Few golf destinations can claim to have a profusion of quality courses, but the Pinehurst area is one of them.
It’d be hard to find a more competitively priced golf destination than Myrtle Beach. Long considered the affordable alternative to higher-end golf hot spots, it’s poised to attract budget-conscious golfers and a new crop of vacationers during the current economic downturn.
In these challenging economic times, quality counts more than ever, and when it comes to playing golf it’s hard to beat the quality (and quantity) of the Pinehurst-Southern Pines-Aberdeen golf courses.
During the fall and winter months, a handful of warm-weather destinations attract avid golfers, retirees and professional golf tours.
It’s easy to confuse the Pinehurst area with Pinehurst Resort. After all, Pinehurst Resort is home to one of the world’s most famous courses (No. 2) and hosts numerous USGA championships (including the U.S. Open).
When Jack Nicklaus’ Tradition Course opened at Reunion Resort in late 2006, it joined two other championship courses designed by living legends. Arnold Palmer’s Legacy Course and Tom Watson’s Independence Course_Ê were already on site and had received critical acclaim, not to mention the honor of hosting the annual Ginn Open, one of only a handful of LPGA tournaments televised on network TV.
Don’t worry Augusta isn’t the Southeast’s only exclusive layout. If you crave manicured fairways and first-class facilities (that are open to the public), then tee it up on one of these top-notch Southeast resorts. After all they’re just a short drive from Augusta National and a heck of a lot easier to get on._Ê
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.
2007 is a special year for Pinehurst Resort: The new Pinehurst Golf Academy recently opened its doors to students, and Nos. 2 and 4 will be in tournament shape as they prepare for the 2008 U.S. Amateur. But the big news is that_Ê Pinehurst’s most famous course, Donald Ross’ legendary No. 2, turns 100 years old.
