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 Ten Blooming Places to Play
by Karen Misuraca
Chasing the little white ball is a sweet pleasure in early summer, when golf courses burst into bloom. Wildflowers wash over the Southwest deserts, century-old magnolias erupt in heady fragrance across the southern states and flowering orchards distract California's golfers as they warm up their games for the summer season.
1. A Spiny Situation PHOENIX
Beneath the long arms of the saguaros in the Sonoran Desert, prickly pear, hedgehog and
cholla cacti are in flower in the arroyos and canyons of the new Saguaro Course at We-Ko-Pa Golf Club, on Yavapai tribal land just east of Phoenix.
Following the award-winning Cholla Course that opened to rave reviews, Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw
have unveiled their rippling, bump-and-run-style dazzler designed for the walking golfer with a
ground game. Unusual for Arizona courses, We-Ko-Pa lets you walk, all the better to enjoy the
dramatic desert landscape and views of the Superstition and McDowell Mountains, unencumbered
forever, they say, with residential development (http://www.wekopa.com).
2. Marshland Beauty SAVANNAH
A water taxi ride across the river from Savannah, the Westin Savannah Harbor Golf Resort and Spa on Hutchinson Island is
headquarters for golfers who love nearby historic downtown and Hilton Head beaches. Troon Golf
superbly manages the course, which hosts the 30th Champions Tour Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf in
April. Robert Cupp and Slammin' Sammy Snead arranged their track on flattish, breezy tidal
wetlands between the Savannah and Back Rivers, in a lush patch of Georgia Low Country, where
redbud, azalea and magnolia blast into color. The marsh, the crowned greens and a battalion of
deep bunkers are the factors on 7,300 long yards. Keep your eyes peeled on fourteen for the
resident alligators. Sharing the clubhouse is an annex of the renowned Greenbrier Spa of White
Sulphur Springs. Hotel guests get private access to a pristine beach on Hilton Head Island (http://www.westinsavannah.com).
 3. Virginia Countryside WILLIAMSBURG
A page from a history book, the pre-Revolutionary village of Colonial Williamsburg is also a grand golf destination when dogwood, cherry, wild azalea and plum trees are a riot of color on the Golden Horseshoe Golf Club's forty-five fairways. On rolling Tidewater land along the shoreline of a lake, the 1960s-era Gold Course has been updated by Rees Jones, son of the original architect, Robert Trent Jones, Sr. Marking the Green Course are steep elevation changes, from ridgetops to gullies, and narrow chutes menaced by towering pine, cedar and oak trees. Save your energy and an accurate tee shot for the finishing hole, where the woods impinge
and a pond nearly surrounds the green. Beginners are happy campers on the cunning,
executive-length Spotswood Course, a miniature mirror-image of the Gold (http://www.goldenhorseshoegolf.com).
4. Island Greens GRAND BAHAMA ISLAND
The sand is so
pearly-white, the water so electric blue-green, the waving palms so romantic and the banana boats
so banana-yellow--Our Lucaya Resort is the perfect postcard of a Caribbean beach resort. Guests at
the Westin Grand Bahama Island and the adjacent Sheraton Grand Bahama Resort, both at Our Lucaya, enjoy Robert Trent Jones Jr.'s Reef Course, a contemporary links-style layout providing a sleek contrast to the
long-established, jungly Lucayan Country Club, where fairways
are bordered with pine, eucalyptus and canopies of flame-red Poinciana trees. Unpredictable sea
winds will affect your game on the Reef, along with water hazards on thirteen holes and high,
grassy rough. Couples bound for romance favor the exclusivity of the Westin, while families go for
the buzz of activity at the Sheraton (http://www.ourlucaya.com).
5. Breezes By the Bay SAN FRANCISCO
Over the hills from the City by the Bay, with spectacular Pacific Ocean views from every hole, the Ocean Course at
Half Moon Bay Golf Links is a traditional, nearly treeless,
Scottish links layout. Constant sea breezes, and sometimes gales, call for the irons. A true test
of target golf, the 7th comprises a 155-yard carry over a pond, a 30-foot-high grassy bank and a
domed, lightning-fast green. On the 17th, get over that yawning crevasse and a plunging waterfall
to a putting surface with sound effects--barking sea lions. For a gentler round, try the Monterey
pine- and cypress-lined Half Moon Bay Old Course, an Arnold Palmer and Frank Duane-designed
beauty. Awaiting the intrepid golfer are roaring blazes in the stone fireplaces of the Ritz Carlton Half Moon Bay Lodge, a rambling, Shingle Style edifice
reminiscent of the grand seaside hostelries of the 19th century (http://www.halfmoonbaygolf.com).
 6. Sky and Shadow LOS ANGELES
Pete Dye and Fred
Couples co-created 36 holes at Lost Canyons Golf Club in the
foothills of the Santa Susana Mountains, a short drive from LAX. On the Sky and Shadow courses,
you might imagine you are in the Rockies, where craggy mountains frame startling blue skies.
Following high ridgelines, Sky runs rampant in wild Tapo Canyon, with a compelling number of
forced carries and tight targets, while the Shadow rolls on the canyon floor below White Face
Mountain, complete with a few blind approaches and some ball-grabbing barrancas. Proximity to
Hollywood makes Lost Canyons prime real estate for celebrity tournaments; some beautiful bodies
turn out for the annual Playboy Challenge, and recent sightings have including such sports and
film stars as Will Smith and Marcus Allen (www.lostcanyons.com).
7. Growl of the Bear ATLANTA
Replicas of 18 signature
holes from Nicklaus-designed courses in U.S., Great Britain and Ireland are laid on hilly, wooded
land near the Chattahoochee River, less than an hour from downtown Atlanta. At Bear's Best, despite the variety of green sizes and bunker styles, a
smooth continuity prevails, making it fun to play such legendary holes as the notorious 12th at
Muirfield Village, which is, in fact, a semi-replica of the 12th at Augusta. Among the dogwood and
azalea blossoms, you can sample Castle Pines, Mt. Juliet, the TPC of Michigan and more of Jack's
masterpieces. Fortunately for low handicappers, a complimentary forecaddie comes with the green
fee (www.bearsbest.com).
8. Jack and Annika ORLANDO
Creamy magnolias and pine
boughs scent the air on the new Nicklaus Design-created Tradition at Reunion Resort and Club, in the Disney corridor near Orlando. That
makes a total of 54 holes of championship golf at Reunion on courses by Nicklaus, Palmer and
Watson. If you manage to emerge from Tradition's deep bunkers, huge waste areas and water on nine holes, firm, generous greens will be your reward. Also just opened at Reunion is Annika
Sorenstam's Academy of Golf and Fitness, where the LPGA star's long-time golf coach, Henri Reis, emphasizes cardio-core training along with swing techniques. Après golf, stow your stuff in the golf lockers at the Reunion Grande condo hotel and head to the rooftop tapas bar, Eleven, for city skyline views. Featuring opulent suites, the eleven-story architectural icon at the sprawling resort opened in February (http://www.reunionresort.com).
 9. Oasis on the Strip LAS VEGAS
The only championship
course on the strip, Bali Hai Golf Club is a verdant, South
Seas-themed paradise complete with pina coladas, a couple thousand palm trees and about 100,000
tropical plants. Tired of loosing your shirt in the glitzy casinos? Order an umbrella-topped
cocktail from the sexy cart girls and try your luck avoiding the pure white crushed marble
bunkers, the vast, beachy waste areas and the jagged black volcanic rocks. A full caddie or a
forecaddie will ease the challenge of seven acres of water hazards. When you've had enough fresh
air, settle into Cili Restaurant to people-watch the moguls and bask in the palmy, Balinese-style
setting (www.balihaigolfclub.com).
10. Birds and Birdies SAN DIEGO
The Four Seasons Resort Aviara floats above Batiquitos Lagoon, habitat
for more than 100 species of waterfowl and shorebirds. Waterfalls and wildflowers careen down to a
7,007-yard Palmer-Seay design that tilts and rolls like the ocean surf. Bird of paradise flowers
are bright on the 11th, where cascading pools and a lake are decorated in the springtime with the
purple spikes of the "Port of Madeira" plant. Kip Puterbaugh's Aviara Golf Academy attracts
players for nine-camera video analysis and the unique TaylorMade Performance Lab, where LPGA star
Natalie Gulbis and funnyman Bill Murray tune up their game. After your round, hit the waves with
the Surf Concierge, then sink into the private, indoor/outdoor spa suite for a sports massage by
the fireplace, a dip in your huge whirlpool and a run at Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 07 video game,
which features Aviara and other world-famous courses (www.fourseasons.com/aviara).
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