April 4, 2007

US & Canada | US | Oregon

Crash Course

By Mark Jolly

Who's got time for 18 holes? Not even Greg Norman.

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Just as golfing duffers prepare to tune in to The Masters at Augusta, Georgia, on April 5, Zagat has just published its survey of the top courses in the U.S., Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. Harvesting the opinions of 6,250 linksmen (who between them logged 560,000 rounds of golf in the past year), the guide’s top honors went to Bandon Dunes in Oregon (pictured), with Lake of Isles, North in Connecticut coming in as top newcomer.

Growing legions of time-poor golfers, however, are getting with the game’s latest trend: “short courses” (formerly known as “executive courses”). And with big-name designers behind it, these briefer versions of the grand old game appear to be more than a passing fad. Witness Greg Norman’s Lansdowne Resort in Virginia, 30 miles from Washington, D.C., and Davis Love III’s Origins Course near Destin, Florida. Even a traditional 18-holer like La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, California, now does a tidy Nine & Dine program, offering half a round followed by a gourmet meal. And then there’s the adult incarnation of miniature golf, which includes putting resorts, dogleg holes and sand traps. If you think that’s something to sniff at, try the 1,448-foot long Fairways Course at Fantasia Gardens at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, the longest mini-course in the world.