Courtesy St. George CVB
Red Rock
St. George, Utah, is a good base for exploring Bryce Canyon, Zion and Grand Canyon national parks. The dramatic landscapes that make those parks so well trod are also the backdrop for the Red Rock Golf Trail, comprising 11 St. George area courses.
The courses live up to such colorful names as Sunbrook, Sand Hollow, Coral Canyon and Sky Mountain. All are within a 40-minute radius of St. George, where a small meeting group might opt to meet at the convention center, the Dixie Center at St. George.
The newest area golf course is Sand Hollow, opened in 2008 on 400 acres next to Sand Hollow State Park. It has twice been named Utah’s best public course. The 18-hole course wends through canyons; a nine-hole links course is another matter, claiming the widest fairways and largest greens in the state.
The resort’s mod glass-and-brick clubhouse blends with the red rocks behind it. Inside, a dining area seats up to 120 with views of the courses; covered porches and open patios expand the possibilities. Small groups can stay in vacation villas.
888-345-2550
www.redrockgolftrail.com
Rock River
Golf is bountiful and a bargain in and around Rockford, Ill., home of the Rock River Golf Trail.
The trail’s Aldeen Golf Club is considered one of the area’s best and it has earned 4.5 stars from Golf Digest and been rated by Golf magazine as one of the top 50 public courses that charges less than $50 per round. The challenge of this course is an island hole, No. 8, patterned after the island green at Sawgrass TPC in Florida.
At Atwood Homestead, a stone clubhouse that was once the Atwood family home is an after-18 treat. The course is a natural beauty, set in a forest preserve on the Rock River.
Groups can meet and stay at the Clock Tower Resort, Conference Center and CoCo Key Water Resort or the Radisson Hotel and Conference Center, both in Rockford.
Two older courses are longtime favorites. Opened in the 1930s, Macktown is a short but tricky course. A stop for a homemade ice cream at the Dairy Haus, in nearby Rockton, is recommended after the game.
Ingersoll golf course is a few years older, built in 1922 and named for a World War I flyer. Tiger Woods chose this course to host his foundation’s golf clinics for children a decade ago.
Its Ingersoll Learning Links is a four-hole, par-three course with a practice range, greens and bunkers, geared to less serious play or to teaching.
800-521-0849
www.rockrivergolftrail.com
