Seen from the air, the Banff Springs brings new meaning to the word "majestic." It's as if an ancient castle has been plucked from a Scottish estate and set down in a river valley surrounded by the snow-dusted peaks of the Canadian Rockies. The "Castle in the Rockies" was constructed a century ago and is so authentic that any Scottish baron strolling its halls and great rooms would feel at...

Is it possible to make a movie that captures the essence of golf in Great Britain without crossing the pond? The makers of a film based on the 1972 Michael Murphy classic, Golf in the Kingdom, thought so. They used Bandon Dunes as a stand-in for Scotland's famous links courses.

All that's missing is the Scottish brogue flavoring your caddy's sage advice. The courses are walking...

On the grounds of Maui's 1,500-acre Wailea Resort are six world-class hotels, including the 780-room Grand Wailea. In addition to three golf courses (and two more adjacent), the hotel has an amazing pool complex, an extensive spa, and one of the island's best beaches—all of which make it a top choice for families.

The Wailea Golf Club is home to the Blue, Emerald, and Gold...

At the turn of the last century, Philadelphia blueblood Spencer Penrose made a fortune in gold and copper mining in Colorado and decided to build a grand hotel near the source of his wealth. He chose a site in Colorado Springs with a view across a manmade lake of the Front Range of the Rockies. Sparing no expense, Primrose created an Italianate palace furnished with treasures from all over the...

Nearly 50 years ago, law student Charles Fraser envisioned an eco-friendly, master-planned resort community on Hilton Head Island. His Sea Pines Resort became a reality and a benchmark for upscale resort developments. The beachfront resort occupies 5,000 acres on the island's southern tip—a peninsula bordered by the Atlantic and Calibogue Sound. True to Fraser's wishes, environmental...

The best credentials for which a golf resort can possibly hope is to have a course rated No. 1 in the country by Golf Digest and to be preparing to host its fifth U.S. Open. That's the enviable status of Pebble Beach Resorts, the setting for the Pebble Beach Golf Links, Golf Digest's top dog for the sixth consecutive year and on deck for the 2010 U.S. Open.

Jack Nicklaus...

Pinehurst, a National Historic Landmark, is the United States' St. Andrews. This has less to do with quantity (the resort has eight courses) than the quality of the golfing experience. Televised tournaments such as the U.S. Open on Pinehurst No. 2 have put the resort on every golfer's bucket list, and the reality usually measures up for those who make the pilgrimage.

Pinehurst began...

Hosting the 2010 Winter Olympics has put British Columbia's Whistler Blackcomb Ski Resort in the international spotlight, but there's another side to Whistler. When the snow melts in the spring, it becomes one of Canada's top golf destinations and one of the most popular summer resorts in North America.

In 1989, the Fairmont Chateau Whistler opened as a year-round luxury hotel in the...

In 2008, The New York Times praised Texas Hill Country as one of the best vacation spots in the country, comparing its rolling green hills and miles of vineyards to the south of France. At the heart of this oasis is the city of Austin and the Barton Creek Resort & Spa, home to the state's top two golf courses—Fazio Foothills and Fazio Canyons. Playing second fiddle to these tough...

The Ritz-Carlton Lodge at Reynolds Plantation occupies an enviable setting—35 acres on Lake Oconee, 75 miles from Atlanta, in the heart of Reynolds Plantation. One of the South's most exclusive gated communities, Reynolds Plantation has a host of amenities, including three full-service marinas and five golf courses by top designers.

In the early 1900s, Mercer Reynolds, Sr....