Pro Golf Club

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If you’ve ever fantasized about owning a second home, now is your chance to do so without the cost and maintenance obligations that come with traditional home ownership. The Ritz-Carlton Club offers deeded, fractional ownership in luxury residences situated in your favorite destinations.

Instead of plunking down several million dollars for a waterfront villa in Hawaii, for example, you can purchase nearly one month’s worth of use in an island vacation home for a fraction of the cost. As a Club member, you and your guests will appreciate the comforts of home while being treated to the legendary services and lavish amenities that Ritz-Carlton hotel guests enjoy. Read the rest of this entry »

The Greenbrier and The Homestead, two his­toric Southern resorts with top-notch golf, are looking younger than hotels half their age. West Virginia’s elegant Greenbrier became a destina­tion in 1858, when a hotel was built at the site of a therapeutic sulphur spring. Famous for its spa and exuber­ant 1940s Dorothy Draper interiors, as well as being the site of a Cold War bunker built for members of Congress, The Greenbrier has had a $50 million face-lift overseen by Draper protégé interior designer Carleton Vamey. All 721 rooms have new decor, bathrooms, linens and flat­-screen TVs. A new restaurant, Hemisphere, and bar boast bold Draperesque colors and patterns.

In Hot Springs,Va., The Homestead first welcomed guests in 1766. J.P. Morgan bought the place in 1888, adding the main building, the famed spa with its gorgeous indoor pool and a Donald Ross golf course, the first of three 18-hole layouts. New owner KSL Resorts has updated the bathrooms in all 486 rooms, put in a new driving range at The Cascades Course and restored  the Old Course bunkers to Ross’ original 1913 design. Darling, you look marvelous.

Playing golf is always fun but sometimes it’s even more fun when you can test your skills in a tournament with a good friend. That will be the game plan this October (17-20) at the Waikoloa Women’s Golf Challenge to be held at the spectacular Waikoloa Beach & Golf Resort, one of the most lauded resorts our 50th state has to offer. The two-person best-ball handicapped event will include two rounds, with the champs determined by the lowes-net best ball over the 36 holes. Participants will be treated to special events each night as well as a luxurious Kohala Sports Club & Spa treatment on the free day between rounds.

The tournament will be contested on Waikoloa’s legendary Kings’ Course, a collaboration of Jay Morrish and Tom Weiskopf, which contains design elements reminiscent of a Scottish links course while simultaneously offering amazing views of Big Island volcanoes, wildflowers and towering palm trees. Golfers always enjoy the Scottish-style double green shared by the third and sixth holes. On the free day, competitors can also tee it up on the sister Beach Course, which hugs the water and was literally carved from the lava flow along the picturesque Wailulua Bay. Its signature is the par-5 12th, bordering the ocean from tee to green. Perhaps the biggest challenge is not being distracted by the frolicking humpback whales.

As diverse as its courses are the Waikoloa lodging options—which include the Waikoloa Beach Marriott and the Hilton Waikoloa Village, as well as no less than a half dozen luxurious condominium properties—all with wonderful views and comfortable furnishings. More than a few golfers have paid a first-time visit, fell in love with every aspect of this gorgeous 1,350-acre master-planned residential resort community and ended up buying a vacation home before they left.

Back in June 2006, Jane Seymour, the British-born actor best known Stateside as Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, was invited to play in the Northern Rock All-Star Cup, a celebrity golf tournament at The Celtic Manor in Newport, Wales, that pits a European team against an American one. Seymour, who grew up in Wimbledon, a London suburb, had just become a U.S. citizen, so she agreed to play for her new country. She compares playing golf to being on stage—”It’s your moment,” she says—and while she had played in corporate outings and celebrity tournaments before, the Wales event promised to be her biggest golf stage yet. The previous year’s tournament, which featured Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones playing on opposing teams, had attracted thousands of spectators and international press cover­age. Seymour, a perfectionist, gives her all to everything she does, so in true fashion, she dedicated herself to improving her game before the August event. “I said to myself, ‘For the next two months, I will train for golf.” Read the rest of this entry »

Though its coastal courses have grabbed the headlines in recent years, Oregon’s central region continues to stand tall as one of the top golf destinations in America. Any lover of the great outdoors would consider the area to be paradise found thanks to endless blue skies, clean crisp air and the rich diversity of both landscape and activities. Rugged lava flows, sage-scented high desert, spectacular snowy peaks and sparkling alpine lakes are the perfect elixir for invigorating the senses. They are also an idyllic setting for sonar of the country’s best and most playable golf courses. Read the rest of this entry »