Eat, play golf, eat, go boating and fishing, eat, drink and be merry is the itinerary of the perfect vacation.
For boaters who also love to golf, the dream vacation is to get out on the links in the morning, then head to the marina and jump on the boat for a glorious day on the water. The ideal resort allows you to do both without having to drive anywhere. Here are seven resorts that have it all.
Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay Golf Resort, Spa and Marina
Location: Cambridge, Maryland
Accommodations: The Hyatt has 400 rooms and 47 suites, many with spectacular views of the Chesapeake Bay. Both fine and casual dining restaurants
are located on-site.
Golf: The Keith Foster-designed River Marsh Golf Club has been touted as Maryland’s “Best Courses You Can Play” by Golfweek® magazine and it is both scenic and challenging. The golfing fun even continues after sunset with Glow Golf, where participants take shots at interactive, inflatable targets using LED glow golf balls. Even when it’s raining, golfers can play legendary golf courses like Pinehurst No. 2 on the TruGolf® simulator inside the River Marsh clubhouse.
Boating: The River Marsh Marina is set 11 nautical miles up the Choptank River and is a great jumping-off place to explore the Chesapeake Bay and its many historic villages or fish for trophy striper. The resort’s 150-slip marina has been tagged as “Best of the Bay” multiple times by Chesapeake Bay Magazine.®
Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort
Location: Miramar Beach, Florida
Accommodations: This 2,400-acre resort is a village with 24 restaurants and bars and a wide variety of vacation rentals from studios to five-bedroom condos, homes, villas and penthouses.
Golf: This Florida Panhandle resort community has four championship courses designed by Robert Trent Jones, Jr., Rees Jones, and Tom Jackson that stretch from Choctawhatchee Bay to the Gulf of Mexico.
Boating: Baytowne Marina is a full-service, 210-slip marina that can accommodate vessels up to 140 feet with 90 percent of its slips open to the public. It even has a concierge service to arrange tee times, restaurant reservations, tram service and golf cart rentals. It’s only a short boat ride to the world’s greatest sandbar at Crab Island in nearby Destin.
The Coeur d’Alene Resort
Location: Coeur d’Alene, Idaho
Accommodations: There are 338 posh rooms and suites in its twin towers and North Wing that feature spectacular lake and parkland views. There are 11 restaurants and bars featuring a wide range of cuisine.
Golf: You know you are in for a unique experience when your round of golf at the Coeur d’Alene Resort Course begins with a high-speed, seven-minute boat ride on a mahogany launch. The course is renowned for its Floating Green 14th hole, which is a moveable 2,200-ton structure that can change its position via underwater cables and requires a boat ride to reach. Golf Digest® called this layout “America’s Most Beautiful Resort Golf Course.”
Boating: Pristine Lake Coeur d’Alene has an area of 28,000 acres with 109 miles of coastline and features several great sport fisheries including Chinook salmon and smallmouth and largemouth bass. The Boardwalk Marina has 234 covered slips, 129 uncovered slips and 1,200 feet of side-tie overnight moorage.
Northern Bay Golf Resort and Marina
Location: Arkdale, Wisconsin (near Wisconsin Dells)
Accommodations: There are more than 200 privately-owned condos — constructed of cedar and fieldstone to add to the upscale rustic look — in addition to several houses on the resort grounds along with two restaurants.
Golf: The Golf Course at Northern Bay contains seven replica holes, including the famous Island Hole 17th at TPC Sawgrass in addition to holes from Augusta, Bay Hill, Firestone, Oakland Hills and Oakmont that allow golfers to match shots with the pros.
Boating: Scenic Castle Rock Lake is fed by the Wisconsin River and has an area of 13,955 acres. It’s surrounded by state parks and wilderness areas and features fishing for species like walleye, northern pike, musky, bass, and panfish. Several sandy beaches are perfect for swimming.
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Ocean Reef Club Key
Location: Key Largo in the Florida Keys
Accommodations: This resort has 275 rooms, along with suites, rental condos and houses that sit on 2,500 tropical acres.
Golf: The Hammock Course is partially situated in a wildlife sanctuary of mangrove and tropical hardwood hammocks The Ocean Course is considered the more scenic of the club’s two courses and has fairways that meander through natural hammock and with water hazards on fourteen of the eighteen holes.
Boating: Nearby coral reefs offer great diving and fishing for snapper and grouper. The water depth drops off quickly, giving anglers a chance to catch pelagic species like mahi-mahi, wahoo, billfish and tuna. The Ocean Reef Club’s full-service marina has 175 slips and is one of the best in the Keys.
Grand Hotel Golf Resort & Spa
Location: Point Clear, Alabama
Accommodations: Located on Mobile Bay, the Grand Hotel was founded in 1847 and has 405 luxurious guestrooms and suites. Its guest list is a veritable who’s who of celebrities and VIPs. The resort features six restaurants that embrace the farm-to-table philosophy.
Golf: The Lakewood Club’s 36 holes is the southernmost leg of the Robert Trent Jones Jr. Golf Trail and its original course was built in 1944 by Perry Maxwell. The scenic, meticulously maintained courses feature oak trees that are more than 200 years old and have been the site of several prestigious tournaments.
Boating: Being situated on Mobile Bay provides a great jumping-off point to visit the many barrier islands that include historic Ship Island and Dauphin Island and offers endless opportunities to beach your boat. Dock at the Beau Rivage in nearby Biloxi and try your luck at the casino. The marina, where steamboats used to dock, has 36 transient slips for guest use and can handle boats up to 115 feet long.
Madden’s On Gull Lake
Location: East Gull Lake, Minnesota,
(near Brainerd)
Accommodations: There are 285 guest rooms, villas, cabins, cottages and houses that can accommodate up to 600 guests. In 2022, Condé Nast Traveler’s Reader’s Choice Awards named it one of the Top 5 Resorts in the Mid-Atlantic and Midwest.
Golf: Madden’s features four 18-hole championship courses, including The Classic, which has been named by Golf Digest® as the 62nd best on its America’s 100 Greatest Public Courses list.
Boating: The Gull Lake Chain covers nearly 10,000 acres and is almost 9 miles long with numerous coves that provide excellent protection when the wind blows. Walleye fishing is king here but the lake also offers excellent bass, panfish and pike fishing. A slip at the full-service marina can be reserved when making your room reservations.
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For boaters who also love to golf, the dream vacation is to get out on the links in the morning, then head to the marina and jump on the boat for a glorious day on the water. The ideal resort allows you to do both without having to drive anywhere. Here are seven resorts that have it all.
Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay Golf Resort, Spa and Marina
Location: Cambridge, Maryland
Accommodations: The Hyatt has 400 rooms and 47 suites, many with spectacular views of the Chesapeake Bay. Both fine and casual dining restaurants
are located on-site.
Golf: The Keith Foster-designed River Marsh Golf Club has been touted as Maryland’s “Best Courses You Can Play” by Golfweek® magazine and it is both scenic and challenging. The golfing fun even continues after sunset with Glow Golf, where participants take shots at interactive, inflatable targets using LED glow golf balls. Even when it’s raining, golfers can play legendary golf courses like Pinehurst No. 2 on the TruGolf® simulator inside the River Marsh clubhouse.
Boating: The River Marsh Marina is set 11 nautical miles up the Choptank River and is a great jumping-off place to explore the Chesapeake Bay and its many historic villages or fish for trophy striper. The resort’s 150-slip marina has been tagged as “Best of the Bay” multiple times by Chesapeake Bay Magazine.®
Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort
Location: Miramar Beach, Florida
Accommodations: This 2,400-acre resort is a village with 24 restaurants and bars and a wide variety of vacation rentals from studios to five-bedroom condos, homes, villas and penthouses.
Golf: This Florida Panhandle resort community has four championship courses designed by Robert Trent Jones, Jr., Rees Jones, and Tom Jackson that stretch from Choctawhatchee Bay to the Gulf of Mexico.
Boating: Baytowne Marina is a full-service, 210-slip marina that can accommodate vessels up to 140 feet with 90 percent of its slips open to the public. It even has a concierge service to arrange tee times, restaurant reservations, tram service and golf cart rentals. It’s only a short boat ride to the world’s greatest sandbar at Crab Island in nearby Destin.
The Coeur d’Alene Resort
Location: Coeur d’Alene, Idaho
Accommodations: There are 338 posh rooms and suites in its twin towers and North Wing that feature spectacular lake and parkland views. There are 11 restaurants and bars featuring a wide range of cuisine.
Golf: You know you are in for a unique experience when your round of golf at the Coeur d’Alene Resort Course begins with a high-speed, seven-minute boat ride on a mahogany launch. The course is renowned for its Floating Green 14th hole, which is a moveable 2,200-ton structure that can change its position via underwater cables and requires a boat ride to reach. Golf Digest® called this layout “America’s Most Beautiful Resort Golf Course.”
Boating: Pristine Lake Coeur d’Alene has an area of 28,000 acres with 109 miles of coastline and features several great sport fisheries including Chinook salmon and smallmouth and largemouth bass. The Boardwalk Marina has 234 covered slips, 129 uncovered slips and 1,200 feet of side-tie overnight moorage.
Northern Bay Golf Resort and Marina
Location: Arkdale, Wisconsin (near Wisconsin Dells)
Accommodations: There are more than 200 privately-owned condos — constructed of cedar and fieldstone to add to the upscale rustic look — in addition to several houses on the resort grounds along with two restaurants.
Golf: The Golf Course at Northern Bay contains seven replica holes, including the famous Island Hole 17th at TPC Sawgrass in addition to holes from Augusta, Bay Hill, Firestone, Oakland Hills and Oakmont that allow golfers to match shots with the pros.
Boating: Scenic Castle Rock Lake is fed by the Wisconsin River and has an area of 13,955 acres. It’s surrounded by state parks and wilderness areas and features fishing for species like walleye, northern pike, musky, bass, and panfish. Several sandy beaches are perfect for swimming.
Ocean Reef Club Key
Location: Key Largo in the Florida Keys
Accommodations: This resort has 275 rooms, along with suites, rental condos and houses that sit on 2,500 tropical acres.
Golf: The Hammock Course is partially situated in a wildlife sanctuary of mangrove and tropical hardwood hammocks The Ocean Course is considered the more scenic of the club’s two courses and has fairways that meander through natural hammock and with water hazards on fourteen of the eighteen holes.
Boating: Nearby coral reefs offer great diving and fishing for snapper and grouper. The water depth drops off quickly, giving anglers a chance to catch pelagic species like mahi-mahi, wahoo, billfish and tuna. The Ocean Reef Club’s full-service marina has 175 slips and is one of the best in the Keys.
Grand Hotel Golf Resort & Spa
Location: Point Clear, Alabama
Accommodations: Located on Mobile Bay, the Grand Hotel was founded in 1847 and has 405 luxurious guestrooms and suites. Its guest list is a veritable who’s who of celebrities and VIPs. The resort features six restaurants that embrace the farm-to-table philosophy.
Golf: The Lakewood Club’s 36 holes is the southernmost leg of the Robert Trent Jones Jr. Golf Trail and its original course was built in 1944 by Perry Maxwell. The scenic, meticulously maintained courses feature oak trees that are more than 200 years old and have been the site of several prestigious tournaments.
Boating: Being situated on Mobile Bay provides a great jumping-off point to visit the many barrier islands that include historic Ship Island and Dauphin Island and offers endless opportunities to beach your boat. Dock at the Beau Rivage in nearby Biloxi and try your luck at the casino. The marina, where steamboats used to dock, has 36 transient slips for guest use and can handle boats up to 115 feet long.
Madden’s On Gull Lake
Location: East Gull Lake, Minnesota,
(near Brainerd)
Accommodations: There are 285 guest rooms, villas, cabins, cottages and houses that can accommodate up to 600 guests. In 2022, Condé Nast Traveler’s Reader’s Choice Awards named it one of the Top 5 Resorts in the Mid-Atlantic and Midwest.
Golf: Madden’s features four 18-hole championship courses, including The Classic, which has been named by Golf Digest® as the 62nd best on its America’s 100 Greatest Public Courses list.
Boating: The Gull Lake Chain covers nearly 10,000 acres and is almost 9 miles long with numerous coves that provide excellent protection when the wind blows. Walleye fishing is king here but the lake also offers excellent bass, panfish and pike fishing. A slip at the full-service marina can be reserved when making your room reservations.
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