Here’s a tour of the world’s biggest golf playgrounds:
31. La Manga Club Resort
Four courses/72 holes (in order from best to last): North course, South course, West course, 18-hole Pitch and Putt.
Comment: This resort in Los Belones, Spain, reaches our threshold with an 18-hole pitch-and-putt course by the great Seve Ballesteros.
30. Big Cedar Lodge/Top of the Rock
Six courses/77-plus holes: Top of the Rock Golf Course (nine-hole par 3), Buffalo Ridge Springs Golf Course, Gary Player Mountain Top Course (13-hole par 3), Ozarks National, Payne’s Valley (19 holes), Tiger Woods par-3 “short course” (hole count to be determined).
Comment: With 35-plus holes under construction, this hotbed of golf in Branson, Mo. isn’t there yet. The Player par 3 debuted in 2017 with Bill Coore’s and Ben Crenshaw’s Ozarks National following in 2018. Tiger Woods is designing his first public course called Payne’s Valley, a tribute to Payne Stewart, plus a par-3 “short” course that should be ready by 2019. With a putting course and a world-class range, owner Johnny Morris has built something for every golfer.
29. Casa de Campo
Four courses/81 holes (in order from best to last, not including any private courses): Teeth of the Dog, Dye Fore, The Links, La Romana Country Club (private)
Comment: With the addition of the Lakes nine to the Dye Fore in 2012, this luxurious development in the Dominican Republic grew to 63 holes of demanding but scenic Pete Dye golf available to resort guests.
28. Greenbrier Resort
Five courses/81 holes: Old White TPC, The Greenbrier, The Meadows, Oakhurst Links (nine holes played with hickory clubs), The Snead at the Greenbrier Sporting Club (private)
Comment: If construction of the private Oakhurst Course ever gets back on track and opens at the Greenbrier Sporting Club, this historic resort in West Virginia’s Alleghany Mountains will sport 99 holes, although only 63 are open to the public.
27. Garland Lodge and Golf Resort
Four courses/72 holes: Fountains, Swampfire, Monarch, Reflections
Comment: The four courses in northern Michigan, all designed by former owner Ron Otto during Michigan’s golf boom from 1987-95, all introduce something different for golfers.
26. Big Cats golf courses of Ocean Ridge Plantation
Four courses/72 holes: Tiger’s Eye, Leopard’s Chase, Panther’s Run, Lion’s Paw
Comment: A fifth course, Jaguar’s Lair, continues to be listed on the resort Web site, but there are no plans to build anytime soon. There’s already plenty of golf near the North Carolina/South Carolina border along the Grand Strand just north of Myrtle Beach, S.C.
25. Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort
Four courses/72 holes: Burnt Pine, Raven, Baytowne, The Links
Comment: Every one serves up nice views of the Choctawhatchee Bay in the Florida Panhandle.
24. Omni Barton Creek Resort & Spa
Four courses/72 holes: Fazio Foothills, Fazio Canyons, Coore Crenshaw Cliffside, Palmer Lakeside
Comment: The Palmer Course at this premier Texas Hill Country resort outside Austin sits above Lake Travis a good 45 minutes away from the main property.
23. Trump National Doral Miami
Four courses/72 holes: Blue Monster, Golden Palm, Silver Fox, Red Tiger
Comment: Donald Trump hired Gil Hanse to completely renovate every course at this famous Miami resort except the Silver Fox, the only one that requires a shuttle ride to reach. The 6,395-yard Red Tiger is the only layout less than 7,000 yards.
22. Innisbrook, A Salamander Golf & Spa Resort
Four courses/72 holes: Copperhead, Island, South, North
Comment: There is a pecking order that’s clear to follow at this PGA Tour stop outside of Tampa. The Copperhead is the longest track and the North is the shortest.
21. Barefoot Resort & Golf
Four courses/72 holes: Love Course, Dye Course, Fazio Course, Norman Course
Comment: The top three are neck and neck. And if you want more golf, it surrounds you in North Myrtle Beach, S.C.
20. Shanty Creek Resorts
Four courses/72 holes: The Legend at Shanty Creek, Cedar River, Schuss Mountain, Summit
Comment: I go back and forth about which northern Michigan gem I like better — Arnold Palmer’s Legend or Tom Weiskopf’s Cedar River. There’s more golf across the street at The Chief and Hawk’s Eye.
19. Turning Stone Resort Casino
Five courses/72 holes plus an indoor golf dome: Atunyote, Shenendoah, Kaluhyat, Pleasant Knolls (nine holes), Sandstone Hollow (nine holes, par 3)
Comment: Tom Fazio’s Atunyote, host of a PGA Tour event from 2006-10, delivers an exclusive feel behind an ornate front gate in upstate New York. Construction of a luxury retail shop at the resort brought back original architect Rick Smith to redesign Shenendoah. It is scheduled to reopen in the fall. With a slope of 150, Kaluhyat is one of the country’s toughest courses.
18. The American Club
Four courses/72 holes: Straits Course at Whistling Straits, River Course at Blackwolf Run, Irish Course at Whistling Straits, Meadow Valleys Course at Blackwolf Run
Comment: The fact that the Straits and Blackwolf Run have hosted multiple PGA Championships and U.S. Women’s Opens — plus a top 100 course, the Bull at Pinehurst Farms, sits three miles away from the main resort — gives Destination Kohler in Wisconsin a major advantage over its 72-hole competition.
17. PGA Golf Club at PGA Village
Five courses/78 holes: Dye Course, Wanamaker Course, Ryder Course, St. Lucie Trail Course, PGA Short Course (6-hole par 3)
Comment: Although not technically a resort, golf packages are available at eight different hotels/accommodations just minutes from the courses in Port St. Lucie, Fla. The PGA Center for Golf Learning and Performance, a 35-acre training facility home to the PGA of America Golf Schools, could really help your game.
16. Treetops Resort
Five courses/81 holes: Signature, Premier, Masterpiece, Smith Tradition, Threetops (nine holes, par 3)
Comment: Treetops is another northern Michigan mega-resort where the top three courses are all essentially interchangeable. Golfers can’t leave without trying to ace Threetops, host of a par-3 shootout televised by ESPN in the 2000s.
15. Pebble Beach Resorts
Five courses/81 holes: Pebble Beach Golf Links, Spyglass Hill, The Links at Spanish Bay, Del Monte, Peter Hay (nine holes, par 3)
Comment: Del Monte, the oldest continuous course west of the Mississippi, and Peter Hay often get overlooked by bucket-list-chasing tourists on the Monterey Peninsula.
14. Bandon Dunes Golf Resort
Five courses/85 holes: Pacific Dunes, Bandon Dunes, Bandon Preserve, Old Macdonald, Bandon Preserve (13 holes, par 3)
Comment: Pacific Dunes and Bandon Dunes are clearly the top two courses on the Oregon coast, but in which order? The same “which is better” question applies to Bandon Preserve and Old Macdonald.
13. Crystal Springs Resort
Six courses/90 holes: Ballyowen, Wild Turkey, Crystal Springs, Black Bear, Cascades (nine regulation holes), Minerals(nine holes; four par 4s, five par 3s)
Comment: Having so many courses at this golf getaway in northern New Jersey an hour from New York City allows for flexibility. Golfers can use golf bikes, golf boards, four-person family carts (on Minerals and Cascades) and play Footgolf (on Cascades only). Guests of the Grand Cascades Lodge get free access to an all-grass putting course.
12. PGA National Resort & Spa
Five courses/90 holes: Champion, Fazio, Palmer, Squire, Estates
Comment: How many balls will you lose playing the three-hole “Bear Trap” on the Champion, host of The Honda Classic in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.?
11. La Quinta Resort & Club/PGA West
Five courses/90 holes: TPC Stadium Course at PGA West, La Quinta Resort Mountain Course, Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course at PGA West, Greg Norman Course at PGA West, La Quinta Resort Dunes Course
Comment: The combination of a Waldorf Astoria resort and the “western home” of the PGA of America is hard to beat. The sunny winter weather warms snowbirds in California’s Coachella Valley, which is surrounded by the San Bernardino and Santa Rosa Mountains.
10. Kiawah Island Golf Resort
Five courses/90 holes: Ocean Course, Turtle Point, Osprey Point, Cougar Point, Oak Point
Comment: The five-star resort has been systematically renovating each course. Oak Point, the only course located just off the barrier island in South Carolina, reopened in 2016, while Turtle Point by Jack Nicklaus was completed in 2017.
9. The Manor House Hotel & The Ashbury Hotel
Six courses/99 holes: Kigbeare course, Pines course, Beeches course, Oakwood course, Ashbury course (nine holes), Willows course (18-hole par 3).
Comment: This hotel duo in the southwest of England outside of Exeter is often overlooked because most of its courses are shorter. Only the Kigbeare (6,528 yards) and Pines (6,400 yards) are par 72s.
8. Quellness & Golf Resort Bad Griesbach
Five Courses/90 holes plus multiple short courses: Beckenbauer, Brunnwies, Audi, Axel Lange Generali Golf Course Lederbach and St. Wolfgang Golf Course Uttlau.
Comment: The Porsche European Open of the European Tour will visit this German resort for the second straight year in September, but this place is ideal for amateurs and growing the game. The Chervo Junior Golf Course allows kids to play on six entertaining par-3 holes between a bathtub, comic characters and small hazards. The Golfodrom, home to the Golf Academy, offers three adjacent nine-hole, par-3 golf courses and a six-hole, par-3 practice facility called the “Hackerwiese” for beginners who haven’t yet earned a golf license.
7. Reynolds Lake Oconee
Six courses/117 holes: Great Waters, The Oconee, The National, The Landing, The Plantation, The Creek Club (private)
Comment: The Landing is the only daily-fee course open to public players. The others (except the members-only Creek Club) are only open to Ritz-Carlton guests, members and their guests, and outside guests who stay in community cottages or condos.
6. Gull Lake View Golf Club & Resort
Six courses/108 holes: Stonehedge South, Bedford Valley, Stonehedge North, Gull Lake View East, Gull Lake View West, Stoatin Brae
Comment: The 2017 opening of Stoatin Brae, created by Tom Doak’s design team, will add a new buzz to this budget-friendly enclave in Augusta in southwest Michigan. Where it ranks among the resort’s other offerings remains to be seen.
5. Boyne Highlands Resort/Inn at Bay Harbor
Six courses/126 holes: Bay Harbor, The Heather, Arthur Hills course, Donald Ross Memorial, Crooked Tree, The Moor, Free nine-hole par 3 behind the resort
Comment: Combining these two Boyne Resorts properties, located around the Little Traverse Bay from one another 15 miles apart in northern Michigan, makes perfect sense with attractively priced “Unlimited Golf” and “Great Escape Golf Vacations” golf packages. The 27-hole Bay Harbor (20th anniversary) and The Heather (50th anniversary) celebrated milestones in 2016.
4. St. Andrews Links Trust
Seven courses/126 holes: Old Course, New Course, The Castle Course, Jubilee Course, Eden Course, Strathtyrum Course, Balgove Course
Comment: It’s always tricky getting on the Old Course, but the others are certainly accessible. Don’t forget the Himalayas putting course. Herb Kohler’s Old Course Hotel comes into play on the famous “Road Hole” tee shot at 17.
3. Pinehurst Resort
Nine courses/162 holes: Pinehurst No. 2, Pinehurst No. 4, Pinehurst No. 8, Pinehurst No. 9, Pinehurst No. 7, Pinehurst No. 6, Pinehurst No. 5, Pinehurst No. 1, Pinehurst No. 3
Comment: No. 3 is the shortest regulation course in North Carolina’s Sandhills at 5,722 yards, followed by No. 1 at 6,089 yards. They sound simple to play until you try to hit the tiny Donald Ross greens. The resort purchased The National Golf Club and renamed the Jack Nicklaus design Pinehurst No. 9 in 2014. The new Cradle – a 789-yard, nine-hole, par-3 course by Gil Hanse – gives the resort its first short course. Read more here.
2. Mission Hills Resort Haikou
Ten courses/180 holes (no order): Blackstone, Sandbelt Trails, Vintage, Stepping Stone, Lava Fields, Meadow Links, Stone Quarry, Double Pin, The Preserve, Shadow Dunes
Comment: This tropical oasis on China’s Hainan Island, centered around a luxury hotel tower, is a 1 1/2-hour flight from Hong Kong. Haikou features 168 hot and cold mineral spring pools, making it the “World’s Largest Mineral Springs Resort” accredited by Guinness World Records. Golf Digest ranked Blackstone the seventh-best course in China in 2013-14.
1. Mission Hills Shenzhen
Twelve courses/216 holes (no order): Shenzhen: World Cup Course, Vijay Course, Ozaki Course, Faldo Course, Els Course, Zhang Lian Wei Course, Pete Dye Course; Dongguan: Annika Course, Rose-Poulter Course, Ledbetter Course, Olazabal Course, Norman Course
Comment: Despite the Chinese government’s reluctance to embrace the game, Mission Hills appears to have staying power. Golf Digest has ranked the Olazabal and Norman courses among the top 10 in the country in the past.
