For serious traveling golfers, there are some properties whose name alone conjures images of awe commensurate with the very best in golf. Typically, these destinations date to the 1920s and earlier. While ornate, rich in lore and awarded with stars and diamonds, they’ve invariably benefited from the polish of recent restorations and renovations. In short, these treasures from the Golden Age never stand still. Here are four classic resorts where you can add your own history stamp, with the powerful enticement of superb autumn golf.
Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club/Mid Pines Inn & Golf Club
Southern Pines, N.C.
Average October Daytime Temps: 72 degrees
Why You Have To Go: A double dose of playable yet formidable Donald Ross 1920s classics is enticement enough. Pair them with the intoxicating scent of longleaf pines and ideal-in-the-fall, firm-and-fast course conditions and you have an unbeatable pair of sibling resorts that are situated across the street from each other. The downhill par-3 third over a pond at Pine Needles might be the prettiest hole in the Sandhills, while Mid Pines’ par-4 18th is among the region’s most memorable, its green backdropped by the stately Georgian-style inn. Annika Sorenstam, Karrie Webb and Cristie Kerr have captured U.S. Women’s Opens at Pine Needles, although the shorter Mid Pines layout may actually be the stronger test.
Famous Figure: Considered by many to be history’s greatest architect, Donald Ross was a native Scot who maintained a residence in the Pinehurst/Southern Pines area for more than 30 years. He took special pride in the crowned greens and strategic options he created on courses in his adopted hometown, including Pinehurst No. 2 (1907), Mid Pines (1921) and Pine Needles (1927).
The Package: The Bell Golf Package includes King or Deluxe accommodations, breakfast and dinner daily, 18 holes of golf daily, carts, unlimited range balls and club storage.
Rates from $410 per person, per night, based on double occupancy and a two-night minimum. pineneedleslodge.com
The Greenbrier
White Sulphur Springs, W. Va.
Average October Day Temps: 66 degrees
Why You Have To Go: “America’s Resort” has been welcoming guests—including 27 U.S. Presidents—since 1778, with a potent combination of healing spa waters, a dizzying array of activities and golf that has hosted the Ryder Cup, Solheim Cup and countless professional events. Current host to the PGA Tour’s Greenbrier Classic, the recently restored Old White TPC is the only public-access C.B. Macdonald course in the country. Oh, and in mid-October, the Allegheny Mountain valley setting is a fall-color fiesta, framed by hillsides of maples and oaks.
Famous Figure: Local boy Sam Snead served on the Greenbrier professional staff from 1936 through 1974, and again from 1993 until his death in 2002. Check out his legacy via the memorabilia housed in both restaurants at the Golf Club.
The Package: The Unlimited Golf Package features all the golf you can play ($100-$175 surcharge for Old White) plus cart and practice-facility use through October 20, 2018.
Rates from $275 per adult, per night, based on double occupancy and a two-night minimum. greenbrier.com
Sea Island Resort
Sea Island/St. Simons Island, Ga.
Average October Daytime Temps: 77 degrees
Why You Have To Go: This coastal retreat in Georgia’s Lowcountry is home to 54 holes of golf and the PGA Tour’s RSM Classic, contested over the aptly named Seaside course, a Tom Fazio gem with roots of 1920s design stars H.S. Colt and C.H. Alison. Beyond the championship golf, the South’s top resort soars, thanks to its best-in-show accommodations at The Lodge and The Cloister, its easy beach access and its pampering service. No resort in America aces so many tests—from golf to dining to family attractions.
Famous Figure: Sea Island resident Davis Love III first moved here as a 13-year-old in 1977. He’s the genial host of the RSM Classic, and also co-owns a wildly popular casual eatery on St. Simons Island, Southern Soul Barbecue.
The Package: The Sea Island Classic Golf Package includes nightly accommodations at The Cloister, The Lodge or The Inn, one round of golf (green fees, cart and forecaddie) per package guest per night of stay, unlimited use of practice facilities, daily club storage and cleaning, locker and shoe service, and round-trip transportation from the courses for guests staying at The Cloister or The Inn.
Rates start at $617 per room, per night, based on two golfers and a two-night minimum stay, with $100 surcharge to play Seaside in October. seaisland.com
The Broadmoor
Colorado Springs, Colo.
Average October Daytime Temps: 63 degrees
Why You Have To Go: Celebrating its 100th anniversary, the Broadmoor fuses tradition and innovation like few other properties. With 18 holes from Donald Ross, another 18 from Robert Trent Jones Sr. and a third 18 from Nicklaus Design, its golf pedigree is unquestioned. Yet it’s the staggering collection of other attractions, from a state-of-the-art spa to the Penrose Room, Colorado’s only five-star, five-diamond restaurant, to 26 specialty retail shops on-site that elevate the resort into rarefied air—perfectly appropriate given its
Rocky Mountain backdrops. Don a sweater and enjoy.
Famous Figure: Jack Nicklaus, Annika Sorenstam, Juli Inkster and So Yeon Ryu have all won USGA-sanctioned events at the Broadmoor. Most recently, David Toms joined the club, with a thrilling one-shot victory at the 2018 U.S. Senior Open, held on the resort’s East course.
The Package: The Five-Star Golf Package features one round per person, per night, lodging (upgrade options available), locker, club storage and range balls, and suites available at 25 percent of the published rates.
October rates start at $475 per person, based on double occupancy. broadmoor.com
