Eight Great Western Golf Vacations
To some, it's a course that challenges skill and patience. To others, it's a majestic setting, whether on a beach cliff, a wooded glade or a desert canyon.
Here are eight great places to visit and play, no matter how far over par you finish.
8. Torrey Pines Golf Course, La Jolla, Calif.
Take the challenge of two championship golf courses, and add a copious helping of gorgeous ocean scenery, and you've got the essence of the Torrey Pines experience. Both courses are located on the Southern California coast between La Jolla and Del Mar.
Want the best view?
Play the north course. Want a real challenge? Play the south. You have to call in for Tee time reservations (a computer will take your request). Pro instructors are available to help sharpen your skills, and a rental shop can provide clubs, if you left yours at home.
7. The Inn at Semiahmoo, Blaine, Wash
The Inn is Washington's top class golf resort and spa. Located almost a stone's throw to Canada, the Inn at Semiahmoo has a course that nestles on the edge of a forest. More than 40 sand traps and several lake hazards will test your abilities.
Relax in a room with a view that takes in the panorama of Puget Sound. The resort also offers bike and running paths, a marina, two pools, tennis courts and a whirlpool to help take all that muscle strain away.
6. Gold Canyon Golf Resort, Gold Canyon, Ariz.
The searing Arizona summer could work to your advantage, if you choose to pit your skills against this four-star course, set in the Dinosaur mountains. Gold Canyon Resort is offering a stay-play package of $234 a night.
For that price, you can experience three of Arizona's best golf holes, in an unforgettable desert setting.
5. Pebble Beach, Calif.
For matchless architecture and heart-pounding beauty, you can't get much better than Pebble Beach.
You also won't find green fees much pricier than those at the Pebble Beach Golf Links, the site of Tiger Woods' U. S. Open triumph. Prepare to pay $255, if you're a guest at one of the area's premium resorts, such as the Inn at 17-Mile Drive will cost you less -- about $115 on weekdays.
But it's a premium quality course, designed by designer legend Robert Trent Jones.
4. Desert Inn Golf Club, Las Vegas, Nev.
The treacherous bunkers and water hazards of this Lawrence Huges-designed championship course make it the most challenging in Vegas. The Desert Inn links have won raves from circuit pros and magazines like golf digest. Anyone can play the course, if they can handle the high fees.
The Inn's driving range is open to Desert Inn and Caesar's guests exclusively.
3. Westin Mission Hills Resort, Pete Dye Course, Rancho Mirage, Calif.
World-class designer Pete Dye makes perfect use of his surroundings, to sculpt this sometimes maddening, but always-fascinating classic course. Dye uses plenty of pot bunkers, hidden pin placements, water hazards, and railroad ties to create a distinctive environment for teeing off.
2. The Salishan Lodge, Gleneden Beach, Ore.
Another superb Westin accommodation, the Salishan takes advantage of the breathtaking Oregon coast and the surrounding evergreen forest to give you a memorable golf experience.
The golf course on the Coast's most luxurious lodge has been designed with traditional Scottish courses like St. Andrews in mind. A $219 golf package gives you unlimited links privileges, for the duration of your stay.
1. Sedona Golf Resort, Sedona, Ariz.
Matchless desert scenery would inspire, or distract, anyone teeing off at this golfing destination perched among Arizona's famed red rocks. The Sedona Golf Resort occupies the land where cowboys once roamed. The 6,600-yard, par 71 course has won consistent praise from Golf Digest.
