The Highland Course At Primland - Primland

The Highland Course is like no other. It winds its way through Primland’s mountain landscape, playing across ridge tops and over valleys, combining challenging golf with the breathtaking scenery at every turn. This exciting golf resort in Virginia is highly challenging and rewarding and has received rave reviews from the press.

Rated one of America’s 10 best new courses by Travel and Leisure Golf in 2007. Named the best new public course in America (75 and over) by Golf Digest in January 2008. Ranked in the top 25 of Golfweek’s annual survey of best resorts in the U.S.

Whether you are a professional or a more leisurely player, the course’s compelling design, the flora and fauna you can enjoy as you play and stunning views of the Dan River Gorge, the Pinnacles of Dan and the North Carolina Piedmont add up to far more than just a day on the greens.

The Highland Course was designed with both pleasure and challenge in mind.

Highlights of the Blue Ridge Mountain golf course include:

• Closely cut areas around greens provide many short game options.
• Use of bent grass gives the golfer fast surfaces, and fescue grasses add challenge and a contrast of color.
• A 145 slope measurement attests to the course’s degree of difficulty, and the rating of 74.6 strokes confirms it.
• Bio-filters are strategically placed around the golf course to protect the natural trout streams and rivers that originate within and surround Primland.
• Wetlands around the course remain untouched and are treated as environmentally sensitive areas.
• Electric golf carts are available and recommended.
• 25 dollar charge applies for use of the driving range. These fees are included in a daily green fee.
• Use of the putting greens is complimentary.

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Experience the Wonders of The Legend Golf Course at Giants Ridge Resort in Biwabik, Minnesota

BIWABIK, Minn. -- The Legend golf course at Giants Ridge is the original 18 this resort located an hour north of Duluth, in the heart of Minnesota's Iron Range.

The Legend opened in 1997 as one of the state's great new resort courses, set on more than 250 acres. The course, designed by Jeff Brauer, plays alongside the base of the resort's ski mountain and has gentle undulations up and down.

The par-5 ninth hole has the largest drop from tee to green and makes for a great risk-reward finish to the front side. The third hole has a most unique feature -- a giant paw-shaped bunker, paying tribute to the legend of the Ojibwe Native American legend of Mesabi, a giant who lived in the area and collected treasures, which would come to be the area's abundant wildlife.

The back nine has perhaps the signature hole of the entire property -- no. 17, which plays isolated alongside Sabin Lake. The tee shot, which can play more than 200 yards, is almost all carry over the lake to an elevated green, making for a stern test.

Managed by Troon Golf, both golf courses at Giants Ridge are kept in immaculate condition and have their own pro shops and driving ranges. 

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Kapalua Plantation Golf Club - Plantation Lahaina, Hawaii

THE PLANTATION COURSE

         Built around the natural wonders of the West Maui Mountains, the Plantation Course at Kapalua ranks among the world’s greatest courses. So special, even the PGA TOUR only allows winners from the previous year to tee it up at its season opening event, the Hyundai Tournament of Champions. Witness awe-inspiring views, dramatic elevation changes, and nature’s challenges, as you test your ability and experience golf at its finest. Experience the opportunity to play the same par 73, 7,411-yard course as many of golf’s greats. Previous competitors include Tiger Woods, Vijay Singh, Justin Leonard, Ernie Els, Davis Love III, Steve Stricker, Jim Furyk, and many more. The Plantation Course was designed by famed golf architects Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore. 

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Harbour Toen Golf

Harbour Town Golf Links, One Of The Most Distinguished PGA TOUR Golf Courses

        This distinguished golf course places a premium on finesse, imagination and shot-making, rather than strength, making it a perennial favorite among PGA TOUR players. Put your game to the ultimate test - against a collection of par threes ranked among the world's finest and a par-4 18th hole considered one of the most feared in all of golf, particularly when the wind is blowing off Calibogue Sound. The crowning achievement of famed designer Pete Dye, this celebrated PGA TOUR golf course is a true test of the game of golf.

OCEAN COURSE

As the first course built on Hilton Head Island, the Ocean Course at The Sea Pines Resort embraces the true coastal golf experience. Exquisitely redesigned in 1995 by Mark McCumber, this breathtaking golf course boasts one of only two oceanfront holes on Hilton Head Island and poses delightful challenges to novices and veterans. Put your game to the test against a classic design featuring strategically placed lagoons and bunkers. As a Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary course, this esteemed Hilton Head Island SC golf course offers a fabulous experience for both scratch golfers and high handicappers.

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Bandon Dunes vs. Pacific Dunes: The Showdown Between America's Top Two Links Golf Courses

Bandon Dunes and Pacific Dunes at Oregon's Bandon Dunes Resort are two of America's best golf courses. The Tom Doak and David Mclay Kidd links are side by side on the coast, but they're hardly alike.

To fully appreciate the intricacies of any good links golf course, it's essential to play them a few times, and in different wind direction and force, in order to discover their many secrets and subtleties.

Having played two relatively new, but classically designed links in Bandon Dunes and Pacific Dunes four times each since the spring of 2008, I've pinpointed several key factors that make them different from one another.

While slightly newer, Pacific Dunes often gets higher marks in most publication rankings. But it's not necessarily the favorite course for everyone who plays at the Bandon Dunes Resort.

If you're simply looking for the one that has more ocean views, you can't go wrong, as they're both awash with beach frontage on each nine. Here's the lowdown on their differences, which may help you decide which one to book for your group

Tale of the tape: Routing yardage and tee box options

Bandon Dunes has a daily back set of tee boxes that can play over 7,000 yards. At Pacific Dunes, the back set is listed at only about 6,600 yards. Every time I've played it, some of the back tees were moved up to the middle-back yardage. I can't say I've ever seen a course longer than about 6,400 yards. This just makes sense from a pace-of-play perspective (which has always been good on every round of mine at the resort). Most golfers probably couldn't handle much more golf course than Pacific's daily routing.

For that reason, lower handicappers don't like Pacific as much as Bandon, because in calm wind it can yield some low scores, most notably on the par 5s, none of which are dreadfully long.

That said, there are many hidden tee boxes scattered throughout the course that go back, way back, and that aren't used. Ask someone in the pro shop sometime to show you the far back tee box on the first hole - it's insanity. Or have a look at the 660-yard back tee box on the 18th.

While Bandon Dunes' routing is a conventional two par 3s and two par 5s on each nine, Pacific Dunes has seven par 4s on the front side and just two on the back nine, with three par 3s and par 5s. The ninth hole utilizes alternate greens and the 10th uses alternate tee boxes, which can account for a difference of about 50-70 yards.

Pacific Dunes vs. Bandon Dunes: Greens

Both links have pretty large greens, and they're both of the firm, fescue variety, so don't expect a ton of backspin, unless you've got a pretty hefty headwind. That said, Bandon's look entirely different because they've got a little more poa grass in them. Pacific Dunes' are a little easier to read - and are probably a touch slower and truer.

Bandon Dunes vs. Pacific Dunes: The verdict

So which do I prefer? Tough call, but I'm going with Pacific Dunes by a nose, even though I always score better and make more birdies on Bandon Dunes. Some of the holes I've yet to solve and they can drive me absolutely up the wall, but it leaves me itching to get back and conquer this masterpiece.

Bandon Trails: Into the woods but similarities in style

Often the forgotten course of the bunch here, Bandon Trails plays mostly through thick forest, though the first two holes and final hole are on open, wild links land. The greens on trails average a bit larger than those at Bandon and Pacific Dunes, and if you took a caddie poll of which course they prefer to play the most, it's Trails.

Old Macdonald: Where does Bandon's newest links fit in?

When Old Macdonald opens in 2010, it's going to offer a different links style of it's own. The bunkers will not have one style but several, from sod pots to railroad ties to splashed, wild bunkering. The course will have less ocean frontage than it's neighbors, but will feature a couple of green sites overlooking the coast.

While a championship yardage has yet to be set, some reports call for Old MacDonald to be the longest of the bunch, which should ease any concerns about the resort not boasting a tough enough course for the scratch player.

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Blackwolf Run- River course

River & Meadow Valleys Courses

Melded into a river basin formed by the flows of glacial runoff, Blackwolf Run opened for play in June of 1988 and was named that year’s “Best New Public Course” in the country by Golf Digest. Both the River and Meadow Valleys are regularly ranked in “America’s 100 Greatest Public Golf Courses” by Golf Digest and the “Top 100 You Can Play” by GOLF Magazine.

Regarded as one of Pete Dye’s crowning achievements, Blackwolf Run has hosted a number of professional championships. The Andersen Consulting World Golf Championships in 1995, 1996 and 1997 as well as the U.S. Women’s Open in 1998 and 2012.

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Karsten Creek Stillwater, Oklahoma golf course

Karsten Creek Golf Club

Dreams do come true, and Oklahoma State's Karsten Creek Golf Club is a testament to men's ability to prosper in the face of adversity. Karsten Creek serves as a daily reminder of the commitment to excellence of the OSU golf programs.

Conceived in the mind of one man and brought to life through the efforts of many over a period of 15 years, Karsten Creek now serves as a daily reminder of the commitment to excellence of the OSU golf program.

Karsten Creek was built for the OSU golf teams, and its purpose is to aid in the recruitment and development of future OSU stars. It was designed by Tom Fazio and honored as the Best New Public Course for 1994 by Golf Digest Magazine. It stretches over 7,400 yards with SR1020 bent-grass greens and zoysia fairways. All of the holes were carved from the native oak trees surrounding Lake Louise.

Karsten Creek was so named to honor Karsten Solheim, the founder of Karsten Manufacturing, and Lake Louise honors his wife. Their support of OSU golf over the last 25 years has been instrumental in the success of the golf team. Without them, Karsten Creek would never have become a reality.

In the May 1998 edition of Golf Digest, Karsten Creek Golf Club was awarded its first five-star rating, making the course one of 10 in the nation to be so honored. The rating was not a surprise to those who have followed the course from its opening in May 1994, when the heralded Tom Fazio design received the Best New Public Course in the Nation award. Since that time, the course has gone on to receive numerous accolades. Karsten Creek joined the likes of Pebble Beach Golf Links, Spyglass Hill Golf Course and Pinehurst Resort and Country Club (No. 2). Four of these courses have hosted major championships, and most of the others maintain national prominence. While other courses are located in resort areas or near the coasts, Karsten Creek's surprising beauty is derived from an unsuspecting tract of land that is densely covered with black jack and pin oak trees and contains dramatic elevation changes that are not common to the heartland of America. As the course continues to mature, it steadily climbs all of the top 100 lists across the country and has been ranked as the best college course in the country by Travel & Leisure Golf magazine.

Karsten Creek was built to host championships and has done so on multiple occasions.

The golf course's first college event was the Karsten Creek Collegiate in 1996, only two years after its opening. Karsten Creek then played host to the NCAA Central Regional in May of 2001 before serving as the host of the 2002 Ping/Golfweek Preview. Each year, the top 15 teams in the country are invited to compete in the event, which is held at the site of the following spring's NCAA Championship.

The following May, the nation's top 30 teams arrived in Stillwater for the 103rd NCAA Championship. Clemson claimed the team title, while the host Cowboys finished as the runner-up at two shots off the pace of the Tigers. Interestingly enough, the top five teams heading into the tournament all finished in the order they were ranked, 1-5.

Karsten Creek once again hosted the NCAA Men's Golf Championship in 2011, and thousands of spectators gathered to watch the best collegiate golfers in the country.

Karsten Creek's clubhouse was completed in June of 2001 at a cost of around $4,500,000. Its beautiful views of the golf course, warm cozy rooms, and intricate architectural woodwork bring the course to a new level of recognition.

In addition to one of the country's finest golf courses, Cowboy Golf boasts an elaborate practice facility that is used exclusively by the men's and women's golf teams.

Cowboy golfers utilize a practice range which possesses tee boxes that surround the entire landing area to allow players to practice with any wind direction.

The players' short-game area comes complete with three tee boxes to hit 40 to 80-yard shots and three putting greens with varied grass types, allowing players to prepare for a wide range of courses.

An indoor practice facility was constructed in the fall of 1997 and is equipped with state-of-the-art video equipment for swing analysis. Reserved solely for team members, the players' practice facility at Karsten Creek allows OSU golfers to hone all facets of their game and continue the 60-year legacy that is Cowboy Golf.

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Unquestionably One of the World's Finest Golfing Experiences...

Few golf courses anywhere in the world offer the dramatic contrasts, the scenic beauty and the sheer golfing challenge of Joondalup Country Club's 27 hole championship golf course. Designed by the internationally renowned Robert Trent Jones Jr, the Perth golf course presents a tough, uncompromising lay-out, featuring great variation in setting and style.

WA's finest golf course

The spectacular golf course in Perth sweeps across dense bushland, cuts through steep limestone quarries and skirts picturesque lakes, to present surprises and challenges at almost every turn. One minute you are playing an approach shot beneath a 30-metre limestone cliff, the next you are adapting to the fresh ocean breeze on an undulating links style fairway.

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