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5.0 out of 5 stars
Spectacular Views and Detailed Information, 9 May 2004
One of my favorite vacations is to go to a top golf resort. Once I am there, my only discomfort is to wonder if I am missing a better one somewhere else out of habit. With this guide, I was able to check out many resorts that I had heard of but had never visited. I can see that I can skip many famous resorts that I had been considering, but should consider some others that I had never heard of. This book will add enormously to my planning of future golfing vacations!The resort ratings are compiled by travel writers, and the ratings reflect all the aspects of the resort . . . not just the golf. The categories include golf challenge, beauty, lodging, food and amenities. Amenities aren't very important for me, so I can ignore that category. Food is fairly unimportant unless it is inedible, and local restaurants can usually solve that problem . . . so I discount that category as well. I am very sensitive to the golf, the beauty, and the lodging, so I can select on that basis. You can do a similar weighting of what's important for you. I thought that the golf challenge rankings were much too similar. For example, Indian Wells in California was ranked much like La Quinta and for me there is no comparison. But you can read the slope and index, and look at sample holes and make your own judgments. I suspect that resorts that are well known got a little overrated. I like Spanish Bay, but I wouldn't rate the course number two for golf challenge ahead of 98 other resorts, including nearby Pebble Beach. But the best part of the book can be found in the spectacular two-page color spreads of views of the courses and natural beauty of the surroundings. It felt like a vacation just to see these lush scenes! I was impressed to see that many midwestern courses offer interesting challenges, which I would never have realized had I not seen this book. The overall top rated resort from the perspective of this book is The American Club in Kohler, Wisconsin. It definitely looks like a resort I would like to try, and I would never have considered it otherwise. The main drawback of this book is that it only rates the golf resorts in the United States. Since golf resorts are expensive compared to air fare, it would have been better to rate the worldwide golf resorts. Many of the top resorts in Europe would easily nose out all but the top 20 or so on this list. A secondary drawback is that the rating is done as though the resort is always attractive to visit. Some of these places are only worth playing on for a few months of the year (such as Mount Washington in New Hampshire), while others are terrific for 12 months a year (such as the Hawaiian courses). So be careful when you plan to go! After you finish examining these beautifully interesting choices, I suggest that you also consider what else can be done in the area. After all, you usually won't be playing 36 holes a day. Have a well rounded vacation!
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