Best Golf Resorts of the World

Annika Sorenstam celebrates new ANNIKA Chardonnay at Wente Vineyards golf day

Annika Sorenstam and her new wine

Golf diva Annika Sorenstam will host an all-day affair on July 25 at Wente VIneyards in California's Livermore Valley to present the newest wine from her ANNIKA Vineyards label, a 2008 Chardonnay.

Guests at the event will enjoy:

• continental breakfast
• golf clinic led by Annika
• shotgun golf tournament at The Course at Wente Vineyards
• ANNIKA Vineyards' 2008 Chardonnay tasting on the 7th tee.
• ANNIKA Vineyards' 2006 Syrah on the 14th tee
• awards and wine reception
• gala dinner on the vineyard lawn
• bottle of 2006 ANNIKA Syrah to take home

Annika Vineyards 2008 Chardonnay

Pricing for the day is $350 (dinner only option is $75). Participants can sign up through Wente Vineyards’ web site

Winemaker Karl Wente describes the Chardonnay as "full-bodied with apricot, peach, tangerine flavors throughout that lead to graham, vanilla and ground spice on the finish,”

The greatest female golfer of our time, Annika Sorenstam offers junior golfers opportunities to pursue their dreams through her ANNIKA Foundation. Along with Jack Nicklaus, she was named a Global Ambassador by the International Golf Federation and aided in the successful bid for golf in the 2016 Olympic Games. .

 
A spectacular layout tucked away in an idyllic valley and clifftop setting, Greg Norman designed, The Course at Wente Vineyards meanders through scenic rolling hills, vineyards, and grasslands of the Livermore Valley. Nestled up against the cliffs of Cresta Blanca, the course is lined with sycamore, oak and cottonwood woods and runs dramatically up onto high plateaus.

The Course at Wente Vineyards, Livermore, California

More about playing golf at Wente Vineyards.
 

Founder/editor of BestGolfResortsofTheWorld, Karen Misuraca is a travel and golf writer from the California Wine Country. She follows the little white ball around the world and blogs about International Golf Travel. And, she also writes a blog on Sustainable Travel.

A quartet of top notch golf courses in Northern California's Tri-Valley area

The Bridges Golf Course in San Ramon, California

About 40 minutes east of San Francisco near the Silicon Valley, the "Tri-Valley" area is all about wine and golf, with more than 50 wineries and several top notch golf courses.

Named by Golfweek as one of the top 50 munis in the nation out of more than 8,000 courses, Callippe Preserve Golf Course in Pleasanton is the newest in the area. The club was developed as part of a cooperative effort to create an 18-hole golf course, hiking and equestrian trails, endangered species habitat, wetlands and grazing land. The front nine runs through a beautiful valley, while the back nine rises higher, with Happy Valley Creek winding through oak woodlands and wetland habitat. Views are of ridgelands and from the higher spots, Mount Diablo. Greens fees here are great values.

At The Bridges Golf Club in the hills above San Ramon, eleven wooden bridges cross a meandering creek, gorges and ravines in a deep, wooded valley. Most holes on this links-style track are rimmed with meadows and eucalyptus, with plenty of tilting sidehills and ball-sucking shrubs. Bring extra balls for the many (many) carries and don't set off on your round without a yardage book.

Elevated tees and greens  (you'll feel like a mountain goat just getting up to the 5th tee), large, undulating greens, rolling approaches, big bunkers, and rather windy afternoons on this Johnny Miller and Damian Pascuzzo collaboration. (A former partner of Robert Muir Graves, Pascuzzo now works with PGA pro, Steve Pate.)

Excellent multi-level putting greens, a night-lighted practice range and a very nice, urban-chic clubhouse restaurant/bar with lovely views make The Bridges a place to linger. Play in the morning and stay for a long lunch.

A 27-hole Rees Jones-designed, heathland-style course, Poppy Ridge Golf Course is particularly beloved by NCGA members, who get a 45% discount off the public green fee. The Merlot, Chardonnay and Zinfandel nines are cut out of rugged foothills amid indigenous vegetation, with one lone tree and lots of sand creating a "inland links" feel, complete with steady afternoon winds. Prepare to run the ball up the open approaches, avoid the lakes and practice your sidehill shots. Zagat Guide has called it one of the top 15 courses in the nation for value.

Poppy Ridge Golf Course in Northern California's "Tri-Valley" area

 A spectacular layout tucked away in an idyllic valley and clifftop setting, Greg Norman designed, The Course at Wente Vineyards meanders through scenic rolling hills, vineyards, and grasslands of the Livermore Valley. Nestled up against the cliffs of Cresta Blanca, the course is lined with sycamore, oak and cottonwood woods and runs dramatically up onto high plateaus.

(More here about The Course at Wente Vineyards)

The Tri-Valley Convention and Visitors Bureau describes the golf courses in the area and offers packages.

Founder/editor of BestGolfResortsofTheWorld, Karen Misuraca is a travel and golf writer from the California Wine Country. She follows the little white ball around the world and blogs about International Golf Travel. And, she also writes a blog on Sustainable Travel.