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Coastal
Georgia and South Carolina supply
great golf with a Southern charm. Florida
supplies great golf with everything else. |
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Southeast
Perhaps no other region in the country has such a varied and
stunning definition as the great Southeast. Depending on who
you are and where you’re from, the states of Florida,
Georgia and South Carolina probably have a different meaning
to you. Take a 13-year-old kid from Wisconsin, for example,
and Florida to him is all about thrill rides, waterslides and
Jet Skis. To a middle-aged boating enthusiast from New York,
the region is paradise for power boating, deep-sea fishing and
sailing. But for the rest of us, the self-professed mass of
golf freaks, addicts, aficionados, hackers and players, the
Southeast means eclectic, Tour-proven golf, especially if you’re
talking about hot spots like Kiawah Island in South Carolina,
the Golden Isles of Georgia’s coast (including Sea Island,
Jekyll Island and St. Simons Island), and the Sunshine State’s
flagship destination cities of Orlando, Tampa, Jacksonville
and Daytona Beach. When Spanish gold explorers came looking
for precious metals off the coast of this region some 400 years
ago, little did they know the gold they were about to find would
manifest itself in the rich array of top-tier resorts and golf
courses that visitors enjoy today. Truly, the blend of coastal
layouts and inland courses that take full advantage of the natural,
wild environs of the area are, as a group, without peer.
Located midway between Savannah, Ga., and Jacksonville, Fla.,
the Georgian town of Brunswick
and its four Golden
Isles (there are actually a total of 15 islands, or “hammocks,”
as locals refer to them) are home to some of the South’s
most historical landmarks. Replete with legends and lore that
have inspired countless Civil War ghost
stories, it’s also a place where some of the world’s
most iconic men, such as J.P. Morgan and William Rockefeller,
took retreat from the daily grind to relax and enjoy a little
Southern hospitality. And speaking of hospitality, there remains
plenty of it today. Visitors seek the area for its world-class
seafood, turn-of-the-century architecture, art galleries, fishing
piers and a huge variety of water sports. The golf, as you can
guess, is as illustrious as the area’s past. |
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Just to the north across the South Carolina border lies
the city of Charleston and golf’s East Coast Shangri-la:
Kiawah
Island Resort and its five award-winning golf courses.
Kiawah has been heralded not only for its aesthetic qualities,
but also for the level of excitement the resort has contributed
to competitive golf. In perhaps one of the most memorable
moments in golf, Kiawah’s Ocean Course is where Bernard
Langer missed his infamous six-foot putt, granting the Ryder
Cup to the Americans in 1991. The Ocean Course, a Pete Dye
design, features seaside views from almost everywhere, including
10 holes that play along the beautiful—yet distracting—ocean
shore. Following are four additional designs by the likes
of Jack Nicklaus, Clyde Johnson, Gary Player and Tom Fazio.
All five courses are known for their knack to look tranquil,
but at the same time levy a few hefty challenges on unsuspecting
golfers.
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A trek inland and south takes one to Orlando
and its 45 million annual visitors who seek adventure, exhilaration
and entertainment at one of the nine major theme parks in the
area, countless hotels (more than 110,000 rooms and counting)
as well as offshoot attractions that sprinkle the swampy city
surroundings. Popular tracks like Bay
Hill and Grand
Cypress will have you drooling for more. For even more salivating
temptations, cruise east to the seaside town of Daytona
Beach, home to not only 20-plus great golf courses, but
one of the most outrageous stretches of sand on Earth.
Tampa,
on the other hand, may appear smaller and a bit more subdued
on the exterior, but perhaps that’s the point. If you
plan on playing a lot of golf and relaxing between rounds, Innisbrook
has four courses, four restaurants, six pools and 600 guest
suites. You can spend an entire vacation there and never leave
the property.
In Jacksonville,
one can expect to find a more natural theme park per se, replete
with walking and hiking trails along white-sand beaches, palm
tree forests and sea oats. Then again, the TPC of Sawgrass is
nowhere near a simple walk in the park. It’s the most
challenging course in Florida and should be on your must-play
list.
Also, who can forget about places like Miami, home to the ever-popular
Doral
Resort and its 90 holes of golf? With its beaches, neon
lights, Cuban food, dancing, put it this way—the party
never cools down in Miami.
With so many options for golf, it may seem impossible to find
time between rounds to enjoy the rest of what this region has
to offer, which is okay by us for now. |
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