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| Old Macdonald at Bandon Dunes (No. 3) in Oregon offers breathtaking links-style golf from a manageable 4,280 yards. |
Golf Digest presents the public and resort facilities that offer women the ultimate golf experience
What makes a woman-friendly golf course? Ask Golf Digest's panel of more than 100 female course raters, and they'll tell you it's a design that puts strong players to the test yet offers an enjoyable outing for shorter hitters. In considering candidates for our 2011 ranking of America's best public and resort courses for women, we emphasized course layout the most -- which is why Old Macdonald Golf Links at Bandon Dunes in Oregon debuts at No. 3. Its investment in designing a set of significantly shorter tees might shake up an industry that tends to think longer is better. But it doesn't take a Bandon-size budget to put women-friendly practices in place. Family programs, leagues and merchandise are all low-cost, high-impact ways to say: "We want you here." Each course in our Top 50 has at least one set of tees shorter than 5,300 yards, two sets of tees with USGA Course and Slope ratings for women, and few or no forced carries.
A welcoming atmosphere is essential, and so are top-course conditions and great amenities (that's where the experience of our course raters comes in). So read on and then visit as many of the Top 50 as you can. You won't regret it.
* New to list
1. Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club Southern Pines, N.C., pineneedles-midpines.com, $200
2. The Boulders Resort & Spa (South) Carefree, Ariz., theboulders.com, $220
*3. Bandon Dunes Golf Resort (Old Macdonald) Bandon, Ore., bandondunes.com, $225
4. Amelia Island Plantation (Ocean Links) Amelia Island, Fla., aipfl.com, $150
5. Running Y Ranch Klamath Falls, Ore., runningy.com, $89
6. Sea Island Resorts (Seaside) St. Simons Island, Ga., seaisland.com, $295
7. LPGA International (Champions) Daytona Beach, Fla., lpgainternational.com, $69
8. The Golf Club At Newcastle (China Creek) Newcastle, Wash., newcastlegolf.com, $115
9. Kingsmill Resort & Spa (Plantation) Williamsburg, Va., kingsmill.com, $115
10. Grand Cypress Golf Club (East/North) Orlando, grandcypress.com, $190
11. Kiawah Island Golf Resort (Osprey Point) Kiawah Island, S.C.kiawahresort.com, $180
12. Keystone Resort (River) Keystone, Colo., golfkeystone.com, $170
13. Celebration Golf Club, Celebration, Fla., celebrationgolf.com, $109
14. The Greenbrier (Old White) White Sulphur Springs, W.Va., greenbrier.com, $325
15. Reynolds Plantation (Oconee) Greensboro, Ga., reynoldsplantation.com, $216
16. Southwood Golf Club Tallahassee, Fla., southwoodgolf.com, $75
17. La Quinta Resort & Club (Mountain) La Quinta, Calif., laquintaresort.com, $189
*18. Fossil Trace Golf Club Golden, Colo., fossiltrace.com, $79
19. The Lodge at Ventana Canyon (Mountain) Tucson, ventanacanyonclub.com, $159
20. Snowmass Club Snowmass Village, Colo., snowmassclub.com, $220
21. Pinehurst Resort (No. 8) Pinehurst, N.C., pinehurst.com, $230
22. Nemacolin Woodlands Resort (Mystic Rock) Farmington, Pa., nemacolin.com, $185
23. The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club Grande Lakes Orlando, grandelakes.com, $175
24. Province Lake Parsonsfield, Maine, provincelakegolf.com, $52
25. Turning Stone Resort & Casino (Shenendoah) Verona, N.Y., turningstone.com, $10
26. Heritage Hill Golf Club Shepherdsville, Ky., hhgolfclub.com, $59
*27. Geneva National Golf Club (Player) Lake Geneva, Wis., genevanationalresort.com, $125
28. Hammock Beach Resort (Ocean) Palm Coast, Fla., hammockbeach.com, $159
29. Fairmont Turnberry Isle Resort & Club (Miller) Aventura, Fla., fairmontgolf.com, $225
30. Treetops Resort (Rick Smith Signature) Gaylord, Mich., treetops.com, $89
31. Blue Ridge Shadows Golf Club Front Royal, Va., blueridgeshadows.com, $65
*32. Monarch Dunes Golf Club (Old) Nipomo, Calif., monarchdunes.com, $95
33. Stowe Mountain Golf Club Stowe, Vt., summer.stowe.com, $205
34. Purgatory Golf Club Noblesville, Ind., purgatorygolf.com, $75
35. Boyne Highlands Resort (Heather), Harbor Springs, Mich., boynehighlands.com, $99
36. Panther Run Golf Club Ave Maria, Fla., pantherrungolfclub.com, $85
37. Half Moon Bay Golf Links (Ocean) Half Moon Bay, Calif., halfmoonbaygolf.com, $185
38. Monarch Beach Golf Links Dana Point, Calif., monarchbeachgolf.com, $180
39. Black Lake Golf Club Onaway, Mich. blacklakegolf.com, $65
40. Wailea Golf Club (Emerald) Wailea, Maui, Hawaii, www.waileagolf.com, $190
*41. Richter Park Golf Course Danbury, Conn., www.richterpark.com, $97
42. Queenstown Harbor (Lakes) Queenstown, Md., mdgolf.com/queenstown, $62
43. Williamsburg National Golf Club (Yorktown)Williamsburg, Va., wngc.com.com, $60
44. Barton Creek Resort & Spa (Fazio Foothills) Austin, bartoncreek.com, $225
45. Sunriver Resort (Meadows) Sunriver, Ore., sunriver-resort.com, $99
46. Whistling Straits (Irish) Haven, Wis., whistlingstraits.com, $180
47. Indian Wells Golf Resort (Players) Indian Wells, Calif., indianwellsgolfresort.com, $140
48. The Sea Pines Resort (Heron Point) Hilton Head Island, seapines.com, $140
49. Angel Park Golf Club (Palm) Las Vegas, www.angelpark.com, $155
50. Desert Willow Golf Resort (Mountain View) Palm Desert, Calif., desertwillow .com, $185
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