There is very little that is sadder in the world of hospitality than a legacy family resort being bought out by vulture capitalists who proceed to strip its bones for profit as it decays. Happily – very happily – this is not the fate of the iconic Cragun’s Resort on Gull Lake. The recent saleContinue reading “Cragun’s Resort builds for future with transformative upgrades”
Tag Archives: golf travel
Sand Valley’s Mammoth Dunes delivers mammoth fun
The term “resort course” is often used to describe certain golf courses. But I’m willing to wager that most casual golfers don’t know what the label denotes, aside from “a golf course at a resort.” There’s only part of it. Resort courses – good resort courses – share certain features: wide fairways, visible hazards, minimalContinue reading “Sand Valley’s Mammoth Dunes delivers mammoth fun”
Sedge Valley is Sand Valley’s shortest 18, but not its easiest
In this age of 460cc drivers and 300-yard drives, length is king. In the U.S., most recreational players immediately check the yardage of the back tees on the scorecard to determine a course’s difficulty or even its appeal. This is an amateur mistake, however. Distance and difficulty are certainly correlated, but correlation doesn’t imply causation.Continue reading “Sedge Valley is Sand Valley’s shortest 18, but not its easiest”
Sand Valley anchors the growing Sand Valley Golf Resort
Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw have made a handsome career for themselves designing golf courses following a “Minimalist” philosophy. Hand these two artists a topographically interesting and well-drained canvas, and they will deliver a masterpiece. Sand Hills Golf Club in Nebraska, Streamsong Red in Florida, and both Bandon Trails and The Sheep Ranch at BandonContinue reading “Sand Valley anchors the growing Sand Valley Golf Resort”
Wisconsin’s Sand Valley Golf Resort: “Best Golf Resort in the Midwest?”
Some say Sand Valley Golf Resort’s history dates to 2016, when its eponymous course, Sand Valley, opened for preview play. Others might say it began in 1999, when legendary golf developer Mike Keiser unveiled Bandon Dunes in Oregon, spurring a golf resort development boom in remote, topographically ideal locations with a “Field of Dreams” philosophy:Continue reading “Wisconsin’s Sand Valley Golf Resort: “Best Golf Resort in the Midwest?””
Step back into golf history at Belvedere Golf Club
A couple years before the famed Dr. Alister MacKenzie first visited northern Michigan to begin designing legendary Crystal Downs Golf Club north of Frankfort, another Scottish golf course architect arrived in nearby Charlevoix to take over the Chicago Club’s course there. His name was William “Willie” Watson. Watson had come to the US from ScotlandContinue reading “Step back into golf history at Belvedere Golf Club”
Temecula Creek Inn: Three Distinct Nines + Wine
I’ve been writing about golf courses and resorts for nearly 30 years. It was this March on my way to my room at the Temecula Creek Inn in Temecula, California, when I experienced a first: A team from the Coroner’s Office loading a cadaver into their van right in front of my room. I tookContinue reading “Temecula Creek Inn: Three Distinct Nines + Wine”
First stop on the Tennessee Golf Trail: Henry Horton State Park
Henry Hollis Horton was the 36th governor of Tennessee, serving from 1927-1933. Upon his death in 1934, the state procured a portion of his large estate with the intention of preserving it as a state park. The sprawling park opened in 1961, and in 1962 the park’s Buford Ellington Championship Golf Course debuted. The 7,060-yard,Continue reading “First stop on the Tennessee Golf Trail: Henry Horton State Park”
Towhee Club: New owners, new name, new greens, same creek
In 2013, I reviewed King’s Creek Golf Club, located in Spring Hill, TN. The two most memorable aspects of the 2005 Arnold Palmer design were the namesake creek and my first (and still only) hole-in-one. Upon returning to the area in 2026, I discovered that King’s Creek, which had closed several years earlier, was re-openedContinue reading “Towhee Club: New owners, new name, new greens, same creek”
New South Wales Golf Club: Fourth Leg of Dr. MacKenzie’s Grand Slam
Dr. Alister MacKenzie was a civilian surgeon in the British military before turning to golf course architecture. He designed around 50 courses world-wide, with three immediately recognizable to most avid players: Augusta National, Cypress Point, and Royal Melbourne. A strong case can be made that the good doctor’s 1928-vintage New South Wales Golf Club roundsContinue reading “New South Wales Golf Club: Fourth Leg of Dr. MacKenzie’s Grand Slam”
Midwestern Golf 