Best Golf Resorts of the World

Poipu Bay Golf Course in Kauai closes for renovation, new Grand Hyatt Kauai stays open for a re-do

On the Hawaiian island of Kauai, the Poipu Bay Golf Course and clubhouse will close between April 1 and about December 16 for extensive greens renovation (golf shop remains open). On all of the greens, Bermuda grass will be replaced with Paspalum, to provide a faster, more consistent putting surface, and will use less fertilizer, water and herbicide.

The links-style championship course, site of the PGA Grand Slam of Golf from from 1994 through 2006, is a Robert Trent Jones, Jr. design laid between dramatic mountain peaks and jagged bluffs a hundred feet above the surf. On the shoreline holes during the winter, you can watch humpback whales rolling and spouting offshore. On the beach below fifteen and sixteen, green sea turtles and monk seals are often seen sunbathing.

Tiger Woods held forth at Poipu Bay Golf Course in 2001 to win his fourth straight Grand Slam of Golf with a record twelve-under-132, and a three-stroke victory over David Toms--the rolling terrain and wildly undulating fairways failed to faze Tiger. Golfers contend with fairway bunkers on nearly every hole, and when breezes blow in the afternoons, headwinds and crosswinds are a given. When your ball lands in the stony ruins of ancient places of worship, called heiaus, there they must stay, as the ruins are off-limits. On the final four holes, the sound of the surf will be in your ears and the tradewinds in your hair are you play along the oceanfront.

Anchoring the Poipu Bay resort is the new, 4-diamond Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort and Spa  (formerly the Hyatt Regency Kauai), an elegant, tropical 602-room resort on a hillside overlooking Keoneloa Bay. Guests enjoy acres of tropical lagoons and gardens, a white sand beach and the Anara Spa (soon to be expanded with additional gardens and treatment hales (huts), each with its own soaking tub). Guest rooms are to be renovated this year; each has a private lanai, a separate seating area, and most have full or partial ocean views. 

Reserve now through March 17th at the Grand Hyatt and receive a hotel credit, good towards activities, hotel amenities and more.

More on golf in Hawaii

And, even more on golf in Hawaii

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.

Couples wins Cap Cana Championship at Punta Espada in Dominican Republic

Punta Espada Golf Club at Cap Cana, Dominican Republic

 For his third straight win in a row, Fred Couples won the $1.6 million Champions Tour Cap Cana Championship at Punta Espada Golf Club in the Dominican Republic, with a course-record 62. That makes 50-year-old Couples the first player in Champions Tour history to win three of his first four official tournaments. As he said during a practice round, “The Champions Tour is good timing for me." He also continues to complete on the PGA Tour.

For the second consecutive year, Golfweek Magazine selected Punta Espada as the best golf course of the Caribbean and Mexico for 2010. The 7,396 yard Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course, operated by the prestigious management company Troon Golf, lies on a rugged and spectacular coastline on the Eastern tip of the island, where the surf sprays up in dramatic fashion behind several photogenic greens.

Cap Cana is a master-planned luxury resort and residential community with golf courses, yacht harbors and several 4- and 5-star hotels and resorts. 

More about vacations in the Dominican Republic.

More about golf in the Dominican Republic.

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.

Ryder Cup Stay-and-Play Packages at Celtic Manor Resort

Host of the 2010 Ryder Cup, a 5-star, historic resort two hours from London, Celtic Manor Resort in Wales is offering once-in-a-lifetime "Last Chance to Beat the Best" and "Follow in the Footsteps of Giants" packages.

The Twenty Ten, the first course in history designed specifically to host the Ryder Cup, will close September 6 for final event preparations. In the meantime, golfers will have the "Last Chance to Beat the Best", playing the course under tournament conditions before the Ryder Cup begins October 1. The package includes:

• One round of golf on the Twenty Ten Course
• Overnight accommodations in the 5-star Resort Hotel with breakfast
• Complimentary use of the Forum Health Club facilities
• Ryder Cup souvenir cap, towel and personalized bag tag
• (Approximately $545-$580 per person per person, Sept 1-5)

A limited number of players will also be able to "Follow in the Footsteps of Giants," October 5-31 (approximately $725 per person). The package includes:

• One round of golf on the Twenty Ten Course
• 18 holes of golf on one of Celtic Manor's other championship courses -- the Montgomerie (designed by 2010 Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie) or Roman Road (a classic Robert Trent Jones layout)
• Two nights' accommodations at the Resort Hotel with breakfast
• Complimentary use of the Forum Health Club facilities

More about Celtic Manor

More about the US Ryder Cup Team

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.

Book early for 20% off at Mauna Lani Resort, Big Island of Hawaii

Good news:  2010 Book Early Bonus Offer at the luxurious Mauna Lani Resort on the Kohala Coast of Hawaii. Book accommodations at least 14 days prior to arrival and save up to 20% off rates and packages (excluding bungalows and villas). Good thru 12/13/10

Bad news: reservations must be cancelled 14 days prior to arrival to avoid a two-night penalty fee.

Mauna Lani Resort’s two championship golf courses, the North and the South, have received Golf magazine's Gold Medal Award every year since 1988.

Golfer's Delight Package includes:

• Daily Golf for Two
• Daily Rental Clubs for Two
• Minimum three night stay, per room, per night, single/double occupancy.

More here about golf on the Kohala Coast.

Stay tuned here for news and vacation packages at Kohala Coast Resorts.

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.

New Pan Pacific Nirwana Bali Resort with Greg Norman golf course

The five-star Le Meridien Nirwana Bali Resort has been rebranded as the  Pan Pacific Nirwana Bali Resort.

A sprawling, lush, tropical resort on the southwest coast is surrounded by dramatic mountains and the Indian Ocean. With 278 rooms including luxury suites and villas, the resort offers world class recreational facilities including a championship Greg Norman-designed Nirwana Bali Golf Club that has been called "Best Course in Asia" for the fourth year in a row and also "Best Course in Indonesia".

The entrance road to this serene resort drifts through vivid green, water-filled rice terraces, some that are actually part of the golf course. Arriving in the open air lobby, guests are irresistibly drawn to the balcony above the crashing surf of the Indian Ocean and the unforgettable sight of the multi-roofed, Pura Tanah Lot, a dreamlike temple on a rocky islet. Balinese wood carving decorates the soaring peak of the “alang-alang” thatched roof of the main building. Along with vibrantly colored artworks and temples, impressive stone reliefs depict ancient Hindu tales, creating a mystical, calming atmosphere. Throughout the grounds are riots of blooming tropical trees and flowers, waterfalls, lotus ponds and interlinked, beachfront swimming pools.
           
A tropical beauty with wonderful sea views and devilish sea breezes. one of the most spectacular courses in Asia, the Nirwana Bali Golf Club drops gracefully down to a clifftop, against a backdrop of dramatic mountains. Freshwater creeks, wetlands and rice terraces, and thousands of palms, border the fairways and the gallimaufry of big bunkers. Carries are over high, green grasses, some deep valleys and, occasionally, over the beach or the ocean.

A 214-yard par three, the 7th hole carries from clifftop to clifftop across a blue bay. Twelve is a great short hole along a ridge studded with Balinese temples and a river to the right--aim your downhill second shot to the island green perched on a stone ledge. If your ball lands in one of the ten Hindu shrines, you can pick it out and drop without a penalty. Club up on 14, “the Shark”, in a headwind, to make it across the beach to the cliff-top green.

As at most resort courses in Asia, the caddies at the Nirwana resort are well-trained young women and men who are invariably charming and helpful, from marking and cleaning balls to wading into the rice paddies, searching for your lost balls. It is not unusual for each golfer in a foursome to have several caddies--one to tote clubs, one to carry an umbrella for sun and rain, or a chair, water and a mobile phone; and a forecaddie, too. This parade of people is a new experience for many players and may be unsettling. Just enjoy those sweet dispositions and all the personal assistance and local knowledge, and you may well play the best round of your life. The words for thank you are selamat tinggal!

Besides rooms, suites and villas in the hotel complex are homes and townhouses to rent. In low-rise, traditional Balinese-style buildings, with views of the ocean, gardens or golf course, 278 guest rooms and executive suites are oversized, done up in sleek, understated, contemporary Balinese style with lovely, Batik fabrics and original artworks. Villas have individual plunge pools, butler service, outdoor living pavilions, outdoor showers and lush tropical gardens, each quiet and screened completely for privacy. 

After golf, guests take the complimentary hotel shuttle to the artists' town of Ubud, for sightseeing and folk art shopping. The hotel will also arrange outdoor recreation in Kintamani and Bedugal, including white-water rafting, elephant trekking, hiking and four-wheeling.

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.

Legendary Omni Mount Washington Resort and golf courses in New Hampshire are newly restored

The Mount Washington Golf Course at The Omni Mount Washington Resort has been restored to the original Donald Ross-designed plans of 1915 and upgraded to 21st century standards, part of a $7 million renovation of the entire golf complex. The glorious 900-foot wrap-around veranda, the Great Hall and dining room at the resort were also restored.

Reopened in 2008, the Mount Washington Course has been returned to Donald Ross' original plans by noted golf course architect Brian Silva. The par-five 11th hole and the par-three 5th hole have stunning views of the resort and surrounding mountains.

Along the banks of the Ammonoosuc River with views of the Presidential Mountain Range, the 9-hole Mount Pleasant Golf Course, first opened in 1895, was recently restored and updated, and now offers a more challenging game for golfers.

The year-round vacation destination amid nearly 800,000 acres of the White Mountain National Forest, the resort is anchored by the 200-room Mount Washington Hotel.

A National HIstoric Landmark opened in 1902, a grand masterpiece of Spanish Renaissance architecture, the building of the hotel was a 2-year labor of love for 250 master craftsmen.

Other lodging at the resort is the Bretton Arms Inn, a restored Victorian Inn built in 1896; the family-friendly Lodge, and two-to-five-bedroom townhomes.

The resort is located in Bretton Woods, 2.5 hours from Boston. Besides golf, guests enjoy the spectacular landscape on the longest zip-line in New England (open year-round); and Nordic and Alpine skiing; fishing, hiking, horseback riding, and luxuriating in the 25,000-square foot spa.

Founder/editor of BestGolfResortsofTheWorld.com,  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 at www.examiner.com. And, she also maintains a blog on Sustainable Travel.