Winter Golf Destinations

It's pretty hard to play a round of golf wearing mittens. For a Midwesterner, this is the time of year where cabin fever starts kicking in. And this is coming from someone who literally lives in a course-side cabin in Branson. For those who want to play on a fairway that's not covering in three feet of snow, who don't want to use a passport or lug your clubs through US Customs, there are plenty of sites for excellent play in the dead of winter. Let's take a look at a few...

Sometimes I think if I'm going to go, I'm going to go all-out: a tropical island isolated by thousands of miles in every direction. Thanks goodness for Hawaii. I lived on Maui for a brief stint in my youth and can attest to the relaxing atmosphere and rampant beauty. Wailea, known as the ritzy part of Maui with estates in the area owned by Clint Eastwood and Steven Spielberg, is home to the Old Blue Course - the first thing built on this section of the island. The fairways are lush, the views are stunning and you just never know who you'll run into.

While I don't know if my Missouri-skin could handle swinging away mid-summer, when Arizona temperatures can reach up to 110 degrees, The Legacy Golf Club Resort in South Phoenix is perfect for the other nine months of the year. With wide fairways and extremely reasonable prices, the Legacy is centrally located and very family friendly, in case you're bringing the whole gang. For history buffs, a bunkhouse on the first tee was evidently visited by Teddy Roosevelt and Pancho Villa.

Clearly, someone planning a winter golf destination vacation to Las Vegas should be interested in hitting up the other 'amenities' available in the sprawling desert oasis. I used to keep an eye out for casinos that offered early-surrender blackjack, but it's pretty darn rare these days. The Las Vegas National isn't the most luxurious of the courses in the area, but it's practically nestled into the Strip and features low rates and a fun history: word is, the Rat Pack used to roam the course when it was the Sahara Country Club.

This might sound like a silly reason for a cross-country trip, but I've heard that the Desert Springs Resort in Palm Desert, California has some of the most high-tech golf carts in the country. Onboard computers show graphic lay-outs of each hole, exact yardage to the pin and monitor various other aspects of your game. If GPS-enabled carts aren't a good reason to check out this course, the incredible fairway waterscapes and ocean views certainly are.

For those who want to feel like they're in a Sergio Leone Western while they play, the rugged landscapes in Sedona are what you're looking for. I've even heard a story about a coyote wandering out on the green during the middle of a game at course in this area, but tales like that only entice me. The Oakcreek Country Club, set amidst the Sedona red rocks, is a championship course with a classic layout (and not the home of the coyote, by the way). Just try not whistling the theme to The Good, the Bad and the Ugly while you look at the incredible scenery...