High Links
Bucking the national decline in course construction, Colorado is rolling out excellent golf venues—at a frenetic pace. Jack Nicklaus kicked off the mountain-golf revival two years ago with his Summit Course at the Lodge at Cordillera (800-877-3529 or cordillera-vail.com), a superb resort just west of Vail that also offers courses by Tom Fazio, Hale Irwin, and Dave Pelz. Head the other way from Vail and you’ll run into Keystone (800-464-3494 or keystoneresort.com), whose Ranch and River layouts, at a whopping 9,300 feet above sea level, are among the highest championship-caliber courses in the country. The Fazio-designed course at Red Sky Ranch, just outside Vail, debuted last summer to rave reviews; the Ranch’s second course, a Greg Norman creation due this July, is expected to be even better. (Red Sky Ranch is private, but you can play it as a guest of the new Ritz-Carlton, Bachelor Gulch in Beaver Creek; 970-748-6200 or ritzcarlton.com.) And don’t miss Jim Engh’s gorgeous, bargain-priced Redlands Mesa (970-263-9270 or redlandsmesagolf.com) in the remote northwest corner of the state. Engh is rebuilding the old Snowmass Golf Club in Aspen, which is scheduled to open in July and is expected to be Colorado’s next big thing (aspensnowmass.com). Did we mention that the ball flies 15 percent farther in the Rockies?— LARRY OLMSTED
Grand Manor
With flights to London so cheap these days, it’s not as though you need another reason to cross the pond, but here’s one anyway: A super-luxe yet relaxed resort featuring a spectacular Kyle Phillips golf course is opening this summer, just 30 minutes from Heathrow. The Grove, once home to the earls of Clarendon, will offer 227 chic rooms with linen-lined walls, marble fireplaces, and plasma TVs. You’ll also find three restaurants, meadows, lakes, a croquet lawn, and a top-notch spa. Rooms start at $395; contact 44-1923-807-807 or thegrove.co.uk.
Deal of the Week
During the month of June, New York Magazine readers can stay at the Loews Ventana Canyon Resort in Tucson, Arizona, for just $119 a night. Mention this page, and they’ll toss in a two-for-one round of golf and a complimentary Rock for Jocks massage (800-234-5117; loewshotels.com).
Par-fect
So your game needs work? Five great golf schools where you’ll come out swinging.
•Conquer Pebble Beach’s notorious seventeenth hole with the high-tech Pebble Beach Golf Academy (831-622-8650).
•The pros meet, play, and teach at Palm Beach Gardens’ PGA National Resort & Spa (800-633-9150).
•Tee up in style with lessons at the Robert Trent Jones II Golf Course at Nevis’s super-luxe Four Seasons Resort (869-469-1111).
•At Las Vegas’s Butch Harmon School of Golf, you can learn from instructors hand-picked by the guy who made Tiger great (702-777-2444).
•John Jacobs’ Golf School (with many locations in the U.S., Mexico, and Canada) consistently ranks at the top of experts’ lists (800-472-5007). — SARA CARDACE
Ect. ST. CHARLES PLACE You’ve never heard of the San Carlos Hotel at 50th and Third? We hadn’t either. But after a $22 million renovation, the now-luxe, tech-friendly hotel’s June 1 reopening is worth knowing about. (Introductory packages run through September; 800-722-2012; from $230.) TO A TEE Business types will love the brand-new twenty-room Lodge at Ocean Hammock in Palm Coast, Florida—on the eighteenth hole of a Jack Nicklaus–designed oceanfront course—for its leather headboards, cordless phones, and oversize desks (800-654-6538; from $195). SACRED TRUST Dharma Resorts is calling El Monte Sagrado Taos, due this June, a luxury eco-resort. The New Mexico property promises a cushy stay (exquisite rooms, gourmet food) in an environmentally responsible setting (800-828-taos; from $295).