5 minute read
golf list
Fairest of the Fairways: Find Your Sanctuary on Our Golf 2020 Hot List
Now more than ever, Golf is a mental and physical escape, an outdoor workout that can do your wellbeing a world of good. Strategy, technique and patience, all working together to hit a tiny white ball. The illustrious golf destinations included on our hot list are dedicated to the longevity and love of the sport of golf. These resorts have the facilities and deep expertise to help you focus both body and mind as the primary means to lowering handicaps, reducing repetitive injuries, and ultimately enjoying the game for a lifetime.
Advertisement
WE-KO-PA GOLF CLUB: Fort McDowell, Arizona
Even the most jaded golf junkie won’t grow tired of the ample options on offer at Arizona’s We-Ko-Pa Golf Club. The two courses (Cholla and Saguaro) are extremely different. Normally at a 36-hole facility, you find similar layouts with matching routing and design features and they’re often planned by the same designers. That’s not the case at We-Ko-Pa. The distinct courses are incredibly different and boast their own features, flavor, feel, and playability. Facing Covid era protocols head on, both courses have been impeccable in welcoming guests with enhanced sanitation. Best of all? You can truly lose yourself in the landscape here; you won’t find a single home, road, condo, gas station anywhere near the golf course.
“Located only 20 minutes from the Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, our lushly land- scaped oasis offers spectacular views of Arizona’s majestic Four Peaks and iconic Red Mountain alongside the free- owing Verde River.” -Scott Scott Miller’s celebrated Cholla course offers more of a traditional desert challenge. There are some spicy forced carries, clear landing areas and potential snafus are always well defined so you know to avoid at all cost. Hole 8 is an outstanding downhill dogleg right par 5. The 15th is a true risk versus reward drivable par 4, and all of the par 3s have striking character instead of just a golf hole for the sake of a golf hole.
After cinching the 2019 North American Golf Resort of the Year by the International Association of Golf Tour Operators, one would think 2020 has been dire for Fairmont Chateau Whistler Golf Club. On closer inspection,what we learned is quite the opposite. Fairmont Chateau Whistler’s 3-Course Golf Vacation package provides accommodation for two nights and golf for two adults at the guest’s choice of three fantastic Whistler golf courses. Guests may choose to play rounds at Fairmont Chateau Whistler, Nicklaus North Golf Course, Whistler Golf Club or Big Sky Golf Club during their stay.
“Golf is about how well you accept, respond to, and score with your misses much more so than it is a game of your perfect shots.”
-Dr Bob Rotella
Golf Tips
15
Providing PGA TOUR players, spectators and sponsors with prestige hospitality during THE PLAYERS, the Clubhouse is a robust social hub during the other 51 weeks of the year.
Fairmont Pacific Rim and Fairmont Chateau Whistler have also unveiled a new partnership with BMW Canada and Sea-to-Sky Exotic Cars to offer guests a four-day signature drive experience. In addition to luxury hotel accommodation, the package, aptly named Life is a (Luxurious) Highway, includes exclusive access to an all-new BMW X7, the largest and most luxurious vehicle to be added to the BMW collection in the brand’s history.
“What we’re seeing at this property is encouraging and proof of the enduring appeal of golf,” observes Nick Droulis, Director of Golf at Fairmont Chateau Whistler, on a dedicated call with us to address how his team has adapted to moving forward. “More and more, we are seeing established, elite athletes who, shut out of their league sports due to Covid protocols, are crossing over to golf as a way to stay sharp.” Turns out this “crossover” new audience misses the highly competitive environment of their sport; they are flocking to the greens at Fairmont Chateau Whistler to find refuge in the monastic discipline of perfecting a putt, or the technical virtuosity required for a swift, solid drive down the fairway. An Audubon-certified course designed by Robert Trent Jones, Jr., the Fairmont Chateau Whistler course drapes along the foothills of Blackcomb Mountain, traversing creeks, granite outcroppings and ancient Douglas fir. So what happens when your clientele suddenly has all the time in the world to escape into nature to perfect their swing? “We’ve never seen such a spike in interest and bookings for trainers and instructors,” Droulis enthuses. “It’s remarkable, the support we’ve received from repeat guests.”
TPC SAWGRASS: Ponte Verde Beach. Florida
Home of THE PLAYERS Championship, and backdrop to PGA TOUR headquarters, TPC Sawgrass is one of the world’s most famous golf courses. The Stadium Course sports one of the most recognizable and challenging holes on the PGA TOUR — the iconic par-3, 17th hole, featuring an island green. Golf enthusiasts yearn to play not one but two PGA TOUR championship courses at
the club, both designed by beloved architect Pete Dye and built to challenge top pros, while at the same time providing amateurs with the ultimate golf experience.
THE PLAYERS Stadium Course is known for having three of the most challenging finishing holes and one of the most centerfold worthy holes in the world – Hole 17 and its iconic island green. Allowing recreational golfers access to a level of play typically reserved for PGA TOUR players, a round here wins you bragging rights for the year. The beloved 77,000 square foot Mediterranean Revival-style Clubhouse features panoramic views of the 9th and 18th holes and serves as an architectural centerpiece.
