Queen’s Harbour Yacht and Country Club

This is one golf vacation destination fit for royalty. Of the many courses in Jacksonville, Florida, the Queen’s Harbour Yacht and Country Club is considered the best. Not only is it extremely beautiful – with views of yachts at the marina on one side and the surrounding natural splendor of Jacksonville on another, but it offers a quality of play that does not come close to plain and mediocre. This combination of fun, beauty and challenge also expects its guests to play like royalty.

Just as royals are fancied with beautiful things, so are they expected to be skillful and excellent where they should be. And in this golf vacation favorite, they are faced with a layout that requires them the best of their shotmaking skills, and techniques. The 18-hole, par 72 Mark McCumber design is a good combination of a variety of par 3s, long par 4’s and short par 5s spread out on Bermuda carpeted rolling fairways. McCumber’s bunkering and mounding can get quite deceptive on some points, golfers must be on their guard especially for easy looking holes. The Queen’s Harbour Yacht and Country Club stretches to 7,017 yards from the back tees, and has 4 sets of tees to accommodate more royalties.

The grandeur of its beautiful scenery and excellent layout are completed in the impeccable service and amenities offered at the Queen’s Harbour Yacht and Country Club. There are rest stations all throughout the course, the beverage cart is almost never out of sight, and the 19th hole proves to be just as exactly as the rest of the course is: EXCELLENT. The experience here is just too unforgettable guests would still feel regal long after their golf trips.

Golf Club at South Hampton

Mark McCumber is a celebrated golfer at the PGA Tour. Mark McCumber is a more celebrated golf course designer at the Golf Club at South Hampton in St Augustine, Florida. And he is rightfully so. The golf vacation destination that he designed is one of the best, most unique in this side of the Sunshine State because of McCumber’s distinct take on the usual elements of a Florida golf course.

Perhaps the best feature of McCumber’s design is not in the hole placement, the beautifully done landscaping, the natural Florida woodland scenery, or the even more stunning water hazards, natural and otherwise. Although these factors are, without a doubt, excellent on their own and greatly contribute to the overall beauty of the course. The most noteworthy part of the golf vacation favorite is in the bunkers. The white, soft sugar sand bunkers at the Golf Club at South Hampton were not just strategically placed, but are contoured and are made to fit the shape and style of the holes. And they come in numbers, having a total of 60. By far these are the best bunkering that has come to the Florida golfing scene.

The 18-hole, par-72 layout of the Golf Club at South Hampton wind through 17 stunning and large lakes and natural Florida woodlands. McCumber designed the holes to test every golfer’s shotmaking skills and their better judgment on which club to use at a most appropriate hole. The course measures 6,952 yards from the back tees, and has several sets of tees to make golf trips hereabouts as enjoyable as it possibly can to as many golfers as possible. Mark McCumber has clearly given guests a reason to celebrate the sport at this creation.

The Golf Club at North Hampton

Nobody should ever expect anything ordinary from a true genius. Whatever comes out of their minds are always with a touch of being extraordinary, and it does not mind being so – whether spectators like it or not. Proof to this fact is The Golf Club at North Hampton in Northeastern Florida. This golf vacation destination attests to the sheer genius of Arnold Palmer – his attention to detail, his reverence to challenge, and his utter love for the sport that made him a legend.

The Golf Club at North Hampton is Palmer’s own brand of poetry, cemented on Jacksonville terrain. It is laden with man-made sand dunes, bridges, coquina and sand bunkers backdropped by beautiful Florida woodlands. The elevation changes tend to be a little dramatic, and the wild grasses are a most perfect distraction. They are put together rather too well under Palmer’s hands that the ten year old golf trip favorite is a wonderful concoction of beauty, challenge, and perhaps, some madness – from the frustrated golfers who can’t score low. This piece of Arnold Palmer’s mind is nothing but ordinary.

Even the brand of service that this course offers does not come close to mediocrity. They give “customers come first” their own take, and it requires a real golf vacation to experience that. The Golf Club at North Hampton is all 18-holes of exciting, challenging, fun golf course that stretches to 7,171 yards playing for a par of 72. The 5 sets of tees allows for more golfers to enjoy its unique offering. It is perhaps safe to say that guests should expect nothing but the unexpected from this Florida golf gem.

St John’s Golf and Country Club

When designer Clyde Johnston was given the piece of land between St Augustine and Jacksonville, Florida, he was given an empty, clean piece of canvass. It would have worked too easily if he were a painter. The thing is, he’s a golf course architect and a little bump on the terrain every here and there would have been helpful; an outright flat and plain piece of Florida lot seemed more a liability. But his genius was tested, and he has successfully turned the handicap into a full asset. And the result is a premier golf vacation destination, and what most golfers consider as Johnston’s best creation yet: St John’s Golf and Country Club.

Sitting next to tons of other golf courses in the area, the St John’s Golf and Country Club could easily be ignored, considering they share the same South Florida natural wetlands and wildlife. What sets this golf vacation haven apart is what Johnston do and did not do. Instead of putting in too much intervention into the apparently flat land, Johnston made use of what is already there, thus bringing out the best that nature can offer. He complimented it with a good helping of water hazards and sand traps, adding up to the challenge that the natural wetlands provide.

In totality, it is as similar to its neighbors as it is as different. These golf trip favorites share the same Florida goodness, but Clyde Johnston’s balanced mix of beauty and challenge, nature and his own creativity, make the St John’s Golf and Country Club outstanding. The course stretches to a good 7,236 yards from the back tees, and plays at a par of 72. A masterpiece by all means, it is rewarded by consistently being ranked among the nation’s best.

Cimmarone Golf Club

Jacksonville, Florida may be more popularly known to be the home of the World Golf Village, but there is certainly more to the place where golf is concerned. And why not, Jacksonville has a very interesting natural terrain, beach spots, and the perfect weather to make it the ideal golf vacation destination. True blue golfing fanatics know by heart that some ten minutes or so from the famed Hall of Famer resort, there is an equally stunning golf course: the Cimmarone Golf Club.

An 18-hole par-72 layout, the Cimmarone Golf Club enjoys as much fame with the championship courses of the WGV in South Florida golfing scene because of the unique challenge it offers. David Postlethwait designed the course that stretches to 6,891 yards from the championship tees, and features rolling fairways and undulating greens. Like most So. Florida courses, it is backdropped by the many beautiful natural scenery and natural wildlife inhabiting the area. However, what sets this golf vacation favorite apart from its neighbors is the fact that each of its 18-holes has a water/marsh feature. Yes, EACH OF ITS EIGHTEEN HOLES. Pristine, yes. Challenging, an even bigger yes. And it does not stop there. The bunkers dotted all over the course do not make it any easier either.

With its five sets of tees and challenging layout, it does not come as surprising the Cimmarone Golf Club is flocked by golf trip enthusiasts. It is home to some of the best golf offerings in Jacksonville. The course might just as well be part of an entire county of Hall of Fame-worthy golf courses!

Ocean Course of the Hammock Beach

Good opening. Good middle. Good ending. There is nothing about this golf vacation destination that could not be listed as “good”. That should not be surprising though, the Ocean Course of the Hammock Beach is a creation of no less than the living legend, Jack Nicklaus himself. His creation is in contention for being Florida’s best with its sibling course, The Conservatory, a Tom Watson creation. But there is actually no contest. The Conservatory is inland, this one is oceanfront. The first oceanfront course in Florida in the last seven decades.

Six of its holes are directly playing on the Atlantic Ocean, and the rest are winding through the natural wetlands and lakes on site. The most notable feature of the Ocean Course of the Hammock Beach, as if anything else here could easily be ignored, are the final four holes collectively called “The Bear Claw”.These holes are edging the coastline, and have been designed to close any golfer’s game rather unforgettably. And there’s no such thing as “easy” in this course’s definition of unforgettable. Guests should expect no less than the same for their golf trips.

With 7,201 yards of golf from the longest tees, and multiple tee options, there is no reason for any golfer to forget their golf vacation at the Ocean Course of the Hammock Beach. And since its opening in 2000, it has not stopped earning rave reviews from pros and amateurs alike, and has rightfully been ranked as amongst America’s top 100 courses. There’s too much goodness here, it might as well be called the ‘best’.

Conservatory at Hammock Beach

More often than not, an artist’s creation are reflections of his thoughts, emotions, and experiences. They are likewise an indicator of the creator’s level of expertise. This same philosophy holds true in golf course design. One perfect example is Tom Watson’s Conservatory at Hammock Beach in Jacksonville, Florida. The golf vacation destination holds the stories of Tom Watson’s prestigious life as a golfer, and the genius that he is in golf course design.

The 5-time British Open Champion, and the multi-awarded, well-celebrated golf legend that is Tom Watson has not only brought excellence into the Hammock Beach Resort with the Conservatory at Hammock Beach. He brought his own brand of excellence and it tells the champion that he is, with so much attention to every detail of the course. The inland layout is laden with 76 acres of lakes, waterfalls, brooks, and field stonework that make for a stunning golf trip experience. And stunning it is, both in scenery, and challenge that is best for golfers of ANY level. Watson also added 140 bunkers of white sand and coquina shell to the course, just the right mix of challenge and signature Florida golfing. If that isn’t enough yet, there are 3 sod-faced bunkers in the course too; Watson’s way of paying homage to British links style golfing that he has almost mastered.

The 18-hole Conservatory at Hammock Beach stretches to 7,776 yards from the longest tees and plays for a par of 72. And just as the golfing world has raved about Tom Watson’s skills in playing the sport, it has given the golf vacation haven a similar acceptance with its many accolades since opening in 2006, including 3rd in Golf Digest’s list of America’s Best New Public Courses (January 2008 issue).

Slammer and Squire Golf Course

The World Golf Village in Jacksonville, Fl. is one of the most – if not the most – prestigious golf vacation destinations in North America not only in concept, but in everything. It is home to the World Golf Hall of Fame, and a 36-hole golfing facility bearing the names of no less than certified Hall of Famers. One of its two championship courses, the Slammer and Squire Golf Course was designed by Bobby Weed with Hall of Famers Sam “the Slammer” Snead and Gene “the Squire” Sarazen as consultants after whom the course was named.

The Slammer and Squire Golf Course debuted in May of 1998 and features generous fairways, contoured greens, some heart-wrenching water hazards and the most impressive views of the Golf Hall of Fame, backed by a most golf-perfect weather courtesy of Florida’s climate. The front nine of this 18-hole championship spectacle features a more treelined fairway, while the back nine is water-defined. The golf vacation favorite plays 6,939 yards from the longest tees, for a par of 72.

To say that the Slammer and Squire Golf Course is superb is saying the least. It is a hotspot not only for golf trips but for some of the biggest golfing events in Florida as well, including the Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf (A Senior PGA Tour Event) and the Handa Cup. Well put together, this course and its sibling course, the King and Bear (a Palmer/Nicklaus creation), and everything else on site spell PRESTIGE like a perfect golf swing for the World Golf Village.

King and Bear Golf Course

Two is better than one. Cliché. Two working as one. Romance. Two opposites working as one. Extraordinary. And this is exactly what the King and Bear Golf Course is. The course has two legendary rivals in golf working together – Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus. More than designate each other with their respective nines, Palmer and Nicklaus ACTUALLY worked together to bring about one of the two championship courses in the renowned World Golf Village in Jacksonville, Florida. The result is one of the most talked-about, most visited golf vacation destinations this side of the country.

The King and Bear Golf Course carries with it the burden of representing the Hall of Famers, and who else could better carry out a course worthy of a world Hall of Fame but Nicklaus and Palmer no less. It measures more than 7,200 yards from the back tees, playing for a par of 72, featuring bunkers, water hazards, and hole placement that are neither Palmer nor Nicklaus, but both. The natural beauty of the area perfectly compliment the handiwork of the geniuses; the front nine is laden with loblolly pines and open meadows while the back nine is backdropped by a good helping of 200-year old oaks. These features of the golf vacation favorite are an epitome of what is obvious: the layout meshes perfectly with nature, creating a very astounding golf facility.

Along with its sibling course, the Slammer and Squire, the King and Bear Golf Course carry with it a prestige, challenge, and love for golf worth a world Hall of Fame. It delivers a golf trip that best carries out a one of a kind romantic affair with the sport – and makes every golfer realize two (or more) rounds are better than one.

Bonaventure Country Club – West Course

Size is not all that matters. Shorter does not necessarily mean less exciting or less playable – and that is talking about golf courses. Proof to that is the West Course of the Bonaventure Country Club in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The golf vacation destination may come up shorter than its sister course, the East course, in length, but never shorter on the quality of play. It has as much challenge as there are in longer, bigger courses.

The West Course of the Bonaventure Country Club measures 6,128 yards from the back tees, a good thousand yards shorter than the East’s 7,158 yards, but the par-70 West Course is not an inch short of fun. Its wide fairways and undulating greens, and shorter yardage, may trick golfers into thinking it is gonna be easy. But the hole design will prove them otherwise. The deceiving numbers and easy-looking hole placement will test both the golfer’s choice of club, and his patience. It is a golf vacation made not for the faint of heart.

Although that being said, let it not be known that the West Course of the Bonaventure Country Club is a sadist of sorts. The lush tropical vegetation and the abundant wildlife in the course will soften any toughie on the course. It could be the course’s way of making up for the heartbreak on the scorecards. The 18-hole Mark Mahannah design that debuted in 1975 does not need to live up to the reputation of its sister course. This is not a place for short golf trips, but for rounds and rounds of golf.