Running Mates

Whether picking a president or choosing a golf resort, the top of the ticket undoubtedly is the most important consideration. Like Barack Obama and John McCain, courses like Pebble Beach and the Blue Monster are the headliners. But just as a vice presidential nominee can sway your vote, the resort's other courses should factor into your decision-making process. After all, you don't go to a resort to play just one layout, and you want all your rounds to be memorable.

After the jump, here are my 10 favorite "second courses" at resorts. Some are so good that they would be the starts at other resorts. And this list is just based on the places I've been, by no means is it meant to be comprehensive. If you know of any others that deserve mention, please make your suggestions.

Bandon Dunes Golf Resort
Top of Ticket: Pacific Dunes
Running Mate: Bandon Dunes
Bandon Dunes is the rare resort that does not have a single consensus headliner. Pacific seems to enjoy a slight edge overall, but some visitors prefer Bandon, the original course at the resort (And there are even a few who may prefer Bandon Trails, the third course, which is away from the ocean.) I prefer Pacific over Bandon because it provide for more of a links experience, but no other resort can match this one-two (or even three) punch, no matter which is your favorite.

American Club
Top of Ticket: Whistling Straits (Straits)
Running Mate: Blackwolf Run (River)
Given its location on Lake Michigan, Whistling Straits is certainly more photogenic and is more famous after hosting the 2004 PGA Championship. However, it would be a huge mistake to come to Herb Kohler's place and not play Blackwolf Run’s River, which Pete Dye built inland before returning to mold Whistling Straits. In fact, I think he did a better job at Blackwolf Run; wile the Straits has some uneven spots, River has no weak holes. None.

Pebble Beach Resort
Top of Ticket: Pebble Beach
Running Mate: Spyglass Hill
In my mind, Spyglass Hill's first five holes, all with views of the Pacific Ocean, collectively are as good as any opening sequence in golf. Then the course turns inland for a series of exacting, hilly, tree-lined holes. I'm not as enamored these holes, less so because we are leaving the ocean and more because they are so difficult. Unless the wind is really blowing, which makes Pebble a bear, expect higher scores at Spyglass, one of Robert Trent Jones Sr.’s finest efforts.

Pinehurst Resort
Top of Ticket: No. 2
Running Mate: No. 4
There are eight courses at Pinehurst, so after playing the world-famous No. 2, Donald Ross’ masterpiece, you’ll face a difficult decision about which layout to tackle next. Nos. 7 and 8 are great, but they are not on site, which makes a difference because a large part of what makes a visit to Pinehurst so memorable is the unmatched ambiance around the clubhouse—there is little question that this is a golf resort; if you want to play tennis or go to the beach, go elsewhere. And so the slight nod goes to No. 4, especially after a recent overhaul by Tom Fazio.

Kiawah Island Resort
Top of Ticket: Ocean Course
Running Mate: Turtle Point
There are few experiences in golf that rival a windswept round on Pete Dye’s epic Ocean Course, which features views of the Atlantic on nearly every hole. The problem is, the holes are difficult enough in calm conditions, let alone when the wind starts whipping across the course. Jack Nicklaus' Turtle Point is a happy medium for those who want a few holes along the Pacific along with a chance of posting a reasonably decent score while on vacation.

Sea Island Resort
Top of Ticket: Seaside
Running Mate: Plantation
Frankly, you can’t go wrong with either course, the way you can’t go wrong with either hotel at the resort, the Cloister or the Lodge, depending on your taste. Like the Cloister, Seaside, hard by the Intracoastal Waterway, is the resort's showcase. This Colt and Alison gem, refurbished by Fazio, is Lowcountry golf at is very best. Plantation occupies a less spectacular site but offers an easy elegance that epitomizes Southern golf while meandering through live oaks and marshes.

Sea Pines Resort
Top of Ticket: Harbour Town
Running Mate: Heron Point
Sea Pines fixed a longtime problem—a considerable dropoff in the quality in the quality of its courses after headliner Harbour Town—by bringing in Dye to overhaul Sea Marsh, now known as Heron Point. Although not as tight as its big brother, Heron Point uses hazards to similarly create angles that are the hallmark of Harbour Town. Some may find the hazards a bit excessive, but I find myself liking it more and more with each successive round. 

Doral Golf Resort and Spa
Top of Ticket: Blue Monster
Running Mate: Great White
I like my resort golf to be memorable. But after the Blue Monster, Doral’s other courses were ho-hum Florida golf. So it hired Greg Norman to build a legitimate No. 2, and the result is a memorable layout. Visually, the use of coquina—crushed shells—to frame holes creates a distinctive look. And while the Great White may not be as difficult as the Blue Monster, Norman's trademark is creating demanding layouts, and the Great White has plenty of teeth.

Sawgrass Resort and Spa
Top of Ticket: Players Stadium
Running Mate: Dye's Valley
With plenty of hazards (I believe there is water on every hole) and other bold features like dramtic bunkers, mounding and undulations, Dye's Valley is the perfect tune-up for a once-in-a-lifetime round on the Players Stadium. You can use the 153-yard 15th, which is surrounded by water on three sides, as preparation for playing the TPC's infamous island-green 17th.

Lodge at Torrey Pines
Top of Ticket: South   
Running Mate: North
The North course actually has the complex’s best Pacific-side hole, the 400-yard 7th. After you hit off an elevated tee, the fairway rises doglegs along the cliff. Not as long and monotonously difficult as the U.S. Open host South (both layouts were designed by the Bells), the North offers more variety of holes—drivable par 4s, reachable par 5s, long par 4s—with the same ocean views. Put it all together and the sum is more fun—after all, isn’t this why you go to a resort?

Comments

[JIM WHITTON]

WHAT ABOUT THE UPPER AND LOWER CASCADES AT THE HOMESTEAD.

[Larry Ringen]

You might want to include Pinceville where the "second course" has three nines which, while not nearly as difficult, are an excellent place to re-establish your confidence taken from you by the "Prince"
The relatively new Gold and Silver courses built in Heber Valley Utah offer quite possibly the best value for the quality of the courses in the country!
Remember Innisbrook (outside Tampa) as another quality resort with solid golf challeneges.

[KC Golfguy]

Homestead's Lower Cascades a running mate for Upper Cascades?? Not in the same league!
What about World Woods?? Pine Barrens & Rolling Oaks

[Randy Rogers]

What about the 'New' Champions Course that replaced the old Desert Course and now is a compliment to the Tournament Course at TPC Scottsdale and the Fairmont Scottsdale?

[MikeS]

The Ocean Course is wonderful, but Turtle Point has to be the worst Nicklaus course I've ever played. The three ocean holes are short and compromised. And the rest of the layout is flat and unimaginative. Better choices are Cougar Point or Osprey Point. The wife and I go every year to Kiawah (we were married there) and I haven't played Turtle in six years........

[gordon Langseth]

your are right about Turtle Point....it is a terrible course. If you can swing it the River Course at the Kiawah Island Club is a fab Fazio. They also own the Watson course that is quite good. Briar Creek, off site , is considered a Rees Jones masterpiece.

[alan Hahn]

Pasatiempo in Santa Cruz could be a running mate to Spyglass (can you say Alistair McKenzie) or vice-versa, but it should not be left off anyone's list. Tom Doak's restoration is a masterpiece.

[Ernie May]

The Homesteads Upper Cascades a great layout that requires complete game.

[Gary Starr]

You have to be kidding.The Norman Great White is the biggest rip-off at a top resort in the U.S.It is unattractive and the Redan hole looks like a landfill.The Red course is a far superior choice.

[Bob Clark]

A gem of a resort is Barnsley Gardens located in Adairsville, Ga. The George Fazio layout "The General" has 4 of the most challenging Par 3s in the state of Georgia. Located 1 hour from Atlanta this resort is fabulous.

[Dan Shepherd]

Good list! Who's ready to play! Perhaps the Kauai duo at Princeville Resort (Prince and Makai) and the pair at Sun Valley Resort (Trail Creek and White Clouds) merit consideration as well!

[CHARLES N. QUINN]

Amen to the above about the River Course at Kohler. It is most untypical Dye. The front nine is a great example of a fine course on a property with extreme elevation changes; the back nine along the river is loaded with great dogleg holes. Dye made great use of the topography. Anyone going to Kohler and the American Club (as my wife and I did a month ago) and leaving without playing the River Course is missing a real treat.
As to Turtle Point, amen to all of the negative comments above. It is less than ordinary; probably the most overrated course I have ever played.