twice a masterpiece – legendary golf course designer Robert Trent Jones Jr carved it out of the face of one of British Columbia’s most beautiful mountains, Coast Mountain Ranges. With Jones making the most of what nature has gifted it with, golfers are in for a delight both in playability and scenery. All Jones did here was make sure his hazards and holes are placed where the natural mountain features are exposed just right. And with something as beautiful as this, nothing is ever too much. Hazards include crystal clear mountain streams and deep ravines; breathtaking views of the surrounding valley are a two-faced feature: they could be a treat to the senses or a distraction. With features as varied and as dynamic as that, not to mention beautiful, golf vacations here are pretty much an emotional roller coaster – ranging between awe and heartbreak and satisfaction.

And speak of satisfaction, it seems like golfers are not the only ones satisfies at how the Fairmont Chateau Whistler looks and plays. Golf Digest gave it four and a half stars and rated it a ‘must play’; the Conde Nast Traveler Magazine hailed it the No. 1 Golf Resort in North America; and Canada’s Score Golf called it the Best Resort Course in British Columbia. But not only is this an award-winning spectacle; this superstar is its own blockbuster hit – the number of happy golf trips here are a testament. And there is nothing dramatic about it – that’s all fact.

Blackwolf Run – Meadow Valleys Course

The Meadow Valleys Course of the Blackwolf Run Golf Club in Wisconsin is perhaps the best image of how Mother Nature would have created a golf course herself. This is the most unfazed natural Wisconsin terrain that a golf course could have, and it so good at being good it comes naturally. And there should not be anything surprising about its being excellent; it is a Pete Dye creation. Can a golf vacation destination be any less than best if it is a Dye?

Although mostly overshadowed by its more famous sibling course, the Meadow Valleys Course has its own set of merits. This golf vacation haven winds through natural valleys and deep ravines, as well as tall-grassed meadows all playing out the role of a hazard. And all that are natural – thereby giving the most exciting, most interesting changes in elevation that no other man-made facility could ever copy. On this particular course, Dye was being kind with the opening hole being a little kind and considerate, only to be countered rather surprisingly at the back nine of mostly wooded area. And when a golfer thinks the 18th hole is his reprieve for a most heartwrenching first 17 holes, the 18th will make a perfect culmination to the round. And it is something that no one could ever forget.

This superb quality of play that the Meadow Valleys Course offers is, just as naturally, recognized. The 7,142-yard, par 72 course ranked 60th in Golf Digest’s List of America’s 100 Greatest. And its unforgettable 18th hole was ranked among the world’s Top 500 holes. Well, if that is the case, golf trips here would feel like Mother Nature prepared it herself.

Blackwolf Run – River Course

Pete Dye knows what he wants. And what he wants, he puts on the ground as a golf vacation destination that golfers love. His creations could speak for themselves. In Wisconsin, four of their prized golf jewels are Pete Dye creations ranked amongst the top in America, and in the world. One of them is the River Course of the Blackwolf Run Golf Club.

The River Course plays for just 6,991 yards from the longest tees, par 72, shorter than the more famous Dye Courses in the area. However, none of its superb features indicate it being short on fun and challenge, and scenery. As its name implies, a scenic glacial river basin runs through the entire course that works both on the aesthetics and provide natural hazards too. Pete Dye has a way of elevating the challenge on all his creations. On this one, the level of difficulty is on a staccato, ending with a bang on the signature 18th: a par 4 closer that would not be called The Dyehard for nothing. With a combination like that, this course is more than likely to leave an impression on anyone’s golf vacation.

And the biggest names in the sport seem to agree. Golf Digest, for one, has rated that very elusive five-star rating for Places to Play list also ranked the River Course the 15th in Golf Digest’s List of America’s 100 Greatest Public Golf Courses (2011/2012). The LPGA agrees too, as it has been the host of the 1998 Women’s Open, and is slated to host the same tournament again in 2012. Pete Dye truly knows what he wants, but more than that, he knows what golfers want – a most perfect site for unforgettable golf trips. And he delivers.

Irish Course – Whistling Straits Golf Club

It’s nothing like its sibling course, The Straits. There are none of the excessive elite status of the more famous course, but the Irish Course of the Whistling Straits Golf Club has its own merits that even its more ‘fabulous’ sibling could not topple. And that is its being well loved for playability and its undeniable versatility. When the Straits become too overrated to create a leisurely golf vacation, the discreet one is the best choice for a Wisconsin vacationer. And the surprises just keep pouring.

The Irish Course, like the Straits, is a Pete Dye marvel. Whilst the world is dying to try on the Straits for its PGA Championships reputation, this humble golf vacation destination just is not as simple as it presents itself. More critics actually find this a more interesting course – an inland layout of varying difficulty from one hole to another. The sand dunes and waste bunkers, among the must-watch-out-for features of a Dye course – are maintained rather minimally, to create a time-and-weather shaped hazard. And from the looks of it, and the reviews of it as well, everything they have done and have been doing with the course is effective.

When the Straits make use of the lake for its natural hazards, the Irish Course uses the ponds, deep ravines and little streams to give its punch more power. And power it is – it has created a name for itself as one of the favorite sites for golf trips. And with its length of 7,201 yards from the longest tees, par 72, the course is not merely as overwhelming as the Straits. Rising up to its own merits, this course will most easily pass up a rival for its own sibling course – in beauty, challenge, and fame.

 

 

Straits Course – Whistling Straits Golf Club

To be on the list of the world’s top 100 golf courses is one thing. But to be amongst the top 10 from all the courses ALL OVER THE GLOBE, not to mention, be at the 3rd spot – it must be one heck of a golf vacation destination. Well, all that it is and all that it has gone through to achieve this excellent state explains and notably justifies why the Straits Course of the Whistling Straits Golf Club is ranked third in the world’s best.

The Pete Dye creation in Wisconsin has played host to the 2004 and 2010 PGA Championships and has since then been elevated into the golf courses’ elite. At more than 7,500 yards from the longest tees, the Straits Course is not merely quantity. It is quality – with a walking-only links style layout that transports golfers to another time and another place somewhere in the UK and Ireland. Pete Dye worked tirelessly along the coasts of Lake Michigan – moving earth to form grass topped dunes, rolling greens, and deep pot bunkers. And by moving earth, he did move earth to transform the former flat and basically empty abandoned Camp Haven into one of the world’s most favorite golf vacation havens.

With its wonderful and perfect combination of natural beauty and layout excellence – herein noting that the Lake Michigan does not only work as a breathtaking background but as an active hazard as well for its ever incessant winds – the Straits Course deserves all its merits. From being handpicked by true-blue golf critics to be amongst the world’s best, to being a favorite site for golf trips of countless golfers, to be asked to host the prestigious Ryder Cup (2020), it is very much deserving,

Iberostar Playa Paraiso Golf Club

Paraiso. The name could not exactly be any more fitting than that. The Iberostar Playa Paraiso Golf Club in the Riviera Maya is a paradise within a paradise – a double treat for any guest, a heaven for the golf-loving guests. It was something only a PB Dye could make – to transform the Mayan jungle into the ultimate golf vacation destination.

The Iberostar Playa Paraiso Golf Club is the latest of PB Dye’s masterpieces. On this particular creation, he has created a most interesting elevation magic on something that was relatively flat. But not to think that Dye has drastically changed the face of the ancient Mayan jungle. On the contrary, much of the dense tropical forest remains as a picturesque view. Dye also made use of the area’s natural rock formations to help keep the games interesting. They are, no doubt. And so are the golf vacations.

Visiting guests will also love the other signature Dye pieces on the course. He has laden the Iberostar Playa Paraiso Golf Club with narrow fairways, undulating greens, and bunkers that are deep and shaped the way only Dye could. And to make matters even better than they already are, the course measures all 6,800 yards from the tournament tees, plays for a par of 72. And the amenities are ones that would only match its being a paradise – from the driving range to putting greens to the clubhouse. It is a complete package of everything a dream golf trip should be and more. The paraiso that is the Mexican Caribbean and the glorious Mayan jungles have never seen itself more beautiful than now.

Playa Mujeres Golf Club

Greg Norman and the developers of the Playa Mujeres Golf Club surely weren’t just thinking of golfers’ well-being when they built this stunning piece of art in the Cancun. There was more to this than just the usual extremes in aesthetics and golf layout excellence. This golf vacation destination was created with so much consideration for nature. So much that in fact, nature was to be the main highlighted theme of the course.

Everyone knows just how much beauty nature has showered the Cancun with. And this is evident in every part of the Playa Mujeres Golf Club. Greg Norman did as little interruption to nature as possible. He kept his creation at peace and in true and lasting harmony with nature. And the results couldn’t be any more perfect than this. This golf vacation heaven takes through dense tropical jungles, beautiful lagoons, and even beachside of the stunning Caribbean Sea surrounding it.

But it would be fatal to assume that because it is both beautiful and ecologically sound, Greg Norman forgot to put in the right amount of kick. Because he absolutely not. The placement of the holes were made to give exactly this. Not to mention, the constant blowing of the wind coming in from the sea will not only ruffle an up do; it will make more than a single scorecard find itself in disarray too. With the way the Playa Mujeres Golf Club turned out, it would be safe to assume that Greg Norman was having a great time with nature. And the golfers’ well being? Well taken cared of, in a way only a golf trip could do. The course measures 7,215 yards from the longest tees, par 72.

El Camaleon Golf Course

It does not exactly change its colors, that would be freaky. But this golf vacation destination was named after the chameleon for itsmore obvious and less scary feature: dynamic and diverse. The El Camaleon Golf Course would feel like playing many different courses on the same course at the same time.

The El Camaleon Golf Course is a cornucopia of different natural features. Golfers would be treated to the play along or through mangroves, tropical jungles and the golden shorelines of the Caribbean Sea surrounding the area. Its designer, Greg Norman worked on this course according to his design philosophy of creating the least intervention on nature in coming up with a tournament quality course. And this was achieved all too neatly. It wasn’t too hard, though. He didn’t do much on making it beautiful, it is beautiful in itself. What, with scenic, natural subterranean rivers that have been preserved well and acting as natural hazards, and the beautiful Carribean Sea making a lasting impression, there really is nothing more that any designer could do to make it more beautiful. What Norman had to do was bring a high-caliber golf course. It would be such an understatement to say that this goal was achieved. As a matter of fact, this chameleon changes faces from being a golf vacation haven into a top tournament facility.

And by top, it means the PGA Tour-quality kind of top. The El Camaleon Golf Course is the first golf course outside of the US and Canada to have hosted a PGA Tour, and it will keep on doing so in the coming years annually. Guests on golf trips here would effortlessly transition from being mere golfers to ‘happy golfers’, and there’s no going back from there!

Riviera Cancun Golf Course

A gift from nature, a canvas for Jack Nicklaus, a golf vacation destination made for the royalty. These are three definitions that could pretty much sum up what the Riviera Cancun Golf Course.

Cancun, in itself, is beautiful. It is easily a playground for the Divinity. Adding Jack Nicklaus to the picture escalates Cancun to an entirely new level – it takes the genius of one man to take this piece of heaven closer to man, to the golf-loving man that is. The Riviera Cancun Golf Course is a perfect example of how a man-made structure is made so beautiful by using what nature has endowed it with. This golf trip haven takes golfers through a myriad of experiences – bursting in attitude in color, and that is on the visuals yet! The holes are spread through and around mangroves, palm trees, and laden with strategic bunkers, lovely little golden bridges, and perfectly manicured greens. With all that plus views of the nearby ocean, it would be quite easy to assume Nicklaus made this course so beautiful to distract the golfers from game.

But no. The Riviera Cancun Golf is as biting as it is stunning. From the longest tees, it measures a little more than 7000 yards, par 72. The things that make it beautiful – the trees, the shapely bunkers, and even the pristine water features – are the exact same things that will make the game a little more exciting. There is as much depth in these visual stunners so as to bring the real-deal ‘golf’ in golf vacations. The contemporary Mexican structure that is the clubhouse will take care of the latter part. It comes full circle, with nature, designer and golfer altogether enjoying this hand-me-down from heaven.