Photo: Pinehurst Resort

As the hot weather of summer is behind us, many golfers prefer the cooler, autumn temps to play a round of golf.

Preferred Golf has put together a list of luxury golf packages that are sure to please any avid golfer.

If you are a Preferred Golf member, then you will also get a 10% discount, in addition to upgraded accommodations.

La Quinta Resort & Club – La Quinta, California
“Desert Links” package rates start at $150 per room, per night (based on double occupancy) and include:
– Overnight accommodations in a standard casitas, suites or villas
– Unlimited golf on five resort courses at La Quinta Resort & Club® and PGA WEST® (The TPC Stadium Course was named the 4th Toughest Course in America by Golf Digest and the Mountain Course was named one of the 100 Best Resort Courses by Golfweek
– $25 Resort Credit
– All Resort Fees Waived
– Offer is valid through 2011 and based on availability

Eagle Ridge Resort & Spa – Galena, Illinois
“Hole in One” package rates start at $129 per person, per night (based on double occupancy) and include:
– Accommodations in an Inn room
– One round of 18-hole golf
– Breakfast buffet in Woodlands Restaurant
– Golf cart and range balls
– Offer is available Sunday-Thursday, valid through 2011 and based on availability

Grand Geneva Resort & Spa – Lake Geneva, Wisconsin
“Pick your FREE: FREE 2 Rounds of Golf” package starts at $175 per person, per night (based on double occupancy) and include:
– One night stay in a deluxe guest room (double occupancy)
– Two FREE rounds of golf on The Brute or The Highlands courses per room
– 30% discount on any spa service at WELL Spa + Salon
– Cart fee, club storage and complete use of practice facility with range balls provided
– Offer is available Sunday -Thursday only, valid until the end of golf season 2010 and based on availability

Pinehurst Resort – Pinehurst, North Carolina
Special golf offer starts at $359 per person, per night (based on double occupancy) and include:
– Nightly accommodations in the Holly Inn
– One round of golf per night
– Daily breakfast
– Offer is valid through 2011 and based on availability

Don’t forget to also plan your next “Buddy Trip” with Preferred Golf as you receive a free one-year membership to Preferred Golf ($295 value) for each of your buddies when you book any group package!

Enjoy complimentary personal VIP golf assistance to customize your trip at participating Preferred Hotel Group hotels and resorts.

For additional information, please visit www.PreferredGolf.com/grouptrips

Cascata golf course in Las Vegas is a Rees Jones course owned by Harrah’s.

Cascata opened in 2000 and lives up to its name. “Cascata” means “waterfall” in Italian, and the tee box on the par-3 15th hole will tell you everything you need to know about water on this course.

A 418-foot waterfall flows from the steep mountainside, tumbling over mammoth boulders, cascading into a river that roars through the clubhouse, eventually culminating in a tranquil stream. It’s no wonder Sports Illustrated called Cascata “golf’s hidden treasure.”

The Las Vegas course is consistently ranked high on all the “Best of” courses by golf publications.
The par-72 course that is surrounded by stunning vistas including a 3,600-foot peak at Red Mountain.  The fairways are lush, and there are lakes, and streams. The men’s and ladies’ lounges are equipped sink-side, flat-screen TVs, as well as many other amenities.

The Tuscan like clubhouse is very luxurious, yet unpretentious. The staff is very attentive, and eager to meet your every need. The dining room has wonderful food, and they also have an excellent collection of rare, fine tobaccos and cigars in the lounge’s custom-designed humidor.

Cascata is about a half-hour drive from the Las Vegas Strip. (702) 294-2005
www.harrahs.com/golf/cascata-golf.Greens fee: $500 every day (with a summer “discount” to $350 some days).

Jaermann & Stubi

Jaermann & Stubi has teamed with famous Spanish professional golfer Seve Ballesteros, to introduce the Seve Ballesteros Golf Watch.

Definitely a stylish luxury golf watch, the limited edition Seve Ballesteros Golf Watch is made from melting golf clubs, which was being used by Seve during the 1991 Chunichi Crowns Open in Japan.

The Seve Ballesteros Golf Watch features a brilliant blue dial and bezel and a unique counting mechanism that golfers can use to track the number of strokes taken at each golf hole.

The luxury Seve Ballesteros Golf Watch also comes with a certificate of authenticity and is personally signed by Seve Ballesteros himself.

Price for this must-have collectable watch begins at $19,000.

It’s time for another classic golf event – the U.S. Open Golf Tournament. The history of the U.S. Open goes back almost one hundred years.

Beginning in 1895 as almost an afterthought to the U.S. Amateur, the U.S. Open golf tournament is now one of golf’s four majors, and one of the most storied tournaments in the world.

The United States Golf Association holds the tournament, which is held on some of the top-rated and most well-respected golf courses around the country.

On Oct. 4, 1895, the first U.S. Open Championship was conducted by the United States Golf Association on the nine-hole course of Newport (R.I.) Golf and Country Club. The first U.S. Open was considered something of a sideshow to the first U.S. Amateur, which was played on the same course and during the same week.

Both championships had been scheduled for September but were postponed because of a conflict with a more established Newport sports spectacle, the America’s Cup yacht races.

Ten professionals and one amateur started in the 36-hole competition, which was four trips around the Newport course in one day. The surprise winner was Horace Rawlins, 21, an English professional who was the assistant at the host course. Rawlins scored 91-82-173 with the gutta-percha ball. Prize money totalled $335, of which Rawlins won the $150 first prize. He also received a gold medal and custody of the Open Championship Cup for his club for one year.

In its first decade, the U.S. Open was conducted for amateurs and the largely British wave of immigrant golf professionals coming to the United States. As American players began to dominate the game, the U.S. Open evolved into an important world golf championship. Young John J. McDermott became the first native-born American winner in 1911 and repeated as champion in 1912.

In 1913, the U.S. Open really took off when Francis Ouimet, a 20-year-old American amateur, stunned the golf world by defeating famous English professionals, Harry Vardon and Ted Ray, in a playoff.

Another surge in the championship’s popularity coincided with the amazing career of Georgia amateur Bob Jones, who won the U.S. Open four times (1923, 1926, 1929, 1930). Spectator tickets were sold for the first time in 1922 and a boom in entries caused the USGA to introduce sectional qualifying in 1924.

In 1933, John Goodman became the fifth and last amateur to win the U.S. Open. The others were Ouimet, Jerome D. Travers (1915), Charles Evans Jr., (1916), and Jones.

In each era, the world’s greatest players have been identified by surviving the rigorous examination provided by the U.S. Open. Ben Hogan’s steely determination boosted him to four victories (1948, 1950, 1951, 1953). Arnold Palmer’s record comeback win in 1960, when he fired a final round of 65 to come from seven strokes off the lead, cemented his dashing image. Jack Nicklaus’ historic assault on the professional record book began when he won the first of his four U.S. Open Championships in 1962, his rookie season as a professional.

Nicklaus, who also won in 1967, 1972, and 1980, is one of only four golfers to win four U.S. Opens. The others are Willie Anderson (1901, 1903, 1904, 1905), Jones and Hogan.

In 1954, the U.S. Open course was roped from tee to green for the first time. That year also marked the first national television coverage. Coverage was expanded by ABC Sports in 1977 so that all 18 holes of the final two rounds were broadcast live. In 1982, on the ESPN cable network, the first two rounds were broadcast live for the first time. NBC began televising the U.S. Open in 1995.

The format of the U.S. Open has changed several times. The USGA extended the championship to 72 holes in 1898, with 36 holes played on each of two days. In 1926, the format was changed to 18 holes played each of two days, then 36 holes on the third day. In 1965, the present format of four 18-hole daily rounds was implemented for the first time.

In 2002, a two-tee (Nos. 1 and 10) start was used for the first and second rounds. In addition, Bethpage State Park’s Black Course in Farmingdale, N.Y., was the first facility owned by the public to host a U.S. Open.

International qualifying sites were added in 2005 and the champion at Pinehurst Resort in N.C. was Michael Campbell, who qualified in England.

The Masters Golf Tournament is one of the two golf majors that has a permanent home.  The Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia, plays host to the annual golf competition that’s rich in both history and tradition.

Bob Jones and Clifford Roberts purchased the Fruitlands Nurseries in 1931, and with the help of golf architect “supremo”, Alister Mackenzie, turned the turf into one of the finest and most traditional golf courses in the world.

They proceeded to invite all of the top American golfers of the era to an inaugural tournament on March 22, 1934. Six years later, the Masters was re-scheduled to be played the first full week in April.

Since then, the Augusta National has played host to one of the most illustrious events on the international golf calendar.

Masters Golf Tournament is golf’s most unique major championship and is possibly most famous for its ceremony of the tournament winner. Each year the victor is awarded a Green Jacket, usually presented by the previous year’s winner.

However, on three occasions there has been a successful defense of the crown.  The first instance was in 1966 when Jack Nicklaus personally slipped the jacket on himself.

The Augusta golf crowd was highly delighted that day. It now seems a fitting gesture from the golf legend who would go on to win The Masters six times in his successful career.

Although dominated by American golfers initially, South African legend Gary Player broke the international drought by winning the U.S. Masters title in 1961. Prior to that time, American giant Arnold Palmer, had made the course and title his own.

On other occasions, such as with Nick Faldo in 1990 and Tiger Woods in 2002, the club chairman was on hand to check that the famous jacket’s collar was straight.

It was way back in 1949, that the first Green Jacket was awarded. That year the Masters champion was Sam Snead.

The prestigious Masters Golf Tournament takes place in breathtakingly beautiful surroundings. The course is famous for its Azalea-draped scenery. The golf course was built on the former Fruitland Nurseries.

Its heritage is still obvious today, beautifully showcasing many varieties of shrubs and trees that decorate the golf course.

In fact, every hole takes the name of a different plant. For example, the 13th is called Azalea, while the 3rd is called Flowering Peach.

Only one hole is not protected by a bunker – the 14th. The greens at Augusta are known to be notoriously fast.

The 2010 Masters will be more significant than usual, due to the return of Tiger Woods to golf after his highly publicized extra-marital affairs.

Badlands Golf Club more than lives up to its name. The three nines of this Johnny Miller/Chi Chi Rodriguez design weave through deep canyons. Whether it’s the Outlaw, the Desperado or the Diablo nine, Badlands gives players shotmaking challenges.

The 27 holes offer dramatic shot values, so no matter which 18 holes golfers play, it will be a very memorable outing. Four sets of tees make the course playable for beginners to pros — just make sure to select the right set of tees for your handicap.

On the Desperado nine, the eighth hole, a 196-yard par 3, is a knee-knocker. Players face a tee shot that carries over a deep ravine. Shots short or right will wind up in the ravine, making a drop almost a necessity. Par here is a good number. If you wind up with a birdie on this tough hole, you’ve earned your bragging rights.

On the Diablo nine, the 389-yard, par-4 15th brings out the best — and sometimes the worst — in players. There are a pair of ways to attack this hole: Play conservative and hit the fairway to the left or — and here’s the tricky shot — grab the big stick and carry the ravine and take a short wedge into this green. This is another hole where a birdie is a possibility, but more often than not, par is a fine score.

On the Outlaw nine, the 27th hole — the grand finale — is everything a finishing golf hole should encompass. There’s challenge (511-yard, par 5), and it’s got risk/reward (go for it in two and try to avoid a watery grave). This hole will let golfers rip it off the tee, but then comes the dilemma.

A carry of 240 yards or so will get golfers onto the green, but there is a catch — anything less is wet. Playing conservative will leave players with a short iron into a green giving them a shot at a closing birdie — always a great way to head to the clubhouse.

This course is a solid test of golf and offers a rugged look at the beauty of the desert — a nice combination that will bring golfers back for more.  Source

Photo by: ActiveGolf.com

Surrounded by the towering Spring Mountains near Las Vegas, Siena Golf Club features gently rolling fairways and artful bunkering – plus the course offers dazzling views of the spectacular Las Vegas skyline.

Designed by master architects Brian Curley and Lee Schmidt and built by the golf specialists at Sunrise Colony Company, Siena is renowned throughout the Las Vegas Valley for its natural beauty and unprecedented serenity.

Siena Golf Club is a revival of the values and artistic styles fashioned by golf’s greatest courses. What’s more, Siena is a celebration of the Italian Culture. In the Tuscany-themed Siena at Summerlin, a focal point of the Siena Golf Club is Lake Siena, a quarter-mile-long lake with cascading waterfalls on the 1st hole of the golf course.

The 13,500-square-foot Siena Golf Club features a full-service golf shop, locker rooms, multi-tiered practice facility and The Siena Bistro with a patio dining room overlooking Lake Siena. The elevated characteristic of the terrain provides golfers panoramic views of the mountains and famous Las Vegas city lights.   Source: OpenGolfTeeTimes.org

South Carolina has historically slipped below the radar when it comes to vacation spots. In recent years, this has turned around as excellent resorts have appeared. If golf is your thing, the Kiawah Island Golf Resort, near Charleston S.C., will qualify as a slice of heaven.

Walking into the grand lobby of the resort is to step back to a time of elegance, beauty and traditional Southern Charm. From silken chairs to marble facades to a giant fireplace, the entire atmosphere is one that remains you of a grander time and place.

Lest I get carried away, the resort is not all southern charm. The layout is more of a modern platform with the units to the resort being similar to townhomes running down the golf resort. This makes the resort an old world destination with a seamless modern trend.

The meshing of time periods works even if it is somewhat eccentric. This was obviously given serious consideration by the designers. The real find of this resort which was built in 2004, however, is not on the outside of the facilities but on the inside.

And then we get to the spa. Oh, my. The resort has a top rated spa that is simply sinful. From wraps to massages to facials, the spa has a little of something for everyone. Not only will they get rid of your obvious problem points, they will get the subtle ones as well.

At the end of the day, it is time to just relax and take it all in. Oh, and get a bit to eat. The resort has a variety of restaurants in the Southern and French style. Seafood is a definite specialty, so give it a try.

There is no doubt that you will feel elevated, alive, and rejuvenated once your vacation is through, though you may not get a large helping of that southern flavor from this hotel. Those that solely focus upon spa and golf offerings will be thrilled at the location and selection, which is why most people travel to this spot.

Just picture your day. You rise early to play 18. After that, it is a light lunch and a walk on the beach. Then to the spa for a bit of pampering. Take a bit of a nap and then head out for an epic meal and a bit of dancing. That is what the sanctuary has to offer you.

Kiawah Island Golf Resort
One Sanctuary Beach Drive
Kiawah Island, SC 29455
(800) 654-2924

Author: John Grimmes

Avid golfers know that it’s a challenge to play 18 holes during Winter, without braving the unpredictable elements of Mother Nature.  Fret no more.  As luck would have it, some of the U.S.’s finest golf resorts lie south of the winter golf border.   Several golf travel experts offered Forbes Traveler their top 10 picks.

There are many luxury golf resorts to stay at. If you want to play 18 holes and have a great VIP experience, do your research and look for luxury travel deals to match your budget.

From the northernmost course, Pinehurst in the lush, Sandhills region of North Carolina, to La Quintain Palm Desert California, to the Plantation Course at Kapalua, Hawaii …. there is something memorable for any golfer.  Full article

It’s sometimes hard to tell if that thing behind Wynn Las Vegas is a golf course or a CIA annex.

The staff treats Steve Wynn’s latest $500-green-fee course (he introduced that nice round number to Las Vegas golf with Shadow Creek, which he no longer owns) like it houses national security documents. Maybe the real dossier on weapons of mass destruction is buried under the fifth green.

Hey, it’s Vegas. Anything is possible.

The Wynn Las Vegas Golf and Country Club is the second collaboration of Tom Fazio, Steve Wynn and Mother Nature has resulted in 18 unforgettable holes. Right outside the resort’s back door.

That would explain the paranoia surrounding the Wynn Golf and Country Club. Pro shop attendant Heather Wicks made it seem like she was letting a few potential customers through the pearly gates when she allowed them to walk out onto the patio that overlooks the 18th green.  Full article

Wynn Las Vegas Golf and Country Club
3131 Las Vegas Blvd S
Las Vegas, NV, 89109
Phone(s): (888) 320-9966
Fax: (702) 770-1570

The British Open is one of the world’s four major tournaments—with the Masters Tournament, the U.S. Open, and the Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) Championship—and the oldest continually run championship in the sport.

The British Open is a unique event and is of great importance to professionals and amateur golfers alike, as well as to fans of golf.

The British Open has been held annually (with a few exceptions) on various courses in Scotland, England, and—on one occasion—Northern Ireland since 1860.

It’s not so easy to locate either, swallowed up in the sand hills and without any signs or gates at the club entrance and sheep grazing next to the road.

The first British Open was played on Oct. 17, 1860, at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. A field of eight professionals played three rounds of Prestwick’s 12-hole course in one day. Willie Park, Sr., won the inaugural tournament and was presented with the Challenge Belt, a silver-buckled leather belt that each champion was to keep until the following Open. The tournament was opened to amateurs in 1861

A Dr. Laidlaw Purves created St. George’s in the late 1880s out of frustration, not to mention necessity, when he couldn’t play Sundays at his own club, Royal Wimbledon in the southwest suburbs of London. Purves tramped along the Kent coast, finally climbed the tower of St. Clement’s Church in Sandwich, pointed out to some god-forsaken spot and fervently declared: “There I will build my course.”

In 1894, St. George’s became the first course in England to hold the Open. That was won by John Henry Taylor.

In the 1904 British Amateur, the champion was 37-year-old Walter Travis, an Australian-born American who was treated rather rudely, officials preventing him from practicing or lodging with other top players, burdening him with a cross-eyed caddy and not even permitting him to change into dry clothes between rounds on a rainy day.

“A reasonable number of fleas is good for a dog,” philosophized Travis, the first foreigner to win the Amateur. “It keeps the dog from forgetting he’s a dog.”

At St. George’s they didn’t forget. Once outside the clubhouse there was a sign, “No Dogs, No Women.”

Liberalization has crept in. Ladies now can play, although not by themselves, but they cannot be members. Somebody call Martha Burk.

Ian Fleming was a member for some 25 years. He used St. George’s as the site of the infamous match between James Bond and Goldfinger, only he thinly disguised it in the book as “St. Mark’s.” The film, however, was made at Stoke Poges, closer to London.

Recognizable in the novel are the classic short sixth hole, the Maiden, altered to the Virgin. And “the face of one of the tallest and deepest bunkers in the United Kingdom.”

That’s 240 yards from the tee on the fourth, rising 60 degrees and standing, or sliding, 30 feet high. It cannot be climbed, as one Reg Gladding verified in the 1979 British Amateur.

Going extra holes against a younger foe, the 54-year-old Gladding, confronted by a headwind, drove into the sand near the crest of the great bunker. He couldn’t risk entering from above, lest he cause a landslide, so Gladding crept up, a few inches at a time. He then addressed the ball, swung — and lost his balance and tumbled back down. Whereupon he immediately conceded the match.

It was at St. George’s where, in the 1922 Open, Walter Hagen protested a ban on professionals entering the clubhouse, hired a limo, parked it in front of the entrance and changed clothes and ate lunch within.

Victorious, Hagen sneered at the size of the winner’s check and gave it to his caddy. James Bond would have loved it.  Source: Oakland Tribune