10

GETAWAYS
WINTER
GOLF

W
inter forces golfers to be creative.
But instead of making do with inclement weather,
many of us simply escape it. This partly explains the
abundance of top-rated golf resorts in temperate locales, a wealth
that accumulates with every passing year.  This season, the travel-
ing golfer’s options are more extensive—and, in the case of the
$1 million Grand South Africa Golf Safari, more expensive—
than ever. From a new resort on the California coast to an upstart
trail in V
  ietnam, the 10 getaways featured here are sure to brighten
any golfer’s winter forecast. ➾

november 200 8   robb report   129

 Winter Golf Getaways
Player’s Club
The ultimate South African golf safari with
the ultimate South African golfer.
gary player has designed more than 250 golf courses,
some among the most exclusive in the world. But no Player
course is more selective than the one he built at his stud
farm in Colesberg, South  Africa—located 400 miles north-
west of Cape Town in a region known as the Upper
Karoo—where the membership requirements are as strin-
gent as the bloodlines of the property’s stallions.  Wildebeests,
white and black impalas, and other wild animals routinely
roam the 18-hole layout, but few Homo sapiens ever set foot
on Player’s private course. “It is only for the use of my fam-
ily and friends,” says Player, the winner of nine Major golf
championships.
This winter, however, four people can gain entrance to Play­
er’s Colesberg club by purchasing—for $1 million—Micato
130 rob b r e p or t   n ov emb er 20 0 8
Safaris’ Grand South Africa Golf Safari, a 17-day trip that
showcases some of the country’s best golfing, wine tasting,
and wildlife safaris. According to Player, who will join the
foursome for one round and host a private dinner at his
house on the farm, the experience is one the golfers will
not forget. “South Africa is the best country in the world
for Americans to visit,” he says. “People talk about the
17-Mile Drive [in Pebble Beach, Calif.].  Our Garden Route
is a thousand miles long.”
Following a night in the presidential suite at the
Waldorf-Astoria in New York and a flight to Cape Town
in Virgin Atlantic’s Upper Class, the foursome will refresh
at the city’s Ellerman House Villa and Spa, play the Gary
Player course at the nearby Erinvale Golf Club, and take
a helicopter tour of the region. Subsequent stops include
the wine-country town of Franschhoek, where the guests
will stay at the Owners Cottage at the Grande Provence
Estate, and the Plettenberg Bay Fancourt Golf Club,
where Player built a seaside course that has hosted both
The Grand South Africa Golf Safari
includes rounds at the Pezula Resort (far
left), a stay at the Getty House villa (left
and bottom) in the Phinda Private Nature
Reserve, and a visit with Gary Player
(below) on his stud farm in Colesberg.
the President’s Cup and the South African Open. At
Fancourt the golfers will receive custom-designed clubs
before heading to the Pezula Resort Hotel & Spa on the
Garden Route. After three nights at Pezula—which is
home to a Ron Kirby–designed golf course—the trip will
conclude with four days of wildlife safaris at the 8,649-
acre Phinda Private Nature Reserve in KwaZulu-Natal,
on the Mozambique border.
Wildlife sightings at Phinda are sure to be a highlight
of the Grand South Africa Golf Safari, but Player believes
that the golfing will be equally memorable. “South Africa
has golf courses as good as anywhere in the world,” he
says. Golfers who do not have two and a half weeks—or
$1 million—to spare can still enjoy the country’s courses;
Micato Safaris offers custom golf safaris throughout South
Africa, with prices beginning at $18,000 per person for a
10-day trip. —mike nolan
Micato Safaris, 212.545.7111, www.micato.com
november 2008   robb report  131
 Winter Golf Getaways

Taking Flight
Pelican Hill looks to fulfill
its promise with the launch
of a new resort.

pelican hill—with its hilly coastal

setting, temperate year-round climate,
and two T  om Fazio–designed courses—
has the makings of a world-class golf
resort. Only one thing is missing:
the resort itself. That will change in
late November, when the Resort at
Peli­can Hill opens on the 504-acre
South­ern California site where Fazio
completed two of his finest works in
the early 1990s.
Fazio recently returned to Pelican
Hill, located about an hour’s drive
south of Los Angeles in Newport
Coast, to update his Ocean South and
Ocean North courses. His redesign
consisted mostly of returfing the fair-
ways and greens, adding a few bun-
kers, and replacing overgrown bushes
with low-lying shrubs to open up the
courses’ ever-present ocean vistas.
Set on a hillside just above Ocean
South, the new hotel at Pelican Hill
will share the courses’ sweeping Pacific
views. T  he resort will open with 332 bungalow and villa course—should prove worthy of its lofty billing as Pelican
accommodations, a 22-room spa, and a 136-foot-diameter, Hill finally takes its place among the world’s top golf resorts.
hand-tiled pool backed by a Palladian-style colonnade. The —bruce wallin
property’s Ultimate Golf  Experience—which begins at
$1,250 per night and includes a round for two on either The Resort at Pelican Hill, 949.467.6800, www.pelicanhill.com

 
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 Winter Golf Getaways
Turn for the Better
Raymond Floyd takes Turnberry Isle’s courses in a new direction.
of the dozens of golf destinations in Florida, the Fairmont
Turnberry Isle Resort & Club, located about midway
between South Beach and Fort Lauderdale in Aventura,
may be the best place to stay and play this winter. The
resort completed a $150 million renovation in late 2006
that updated all of the 392 guest rooms and suites, added
two new restaurants—including chef Michael Mina’s
Bourbon Steak—and rebuilt the property’s 36 holes of golf
under the direction of former Masters champion Ray­
mond Floyd.
134 rob b r e p or t   n ov emb er 20 0 8
Classic Rockefeller
A Big Island legend is reborn.
when the mauna kea beach hotel opened on Hawaii’s
Big Island in 1965, it was, at a cost of $15 million, the most
expensive resort ever built.  The property, set on one of the
Hawaiian Islands’ best beaches, had a cultlike following for
more than three decades, but the hotel closed in 2006 after
sustaining considerable damage in an earthquake. This
December, the Mauna Kea will reopen its doors after a
renovation that will cost close to $150 million—or 10 times
the amount former owner Laurance Rockefeller spent on
the original resort.
Central to both the original property and the renovation
is the Mauna Kea Golf Course. Rockefeller enlisted Robert design to its original appearance, while updating the course’s
Trent Jones Sr. to build the course, which the designer turf and sand.
routed over both land and sea—nowhere more spectacu- As for the refurbishment of the hotel, Prince Resorts is
larly than on the resort’s oft-photographed, par-3 third hole, expanding the guest rooms and updating the interiors, but the
where golfers hit their tee shots over the Pacific. Prince company is leaving the Mauna Kea’s facade—and, presumably,
Resorts Hawaii, the Mauna Kea’s current owner, hired its timeless appeal—intact. —oliver slosser
Jones’ son Rees to refurbish the course, which is also sched-
uled to reopen in December. Rees is restoring his father’s Mauna Kea Beach Hotel, 877.880.6524, www.princeresortshawaii.com
The first hole on the Fairmont’s Soffer Course—named
in honor of developer Don Soffer, who founded Aventura
and the resort—immediately suggests the extent of Floyd’s
changes.  A formerly flat hole now includes an angled, undu-
lating fairway and new water features. The resort
spent more than $100,000 landscaping each hole,
lining the fairways with flowers and planting sev-
eral thousand palm trees. To provide a home for
the resort’s resident pink flamingos, the Fairmont
also built an island within the Soffer Course’s
Lake Julius, where the birds now nest.
Longtime fans of  Turnberry Isle will be happy
to know that Floyd retained the signature island
green on the Soffer Course’s 18th hole. Guests
participating in the Fairmont’s Fore the Love of
Golf package ($1,009 per night) will enjoy unlimited play
on Soffer or the property’s Miller Course, and unlimited
access to the new  Willow Stream Spa. —george fuller
The Fairmont Turnberry Isle Resort & Club, 305.932.6200, ​
www.fairmont.com
november 2008   robb report  135
 Winter Golf Getaways

Down-Under Par
Kalos Golf sets sail
for New Zealand.

new zealand is best seen from the

sea, whether cruising the crenulated
coastline of Fiordland National Park
or harboring in the Bay of Islands
below the man-made wonder that is
the Kauri Cliffs golf course. Kalos
Golf will steer passengers to these
sights and more on the company’s
New Zealand Golf Cruises, which
will embark three times beginning in
January. Sailing the lengths of North
Island and South Island aboard
Orion—a “boutique cruise ship” with Rock Solid
everything from hot tubs to a hair A new villa is just a stone’s throw from the Boulders’ courses.
salon—golfers can play as many as
seven rounds, go wine tasting, and the new $8,000-per-night V   illa Retreat at the Boulders
tour Kiwi cities including Welling­ton Resort & Golden Door Spa in Carefree, Ariz., comprises
and Christchurch. two modern adobe homes connected by a courtyard with
Based in Chapel Hill, N.C., Kalos an infinity-edge swimming pool. T   hough the estate is 5,000
leads high-end golf cruises through- square feet and sleeps as many as 12 guests, it blends as
out Europe and, during the Northern seamlessly into the Sonora Desert landscape as do the bob-
Hemisphere’s winter, New Zealand. Jack’s Point is one of several courses that will be in play for passengers of Orion (below). cats and coyotes that guests can observe from the com-
This winter’s trips stop at such courses pound’s spacious second-floor decks.  The villa can serve
as Millbrook Resort, designed by New Zealand golfer (The third trip begins at Kauri Cliffs.) Rates for the cruises as an oasis for two families—or three foursomes—at the
Bob Charles, and Paraparaumu Beach, a classic links lay- range from $9,995 to $17,765 per person. 1,300-acre resort, which is located about 15 miles north
out. (Courses vary depending on cruise dates.) Two of the —james a. frank of  Scottsdale. (Direct helicopter service to the Villa Retreat
excursions conclude in dramatic style, finishing with rounds is available from Scottsdale.)
at Kauri Cliffs and its sister property, Cape Kidnappers. Kalos Golf, 919.942.3464, www.kalosgolf.com For a group of golfers, the Villa Retreat provides easy
access to the Boulders’ two Jay Moorish–designed courses.
Set in a rock-strewn landscape—created 12 million years
ago by the same geologic event that nearly separated Baja
California from the mainland—the courses are among the
most scenic in the Scottsdale area. “The North Course is
older and more traditional, while the South Course is nar-
rower, and you get more of the boulder-pile experience,”
says golf director  Tom McCahan. “On the par-5 fifth, you
drive toward the resort and can see people climbing on the
rock face.”
In addition to the Villa Retreat, the Boulders offers 160
casitas and 55 pueblo villas, all of which are being updated
as part of a $30 million resortwide renovation. —m.n.

The Boulders Resort & Golden Door Spa, 480.488.9009,

www.theboulders.com The Boulders’  Villa Retreat (top) and South Course (above).

 
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 Winter Golf Getaways

School of the South

Getting into the swing at the
Barton Creek Resort & Spa.

the barton creek resort & spa’s recent renovation—

which included the addition of an outdoor camp area with
tepees and a s’mores fire pit—has made the Austin, Texas,
retreat more conducive to family fun. But golfers have
never lacked for diversions at this 4,000-acre Hill Country
resort, where they can play four 18-hole courses and hone
their skills at the Chuck Cook Golf  Academy.
Before doing battle with Barton Creek’s courses—which
include Tom Fazio’s Foothills layout—many golfers enroll
at the academy, where Cook, who is ranked among the
country’s top instructors, often leads classes himself. The
facility offers programs of all types, from family to indi-
vidual, low-handicap to women-only. The resort’s Guys
Golf Getaways—two- and three-day stays that begin at
$299 per person—do not involve sessions at the academy,
but they do include a bucket of beer and chips as a wel-
come amenity for arriving guests. —g.f.

Barton Creek Resort & Spa, 866.572.7369, www.bartoncreek.com

Callisto ventures to Valderrama (left) in December.

The 34-passenger Callisto, which embarks from

Málaga, Spain, on December 9, can reach coves
and beaches that larger cruise ships cannot access.
Thanks to PerryGolf’s network of contacts in the
golfing industry, the group also facilitates access to
several exclusive courses. Highlights of the Decem-

Charting Courses ber itinerary include the V

Cruising aboard Callisto to golf clubs
in Morocco and Spain.
perrygolf is best known for its upscale golfing excursions—
by land, sea, and sky—throughout the British Isles. But when
the weather fouls on the Firth of Forth, the 24-year-old tour
company guides many of its clients to warmer climes. This
December, the Wilmington, N.C.–based company is offering
a nine-day trip aboard the private yacht Callisto to ports—
and five golf courses—in Spain and Morocco.
Spain—a Robert T
  alderrama Golf Club in Sotogrande,
  rent Jones Sr. design that hosted the 1997
Ryder Cup—Los Naranjos Golf Club in Marbella, and the
Royal Golf Dar Es Salam in Rabat, Morocco.
In addition to golf courses, the trip (which starts at $4,995
per person and will be repeated in late March 2009) will
visit the 13th-century Alhambra in Granada, Spain, and the
medina of Marrakech, Morocco. Aboard Callisto, guests can
stay in one of 17 cabins, dine in the yacht’s restaurant, and
lounge in the library and bar. —o.s.
PerryGolf, 800.344.5257, www.perrygolf.com

 
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 Winter Golf Getaways

Point of Return
Nicklaus’ latest Punta Mita course adds to
the Riviera Nayarit’s attractions.

mexico’s riviera nayarit region stretches along the

Pacific Ocean from Nuevo Vallarta, near Puerto Vallarta
International Airport, to the town of San Blas, about a
100-mile drive to the north. With more than 35 tourism
developments in some stage of construction, the area is
poised to become one of the country’s top destinations.
Among the many projects are two golf courses—one
designed by Greg Norman, the other by Jack Nicklaus—
that are set to open by the end of 2008.
Norman’s course will occupy a coastal site in Litibú,
just north of the region’s Punta Mita development. The
Nicklaus layout is the designer’s second in the Riviera
Nayarit, after Punta Mita’s Pacifico club, the only course in
the world with a natural island green. Punta Mita also
includes a Four Seasons resort, a new 400-slip marina,
and a St. Regis hotel that is slated to open in November
in conjunction with the Nicklaus course. Guests of the
Four Seasons and the St. Regis will have access to the
new course, which will be called Bahia, as well as to
Nicklaus’ original layout. —o.s.

Four Seasons Resort Punta Mita, +52.329.291.6000, www.four​

seasons.com; St. Regis Punta Mita, 877.787.3447, www.stregis.com

Green Peace In 2007, seven courses in V

  ietnam’s northern and southern
regions organized to form the Ho Chi Minh Golf Trail,
Vietnam blossoms as a golfing destination. a network that stretches from Hanoi to Saigon. The trail
includes the Dalat Palace Golf Club, which dates to the 1930s
during the vietnam war, members of the 70th Engineer and was restored in 1994, and the Ocean Dunes Golf Club, a
Battalion often hit golf balls into C-ration cans that the soldiers Nick Faldo design in the beach town of Phan Thiet. Several
scattered along the beaches near Hoi An in central V   ietnam. In of   Vietnam’s top hotels, such as the Caravelle Hotel in Saigon,
can arrange golfing trips that include accom-
modations, meals, and transportation, and tee
times at courses on the Ho Chi Minh trail.
The Montgomerie Links, which will be
completed in 2009, will join the trail in
January. The 7,200-yard course is owned by
the proprietor of the nearby Nam Hai, a styl-
ish new resort outside of Hoi An. Across the
street from the Montgomerie Links—which
weaves around the region’s sand dunes, rice
The Montgomerie Links will join Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh Golf Trail next year. paddies, and at least two bunkers left over from
the war—developers are laying the ground-
August, with the opening of 13 holes outside of Hoi An, the work for central V   ietnam’s second course, to be designed
Montgomerie Links,V   ietnam, became the central region’s first by Greg Norman. —jennifer hall
official golf course. But the Colin Montgomerie–designed
layout is hardly an anomaly in V   ietnam, which is fast becom- Ho Chi Minh Golf Trail, www.hochiminhgolftrail.com;
ing one of Southeast  Asia’s premier golfing destinations. The Montgomerie Links, Vietnam, www.colinmontgomerie.com

 
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