Golf Odyssey's year-long research of golf vacations (in 20 U.S. states and 10 countries) culminates in this coveted, year-end issue. Get a free copy below.
You are about to read one of the most useful tips I’ll publish all year.
That’s because it explains how you can get a free copy of Golf Odyssey’s annual, year-end issue containing its provocative (and sometimes scathing) “Best and Worst Awards,” and its coveted list of “Platinum Places: The World’s Best Golf Destinations for 2009-2010.”
Both are based on Golf Odyssey‘s year-long travels and undercover inspections of top golf courses, resorts, and restaurants in 20 different states in the USA and 10 different countries around the world.
Two categories I thought you might be particularly interested in are:
“The Best New Golf Resort,” and “The Best New Golf Course,” the latter being called “arguably the most important golf course to open anywhere in the world in 2009.”
And the winners are:
The editors bestowed the title of “Best New Resort” on Pelican Hill in Newport Beach, Calif. They said:
“The attention to detail is incredible at The Resort at Pelican Hill, the resort accompaniment to Pelican Hill’s Tom Fazio-designed Ocean North and Ocean South courses. Inspired by the renowned Italian Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio, the resort feels like a Mediterranean village. We never had the sense we were in a hotel in our opulent bungalow, which was set into the hillside on a little cul-de-sac. You can count on nothing short of devoted personal service while in residence.”
As for the “Best New Golf Course,” that honor goes to Castle Stuart Golf Links in Inverness, Scotland. Said Golf Odyssey’s editors:
“Castle Stuart is arguably the most important golf course to open anywhere in the world in 2009. Americans Mark Parsinen and Gil Hanse fashioned a man-made links on a site that varies in elevation by 130 feet. Although the routing twists, turns, dives, and climbs over mesas, dunes, knobs, and undulations, the sight lines are wonderful. All six seaside holes are great. With time, Castle Stuart may well be spoken of in the same breath as Scotland’s greatest courses.”
Other golf vacation categories from this year’s “Platinum Places” list include:
- Best US Resorts Overall (golf, lodging, dining, activities)
- Best US Resorts for Golf
- Most Anticipated New Course Openings
- Best Caribbean Golf Destinations
- Best Destinations for Golf and Nightlife
- Best Golf Near Gateway Airports in the UK/Ireland
And additional categories from Golf Odyssey‘s now legendary “Best and Worst Awards,” include:
- The Best Bang for Your Buck in Ireland
- The Best Punch for Your Peso in Los Cabos, Mexico
- The Most Disappointing PGA Tour Venues (Parts I and II)
- The Best Day Trip from Las Vegas
- The Best Antidote for Baggage Fees
- The Most Impressive Resort Activities
- The Best Hidden Gem in the Scottish Highlands
- The Worst Hotel Training
- The Best New Clubhouse
- The Best New Desert Golf Course
- The Best Place for a Midnight Tee Time
- The Best Way to Avoid Scottsdale’s Sprawl
- The Best Resort Remake
- The Resort with the Best Range Balls
And my personal favorite:
- The Best Place to Relive Caddyshack Moments (i.e. how you can play the actual course used in the film)
I guarantee you’ll never read anything like this in the mainstream media. See for yourself.
Normally only available to Golf Odyssey’s paid subscribers, you can get a free copy of this coveted year-end issue (and last year’s version, too) by taking a limited-time, free trial to Golf Odyssey. There is no obligation to subscribe.
Have any “winners” and “losers” based on your own golf vacations? Share your comments below.
Did you know? Golf Vacation Insider and Golf Odyssey are the world’s only golf publications that conduct “secret shopper” site inspections and do not accept advertising from golf courses, resorts or restaurants in order to provide you with expert, unbiased, and trusted advice.
Not already a subscriber to Golf Vacation Insider? Use this link to stay in the loop with our free tips and expert advice on which golf courses, golf resorts, discount golf vacations, and golf vacation packages are truly worth your time and money. As a bonus, we will send you a free copy of Planning the Ultimate Golf Vacation, a 40-page book filled with some of the best golf travel secrets from the editors of Golf Odyssey.
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{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Looking forward to reading the book as we are planning a winter getaway.
Yes, every year I hear from folks who say this issue is extremely helpful for planning golf vacations or providing ideas on where to go. Hope it is for you as well.
Cant afford a vacation but Ill look at the pictures.
No problem. Feel free to check out our tips on “discount golf vacations.” Just click this category heading in the right hand column.
Kudos to you and your staff for the hundreds of hours of research and tabulation
of this valuable information. I will pass this on to my husband, who is about to plan our next year of GOLF VACATIONS. We look forward to your reports in the
coming year.