TOP 10 BEST
GOLF COURSES FOR WOMEN The
Boulders, South Course The Boulders, 45 minutes north of downtown Scottsdale in tiny Carefree, might as well be in Bedrock. In fact, parts of the "The Flinstones" movie were filmed at this sprawling resort, whose two magnificent 18-hole golf courses and 160 adobe-style, flat-roofed guest casitas and 40 one-, two- and three-bedroom villas blend into the high Sonoran Desert's omnipresent 12-million-year-old granite boulder formations. Pine
Needles Lodge & Golf Club Guests come to Pine Needles to escape the world, enjoy golf and improve their game. Improvement is guaranteed. Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club was an innovator in golf instruction as far back as the late-1950s when Peggy and Warren Bell conceived their Golfari golf schools that remain enormously popular in the 21st century. Today Pine Needles remains at the vanguard of professional golf instruction with the inception of The School for Learning Golf™ under the expert guidance of renowned golf instructor Michael Hebron. This is golf instruction’s most unique experience, founded on award-winning approaches and respected research about how people learn, guaranteeing improvement. Sea
Island, Seaside ST. SIMONS ISLAND, GA – Tom Fazio’s impressed with Sea Island Golf Club.
“I’d say, in terms of strength and beauty and excitement -- the Seaside Course at Sea Island Golf Club is probably as good a golf course as we’ve ever had the opportunity to work on,” Fazio said.
The Greenbrier, Old White The opening hole at Old White might be its strongest. In 1938, noted architect Robert Trent Jones wrote an article for Towne & Country featuring his ‘Dream 18,’ and the opener at Old White was among them. The back tee of this 449-yard par four is right in front of the clubhouse veranda; an intimidating shot on its own, made more difficult when resort guests are gathered on the patio for drinks. The hole plays downhill to a fairway bending right through two tall stands of trees, and the approach is to a green framed with bunkers on three sides. It is a classic opening hole. Reynolds
Plantation, The Oconee The Oconee Course, the Rees Jones-designed resort course, presents a golfing challenge unmatched by any other in the nation. Described by many as "mind-game golf," the new Jones addition to the Reynolds Plantation landscape is designed to be a true risk/reward challenge - often forcing golfers to choose between direct tee shots over inlets of Lake Oconee and long drives down tree-lined dog-leg fairways. Noted for its spectacular par threes - featuring multiple tee boxes, drop shots from elevated tees and numerous water hazards - the course offers five holes in which Lake Oconee comes directly into play and four others tendering magnificent lake views. Though the interior creeks and ponds and the expansive vistas of Lake Oconee provide spectacular scenery for Oconee Course golfers, they also ensure an unrivaled challenge for players of all experience levels. LPGA
International, Champions The Champions Course, designed by Rees Jones, marks the first time a course was designed specifically for professional women golfers. Yet with five sets of tee markers, the par-72, Scottish-links style course can be played from 5,131 yards to 7,088 yard. Interspersed throughout the course are tranquil marsh areas and nature preserves, along with strategically placed water hazards. Kingsmill,
Plantation The Plantation Course is an ideal resort course for the casual and less serious or physically ambitious golfer. As such, it is a nice complement to the River Course. Yet, it has some stunning holes on it, with ravines, undulating fairways lined with dense forests, elevated greens, lovely ponds and streams, and a few wetland or environmental areas. Residential housing is very evident on this course, which starts from the main clubhouse and winds west of the River Course. The residences are tasteful ranging from modest size Cape Cod style homes and villas to luxurious 5- and 6-bedroom mansions. One such mansion is visible from the 16th fairway. Surrounded by opulent homes of the same ilk, it has an exterior not unlike the Governor’s Palace at Colonial Williamsburg. Opened in 1985, the Plantation Course is the golf equivalent of a "lite lunch." It ranges from 4800 yards from the red tees to 6543 yards from the gold, and it is largely flat. The greens and green complexes don’t present super difficult challenges and the fairways, though tree-lined for the most part, are wide enough to accommodate an occasional wayward shot. Holes 8 – 12, 17 and 18 are among the more memorable holes. The short par 5 #8 is in the area of thick forest that is the most "pristine" on the course. A tall oak tree stands on the left edge of the fairway of this fine double dogleg hole. The front 9 finished with a short par 3 over a wetland area, and it calls for your camera, as the entire hole seems completely isolated from civilization in "wilderness." Holes 10 –12 continue to weave through some of the best terrain on the course site. The best hole on the course is arguably #11, a 436 straight-away behemoth lined in a setting straight out of the Leatherstocking Tales. Hole 12 is another short par 5 with a wetland area 40 yards in front of the green. The last house on your left as you approach the green is the new residence of native son and resort Tour pro Curtis Strange. Hole #17 is a longer version of # 9 with a carry over a marsh to an elevated green, and #18 is a delightful 402-yard almost 90 degree dogleg right. Grand
Cypress, South & East The South and East courses have more water hazards in play than any of the other courses. Both nine hole courses were traditionally designed and feature small greens. La Quinta
Resort, Mountain Course A favorite of Hollywood stars since the days of Gable and Garbo, the La Quinta Resort and Club stands in the imposing shadows of the majestic Santa Rosa Mountains, a paradise for recreational enthusiasts, starting with the five championship golf courses and 23 world-class tennis courts. Golf Magazine rated the 16th hole at the par-3 La Quinta Resort Mountain course as one of the 500 best in the world, and the La Quinta Resort Dunes course is rated by the PGA as one of the toughest in the country. What's more, the resort features 42 swimming pools, croquet, aerobics, yoga, running, bicycling and Spa La Quinta's 36 treatment rooms. Kiawah
Island, Osprey Point A Tom Fazio design, Osprey Point opened in 1988 and quickly earned a place among Golf Digest’s "America’s Top 75 Resort Courses." Set amid pristine lagoons, marshes and maritime forests, Osprey Point offers picturesque views from every hole. The setting for the course features four large natural lakes and fingers of saltwater marshes. Into this backdrop Fazio created a masterpiece of playability and variety, a favorite of residents and resort guests alike. A new clubhouse encompasses over 14,000 square feet of pro shop offering quality apparel, attended locker rooms and a semi-private dining room. It was recently awarded 4½ stars in Golf Digest’s "Places to Play" readers’ poll. |
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