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Best Golf Resorts for Families
by Karen Misuraca
A family vacation at a golf resort—now, just how relaxing will that be? If you choose your resort carefully, it could be a trip to remember for the rest of your lives.
The best resorts for families who like to play golf have spacious, multi-bedroomed suites or cottages; supervised activity programs and gathering places for kids and teens; fabulous swimming pool complexes, and golf instruction for all ages. At least one golf course playable by beginners, with junior tees, is a great advantage, too. Today's resorts often cater to families with junior golf clinics, junior-sized rental clubs and elaborate putting and pitch-and-putt courses.
Scottsdale
Nearly three acres of lush "hanging garden" terraces surround ten (count 'em) swimming pools at the Hyatt Regency Scottsdale Resort and Spa at Gainey Ranch (http://www.scottsdale.hyatt.com). Kids swish down the three-story water slide, drench themselves in the waterfall, and play on a small sand beach while parents linger in cold plunges, a whirlpool spa, and at the poolside bars. An elevated aqueduct with golf course views makes this a veritable oasis, which is lit up at night.
At Camp Hyatt Kachina, kids 3 to 12 years jump into a wide range of Southwest desert-oriented activities from encounters with live birds, snakes, lizards and Gila monsters to sand art, mask- and pottery-making, scavenger hunts, water play, roasting s'mores over an open fire and astronomy shows. Unique within the resort is the Native American Learning Center, staffed by local Hopi artists and educators.
During the summer months, children 15 and under may play a free round of golf when playing with an adult resort guest. The three nines—the Dunes, the Arroyo and the Lakes—offer a variety of challenge provided by battalions of palm trees, rolling sand dunes, lakes, ponds, streams and waterfalls.
Regency Club rooms and suites are great for families, as hearty breakfasts and cocktail-hour snacks are complimentary.
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Southern California
One of most multi-faceted and well-run children's centers at any resort in the U.S., the brand new Kidtopia keeps children and teens occupied and happy at La Costa Resort and Spa in the seaside town of Carlsbad (http://www.lacosta.com). As part of a resort-wide renovation and expansion completed in 2006, the resort has designed and professionally staffed a beautiful clubhouse for youngsters ages 6 months to 12, and a separate "Vibz" teen center. Babies are cared for in a quiet nursery with cribs and changing tables, while youngsters play in an undersea-theme environment done up with a giant saltwater aquarium, an electronic dance floor, a library of books, games and puzzles. Toddler-friendly soft slides and climbing structures, a 7-foot tree house, physical activity stations, a crafts area, and a kids-only own dining nook make ground zero for fun. Teens love their entirely separate lounge, complete with pool table, big-screen movies, X-Box stations, "dance revolution" and electronic games.
Little kids makes sand castles on the little beach at the edge of the family swimming pool. Another large pool is surrounded by lounge chairs and private cabanas with WiFi and special amenities. On a wide white wall above, "dive-in movies" are shown on weekend evenings.
Located in the coastal foothills 35 miles north of San Diego, near several nice beaches, the resort has been famous for decades for its two golf courses, which host the World Golf Championships and PGA tour events. Besides overall course upgrades and the addition of new tees, bunkers and trees, a $1.5 million, double-ended practice venue has opened, enhanced by new greens and bunkers in a short-game area, plus the high-tech teaching facilities expected at most luxury golf resorts: video analysis, laser beam alignment, swing analyzers, etc. At the Junior Summer Golf Academy, youngsters ages 17 and younger can play a round of golf each Monday through Wednesday afternoon at a discounted rate for both child and accompanying parent.
La Costa offers hourly shuttles to the beach, where umbrellas and lounge chairs await, and there is limo transport to nearby family attractions including Legoland and SeaWorld San Diego.
In a Mediterranean village setting, accommodations are in newly renovated 1- and 2-bedroom suites or in luxurious, new 2- and 3-bedroom condos. When booking a suite, ask for a unit with golf course or garden view, rather than right on the main plaza.
The gorgeous new Spa at La Costa is one of the largest in the West, and La Costa is also home to the world-renowned Chopra Center.
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Questions to Ask About Resort Programs for Children:
1. Are kids separated by age (i.e., infants/toddlers, grammar-school age, teens) with activities and facilities appropriate for each age group?
2. What is the staff-to-child ratio?
3. For babies and toddlers, what are the qualifications of the staff members?
4. Do daily or hourly fees apply? Are meals extra?
5. What is the maximum number of hours I can leave my child?
6. Is there a junior golf school and/or junior clinic?
7. Is the golf pro experienced with children?
8. Are there junior tees on the course(s)?
9. Are greens fees discounted or free for children?
10. Are child-size golf clubs available?
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South Carolina
Kiawah Island Golf Resort lies on an idyllic barrier island rimmed by a 10-mile long, 100-yard wide private beach, a stunning littoral scattered with seashells and fringed with calm, warm waters (http://www.kiawahresort.com). Families go swimming, canoeing, kayaking, and biking on 30 miles of trails in a maritime forest and around a vast salt marsh. Golf is on five world-famous courses. At one of the largest tennis centers in the country, 28 courts are busy with clinics, lessons and exhibitions, directed by Hall of Famer, Ray Barth.
Kids ages 3 to 11 check in at Kamp Kiawah for nature hikes, sand castling, crafts and outdoor activities, while teens hang out at movie nights, at the basketball and volleyball courts, the soccer field, and at dances and beach parties. Your family can set out independently or take guided boating and jeep trips, go fishing and sailing. Planned activities during the high season and holidays include hayrides, oyster roasts, ice cream socials, beach bonfire parties and live music and concerts.
A special Family Tee program takes place on four of the resort's golf courses during early summer evenings. Tee times are 15 minutes apart to give beginners plenty of time, and special tee markers are set so no hole is longer than 250 yards. Accompanied by a paying adult, children under 17 play free. The resort has added junior club sets to its rental program, too.
Along the oceanfront, Pete Dye's Ocean Course has hosted the Ryder Cup and the World Cup of Golf. Nicklaus-designed Turtle Point, recently updated, winds beneath overhanging oaks, tall pines and palmettos, while lakes and a saltwater marsh make for watery challenges on Fazio's Osprey Point. Gary Player's redesigned Cougar Point is the favorite of high handicappers. In Hope Plantation just outside the Kiawah gate, Scottish-American style Oak Point rambles along Haulover Creek and the river, through hardwood forests and salt marshes. Grand new clubhouses are popular for après-golf and family meals.
At Kiawah you can rent a waterfront home with a private dock or a condo-style villa or cottage; or go for the luxe at The Sanctuary, a plush, new oceanfront hotel and spa (http://www.thesanctuary.com).
Kiawah Island Golf Resort was rated #1 golf resort in the U.S. by Travel + Leisure magazine in 2006.
 Phoenix
Another good choice, particularly since the entire resort has been recently renovated and expanded, is the Wigwam Golf Resort and Spa (http://www.wigwamresort.com), where garden casitas are scattered among spacious lawns and gardens. Kids can play on the private patios and run around on the sprawling lawns, and have fun with croquet, ping-pong, the "puzzle table" and billiards; bike rentals are available, too. Kids ages 5-12 head to Camp Pow Wow for crafts, shuffleboard, swimming, tee-ball, soccer, movies and more.
Casita rooms and suites are spacious, and decorated with rustic, kid-friendly slate floors, leathers and woods. The main pool offers a waterslide, water sports, and dive-in movies; adults retreat to the quiet pool, and to the brand new Red Door Spa, a gorgeous new facility with fireplaces, a lap pool and numerous treatment venues. A huge new tennis stadium and nine illuminated courts.
A $5 million renovation of the golf courses and practice facilities has kicked Wigwam to the top of the heap. The new high-tech Jim McLean Golf School is among the largest in the state, with a 350-foot wide, dual-ended driving range and separate chipping and pitching venues. On the three golf courses, bunkers were restored and tees were added. The Gold Course now plays nearly 7,400 yards from the tips, earning it the moniker "Arizona's Monster."
The Wigwam Golf University sports video bays and strength training equipment, and a new "Village Green," a two-acre putting green and garden, lit up at night, that meanders through giant saguaros and Sonoran desert landscape.
Travel + Leisure Golf calls the Wigwam a "Best Golf Resort for Families". This is the official spring training resort for the Kansas City Royals, so keep that in mind when booking.
Caribbean
In the Leeward Islands of the West Indies, the 5-diamond Four Seasons Resort Nevis at the foot of velvety-green Mount Nevis is near-perfect for mild weather, silken sands, great golf and a lively program of activities for families (http://www.fourseasons.com/nevis). Guests fly into St. Kitts and upon arrival, children between ages 3 and 9 receive a Nevis baseball cap, and the family is ferried to the resort on a private launch, to be greeted by a reception line of smiling staff. The Kids for All Seasons staff guide the children to their own registration with a welcome packet. Older kids get a T-shirt, special snacks and DVDs at the concierge desk.
 The hotel will childproof your beachfront guest room (among the largest rooms and suites in the Caribbean) and provide child-size robes and baby and children's toiletries.
At the (complimentary) Kids for All Seasons center, kids climb around the pirate ship and the jungle tree house, listen to stories, and go beachcombing and on lizard hunts. Learning about sea turtles is fun on nighttime "turtle watch beach walks". Rafts, floaties and snorkeling equipment are on hand for supervised watery expeditions. Activities focus on the endangered sea turtles that live and nest on the beach. The resort adopts a satellite tagged turtle on behalf of each guest family.
For teens: the DeLyme entertainment center has board and computer games, foosball, big-screen movies and TV, and billiards. Outdoors the older kids go for the basketball, tennis and bocce ball courts, and they can sail, snorkel, sail, boogie board, aquacycle, sailboard, kayak, water-ski, and go banana boating and horseback riding!
Families gather at the seafront Ocean Pool, while couples retreat to the Garden Pool, a lagoon-like, infinity-edge dream rimmed with tropical flowers. Protected by massive rock breakwaters, waters are translucent and calm off four-mile-long Pinney's Beach, where the beach concierge dispenses books and CDs, fruit kebabs, popsicles, and Evian spray.
And, then there's the golf! Named #1 golf course in the Caribbean by Conde Nast Traveler, the Robert Trent Jones, Jr., golf course winds up Nevis Peak on narrow, jungle-lined fairways, then undulates back down to the beach. Although the resort has just the one course, with over 70 bunkers, big elevation changes and long carries over fearsome ravines, it's not for sissies, and warrants several rounds. Your kids who golf will get a kick out of the vervet monkeys, wild donkeys and goats, and vibrantly colored birds and butterflies that are commonly sighted. Dads will enjoy the Cuban cigars, and moms the chilled towels, offered by the refreshment cart. Free beginner's golf clinics and short game clinics are offered frequently, and a weekly 9-hole scramble with the PGA teaching pros.
Also, the breezy, oceanfront 18-hole Royal St. Kitts Golf Club on nearby St. Kitts has recently been entirely renovated with grand results; it's easy and fast to get there.
Many of the accommodations are right on the beach, and besides spacious guest rooms and suites, you can books a luxury villa or an estate home with a private swimming pool.
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Hawaii
The Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea, on the island of Maui, makes it easy for every family member to have a great vacation (http://www.fourseasons.com/maui). Not withstanding the elegant surroundings—white fountains, white columns, white limestone and marble floors, white cabanas, oceans of white orchids—the resort has a relaxed atmosphere appropriate for ages. Kids even get their own robes and toiletries.
The Kids for All Seasons program for ages 5 to 12 is a winner, with hula classes and sand-castles, tidepooling, storytelling, Hawaiian-theme activities; nighttime programs, too. Toddlers love the wading pool and all the beach and pool toys while kids a little older are into snorkeling and pool games. Teens spend their time with basketball, smashball, tennis, foosball and kayaking. For ages 12 and over, the canoeing, surfing and scuba clinics are popular.
Five diamond-rated rooms and suites, the largest in the islands, are luxurious with marble tubs, private balconies, sitting areas with sofabeds. A short beachside path leads to the 4-star Grand Wailea Resort, another family favorite (http://www.grandwailea.com). Also lined up here along the beachfront are the Fairmont Kea Lani, the Renaissance Wailea and the Wailea Beach Marriott Resort.
Serving all five resorts is the Wailea Golf Club, with its dramatically beautiful courses (http://www.waileagolf.com). The RTJ, Jr. Gold Course, rated a sizzling 73/139, climbs up onto the foothills of Haleakala volcano. Host to LPGA events, the Blue Course has wide fairways and generous approaches, while the Emerald Course has an ocean view from every hole, kinder, gentler fairways, and few forced carries.
Just opened in 2006, the David Leadbetter Golf Academy at Wailea is expansive and state-of-the-art, with two teeing grounds and a chipping green with bunkers (http://www.golfbc.com).
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> Special Offers for Kids
Free Golf Around the World:
Marriott resorts and golf clubs offer free lessons and rounds of golf.
Free Golf in B.C.:
At Whistler, kids 10-18 play free all season long.
Daddy Shack/Mommy Shack:
The Boulders Resort in Arizona offers a casita, family lesson and 9 holes of golf.
New Junior Programs:
Grand Traverse Resort offers junior greens fees and kid-sized golf clubs.
Family Package:
Historic Pinehurst in North Carolina has clubs, a clinic and golf for families.
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Florida
The barrier island of Amelia Island, between Atlantic Coast beaches and the Intracoastal Waterway, is a lush paradise of green marshlands and low marine forests. Condos, two large hotels and residential areas with rental homes and villas are scattered on narrow country roads beneath a canopy of oaks, palms, Southern pines and tropical vegetation, along three miles of beaches rolling with high dunes. Both the 4-star Amelia Island Plantation Resort (http://www.aipfl.com) and the 5-star Ritz Carlton, Amelia Island (http://www.ritzcarlton.com) offer a plethora of family activities, and there are five top-notch golf courses.
From the Plantation's Nature Center, kids go on guided wildlife and birding tours through the mysterious Sunken Forest, and on shell, crab and shark tooth hunts. Segways are available to rent, and gas-powered Island Hoppers transport up to four adults around the island. Kids can take swimming lessons and get into the "Learn To Ride" program for beginning bikers. Teens have fun with XBoxes, Gamecube and video games, air hockey, billiards, foosball, and virtual PGA Tour golf and Daytona USA, and at the movie nights. Kids ages 3 to 10 have a grand time at Kids Camp in the daytime, and in the evenings at hayrides, beach bonfires, treasure hunts and pool parties—while parents play golf, browse shops and galleries in the quaint seaside village of Fernandina Beach, and enjoy quiet dinners.
Racquet Park is a gorgeous tennis complex in the shade of ancient oak trees, with 23 Har-Tru clay courts where USPTR certified teaching pros give lessons and clinics—Navratilova, Hingis and Agassi, have trained and competed here.
 The Ritz Carlton, Amelia Island is right on a beautiful 1.5-mile beach lapped with calm waters; little kids splash in the warm lagoons here at low tide. Guests enjoy priority tee times at the private Golf Club of Amelia Island, the only PGA Tournament course on the island. The Ritz concierge will arrange golf at the other island courses, too.
Between the golf course and ocean beach, the Ritz has indoor and outdoor seaside pools and a separate kiddie pool. The Ritz Kids program for ages 5 through 12 keeps youngsters happy with swimming, sand castle building, volleyball, junior tennis on nine oceanfront courts, outdoor recreation and turtle education; Kids Night Out involves dinner, movies and games.
72 holes of golf on the island are to had at the excellent Long Point, Ocean Links, Oak Marsh and Royal Amelia courses, which are wrapped like green velvet shawls around primal marshlands, between the ocean, the Waterway and the Amelia River. The director of the Amelia Island Plantation Golf School, Ron Philo, Sr., is the father of LPGA star Laura Diaz and has coached such luminaries as David Duval. Private lessons, clinics and schools are conducted in a lovely, oak-studded environment with private practice venues.
Scotland
At the legendary Gleneagles Hotel, youngsters—called Gleneaglets—take part in a range of sports from mountain biking to trail riding on 850 acres of the estate, and junior lessons at the Golf Academy (http://www.gleneagles.com). Unique here are the junior off-road driving in quarter-size Land Rover replicas; the famed Jackie Stewart Shooting and Fishing School; and the British School of Falconry. Even non-riders enjoy the spectacular Equestrian Centre arenas where some of Europe's most beautiful horses perform and are exercised. Classes are offered in polo, dressage, English and Western riding, and carriage driving. Your child can even "Own a Pony" for a day, learning to clean, feed and ride a gentle pony.
Golfers come for three renowned golf courses twisting and roiling through birches and pines, burnished golden gorse and purple heather and around Loch-an-Erie—the King's Course, the Queen's Course and Jack Nicklaus' creation, the PGA Centenary Course. Each hole has a sweet name, such as Blink Bonnie, Kittle Kink, Denty Den and Het Girdle. High handicappers practice and have fun on the Wee Course, a par-three, nine-hole, moorland layout; and there is also a pitch-and-putt course with kids' clubs provided. At 30-minute junior lessons, kids are videoed and receive their own custom-fitted club; child-size sets are available to rent.
Phoenix
Nowhere near the ocean, yet islands in themselves are the two all-suite Pointe Hilton resorts in Phoenix, the Pointe Hilton Squaw Peak Resort and the Pointe Hilton Tapatio Cliffs Resort (http://www.pointehilton.com).
 Just 20 minutes from the airport, sprawling Squaw Peak has a Director of Fun and a Kids' Concierge, which gives you an idea of the family focus. Supervised by motherly, licensed teachers, Coyote Camp for ages 4-12 is where kids spend their time swimming, creating art and cooking, cruising in tubes on the "Lazy River", making tepees and Indian jewelry, watching movies and more. Toddlers float around the baby pool, while teens play video games, gather at the fitness center and do their karaoke thing. At both resorts on weekends are poolside games and sporting events, themed parties and dive-in movies.
At Hole-in-the-Wall River Ranch are waterfalls, swimming pools, spas, private cabanas and a 140-foot-long waterslide, with frequent supervised events. Adjacent to the water park is the ice cream parlor, the Prairie Dog putting course and Tombstone, a Western town backdrop for weekend cowboy shows and shoot outs, sometimes with a 30-member cast.
From Squaw Peak, a shuttle takes families and golfers across town a few minutes to the 585-suite Pointe Hilton Tapatio Cliffs Resort to play golf on the Lookout Mountain course and take lessons at the golf school. To introduce youngsters to golf, family and junior golf, clinics are inexpensive. Movie-star handsome Director of Instruction, Jerramy Hainline, has an appealing way with young people with the emphasis on fun at all costs!
Also here are the Family Fun Center and the "Falls Water Village", complete with two large swimming pools, private cabanas and spas—lots to do. All of the facilities at Tapatio Cliffs are open to Squaw Peak guests, and vice-versa.
Although myriad family-oriented activities are on the menu at Tapatio, this resort is more of a romantic property that couples enjoy, a Spanish-Mediterranean village, with a full-service spa, sprinkled across a hillside in tropical enclaves with large fountains that mask the sounds of the busy resort. One disadvantage for some people are the steep walkways around the hillside; the good news: lots of privacy and fabulous city views from the balconies, and on-demand shuttles that zip around the property.
The upscale suites at both resorts have separate living rooms with sofabeds, 1 or 2 bedrooms, and some have fireplaces. At Squaw Peak, two-level casitas are townhouse style with sun decks and mini-kitchens. Your decision will be to request a suite nearby the swimming pools and activity centers, or go for a quiet garden patio location.
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