Bourbon Steak at Turnberry Isle an exception to our off-resort-restaurant rule-of-thumb.
Golf Odyssey readers know that my editors and I work hard to identify the best places to dine at each golf vacation destination we visit. Before you roll your eyes, know that we have to endure plenty of bad restaurants in order to find the standouts, and we have the Pepto supply to prove it.
What we’ve found is that, save for a few exceptions (the Tap Room at Pebble Beach immediately comes to mind), the best dining choices are almost always located off resort grounds. As I recently learned from the CEO of a major hospitality company, the reason for this is pretty simple.
If you run a restaurant (and it doesn’t matter if you are a single proprietor or part of a chain), you come to work every day focused on one thing: the restaurant business.
Now, contrast that mindset with that of the hotel manager. He or she needs to worry about filling hotel rooms and booking meetings and events. The accompanying food and beverage operation may consist of several restaurants, plus banquets and room service. And we haven’t even touched upon other aspects at larger resorts, such as the golf courses, spas and other amenities that take care, feeding and attention.
So, if you find yourself on a golf vacation and have to make a choice between dining on- or off a resort property, the rule-of-thumb above should prove useful. There are exceptions, of course, and we applaud the recent trend of established restaurateurs setting up shop inside hotels.
A great example is Michael Mina’s Bourbon Steak, which we recently sampled during a “secret shopper” golf vacation to the recently renovated Fairmont Turnberry Isle Resort & Club north of Miami.
By the way, Turnberry is now arguably the best golf resort in South Florida, and you can find out exactly why we think so in the just-published, April 2009 issue of Golf Odyssey, along with some killer tips on how to score a host of free amenities there, including complimentary internet access, club rental, fitness center access, even use of gym clothes and sneakers. If you’re not already a Golf Odyssey subscriber, you can still read the article by taking a limited time free trial.
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{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
You should add the 1985 Room in Pinehurst as an outstanding place to eat. The Carolina Room, not so much. By the way, just played Chambers Bay. Unless they make major changes, the pros will eat the place up and there is no room for 30-40,000 fans. If you’re in the Seattle area, a nice course to play, not worth amking a trip just to play it. It’s not Bandon and it’s not Acadia Bluffs! I’ve now played the five official public US Open sites. I don’t know if Erin Hills is official yet. Lastly, the Home Course which will co-host the US Am is a joke. What was the USGA thinking. The course is two years old and they’re making hole changes already!! Not worth playing.
Hey guys love your newsletter. I have a question for you. A friend of mine ended up having to go to London for work at the last minute and has a Saturday free. He wants to try to play Sunningdale Old but on their website it says that they only accept weekday play for visitors. Do you have any suggestions on how he could play the course? Is it worth calling/emailing them or is it waste of time? Assuming he can’t play Sunningdale, do you have other recommendations for courses to play (he’s staying about 10 minutes from Sunningdale). Thanks!
It’s never a waste of time to make a polite request, and in this economy, the chances of exceptions being made are more likely. If your pal belongs to a club, have his pro inquire. Excellent nearby alternatives — of similar exclusivity — are Wentworth and Swinley Forest. It’s worth a shot.
Agree on Craig’s comments about Sunningdale; my sense after playing it last year at the invitation of a friend is that they might just accept the weekend single. They were friendly and not stuffy in the least. Stunning course, one of the best…As for the resort restaurant issue, my experience is that, indeed, resort hotel food leaves something to be desired, but I don’t buy your CEO acquaintance’s limp explanation for the lack of performance. Plenty of hotel restaurants in Europe have figured this out, and where established, well regarded restauranteurs have opened restaurants in U.S. hotels, the results have been good (if you believe the reviews). If these resort general managers can’t multitask, then the owners should just outsource the food to someone who can focus on it. Done well, the resort will be able to bask in the afterglow of a high quality, well reviewed restaurant. Larry, http://www.golfcommunityreviews.com