30 miles south of Myrtle Beach the vibe is "mint-julep and rocking chairs." And the golf is just as enticing.

I’m willing to bet everything in my meager Roth IRA that about as many people know that Alabama has a scenic shoreline on the Gulf Coast of Mexico as know how to spell “Kyrgyzstan” (which has to be one awesome play in Scrabble).

If the Okanagan Valley of Canada’s British Columbia is considered the best place in the country for winemaking, then consider the golf in the area to be the perfect filet mignon. Located just an hour by air from Seattle with the beautiful town of Kelowna serving as its anchor, the Okanagan Valley has become a wonderful retreat for both fans of exciting golf and delectable wine.

A resort on Myrtle Beach's Grand Strand? Absolutely. Join Travel Editor Charlie Schroeder as he takes you on a tour of this fine
resort.

In our modern times, unless your last name is Trump, Kaiser (Bandon Dunes) or Kohler (Whistling Straits), chances are good that a new course with killer views will, eventually, sprout homes alongside its tightly mown fairways. After all, building golf courses ain’t cheap, and many new public access layouts are conceived with real estate in mind. Recently, however, that model has been changing.

St. James’ legacy lives on in many forms. Numerous churches, hospitals and even a Broadway theater have been named after the patron saint of equestrians (among other things). There aren’t any horses at St. James Plantation in Southport, N.C., but there’s plenty of wide-open space, a nature trail and Waterway Park contained within the private community’s 5,000 acres.

A number of destinations around the world feature golf as the main attraction, and the Brunswick Isles, an area straddling the border of North and South Carolina, is definitely one of them. There are 16 golf courses from Calabash up north to North Myrtle Beach down south. Along the way, golfers can tee it up on courses designed by Arnold Palmer, Rees Jones and Myrtle Beach regular, Dan Maples, to name a few, and find themselves negotiating marshland, rivers and creeks, as many courses take advantage of the area’s natural hazards.

This year marks the 100th anniversary of Pinehurst No. 2. Join Golf Tips on this audio slideshow tour of the fabled resort.

Like a little privacy mixed in with your golf? See for yourself why Briar's Creek is the perfect place for you.