Now that the holiday season is upon us and we tie the bow on our 23rd year, it’s time to renew a GOLF ODYSSEY tradition.

Each December, as we catch our breath from our never-ending quest to reveal the world’s best golf travel destinations, we take stock of the eventful year gone by.

We started out in January at Dorado Beach with further evidence that Puerto Rico is a rising star in Caribbean travel (thanks more to a ritzy new Ritz-Carlton Reserve than the restoration of the famed East Course), and concluded last month with a complete guide to the greatest collection of golf courses under one roof at Bandon Dunes.

As we crisscrossed the globe, we mixed in new discoveries with old favorites. Curaçao, one of the Dutch ABC Islands in the south Caribbean, may not be a golf destination per se, but its rich culture, general tranquility and prosperity, and idyllic weather made it an intriguing getaway. Los Cabos, meanwhile, is blessed with incredible resorts and rousing golf courses. This perennially favorite GOLF ODYSSEY destination experienced a catastrophic hit from Hurricane Odile in September, but the resorts and courses are recovering. Across the Atlantic, we veered off the beaten track to North Wales and renewed our love affair with Gleneagles in Scotland. Our visit reaffirmed that regardless of the attention heaped on the Ryder Cup’s Centenary Course, the real jewels of the game at Scotland’s crowning resort are James Braid’s venerable King’s and Queen’s eighteens. For la dolce vita extraordinaire, the highlight of our international travel was our trip to Tuscany and Castiglion del Bosco. It’s a place where we could joyously live out our days.

Back on the home front, we spotlighted the best of the Carolina Sandhills beyond Pinehurst Resort, the quieter and more refined southern end of Myrtle Beach, and the rich golf of Denver and

Cordillera in Colorado. We returned to popular bargain retreats in Northern Michigan, realized that there’s never a dull moment at the lavish Nemacolin Woodlands Resort in southwestern Pennsylvania, and simply couldn’t believe that the two stunning inland links at Streamsong Resort really were in central Florida. French Lick Resort, headlined by the rugged Pete Dye Course and two intricately restored grande dame hotels, proved to be our most surprising new “find.” In California, Napa and Sonoma served up a surfeit of fine wine, gourmet dining, and golf, while Pebble Beach Resort impressed us with several facility upgrades and the most satisfying guest experience we’ve ever had at this Monterey Peninsula marvel.

This year we awarded our highest rating to four golf courses: Pacific Dunes and Old Macdonald at Bandon Dunes; Shadow

Creek, the incredible Las Vegas oasis eighteen by visionary developer Steve Wynn and Tom Fazio; and Pebble Beach Golf Links. Our top lodging honors went to Castiglion del Bosco; Gleneagles; three Los Cabos properties—Capella Pedregal, Las Ventanas al Paraiso, and Esperanza; the Lodge at Pebble Beach; and Vermont’s Twin Farms.

We are on track for another blockbuster year in 2015. You can expect features on golf and safaris in South Africa; more inside scoops from the UK and Ireland; the best of Kauai; Banff and Jasper in the Canadian Rockies; and a plethora of intriguing domestic destinations. We’ll again be on the lookout to bring you

exclusive opportunities to play private clubs, and as always, we are happy to provide assistance with your travel plans. We’re so glad you are along for the ride and are ever grateful of your loyal support. May your holiday season be full of peace and happiness and may 2015 be full of wonderful new adventures and discoveries. Bon voyage!

Expert advice and candid reviews since 1992

December 2014 – Our 23rd Year The insiDer’s guiDe TO The BesT in gOlf Travel

2014: The Year in Review

facility upgrades have made Pebble Beach resort better than ever

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Expert advice and candid reviews since 19922

We are pleased to highlight the best and worst from our travels during the past year. We hope you find these

awards to be helpful guides for a rewarding new year of golf travel at home and abroad in 2015.

Most Intrepid Subscribers For adventurous golfers, the ultimate challenge is to play “The Awesome Eight” an eclectic collection of eight of the world’s most geographically diverse courses. The official challenge is to play the world’s northernmost and southernmost, hottest and coldest (in temperature), highest and lowest (in elevation), and hardest courses in addition to the world’s greatest eighteen (the Old Course at St. Andrews) in a calendar year. As we chronicled back in January, GOLF ODYSSEY subscribers Bret Dandoy (49) and his father, Jeremiah (71) showed that the Awesome Eight could be completed in less than three weeks.

“Longest” Hole The iconic 7th at Pebble Beach is the routing’s shortest hole, but it can take forever to play, especially in the afternoon. We waited a good half-hour to hit our tee shots because of a three-group bottleneck. If you want a chance to play “fast” at Pebble Beach—which generally means “not deathly slow”—schedule an early morning tee time.

Most Tranquil Texas Retreat Set on Lake LBJ about an hour northwest of Austin, Horseshoe Bay Resort is less prone to big crowds and group traffic than other Hill Country resorts and offers a genuine getaway experience. Guests enjoy access to three otherwise-private Robert Trent Jones, Sr. eighteens. Though the courses are a few miles off-property, almost everything else—the spa, tennis center, and lake access—is right at hand on the main campus. If you are looking to experience the Hill Country in a quiet, scenic setting with plenty to do, Horseshoe Bay may be ideal.

Best Scottish Resort There is no bigger star in the Scottish countryside than Gleneagles. This glamorous, smartly updated retreat is fantastic for buddy groups, couples on romantic holiday, families with kids, big parties, and even foodies (it houses Scotland’s only Michelin two-star restaurant). An amazing array of activities proves that the best of the sporting life never goes out of style.

Best Set of Twins Though they’re not identical twins, the two eighteens at Streamsong, by Tom Doak and Coore-Crenshaw, respectively, opened on the same day in December 2012. The two design teams had already created sibling courses at Bandon Dunes and Barnbougle Dunes/Lost Farms in Tasmania, but at Streamsong their level of collaboration was unprecedented. Bill Coore and Tom Doak walked the site together as they mapped the routings. They ultimately had trouble deciding who should take which course. Doak’s Blue Course is wider and features large, extravagantly contoured greens. Coore-Crenshaw’s Red Course rambles over more dramatic terrain with pronounced elevation changes, hefty forced carries, and wonderful ebbs and flow.

Most Over-the-Top Resort Tucked in the heavily wooded Laurel Highlands, Nemacolin Woodlands Resort is an unabashedly fun getaway. What else would one expect from billionaire 84 Lumber king Joe Hardy, who says he’s pumped so much money into the property (and his divorces) that he’ll die broke. Among the highlights are a $40 million art collection, showrooms of vintage automobiles and airplanes, a casino, a zoo, a section of the Berlin Wall, a pampering spa, a 20-mile Jeep Off-Road Driving academy, an adventure center with zip-lining, rock-wall climbing, mountain biking, and combat paintball, and, of course, 36 holes of golf. We haven’t even mentioned the extremely tasteful luxury boutique hotel (with butler service) inspired by the architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright and the castle-like hotel patterned after the Ritz in Paris.

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2014 TRAVEL AWARDS

high drama and forced carries rule the day on streamsong’s red Course

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Most Amazing Putting Exhibition The new Punchbowl isn’t the only place at Bandon where you’ll find crazy displays of putting prowess. Standing on the elevated tee on the downhill, 152-yard 5th hole at Bandon Preserve, we had an inkling that one could actually reach the green with just a putter. Our first brave soul stepped up and gave the ball a whack. We watched intently as the ball zigged and zagged in and out of view like it was careening down San Francisco’s Lombard Street. Suddenly, the ball tumbled onto the green and took dead aim at the hole, only to hit the flagstick and settle a mere two feet away. The rest of us then followed suit and to our utter amazement, each ball came to rest within eight feet of the cup. We’ve never as a group had a more memorable moment—or laughed so hard—as on that tee box.

Best Myrtle Beach Escape Myrtle Beach has few rivals as a popular golf getaway, but for many its scores of crowded courses, high-rise hotels, tacky tourist shops, kitschy restaurants, and stifling traffic induce instant disdain. At the southern end of the Grand Strand, Pawley’s Island offers a happy antidote—general tranquility, more natural surroundings, good restaurants, and, still better, the best courses in the entire Myrtle Beach realm.

Most Controversial Rough In preparation for the 2015 US Open, the USGA has begun introducing graduated rough at Chambers Bay. The rough, which will increase incrementally from 2 to 6 inches before merging into native grasses, is highly controversial here because this Robert Trent Jones II creation has heretofore been devoid of rough. At least the fescue grass is finer and easier to recover from than the typically thick, US Open variety.

Worst Ryder Cup Selection Forget Tom Watson’s captain’s picks or his questionable lineups, the most unfortunate thing about the Ryder Cup was that it wasn’t even played on the best course at Gleneagles. Granted, the Centenary Course is best-equipped to handle large crowds, but the best course to play is the King’s Course. Designed by James Braid, it plays over hill and dale and features the lion’s share of the best holes at Gleneagles. History would have been on the King’s side as well—it hosted the unofficial forerunner of the Ryder Cup competition in 1921.

Favorite New Book Every Shot Counts, by Columbia Business School professor and avid golfer Mark Broadie, uses sabermetric analytics to help golfers of all levels realize their weaknesses and devise better on-course (and practice) regimens. Broadie shows that “awful shots,” which disproportionately wreck scorecards, are more often the result of poor strategy than poor execution. Every Shot Counts can change the way you think about the game.

Crudest Guests Season-ending bargain-basement prices for Treetops Resort’s October unlimited golf blowout brought in the rowdiest crowds we’ve seen in a while. We witnessed what the servers had to put up with when a large group of inebriated buddies, fresh from a match on the links, harassed them to no end. The noise levels and beer flowing carried over to the hallways of the Lodge. During our visit, Treetops seemed more like a fraternity house than a golf resort.

Most Exaggerated Ocean Views While the new Ritz-Carlton Reserve Dorado Beach is, as advertised, gloriously situated on a beautiful beach (every suite has an excellent oceanfront view), claims that the restored and updated East Course at Dorado Beach showcases the ocean are greatly overstated. We’ve read articles that insist you can see the Caribbean from 15 holes. While that may technically be true (especially if playing with a periscope), trees and thick vegetation combine to block out the ocean during most of one’s round.

Best Place to Rub Elbows with Touring Pros The combination of outstanding facilities and a pure golf ambience has made The Dye Preserve a magnet for professional golfers. As more touring pros shift their home base to the Jupiter-Palm Beach orbit, some 25 pros from the various tours were fixtures at The Dye between Q-School and early February. Among the more notable names on the member roster are Will MacKenzie, Russ Cochran, and Azahara Munoz. Also onsite were many GOLF ODYSSEY subscribers who were able to sample The Dye thanks to an exclusive arrangement.

Most Improved Experience Service throughout Pebble Beach Resorts is finally on par with the spectacular setting and facilities. Those nickel-and-dime fees, which we had chided management about for years, have been replaced with complimentary amenities such as Internet access, bottled water, and refreshments in the rooms. An exciting vibe always prevailed here, but now even the food and beverage operation, aided by the addition of the new Bench restaurant, has stepped up its game.

Most Uncomfortable Architectural Ethos A sleek, modernist aesthetic prevails at the clubhouse and new lodge at Streamsong Resort. The resort entrusted the architect, Alberto Alfonso, with stylistic control over the interiors and exteriors. As we waited for a shuttle outside the clubhouse after a 36-hole day, we would have loved to sit on a bench. Alas, there was none, and we were told that was because the architect didn’t want to spoil the aesthetic effect.

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Expert advice and candid reviews since 19924

Most Impressive Birdie During our trip to Gleneagles we took an introductory lesson at the British School of Falconry. Learning how to handle a beautiful a powerful Harris hawk was as memorable an experience as any during our stay.

Toughest Chip in Pinehurst Mr. B’s Lounge at the Pine Crest Inn is our favorite night-time hangout and watering hole in the Village. Even if you’ve had a tough day on the links, redemption awaits if you can win the spirited chipping contests aimed at a hole in the otherwise-covered fireplace. Too many clanks and the evening’s rounds may be on you, too.

Best Bang for Your Five Franklins in Las Vegas Las Vegas is full of guilty pleasures on and off the course, but we’ve yet to hear anyone say they didn’t get their money’s worth at Shadow Creek. From the moment you step into the limousine from one of several MGM resort hotels you will be treated like royalty. The Tom Fazio-Steve Wynn designed golf course has perfect rhythm and flow and is filled with great holes. For $500, it is one of the most memorable and enjoyable experiences you can have in golf.

Most Enduring (and Endearing) Desert Retreat Thirty years since its pioneering debut in the mid-1980s, The Boulders remains a paean to the desert. The entire resort blends in unobtrusively with the desert flora and the property’s iconic rock formations. Two minimalistic Jay Morrish-designed eighteens incorporate the natural desert terrain and boulder rocks. The Boulders, which now flies the Waldorf Astoria flag, may no longer seem so novel, but it’s a testament to its impact and style that its features are now standards of desert golf courses throughout the Valley of the Sun and beyond.

Ultimate Accommodation of the Year Set on a vast Tuscan estate and encompassing a restored historic village, Castiglion del Bosco is an idyllic luxury retreat. The resort is owned and run by the Ferragamo family, who see it as part of their legacy. Friendly and impeccable service is a hallmark throughout the estate. Accommodations range from elaborate villas in 17th and 18th century farmhouses to more “standard” spacious suites. Even the guest suites, which have been built into the side of a hill, are off the charts. They embody pure Italian style without a hint of gaudiness or excess. You will find a host of fixtures, furnishings, and accents not only from Ferragamo brands but also from other top-of-the-line designers. We would have happily folded up everything and made it into a romantic apartment anywhere in the world.

Ultimate Golf Experience There simply is no golf mecca with a more impressive lineup than Mike Keiser’s Bandon Dunes Golf Resort. We started off with a round at David Kidd’s original Bandon Dunes, the most straightforward of the links, and relished each succeeding round on Pacific Dunes, Bandon Trails, and Old Macdonald. All the Bandon courses are different in character and walking-only. Bandon Trails, which veers inland, makes for the toughest trekking, but in many ways it is the most mesmerizing walk. Just when we needed an afternoon break, Coore-Crenshaw’s 13-hole Bandon Preserve offered an ideal respite. The Preserve’s short holes are great fun and as scenic as any at the resort. The informal mood is a pure delight. We found ourselves unwinding even more on Punchbowl, Bandon’s rollicking new putting course. Somehow, each time we go to Bandon, it gets even better.

Best Off-the-Beaten-Path UK Destination If you have gone to all the usual places in the British Isles or seek something novel and unique, we highly recommend Wales. Bordered by England to the east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea everywhere else, this predominantly mountainous country is a low-key, feel-good getaway. In addition to enchantingly beautiful countryside, Wales boasts a number of welcoming private clubs with links courses that are a blast to play. The Welsh don’t see all that many Americans, so you will be warmly welcomed. Wales can also be a great choice for those who don’t have a handicap certificate.

Best Credit Card The more we learn about MasterCard Private Access, a benefits program for holders of elite MasterCards, the more we like it. Cardholders and their friends can gain privileged access to the network of TPC courses, many of which are private. The discounts on green fees and perks while visiting the clubs are substantial.

We wish this year’s ryder Cup at gleneagles had been played on the King’s Course

COurTesY Of gleneaglesss

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Biggest Gamble Gamble Sands is a brand new, environmentally conscious David McLay Kidd-designed layout that has been winning accolades for its player-friendly qualities and spectacular, 360-degree views of the Columbia and Okanagan Rivers and surrounding valleys. As the first piece of a potentially large development, much is riding on its success—it remains to be seen if enough golfers will make the journey to this remote locale three-and-a-half hours east of Seattle to justify a full-fledged destination resort.

Most Fearsome Fairways Johnny Miller’s design at Entrada at Snow Canyon Country Club put St. George, Utah on the golf travel map when it opened in the mid-1990s. The back nine takes players on an intimidating journey through jagged black lava rock. On the double dogleg par-five 16th, many a player has stared out at the miles of lava field from the tee and wondered if the seemingly tiny strip of green grass is really a fairway.

Most Diabolical Design The Pete Dye Course at French Lick Resort plays along the ridges of a mountain summit (on a clear day you can see 40 miles across the Hoosier National Forest) and is full of steep falloffs to ravines. Blind or semi-blind shots abound, as thick rough and tall native grasses await balls that miss the fairways. Good luck getting a level lie. A plaque in front of the clubhouse says it all: “The ardent golfer would play Mount Everest if somebody put a flagstick at the top … golf is not a fair game, so why build a fair golf course?”

Most Disappointing Service Although the service at the Ritz-Carlton Reserve Dorado Beach was exceptional at times, overall it was inconsistent and didn’t measure up to what one would expect from a Ritz-Carlton, let alone a Ritz-Carlton Reserve. In addition to having to set up our own beach chairs, we struggled to find someone to take our drink requests at the pool and twice had to wait excessively for a resort shuttle. Scheduled closures of the golf courses and marquee restaurant added to our frustration.

Most Thrilling Course in the Carolina Sandhills Plenty of golfers return from Pinehurst saying their most memorable round was actually at Tobacco Road. On this masterpiece by the late Mike Strantz, every hole feels utterly new. You play over vast waste bunkers and manmade mounding, take on crazy angles, and sweat over putts on greens reminiscent of the melting clocks in Dali’s Persistence of Memory.

Best New Resort Bar At the Lodge at Pebble Beach, The Bench, a casual and airy restaurant and bar, has great cocktails and appetizers (try the pork belly with soy glaze) as well as priceless views of Pebble’s famed 18th hole. If the fire pits out on the terrace don’t keep you warm enough, blanket service is available.

“And Then The Brontosaurus Said to Chi Chi...” Two Denver-area courses, Fossil Trace and Arrowhead Golf Club are apparently waging a duel as to which dates back further into prehistoric times. Fossil Trace, which ushers players

through a sandstone corridor replete with fossil imprints, claims to have been “68 million years in the making.” Not to be outdone, Arrowhead traces its origins back “300 million years.”

Best Far-Flung Course in Scottsdale The most exhilarating eighteen we played on our recent trip to Scottsdale was Quintero Golf Club, a formerly all-private, Troon-managed facility that now welcomes the public. Located some 55 miles from downtown Scottsdale, Quintero commands a spectacular site filled with dramatic elevation changes, stunning panoramas, and wonderfully varied challenge. The par threes on this brawny layout are fabulous, and every hole leaves you eager for the next.

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“volcano” bunkers help make french lick’s Pete Dye Course positively diabolical

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Expert advice and candid reviews since 19926

Most Dangerous Routing Nefyn & District boasts some of the most dramatically situated cliff-top grounds in all of golf. As you play the last eight holes of the original back nine, the game involves tee shots over preceding greens, playing on merging fairways, and dodging cars, trucks, and pedestrians on an active road and public footpaths that weave throughout. Many a group has absolutely no clue of where to hit on the on the 11th and 12th holes. Several times during the round players hit and hope no one gets maimed.

Best Remake In 1920, Adolph Zukor, the head of Paramount Pictures, enlisted A.W. Tillinghast to design a course on his private estate that was equal parts charm and challenge. After Zukor ceded control of the course and it became a country club, conditions deteriorated and various architects modified the layout with little regard for its history. The current regime at Paramount Country Club enlisted Jim Urbina to perform a full restoration. Using old photos and Tillinghast’s writings, Urbina has restored Paramount’s enchanting antique look and showcased textbook examples of Tillinghast’s famous template holes. GOLF ODYSSEY subscribers can take this gem in Rockland County, New York for a test run thanks to an exclusive arrangement.

Least Desirable Dinner Companions As we sat outside on the patio of Palo Verde restaurant at The Boulders on a very warm summer night, we nearly had grasshopper soup. Throughout dinner grasshoppers bombarded us, including a few times with such surprising force that they seemed to ricochet near our soup.

Best Caribbean Climate The Dutch island of Curaçao is not a golf destination per se, but the Santa Barbara Beach & Golf Resort’s Pete Dye-designed Old Quarry Golf course offers a worthy game. Sunny, arid weather, with temperatures typically in the 80s, make for one of Curaçao’s chief selling points.Because it is so far to the south and outside of the hurricane belt, Curaçao is normally quite calm, even when other Caribbean islands are battening down the hatches.

Most Anticipated Golf Project Mike Keiser is at it again. The visionary owner of Bandon Dunes and Cabot Links has found another locale, this time i n central Wisconsin, to test out his winning formula. Keiser calls Sand Valley “a Wisconsin Pine Valley” and touts that while there’s no ocean on display, it is nevertheless perfect for links-style golf with its sandy base, 60-foot-tall dunes, and massive valleys. Current plans call for

preview play to commence in late 2015.

Best New England Hidden Gem Just outside of Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, Lake Winnipesaukee Golf Club is a low-key private club routed through and around secluded woodlands, wetlands, rock outcroppings, and boulders. Trees, tall fescue, and native grasses frame many fairways on this dramatic and exquisitely bunkered Clive Clark design. The first New Hampshire eighteen to host the New England Open is wide enough so that you can hit driver off most tees. Excellent course conditioning and superb drainage make washouts and cart-path-only days extremely rare. If you’re a member of a private club, Lake Winnipesaukee is worth considering for a reciprocal round the next time you are in New England.

Toughest Par Three Course Treetops Resort is the only multi-course resort we know of where the best-known and most iconic test is a par-three course. The nine-hole Threetops course, famous from hosting the made-for-primetime-television Par-3 Shootout skins game, occupies rugged, severely sloped, ravine-filled terrain. Tall grass and deep bunkers demand accuracy and precision, but it’s all guesswork because of the vertigo-inducing elevation changes.

Best Late-Round Tradition At Nefyn & District, it’s a tradition to break off your round after the 12th or 15th hole for a drink at the Ty Coch Inn. Players take the path down to the beach for a pint or two in the old pub, the most charmingly situated watering hole in all of Wales.

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The precarious back nine of nefyn & District extends out onto a narrow peninsula

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Most Disappointing Lodge The stunningly situated Lodge and Spa at Cordillera near Vail was the darling of luxury travelers when it opened 20 years ago, but these days the resort has grown tired. Everything from the furnishings to the carpets and televisions have seen better days. A number of glitches—defective room keys, missteps with our food order, and a significant overcharge on our bill—all indicated a lack of attention to detail and short staffing.

Best Brunch Ristorante Il Drago, the main restaurant at Castiglion del Bosco, was the scene of the most fantastic and elaborate brunch we’ve ever experienced. The buffet feast extended throughout four rooms and featured everything we could possibly imagine. To top it off, the chefs invited guests into the kitchen and offered to make anything we wanted.

Prettiest “Ladies” Course James Braid built the Queen’s Course at Gleneagles for ladies, but it’s a joy for everyone. Though very short by today’s standards, it is still a relevant challenge that is, by turns, charming and capricious and witty and shrewd. Many green sites tuck into inspired locations. When played in the late afternoon as shadows lengthen on the distant hills, the Queen’s Course is simply one of the most beautiful courses with which we are acquainted.

Best Carolina BBQ Pinehurst insiders make a beeline to the Pik-n-Pig at the Gilliam-McConnell Airfield in Carthage for great hickory-smoked BBQ. Many a pilot lands just to pick up an order and immediately takes off again.

What Happens in Vegas... Could Only Happen in Vegas Playing at MGM Resort’s Shadow Creek is like entering a world unto itself. Sealed off from its surroundings by 20,000 trees, you’d never guess this surreal golfing ground sits smack in the Mojave Desert. Once you pass through the gate of this oasis conceived by Steve Wynn and course architect Tom Fazio, you feel at different times as if you are in the natural countryside of North Carolina, Colorado, the Pacific Northwest, and even Augusta.

Worst Opening Hole Jim Urbina did a great job restoring A.W. Tillinghast’s Paramount Country Club, but the par-five 1st disappoints. Zukor Road crosses the fairway and interferes with the tee shot. Cars are in play. After the drive, the fairway climbs straight up and the hole culminates at a severely sloped, blind green. The 1st is Paramount’s number one handicap hole and not for the right reasons. Thankfully, plans are in place to replace one of the few blemishes on this fine layout.

Best Practice Ground Upgrade The lack of a decent range and practice ground had long been a black mark on the Pebble Beach experience. The new Pebble Beach Golf Academy & Practice Facility, which rivals any practice ground on the PGA Tour, solves the problem. Features include an expansive, double-ended driving range where you hit off natural turf, multiple target greens, and a huge short-game area. Resort guests can use the facility free of charge with or without a tee time.

Most Magical Tuscan Afternoon The Tom Weiskopf-designed Castiglion del Bosco Golf Club isn’t world top-100 material, but that didn’t stop us from enjoying one of the most enchanting golf afternoons we can remember. The course weaves around a mesmerizing tableau of olive groves, streams, brooks, and a medieval castle. Views from the ridges would make any landscape painter’s day. The clubhouse, a converted farmhouse, has a golf shop and a charming little wine bar. We had this private paradise all to ourselves. What better way to spend an afternoon under the Tuscan sun than to play in between sips of choice Brunello di Montalcino wines?

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Playing Castiglion del Bosco with wine in hand makes for an idyllic Tuscan afternoon

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Expert advice and candid reviews since 19928

Most Polarizing Eighteen The Links at Spanish Bay may be a challenging and aesthetically pleasing forerunner to the Scottish-inspired, links-style courses that have greatly enhanced America’s golf landscape, but it is also unduly onerous in places (tight fairways with no leeway) and sheer terror when the wind is up. Some feel it is the best course at Pebble Beach Resort, but we find it the least inspiring of the three eighteens.

Best Mexican Golf Experience Diamante is private, but GOLF ODYSSEY subscribers can play it thanks to an exclusive arrangement. The minimalistic Davis Love III-designed Dunes Course runs through soaring, wind-battered dunes and is now a fixture on world top-100 lists. From the unique practice area complete with individual hitting “caves” and slider bar, to the excellent, English-speaking caddies and complimentary snacks and drinks throughout the golf course, Diamante is an unforgettable experience.

Best Factory/Showroom/Dining Room When visiting Woodstock or Quechee, Vermont, don’t miss the Simon Pearce Factory and Restaurant. In the factory downstairs, workers show you how they make the company’s glassware and pottery. Upstairs, past the showroom, the restaurant serves gourmet meals and drinks in dinnerware and glassware pieces made downstairs.

Most Noteworthy Architecture Sea Ranch Golf Links may be spartan and disappointing, but a better reason for making the stunning (and harrowing) drive on the Coast Highway in Sonoma County may be to see the distinctive timber-framed, wood-shingled, and ecologically conscious “Sea Ranch Architecture” that prevailed in this pioneering master-planned community.

Most Unexpected Walk The Links at Bodega Harbour has a surprise in store for players when they reach 16, a temptingly drivable Cape-style par four, and 17, an all-carry par three. Since the holes are situated in a marshy area that backs up to the shoreline dunes, you must leave your cart behind and walk both tests (pull carts will be waiting for you) before circling back to drive away to the finishing hole.

Best Warm-Weather Alternative to Scotland A quick look at the Blue and Red courses at Streamsong Resort would never lead anyone to suspect they are in Florida. The resort’s two inland eighteens, which have catapulted up top-50 US course lists, instantly conjure visions of Scottish and Irish links. Towering dunes, waving fescue grasses, rumpled fairways, windswept golfing grounds, plus the unique presence of impressive lakes by the dunes, create a pure golf ambience. A walking ethos prevails, aided by a fine caddie program. If the journey across the pond, or even to Bandon Dunes, is too daunting, Streamsong, just 90 minutes from

the Tampa airport, may be the next best—and convenient—thing.

Best Dining Destination Whenever we visit Napa and Sonoma we’re inclined to spend more of our time sampling the region’s wineries and fine restaurants than its golf courses. There’s no better restaurant town in America that Yountville, which sets the standard for most Michelin-starred restaurants per capita of any place on the continent. Main Street is just a few blocks long and lined with restaurants—each seemingly better than the last.

Best Ownership Change As soon as Johnny Miller’s group acquired Silverado Resort, big things began to happen. Miller immediately renovated the oak-lined North Course and struck a three-year deal to bring the Frys.com Open to Silverado. A long-term project is also well under way to update all the accommodations. There’s a buzz at Silverado unlike any the resort has seen in years.

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in all of mexico, there’s no topping a day at Diamante’s Dunes Course

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A long list of 100 courses or destinations with little logic to the rankings is of little help when planning trips, so we came up with a better approach for our year-end review. Since every golf traveler has different needs and tastes, we categorized the most intriguing destinations by their unique strengths to enable you to make the perfect choice for your next getaway. In honor of golf ’s traditions, we present the following fantastic foursomes. Congratulations to our winners.

Golf Odyssey’s Platinum PlacesThe World’s Best Golf Destinations of 2014/2015

Best Overall US Resorts (golf, lodging, dining, and activities)American Club Resort, WIThe Broadmoor, COKiawah Island Golf Resort, SCPebble Beach Resort, CABest US Resorts for GolfAmerican Club Resort, WIBandon Dunes Golf Resort, ORPebble Beach Resort, CAPinehurst Resort, NC

Best Resorts for Golf and Off-Road DrivingThe Equinox, VTThe Greenbrier, WVNemacolin Woodlands, PAPrimland, VA

Best US Resorts for Golf & TennisThe Broadmoor, COKiawah Island Golf Resort, SCPebble Beach Resort, CASea Pines Resort, SC

Most Enjoyable RTJ Alabama Golf Trail SitesCapitol Hill, PrattvilleGrand National, Auburn/OpelikaLakewood Golf Club, Point ClearRoss Bridge, HooverMost Fun Rounds in ScotlandCastle StuartNorth BerwickThe Old Course, St. AndrewsPrestwick

Four Must-Plays of Phoenix/Scottsdale The Boulders (South)Quintero Golf ClubTroon North (Pinnacle)We-Ko-Pa (Cholla)Best PGA Tour C0urses You Can Play (East)Bay Hill Club, FLBlue Monster, Trump National Doral, FLHarbour Town Golf Links, SCStadium Course, TPC Sawgrass, FL

Best Destinations for Golf & RevelryCancun/Mayan Riviera, MexicoLas Vegas, NVLos Cabos, MexicoMiami, FL

Best US Destinations for Gourmet GolfersCharleston, SCLas Vegas, NVMiami, FLNapa/Sonoma, CA

Restored Courses You Should Play (Western US & Can)Banff Springs, Alberta, CanadaMauna Kea, HIOjai Valley Inn, CAPasatiempo, CA

Best Resorts For Family Foursomes Hershey Resort, PA Kiawah Island Golf Resort, SCPinehurst, NCWild Dunes Resort, SC

Best Places to Redeem Your Hilton Honors Points The Boulders, AZGrand Wailea, HIHilton Rose Hall Resort & Spa, JamaicaLa Quinta Resort & Spa, CA

Four New Courses to Put on Your Radar ScreenChileno Bay, MexicoBlue Monster, Trump National Doral, FLGamble Sands, WAQuivira, Pueblo Bonito Resort, Mexico

Best US Golf Resorts for Beach LoversFour Seasons Lanai at Manele Bay, HIKiawah Island Golf Resort, SCSea Island, GAWaterColor Inn, FL

Best Private Club/Hotel AffiliationsLa Gorce/The Setai, FLMid Ocean Club/Rosewood Tucker’s Point, BermudaRed Sky Ranch/various Vail hotels, COShadow Creek/various MGM resort hotels, NV

Best US Golf and Spa Getaways (East/Midwest)American Club Resort, WIInn at Palmetto Bluff, SCThe Greenbrier, WVSea Island, GA

Most Anticipated New Course OpeningsCabot Cliffs, Nova Scotia, CanadaEl Cardonal, Diamante, MexicoSt. Emilion Golf Club, FranceTrump Golf Links Ferry Point, NY

Expert advice and candid reviews since 199210

City/Area Month Rating

UNITED STATES

Arizona

Carefree Boulders, North February B+ Boulders, South February B+H Boulders, The February A- Peoria Quintero February A-

California

Carmel/Monterey Del Monte April C- Links at Spanish Bay April B+ Pebble Beach April A+ Spyglass Hill April A-H Casa Palmero April AH Inn at Spanish Bay April AH Lodge at Pebble Beach April A+ Napa/Sonoma Aetna Springs October B+ Bodega Harbour September B+ Chardonnay October B- Eagle Vines October B- Langtry Farms October n/a Sea Ranch September C+ Silverado, North October B Silverado, South October B+ Sonoma GC October B+H Bodega Bay Lodge September B+H Sea Ranch Lodge October B+H Silverado Resort October B

Colorado

Denver Arrowhead May B CommonGround May B Fossil Trace May B+ Ridge at Castle Pines North May B+H Brown Palace, The May A- Edwards Cordillera, Mountain July B Cordillera, Summit July B+ Cordillera, Valley July B+H Lodge & Spa at Cordillera July B

Florida

Jupiter Dye Preserve February n/a Polk County Streamsong, Blue October A Streamsong, Red October AH Streamsong Resort & Spa October B+

Georgia

Savannah Club at Savannah Harbor April BH Westin Savannah Harbor April B+

Indiana

French Lick/Jasper/West Baden French Lick, Donald Ross July B+ French Lick, Pete Dye July A- French Lick, Valley Links July n/a Sultan’s Run July B+H French Lick Resort July A-

Michigan

Gaylord Treetops, Masterpiece June B Treetops, Premier June B+ Treetops, Signature June B+ Treetops, Threetops June B+ Treetops, Tradition June B-H Treetops Resort July C- Lewiston Garland, Monarch October B- Garland, Reflections October B- Garland, Swampfire October C+H Garland Lodge & Resort October B

Nevada

Las Vegas Shadow Creek May A+

New Hampshire

Wolfeboro Lake Winnipesaukee August B+H Wolfeboro Inn (The) August B

New York

Rockland County Paramount CC July n/a

North Carolina Pinehurst/Sandhills Dormie Club May A- Forest Creek, North May n/a Forest Creek, South May n/a Mid Pines May A- Pine Needles May B+ Tobacco Road May A-H Inn at Mid Pines May BH Pine Crest Inn May B-

Oregon Bandon Bandon Dunes November A Bandon Preserve November n/a Bandon Trails November A Old Macdonald November A+ Pacific Dunes November A+ Sheep Ranch November n/aH Bandon Dunes Golf Resort November B

Pennsylvania Farmington Nemacolin Woodlands, Links August B- Nemacolin Woodlands, Mystic Rock August B+H Nemacolin Woodlands Resort August A

City/Area Month Rating

INDEX TO 2014 COURSE AND LODGING REVIEWS

H denotes hotel and accommodations

December 2014 11

City/Area Month Rating City/Area Month RatingSouth Carolina Myrtle Beach/Pawleys Island Caledonia March B+ Founders March B Heritage March B+ Pawleys Plantation March B+ TPC Myrtle Beach March B True Blue March B+H Inlet Sports Lodge March B

Texas Horseshoe Bay Horseshoe Bay, Apple Rock January B+ Horseshoe Bay, Ram Rock January B+ Horseshoe Bay, Slick Rock January BH Horseshoe Bay January B+

Utah St. George Coral Canyon August B Entrada at Snow Canyon August B+ Ledges of St. George August B- Sand Hollow, Championship August B+ Sand Hollow, Links August B- Sky Mountain August B- Sunbrook August B-H Green Valley Hotel & Spa August B+H Inn at Entrada August B+H Red Mountain August B+

Vermont Quechee/Woodstock Quechee Club, Highland September B+ Quechee Club, Lakeland September B Woodstock September B-H Parker House Inn September n/aH Quechee Inn September B-H Twin Farms September A+H Woodstock Inn & Resort September B+

Virginia Williamsburg Brickshire June B- Club at Viniterra June B Royal New Kent June B Tradition at Stonehouse June B+H Williamsburg Inn June A- RichmondH Jefferson Hotel June A

Washington Tacoma Chambers Bay June AH Hotel Murano June A

UK/IRELANDScotland

Perthshire Gleneagles, King’s September A- Gleneagles, PGA Centenary September C+ Gleneagles, Queen’s September A-H Gleneagles September A+

Wales

North Wales Aberdovey March B+ Conwy March B- Nefyn & District March B+ Royal St. David’s March B+H Castle Cottage March C+H Castle Hotel March B+H Penhelig Arms March n/aH Plas Bodegroes March n/aH Y Branwen Hotel March C+

ITALY Montalcino Castiglion del Bosco April B+H Castiglion del Bosco April A+

CARIBBEAN/MEXICO/CENTRAL AMERICACuraçao

Old Quarry March B+H Santa Barbara Beach & Golf Resort March B+

Mexico

Los Cabos Cabo del Sol, Desert February B+ Cabo del Sol, Ocean February A- Cabo Real February B- Cabo San Lucas February C Club Campestre February B Diamante, Dunes February A Palmilla February B+ Puerto Los Cabos February B+H Capella Pedregal February A+H Esperanza February A+H Las Ventanas al Paraiso February A+H One & Only Palmilla February A

Puerto Rico

Dorado Beach Dorado Beach, East January B Dorado Beach, Pineapple January C Dorado Beach, Sugarcane January B H Dorado Plantation Residences January B+H Ritz-Carlton Reserve January A

MISCELLANEOUS Awesome Eight (The) January Best Charity Outings April/May Denver’s Private Courses May From Our Readers September Secrets From The World of Golf Travel (Blue Monster, Trump Doral; St. Andrews Golf House; Pinehurst’s Evergreen deal) January (Chileno Bay, Kjus Rain Gear, Sand Valley) March (Poppy Hills, Lodge at Tetherow) April (Els & Woods Charity Playoffs; Kentwool Socks; Every Shot Counts) June (Old Course Tee Times; Pinehurst No. 9) July (Elite MasterCard perks; Gamble Sands) August

Expert advice and candid reviews since 199212

COming in The mOnThs aheaD...

Princeville and more on Kauai; hammock Beach resort; The Outpost Club; Tucson’s sewailo golf Club

Most Inspiring Opening Holes The first five holes at Spyglass Hill are brilliant. Robert Trent Jones, Sr. built the holes amidst the dunes. The downhill 1st heads right down to the ocean and the next four holes follow the sea. Jones considered the 4th, an option-laden short par four with a sliver of a green, the finest hole he ever designed.

Bear, Paper, Shark Just outside San José del Cabo, Puerto Los Cabos may eventually have side-by-side eighteens by Jack Nicklaus and Greg Norman, but for the time being it’s a single layout that pairs nine Nicklaus holes with nine Norman tests. The course presents an interesting opportunity to compare the styles of the two designers. Here we prefer the Shark’s work, as the combination of ocean and desert make for a spectacular setting.

Best 19th Hole The Tap Room at Pebble Beach is the social epicenter of the Lodge at Pebble Beach. It’s a great spot for drinks as well as dining. In addition to delicious burgers, you won’t go wrong with a steak, salad, or seafood dish. Testosterone oozes from this place—we can’t think of a better guy’s hangout.

Best Donald Ross Greens In the early 1920s, Donald Ross developed Mid Pines as a property for Pinehurst regulars who had grown weary of the crowds at Pinehurst No. 2. The greens at Mid Pines, which have remained mostly untouched since the day Ross created them, are actually more “typical Ross” than the famous set at Pinehurst No. 2. Mid Pines’s putting surfaces rest gently on natural rises and feature subtle, but fascinating, contours.

Most Historic Nine-Holer Golf was first played at Aetna Springs Golf Course, purportedly the oldest course west of the Mississippi, in 1890. Artfully restored by Tom Doak, this antique-looking layout in Napa County’s remote Pope Valley is one of the most enjoyable nine-hole tests in the US.

Don’t Save it for a Rainy Day Mike Strantz’s Royal New Kent near Williamsburg, Virginia conjures visions of Northern Ireland with its huge, dune-like mounds, sandy wastes inundated with scrub vegetation, and massive, tiered greens with false fronts. On days when carts are restricted to the paths, however, players literally never see certain intriguing features of Strantz’s design because of the intervening mounds. Drainage can also be a problem. Turf conditions, especially near the spots where carts enter and exit the fairways, tend to deteriorate in wet weather.

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spyglass hill’s brilliant opening stretch features five ocean holes amidst the dunes

evan sChiller