Sun Valley Resort Expands Golf Offerings
White Clouds (photo 1), the new championship 9-hole layout designed by Donald Knott of Knott, Brooks, Linn Golf Course Design Group of California, is slated to debut this summer at Sun Valley Resort in Idaho. It complements the original, 18-hole course that sits amid towering cottonwoods in the valley below.
Also new is the Himalayas, an 18-hole putting course located by the new golf clubhouse. The clubhouse is being constructed as part of the expansive, new 25-acre practice facility, which is also scheduled to debut this summer.
In the near future, the resort expects to break ground on another nine holes to complete White Clouds Course—bringing the total number of holes at Sun Valley Golf Resort to 36. www.sunvalley.com
New Mexico Mountain Course Opens
If you really want to take your game to a higher level, try Angel Fire Resort Golf Course and Country Club, 22 miles east of Taos, New Mexico, which is now open for play. Set 8,700 ft. above sea level in the Sangre de Christo Mountains of Northern New Mexico, the course is one of the best high-elevation courses in the nation.
With spectacular views at every hole, the course has two unspoiled canyons peppered with aspen and spruce, rolling fairways and meandering streams.
You better hurry up, though. Angel Fire closes in mid-October. www.angelfireresort.com
Head for the Great Outdoors
The 215-room Rocky Gap Lodge & Golf Resort (photo 2) in Cumberland, Maryland—a AAA Four Diamond property—recently introduced its Family Adventure Vacation, which combines outdoor adventure, golf and relaxation in one package.
Rocky Gap will tailor a set of activities from more than 20 adventures at the resort, within Rocky Gap State Park and throughout the Mountainside of Maryland; this includes activities within a 75-minute drive of the resort.
Family Adventure packages start at $480, which includes four nights of lodging in a golf-side room, with a fifth night free. Within 48 hours of making the reservation, a Family Adventure Planner will contact the guest to help plan and schedule the stay at Rocky Gap. On-site activities and options within the 3,200 acres of Rocky Gap State Park include:
• Golf on the Jack Nicklaus Signature Course
• Organic spa treatments at the Rocky Gap Garden Spa
• Evening family bonfires
• Scales and Tales DNR aviary tours
• Hiking, biking and boating in Rocky Gap State Park
The on-site Family Adventure Planner also will help guests schedule off-site adventures that can include:
• Horseback riding
• Whitewater rafting from mild to wild
• Rides on the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad
• Sporting clays
• Custom rock climbing and rappelling trips
For more information on Rocky Gap Lodge & Golf Resort, visit www.rockygapresort.com
Arnold Palmer Designs in North Florida
With the arrival in the past few years of well-received courses like Tom Fazio’s Camp Creek near Watercolor, Fred Couple’s Southwood in Tallahassee and Greg Norman’s Shark’s Tooth in Panama City Beach, Florida’s panhandle is attracting top name designers.
The next high-profile course to hit the area will be Arnold Palmer’s Owl’s head, situated in a 1,600-acre master-planned community with the same name midway between Destin and Panama City near Freeport.
Designed as a core golf course, the 7,500-yard layout will have contrasting nines. The front nine will play through a series of rugged dunes and bunkers draped with native grasses, and the back nine will wind through heavily wooded hills with broad panoramas and elevation changes of up to 80 ft. www.owlsheadfla.com
Callaway Gardens Resort’s New Golf Amenities
A 13,000-acre resort, 70 miles southwest of Atlanta, Callaway Gardens Resort is home to two championship golf courses and acres of gardens and flower beds. Its new, 26-acre Twin Oaks Practice Facility opened recently. Two massive oak trees are a focal point at the complex that features almost 1.5 acres of manicured tee space, 12 target greens, an expansive putting green and a short game area with two large sand bunkers and multiple chipping and pitching areas.
Thirty new Mountain View golf cottages, currently under construction, overlook the Mountain View golf course’s 18th hole and the Twin Oaks Practice Facility. They will be available for rental to small groups by early 2009, and a new pro shop called The Golf House will debut in April 2009. www.callawaygardens.com