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Within a day’s drive or short
flight of Washington, DC, are some of the world’s finest
golf resorts. Set in beautiful, unspoiled natural
surroundings, these destinations cater to elite travelers used
to luxurious accommodations and the best in service,
international cuisine and recreational programs. In response
to a trend, some offer organizational leadership courses. All
this ensures you won’t hunt for things to do. But if your
goal is just to sit and relax, you might want to take high tea
in the gracious lounge of the hotel or sip a mint julep after
your round on the clubhouse patio overlooking the golf course.
The golf courses at these
destinations are superlative. For sure, they will be among the
best you will ever play. Some are ranked among the top one- or
two-hundred in the World. All can be found on some
award-winning list.
Maybe your game is not immediately
up to the challenge of such courses. Then, consider taking
lessons or attending the resort golf school serviced by
outstanding practice facilities and some of the best
instructors in the industry. Golf packages designed to
accommodate widely varying needs, pocketbooks and time
schedules are worth looking into.
The golf travel market can be a
demanding one, but these destinations exceed the challenges
with their extensive history and experience at the zenith of
the resort universe. Is it time for a quick weekend getaway?
An extended stay vacation? If so, pack your bags and golf
clubs and get out of town.
Nemacolin Woodlands Resort & Spa
1001 Lafayette Drive
Farmington, PA 15437
(800) 422-2736
www.nwlr.com
Pete Dye is an elite name in golf
course architecture. He has built hundreds of the most scenic,
and some would say most difficult, courses in the world. The
list of his signature designs includes Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra
Beach, Fla., site of The Players Championship; the Ocean
Course on Kiawah Island, SC., site of the ’91 Ryder Cup
matches; and The Straits Course at Whistling Straits, set to
host the 2004 PGA Championship.
Nemacolin Woodlands Resort can
boast yet another Pete Dye creation, Mystic Rock, named after
the natural rock outcropping visible on this course set in the
beautiful Laurel Highland Mountains in southwestern
Pennsylvania. Mystic Rock has all the Dye trademarks of
greatness and confounding obstacles – dramatic elevation
changes and imaginatively designed holes shaped around water
and rocks and among mature hardwood forests.
Mystic Rock is the signature
course of this Laurel Highland Mountain resort named after a
Delaware Indian chief who carved a trail through the mountains
near here. The trail, which now forms part of state Route 40,
was later used by George Washington during the French and
Indian Wars.
In the 19th Century,
the Laurel Highlands became the fashionable retreat of wealthy
Pittsburghers including the famous retail Kaufmann family,
which commissioned Frank Lloyd Wright to build Fallingwater as
an escape from the city. The unique cantilevered house with a
stream running through it is close to the resort.
A fish and hunting preserve before
it became a resort, Nemacolin Woodlands under lumber
industrialist Joseph A. Hardy Sr. was expanded in the late
1980’s and 1990’s to include a large conference center, a
125-room chateau-style hotel, an equestrian center with
outdoor and indoor rings, a lake with fishing and other marine
activities, a 55,000-square-foot shopping arcade, and a "Kidz
Club" facility and a full-service spa. Accommodations
also include a lodge and rental properties with golf views.
The resort has 36 holes. In
addition to the Dye Course, the Links Course is a windswept
Scottish style layout that also incorporates mountain vistas.
Located north of Cumberland, Md.,
off State Route 40, the resort is served by a private airfield
close by. Landing reservations may be made through the resort’s
security department. 
_______________
Alan B. Nichols is
a professional golf-travel writer residing in Bethesda, MD.
He is the featured golf-travel writer
for GolfLink. Alan appreciates your
comments on his features and the courses he has written
about.
E-MAIL ALAN NICHOLS
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