Travel Tips

Looking for a new and cool golf trip this fall or winter? We’ve got some great ideas.

TEXAS: HORSESHOE BAY RESORT

One of Central Texas’ quintessential Hill Country golf experiences, the 18-hole Apple Rock course at the AAA-Four Diamond- and Conde Nast Readers’ Choice Award-winning Horseshoe Bay Resort, re-opened this summer, signaling the completion of the resort’s three-year restoration of all three of its acclaimed Robert Trent Jones, Sr. designs.

The renovated Apple Rock layout offers some of the most picturesque views in the state, most notably at the start of its second nine. The 10th and 11th holes, both dramatic downhill par fives, cascade toward the serene coast of Lake LBJ and the ­par-three 12th plays along an intimate stretch of its shoreline. Jones Sr. strategically routed Apple Rock, which debuted in 1986, to take advantage of the many higher elevation points that overlook Horseshoe Bay and the lake.

Apple Rock’s renovations included the installation of 007 Bentgrass greens, expanding green sizes by as much as 50 percent on many holes, renovating (and scaling down many) bunkers, re-shaping and leveling tee-boxes, improved irrigation, as well as adding stone retaining walls along water hazards to improve aesthetics.

In 2016, Slick Rock, the oldest of Horseshoe Bay Resort’s three Robert Trent Jones, Sr. layouts (built in 1971) underwent similar renovations and in 2017, the acclaimed and challenging Ram Rock course (which opened in 1981) was restored to match Jones’ original vision. On Ram Rock, to improve playability, the greens were enlarged and re-contoured and dozens of bunkers were reduced in size. The result is a more enjoyable course from the forward tees and still an impressively strategic set-up for skilled golfers.

Similarly, the greens on Apple Rock’s 6,999-yard, par-72 layout have been made larger and more playable and, according to director of agronomy Ken Gorzycki, each surface now has more options for quality pin placements.

Gorzycki’s team worked in concert with Robert Trent Jones II’s design team, led by senior project architect Mark Voss, to maintain the integrity of the original design while making the most of the layout’s naturally hilly features

Apple Rock’s bunkers now feature a firmer, lighter-in-color sand that Holder says will be more playable while creating an attractive visual contrast against the emerald fairways.

With all 54 Robert Trent Jones, Sr.-designed holes in peak condition plus the 18-hole Whitewater Putting Course and the exclusive, private Summit Rock course, Horseshoe Bay Resort is positioned as one of the most attractive and diverse golf destinations in the United States. The brand-new Cap Rock clubhouse village will open later this year with a state-of-the-art, 3,360-square-foot  structure housing world-class dining, locker rooms, meeting spaces and terraces overlooking breathtaking views of the Texas Hill Country and Lake LBJ.

MORE INFORMATION

The calendar says the longest days of the year are finally, officially here, which can only mean one thing: It’s time to play as much golf as possible. Sweet, sweet summer golf.

Question is, do you go high or low (elevation), north or south? The following rundown looks at several popular summertime golf destinations and clubs, plus a couple year-round spots that, yeah, will require additional heat-beating measures, but are worth a look all the same.

Happy golf-cationing.

NEVADA: EDGEWOOD TAHOE/CLEAR CREEK

Edgewood Tahoe is known to most casual golfers as that gorgeous spot where the celebrities gather every summer — and will again July 9-14 for the 30^th annual American Century Championship, with the likes of Steph Curry, Charles Barkley, Aaron Rodgers and last year’s champ, Tony Romo, slated to tee it up. But for serious golfers the spectacular course should be on every must-play list.

Originally laid out by George Fazio in the 1960s and updated in the early 2000s by son Tom, the course features four holes right on the lake, with views of the giant alpine gem from most other holes. The three-hole finishing stretch is pure mountain magic, with the beachside par-3 17^th its signature centerpiece … and ground zero for all kinds of celebrity championship highlight reel material.

The new 9^th hole that has been getting a lot of attention lately — it’s now nudged right up against Tahoe with killer views from every inch of tee, fairway and green. Why was it moved? To make way for the Lodge at Edgewood, a high-end boutique hotel that vaulted to the top of many a list the moment it opened in 2017. In 2018 Travel & Leisure named it the World’s Best Small Hotel, and Preferred Hotels & Resorts has just named it Hotel of the Year for 2019. The rooms are exquisite, with open floorplans, huge bathrooms, decks looking over the lake or mountains, fireplaces and all the little touches you’d expect from a top-notch resort. Throw in a full-service spa, pool complex looking over the lake and 9^th fairway, excellent in-house dining options (with the exquisite Edgewood Room just steps away in the golf course clubhouse), shopping and close proximity to the South Lake Tahoe gaming and entertainment venues, and it’s a 300-yard-drive of a getaway.

Want to combine a stay at the Lodge with the celeb tournament? Sounds like a sweet summertime plan indeed — a special stay and play opportunity to make you feel like a celebrity before the real superstars take over. Starting at $1,799 with arrival on July 8, this two-night stay package includes your choice of room plus two rounds of golf with cart, one caddie for your twosome, and a starter to announce the names of each player for the morning split tee start on Monday, July 8; an Edgewood golf bundle for each player with logo’d goods: $200 dining credit; special stableford tournament scoring for players choosing to participate with men’s and women’s divisions winners receiving a $100 resort credit; closest to the hole contest on the 17th hole with a $100 resort credit for the closest to the hole winner, and a special three-night Presidential Suite stay prize should you make a hole-in-one; and tickets to the American Century Championship Celeb-Am on Tuesday, July 9.

This package is only available to be booked by phone at 855-314-0488. For more on Edgewood and the Lodge, visit www.edgewoodtahoe.com

Just off Edgewood’s 9^th hole is another high-end hideaway called the Lake House, but you’ll have to be a member, or the guest of a member, at Clear Creek Tahoe, a private residence community that’s home to an incredible Crenshaw-Coore course just down Highway 50 on the way to Carson City. The 2,136-acre mountainside development currently has cottage and full-sized residential lots for sale, with several homes going up; members are also enjoying Summit Camp, a new pool and recreation center, and there are miles of hiking trails through meadows and through stands of pine and fir, with the occasional drop-dead view of the Carson Valley to the south.

But it’s the golf course that gets the most attention, for good reason. It’s the only C&C mountain design, with their trademark natural transition areas and blowout bunkers dotting the rolling, dramatic tee-to-green landscape. Our call? Finagle an invite or ask for a look-and-see visit, play the course … and try to resist the urge to go all in with a membership of your own.

www.clearcreektahoe.com

IDAHO: WHITETAIL CLUB

Another private but worth-seeking-out mountain west destination is Whitetail Club, the second-home golf community in the secret lake/ski town of McCall, Idaho, not far from Sun Valley.

Known as one of Idaho’s premier courses, named among Golfweek’s Best Resort Courses for 2016 and listed as one Golf Digest’s America’s 100 Greatest Course — expect a full Golf Tips review and rating in the next few months — the scenic, 18-hole, par-72 course designed by Roger Packard and two-time U.S. Open winner Andy North meanders through forested corridors with Edgewood-like forays through open meadows and across sun-splash ponds. Also, the second-home club’s staff are keeping things relevant for its golf loving homeowners by offering players tips on how to play like a Masters Champion, or at least a Whitetail One, via the clubhouse’s full complement of swing analysis equipment.

Whitetail Club also went to great lengths to appeal to golf lovers when it unveiled its first-ever multi-acre golf course townhome neighborhood, The Fairways at Whitetail Club, in late 2018. Made up of multi-acres, the golf course townhome neighborhood holds 34 spacious three- to five-bedroom townhomes alongside the course.

The club also offers a Fish & Swim Club, plenty of trail hiking, indoor tennis and fitness center, a kids’ park and much more.

www.whitetailclub.com

ARIZONA: DESERT MOUNTAIN

Renegade—the first of six Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Courses at Desert Mountain Club—reopens this summer after a year-long renovation, led by Nicklaus himself along with Nicklaus designer, Chris Cochran.  

Since debuting in 1987, Renegade has placed on Golf Digest’s list of America’s 100 Greatest Golf Courses three times. It is a fixture on lists of the best courses in Arizona. In fact, Renegade was once called “the most versatile course in the world” for its use of two greens on every hole, allowing golfers the option of playing it shorter or longer based on the tee and green they chose.

Nicklaus, working alongside Cochran, created a new master plan for Renegade and has been intimately involved in the work, visiting the site several times. Houston-based construction company Heritage Links has implemented the Nicklaus Design renovation plan that included new greens, bunkers, tees, cart paths, drainage, irrigation system, lake construction, and grassing.

Renegade will still provide two pin placements on every hole, allowing Desert Mountain members to customize the course every time they play it. Either pin placement can be played on any given day, providing endless options and distance variety from a forward tee-length of 4,500 yards to a champions’ test of 8,000 yards. The customization goes so far that hole 10 can play as a par 4 or par 5 and hole 12 can be played either as a par 3 or par 4—depending on the day and the choice of the player.  Every available playing option will be rated by the Arizona Golf Association, so players can enter accredited scores. 

“Everything—including the game of golf—evolves and when the game changes, you’ve got to adapt with it,” said Nicklaus.  “We opened up the renovated golf course a little bit by flattening the mounds and broadening the fairways, but it’s still the same golf course with two pins on every hole—just with a modernized playing strategy.”  

Nicklaus once said that Renegade might be the toughest course he’s designed and played (he kidded on a recent site visit that he shot 83 during the 1987 grand opening—one year after winning the Masters at age 46—and missed only one fairway), while also the easiest, due to the two-green system.

Renegade now features six single greens, with two pins on them, and 12 holes with double- greens. Previously, it was five holes with three greens, and 13 holes with one large green. Golfers’ views of the surrounding mountains have been enhanced, as are the views of the course from the homes that overlook it.  

www.desertmountain.com

GEORGIA: REYNOLDS KINGDOM OF GOLF

Stepping to the tee confident that the driver in hand is perfectly matched to deliver optimal performance is the advantage golfers get from the new “TaylorMade For You” package offered at Reynolds Kingdom of Golf presented by TaylorMade, a state-of-the-art game improvement center at Reynolds Lake Oconee halfway between Atlanta and Augusta.

Included in the experience is a private, one-on-one consultation with a TaylorMade Tour Club Fitter, who use the latest technology to determine the proper equipment for each golfer. A Master Club Builder will then craft, on-site, a custom driver in the TaylorMade Tour Trailer, ready to take straight to the course. 

The “TaylorMade For You” experience is perfect on its own as a day trip to Reynolds Lake Oconee, or as an opportunity to “linger longer” at the resort, adding it to an existing golf package that offer guests access to the community’s award-winning courses.  

“Having the proper equipment in your hands is the first step to play great golf,” said Sean Cain, Director of Reynolds Kingdom of Golf, the state-of-the-art game improvement center at Reynolds Lake Oconee. “The TaylorMade For You package is a great way for our guests to experience an elite club fitting identical to the process for Tour players, while enjoying the golf courses and all the beauty and hospitality that Reynolds Lake Oconee has to offer.” 

Reynolds Lake Oconee is ranked among the most exciting golf experiences with six golf courses designed by legendary architects: Great Waters by Jack Nicklaus, National by Tom Fazio, Oconee by Rees Jones, The Landing and The Preserve by Bob Cupp, as well as the members-only Creek Club by Jim Engh. 

Along with its Top 100-ranked golf courses, Reynolds Lake Oconee features a full range of sporting activities, with access to more than 350 miles of Lake Oconee shoreline and four marinas; shooting sports at the Sandy Creek Sporting Grounds; and an award-winning tennis center, together making it one of the most impressive community and golf destinations in the world.  

The experience package, which includes a driver, starts at $599 per person for the TaylorMade M6 model with standard equipment; the M5 model price is additional.

Add-on options:

• Luxury accommodations in a Reynolds Lake Oconee cottage or condominium
• One round of golf per person for each night of stay with special rates for replays
• Additional club fittings including metal woods, hybrids, irons, wedges, and putter
• A thorough full-game analysis and nine-hole on-course playing lesson with PGA Tour professional Blake Adams, a new member of the Reynolds Kingdom of Golf staff

www.reynoldslakeoconee.com

As a certain Big Game dominates the American sporting world when the New England Patriots and Los Angeles Rams take the field at glitzy Mercedez-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, it seems the perfect time to shift their epic gridiron battle onto another green expanse — the golf course. Not team against team, but region vs. region. Which wins the golf course showdown?

For fun, let’s line up two equally strong “front fours” of courses from both New England and Southern California, and let you decide.

WHERE PATRIOTS FANS PLAY

Not (too) long after the game’s final whistle echoes into history, spring and summer come into view on the Patriots’ home turf, and that means golf — lots and lots of pent-up golf. Tom Brady himself is an avid player; he’s been known to head for Pebble Beach to tee it up with Tour pros and fellow celebs in the AT&T National Pro-Am, but come summer you just might find him where so many Northeasterners tread: Cape Cod. Here’s a “front four” of favorites on the cape itself, and in the historic gateway city of Plymouth.

Ocean Edge

Cape Cod is such a hotbed of great summer golf that it’s tough to pick a true must-play out of the bunch, but Ocean Edge gets the nod. Located almost halfway out on the cape, not far from the north shore, it’s a semi-private delight from the well-traveled mind of Jack Nicklaus, with conditioning that mirrors one of his favorite haunts, namely Augusta National. Its final stretch is unforgettable. Stay right there and savor it all.

Cranberry Valley

Few public courses out on Cape Cod can match Cranberry Valley. It features a superb practice facility, a stimulating design, pristine conditions and a layout that winds through scenic cranberry bogs. The three finishing holes stand up with any on the Cape. Here’s the finish you’ll face when you step to the 16th tee: A monster par 4 of 445 yards that plays uphill, usually into the wind; a 205-yard par 3 that is all carry to an elevated green; and a horseshoe-shaped, double dogleg par 5 that requires enough power to clear the corner and enough finesse to place your second shot onto a narrow landing area. No two holes are alike at Cranberry. There are stimulating short 4-pars (the 10th is a bear) and demanding 3-pars. You’ll find plenty of sand and parking-lot size greens. Accuracy off the tee is critical.

Highland Links

You could be in Scotland in the 18th century, facing howling winds, playing on un-groomed, rock-hard fairways and hitting to postage-stamp greens. Built in 1892, Highland Links is Cape Cod’s oldest course. Not much has changed in 120 years. Don’t come to this nine-hole course seeking luxury. You won’t find a fancy clubhouse or oak-lined grille room. No driving range, either. Just a modest snack bar-pro shop to send you to the first tee. From there you’ll embark on a journey once made by Francis Ouimet. It includes heather, fescue, wildflowers, scrubby pine, deep bunkers and stunning views from windswept bluffs overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. Alistair Cooke once called Highland Links the closest you will come in America to a genuine Scottish links. The ninth hole, at 136 yards to a severely sloped two-tier green, has been named in national magazines as one of the world’s greatest 3-pars.

Pinehills

The stated goal at Pinehills, located just south of Plymouth, is to provide a private club feel at a public course. From the drive down the winding entrance road that stops in front of an elegant clubhouse — where employees retrieve your clubs and place them onto a cart that will be waiting for you at the practice range — you’re greeted like a well-heeled member. The Jones Course, designed by Rees Jones, opened in 2000, followed by a Jack Nicklaus Design layout one year later. Set among woodlands, kettle ponds and cranberry bogs, both courses feature steep elevation changes and dramatic scenery. Most holes are framed by tall pines and are isolated, creating a serene atmosphere that makes it seem like no one else is on the grounds. The Jones course has a classic design, rolling gently through the woods in a series of doglegs, valleys and swales. Most greens are clearly visible from the tee. The Nicklaus course demands approach shots over ravines to elevated greens. Many of the putting surfaces are bordered by low-cut collection areas that provide the option of pitching or putting to save par.

WHERE RAMS FANS PLAY

Southern California encompasses such a vast area of geographical variety — coastline, mountains, valleys, desert — that it’s virtually impossible to put its golf personality into one descriptive box. While many casual golf fans know SoCal mostly for its famed private layouts such as Riviera, Los Angeles Country Club and Bel-Air, the region excels in incredible resort golf, with some standout public and munis also in the sunny mix. Just make sure you’ve got a full tank of gas because you’ll do some serious driving (this is La-La Land, after all). While it’s all but futile to narrow the area’s bounty to a formidable foursome of must-plays, we’ll give it a shot.

Griffith Park

This city-owned complex just off Interstate 5, a few miles from the downtown L.A. core, is the ultimate SoCal muni experience, going back 100 years. Both the Harding and Wilson courses have their adherents, with sometimes tight eucalyptus-lined fairways, smallish greens and enough tee-to-green challenge to merit many a city championship — and, in the Wilson course’s case, the PGA Tour’s Los Angeles Open back in the day. As with Bethpage Black on Long Island you’ve got to plan ahead to secure a tee time, but locals know it’s worth the effort.

PGA West

A pilgrimage to the Palm Springs-Palm Desert-La Quinta area, some 100 miles east of downtown L.A., is a must for golfers, and PGA West is the top of most gotta-do-it-lists. There are six courses at PGA West — four public, two private — but everyone wants to play Pete Dye’s Stadium Resort Course above them all, for good reason. Like its Florida counterpart at TPC Sawgrass, it’s got all the sneaky Pete quirks and character traits, right down to the island green at, you guessed it, No. 17. The deep greenside bunker on No. 16 is another conversation piece. Put your peg down here on a sweet February afternoon and savor desert golf at its best.

Pelican Hill

Among the many SoCal courses boasting Pacific Ocean views, the two Tom Fazio beauties at Pelican Hill, a high-end resort in Newport Beach might offer the most inspiring of all. The South Course is a big tighter off the tee than the North, and comes right up to the Orange County beach (crossing bustling Pacific Coast Highway as it does so), but the North, being situated higher on the bluff, affords sweeping vistas of the sea, and Catalina Island some 30 miles distant, from almost every hole. There are ravines to cross, sidehill lies to negotiate and big, rangy greens to conquer — resort-style fun spiked with ample challenge. And a round at either course ain’t cheap, but if you’re gonna splurge, this is the place to do it.

Oak Quarry

Let’s blow an hour or so northeast, into the heart of Riverside County, for a round at one of the Southland’s most unique layouts. Literally built through and around the former Jensen Quarry and voted 2013 National Golf Couse of the Year by the National Golf Course Owners Association, Oak Quarry swoops, soars, dives, and rumbles over sometimes sere, rocky terrain, with few trees and only one main water feature — a deep lake at the center of the quarry that captures many a hooked tee shot on the stunning par-3 14^th hole. San Gabriel Mountain views abound, and even though the place is tucked between two mega-busy freeways, it’s like another world. Bring your A game, and if you score well you’ll feel like you’ve won your own personal Super Bowl.