The United States is a golfer’s paradise, with thousands of golf courses spread out across the country, each claiming to offer unique features and topnotch amenities. All these are meant not only to take your game to the next level but to draw in golfers’ families and friends with the promise of other opportunities for a fun and exciting holiday.
Some have splendid mountain or ocean views, while others are designed to be an Eden-like oasis in the midst of towering skyscrapers. They are all planned for the pleasure of both the golfer and his family and friends, who could engage in other leisure events and activities to enhance bonding and friendship.
Unless you’re a professional golfer traveling from coast to coast to participate in tournaments, the choices of possible golfing destinations are limited to what you can squeeze into your busy workdays or business schedules and family responsibilities.
This is why most golfers’ definition of a golfing destination is not just one to challenge their swinging and putting skills. It also has to have entertainment value to engage and satisfy their personal entourage, most especially their families.
If you’re planning a golf vacation that gets you and the family more than just game points, you may want to check out the following destinations. These states cater not only to the golfing-green lover in you but are also great tourist destinations offering worthwhile and memorable experiences for family and friends:
- California: The State of California is a golfer’s paradise – and not without reason. It has a pleasant climate that is neither too warm nor too cold at any time of the year. It has hundreds of golf courses around the state, with San Diego providing at least 92. Pebble Beach Links is particularly special among golf and vacation lovers because of its astounding location hugging the rugged coastline of Monterey, with a postcard perfect view of the Pacific Ocean and the calming sounds of sea waves.
- Hawaii: This Pacific state is golf heaven to many who’ve been there, with more than 70 golf courses spread across six distinct islands, every one of them with its own breathtaking tropical landscape, remarkable signature holes and world-class course layout. The Hualalai Resort, the first 18-hole golf course designed by golf legend Jack Nicklaus in Hawaii, is a cut above the rest. The 7,100-yard course boasts of awesome panoramic views of the vast Pacific Ocean, with the island’s iconic palm trees gracefully swaying in the foreground.
- Nevada: It’s hard to imagine how modern technology has turned this former desert land into a playground with one of the most spectacular golf courses in the world, showcasing flowing creeks, splashing waterfalls, and verdant gardens. Unlike California or Hawaii, there are not too many golf courses in Nevada, but the few that are there have earned their class and reputation to compare with the best anywhere in the world.
- Florida: Like Nevada, the State of Florida is known literally and figuratively as a hot golfing destination. It will be hotter this year though, with real estate tycoon Donald Trump launching one of his newest and costliest creations – the Trump National Doral Miami, a luxury resort and championship golf course. Not too far from Miami is Naples, a coastal city with more than 35 golf courses and over 50 more championship courses in the surrounding areas. Because of its unusual number of golf courses, Naples is popularly known as the Golf Capital of the State of Florida – and it’s not about to give up this title in 2015 and beyond.
- South Carolina: Very few can claim to be the “Golf Capital of the World,” but Myrtle Beach in South Carolina. International acclaim has bestowed that title on South Carolina. For a city with a relatively small population of 28,292, it is home to some 100 golf courses, most of them public, and attracts about 14 million visitors annually. Of course, not everyone goes to Myrtle to play golf, but the city does have a myriad non-golf activities to offer, including beaches, amusement parks, an oceanarium, concerts, shopping centers, and over 1,900 restaurants offering seafood galore.
The beauty of today’s golf courses is that they are rated not just as a green range with nine or 18 holes, but for their overall design as an entertainment complex for the entire family. The above five select destinations fit that bill – to a tee.
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