On the Tee

Increased exposure from both cable and network television in the form of more live hours of golf coverage has helped to raise the profile of desert golf in the past decade. Specifically, golf fans have become enamored with desert golf while watching popular events such as the FBR Open and the Accenture Match Play Championship, now both annually held in Arizona.

But before the FBR’s 16th hole became the amphitheater of professional golf, and Tiger Woods made his long-awaited return to the game just north of Tucson, Troon North Golf Club set the standard for desert golf, building a reputation as the roadmap others would follow, the blueprint by which they would build and the guiding light should they get lost. By most accounts, Troon North is the forefather of desert golf, and remains its high water mark. 

For only the second time in the 25 years of Golf Digest's biennial ranking, there is a new No. 1 golf course in the country. Augusta National Golf Club has taken over the top honors on Golf Digest's list of America's 100 Greatest Golf Courses.

Ranked No. 2 on the 2009-2010 list, Pine Valley Golf Club in New Jersey dropped out of first place for only the second time ever and the first time since 2001 when Pebble Beach Golf Links overtook it. Pebble Beach ranks 6th on the 2009-2010 list and remains No. 1 in the ranking of the 100 Greatest Public Golf Courses, a title the course has held since the list's inception in 2003. 

Home to a classic course annually listed as one of the world’s best and host of multiple U.S. Open championships, the state of New Jersey is no stranger to world-class golf venues.

Featuring more than a dozen upscale public golf courses, Atlantic City is adding another dimension to golf in the Garden State, bringing avid golfers from all over the country with the promise of unmatched “Stay and Play” opportunities.

Good golfers need to know plenty of numbers: yardage, par, rating, slope, and so on. But this summer, the only number golfers need to know to book an affordable and convenient golf getaway is the number nine. Why? Because it's the lucky number that keeps popping up in 2009 Stay & Play travel packages in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania.

Stay & Play packages are a turnkey way to visit the region since they feature all of the necessary components for a great golf trip: overnight accommodations at one of nine area hotels, breakfast, and 18 holes of golf with greens fee, cart and taxes at one of nine participating golf courses.

While golf courses have seemingly arisen like the mythological Phoenix throughout the Arizona desert giving golfers plenty of options to choose from, it’s often difficult to differentiate one desert layout from the next.

Trilogy Golf Club at Vistancia isn’t simply another Arizona golf course; it’s a completely unique golf experience in the Grand Canyon State. With tall and colorful indigenous grasses dotting the landscape, breathtaking panoramic vistas showcasing the area’s dramatic setting and rolling terrain, it’s no wonder Vistancia has had little trouble standing out among the crowd.

PHILADELPHIA, Miss. - Head Golf Professional Sean Racki simply and accurately depicted the location of Dancing Rabbit Golf Club as, "Off the beaten path."

Depending on which direction you're heading, this Mississippi golf club that has achieved national recognition but is still somewhat shrouded in secrecy can be reached by taking a few roads less traveled.

Traveling southbound on Mississippi Rt. 25 after leaving Starkville, home to Mississippi State University, and eventually turning onto Highway 15 further south to Philadelphia (and we're talking about the city that's home to the Ham Jam Arts Festival and not the Liberty Bell here), there isn't much to see.

After a 20-month, $15 million project to restore the golf course and clubhouse to its former status and early 20th century grandeur as a premier golf resort, the "new" Pines Lakes Country Club has re-opened its doors.

In recent days Burroughs & Chapin Company, Inc introduced the golf course to South Carolina dignitaries, media members and finally the public on Saturday, March 14. Tom Turnbull of Longs, S.C., winner of the First Foursome on Pine Lakes Sweepstakes, and his guests were the first public players to tee off at Pine Lakes.

Anyone who has played Pelican Hill Golf Club recently has experienced the difference that two years can make – and knows why Tom Fazio’s two 18-hole golf courses are a “must-play” on the Southern California coast.

The club was closed for two years to build a new clubhouse and practice facility and to allow Fazio to work his magic unhindered. The master returned to “re-perfect” the duo he created on the Newport Coast in the early 1990s, which already were among the nation’s most highly rated public courses. 18-hole Ocean Course South and 18-hole Ocean Course North returned to the world of golf in late 2007 more beautiful, playable and enjoyable than ever.

BEND, Ore. - The David McLay Kidd-designed Tetherow Golf Club in Bend, Oregon is set to open for the season on April 4, 2009. The visually striking Tetherow Golf Club is a par-72, 7,298-yard layout that was designed by the same world renowned architect who also designed Bandon Dunes and the new Castle Course, the seventh course at St. Andrews, Scotland.

Since opening in July 2008, Tetherow has been decorated with awards and accolades. Tetherow was honored by Golfweek as one of the Best New Courses for 2008, ranked as one the Top 10 New Courses in the country by Travel + Leisure Golf and recognized as one of Links Magazine's Premier Properties. In addition, Tetherow was also the very first course in Oregon to become a Certified Audubon International Signature Sanctuary by Audubon International. This signature certification is awarded only to new developments which are designed, constructed, and maintained according to Audubon International's precise planning standards and environmental disciplines. 

In less than a decade Bandon Dunes Golf Resort has impressed enough avid golfers to be mentioned in the same breath as iconic golf destinations like Pebble Beach, Pinehurst and Kiawah Island. The resort is now taking reservations for limited preview play on its highly anticipated fourth offering, Old Macdonald.

While the full 18-hole course isn't set to open until June 1, 2010, it will be open to a limited number of guests that will be able to sample the course on a 10-hole loop for a rate of $110. Only 32 players per day will be allowed on the course from April 1 to October 1, 2009.