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SOME GOLFERS ARE SO OBSESSED with the game they’ll travel across the globe in search of the very best playing fields. But you don’t really have to go to the far reaches of the planet to indulge in your passion. Some of the best golf resorts in the world are in our own backyard——or a short plane ride away. From San Diego to Maine, from Florida to Hawaii, the United States provides such diverse topography——much of it nicely adaptable to golf layouts——that we have more choices than anywhere else in the world.

You want desert golf? Get in the car and head to Palm Springs, Arizona or Nevada. Tropical? Hawaii is a few hours by air. A colorful fall season in the mountains? Nothing beats West Virginia or Colorado in October.

The following list of top 10 golf resorts in the United States is not a ranking. While Pebble Beach and Pinehurst are widely considered the top two golf resorts in the nation, it is certain every avid golfer has his or her own list of favorites. Here’s ours:

PEBBLE BEACH (PEBBLE BEACH, CALIFORNIA)
Far and away the most revered golf resort in the United States, Pebble Beach boasts three outstanding accommodation choices——The Lodge at Pebble Beach, Casa Palmero and The Inn at Spanish Bay——as well as an unbeatable location on the Monterey Bay and legendary golf courses rich with tournaments, history and lore.

Pebble Beach Golf Links and Spyglass Hill top almost everybody’s lifetime “must-play” lists. Both courses command your attention from start to finish, with magnificent scenery and unforgettable holes.

Bing Crosby’s old tournament, the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, brings us home to these storied links each year, and the U.S. Open will be played at Pebble Beach once again in 2010.

And don’t forget Spanish Bay: Both the course and the accommodations on the Pacific Grove end of 17 Mile Drive are superb. PGA Tour legend Tom Watson says, “Spanish Bay is so much like Scotland, you can almost hear the bagpipes.” 800-654-9300; www.pebblebeach.com

PINEHURST (PINEHURST, NORTH CAROLINA)
There are more than 100 courses in and around the charming village of Pinehurst, a small town where you feel as though you’ve walked into the middle of last century, in the sand hills of North Carolina. The area’s primary activity is golf. Pinehurst No. 2, one of several Donald Ross designs here (and arguably his finest), is slated to host the U.S. Open in 2005, returning to the site for the second time.

There are several lodging choices, but the classic is The Carolina Hotel. Built in 1901, The Carolina is one of America’s Historic Hotels. This stately Victorian structure is the centerpiece of the resort, offering 210 guestrooms and 12 suites. 800-ITS-GOLF; www.pinehurst.com

THE GREENBRIER
(WHITE SULFUR SPRINGS, WEST VIRGINIA)
It’s nice to know in this furiously changing world that some things are exactly as they were when last you left them. Not just that they are still in the same place, but the smells, the ambience and, in the case of The Greenbrier, even many of the people are the same.

PGA great Sam Snead, who was hired as the Greenbrier’s golf professional in 1936, called these colorful mountains home his entire life. In addition to three outstanding golf courses, there are many other activities, including tennis, horseback riding, even an in-house bowling alley.

The first championship golf course, now called Old White, was designed by Charles Blair Macdonald in 1913. A second Macdonald design, The Greenbrier Course, was added in 1924, later playing host to the 1979 Ryder Cup Matches.

A visit to this historic resort in fall as the leaves are turning golden in the surrounding mountains is an unforgettable treat. 800-453-4858; www.greenbrier.com

PRINCEVILLE RESORT KAUAI
(PRINCEVILLE, HAWAII)
“You know it’s a tough course when the girl in the sandwich cart sells more golf balls than tuna fish,” architect Robert Trent Jones Jr. has remarked. He’s right. It’s tough as a coconut, and everybody loves playing here. This ultra-challenging 18-hole beauty carved from tabletop land above the Pacific is one of the top three courses in Hawaii.

Of course, guests can soothe their pain at the luxurious Princeville Resort Kauai after a round, sip a mai-tai at the pool bar, and watch the sunset over Hanalei Bay. A completely different kind of experience is found at The Makai Course, another 27 holes of Jones’ design at Princeville. Equally scenic, with several outstanding ocean holes, the three Makai nines are much more forgiving and friendly.

Princeville Resort Kauai has 252 rooms and suites. Favorite rooms are those where the bathtub overlooks Hanalei Bay. 800-325-3589; www.starwood.com/princeville

FOUR SEASONS RESORT AVIARA
(CARLSBAD, CALIFORNIA)
Carlsbad is home to many of our country’s top golf equipment manufacturers, including Taylor Made, Callaway and Titleist. It’s only fitting this unassuming California coastal town is also home to one of the foremost golf resorts.

A grand property set upon 200 lushly landscaped acres with panoramic ocean views, the resort opened in 1997. It offers 329 elegant, comfortable guestrooms and suites set in low-rise, Spanish Colonial–style buildings. Several dining options are available, including a wonderful Sunday brunch at one of the best golf clubhouses you’ll ever see.

An Arnold Palmer and Ed Seay –designed golf course opened a few years earlier, in 1991. The course is bordered on the west by the Batiquitos Lagoon, home to more than 130 species of shorebirds, waterfowl and a wide array of natural vegetation. It is a highly manicured course, with an abundance of colorful flowers and water features on several holes. 800-332-3442; www.fourseasons.com

THE CLOISTER/SEA
ISLAND (SEA ISLAND, GEORGIA)
A handful of golf resorts in the United States can be called “classic.” They are places where bluebloods gather, where coats and ties are still worn with dinner, where luxury is a way of life. The Cloister in Sea Island, roughly an hour south of Savannah, is in that category. For more than 75 years, this lovely Addison Mizner– designed hotel has epitomized grace, manners and elegance. And perhaps nowhere else is there a collection of better golf courses.

Walter Travis, Harry Colt and Hugh Alison designed the first courses, and they were immediately recognized as masterpieces. Renovation work has since been completed on the courses by an equally impressive trio of modern-day designers: Rees Jones, Tom Fazio and Davis Love III. The courses at The Lodge at Sea Island Golf Club overlook the Atlantic Ocean, with some memorable holes that play right at the waterfront. The recent opening of the exclusive 40-room Lodge at Sea Island Golf Club adds to the lure of this purely Southern experience. 800-SEA-ISLAND; www.cloister.com

THE BOULDERS (CAREFREE, ARIZONA)
The quintessential Arizona resort, The Boulders is a desert darling. Even the name of the city where it’s located——Carefree—— puts you in a good mood.

Golfers also perk up at the prospect of playing the two Jay Morrish–designed courses here. Both are defined by excellent conditioning, fun, strategic play and a desert setting that adds to the challenge of play. Fairways are lined by towering saguaro cacti, and green complexes are surrounded by impressive boulder formations.

The 215 spacious guestrooms feature hand-hewn wood ceiling beams and Mexican tile flooring that reflect the area’s Southwestern spirit. Aromatic juniper logs are furnished in the guestroom fireplaces for a cozy fire on a starry night. A Golden Door Spa offers golf massages and treatments for those in need of some TLC.

Pack up the sticks and head to Carefree from October through April, when the winter weather is just right for golf. 480-488-9009; www.wyndham.com

BROADMOOR (COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO)
World-famous for its superb location at the foot of Cheyenne Mountain in the Colorado Rockies, Broadmoor combines tradition, elegance and beauty.

Originally established as a gambling casino in 1891, Broadmoor was transformed into a grand hotel in 1918, and is today one of the few five-star, five-diamond resorts in the United States. More than 700 guestrooms are offered at this sprawling retreat, including some (recommended) in an historic main building. Three championship golf courses are available for play, and——despite the fact that an acclaimed spa, scenic horseback-riding trails and award-winning dining are also available ——golf is the reason most people visit.

Master golf course architect Donald Ross designed the original nine-hole layout. These courses are known for their terrific mountain settings and for the challenge of the designs. In total, Ross designed 27 holes at the Broadmoor, with Robert Trent Jones completing the design for another nine holes in 1964. Nowadays, a third course is also open for play. 800-634-7711; www.broadmoor.com

AMERICAN CLUB/WHISTLING STRAIGHTS
(KOHLER, WISCONSIN)
Pete Dye has created several memorable golf courses at this fivediamond resort in the small Wisconsin town where plumbingfixture giant Kohler is king. Checking into the American Club gives you access to all of them.

The most recent course, Whistling Straights, is an architectural gem built right on the shores of Lake Michigan. Opened in 1998, this windy, Scottish links design hosted the 2004 PGA Championship, quite an honor for such a new course. What television viewers saw——and resort guests discover——is that few settings in the United States are so similar to the classic courses of Ireland and Scotland.

Back at The American Club——a 10-minute shuttle ride——are two more user-friendly Dye designs, The River Course and the Meadows Valley Course. Both are a delight to play and can be enjoyed by many skill levels. The River Course is particularly scenic. The 236-room American Club provides luxurious accommodations in a wonderful small-town setting. They do, of course, use Kohler fixtures in all of the guestrooms. 800-344-2838; www. destinationkohler.com

HUALALAI/FOUR SEASONS
(KOHALA COAST, BIG ISLAND, HAWAII)
Hundreds of years ago, molten lava spewed forth from Mount Hualalai on Hawaii’s Big Island, covering the mountain slopes all the way down to the Pacific with black rock. Today, those same fields of lava just north of Kona are crisscrossed with bright green ribbons of grass, providing golfers an experience unmatched anywhere in the world.

This is the setting for the Four Seasons Resort Hualalai, an elegant beachfront resort with a Jack Nicklaus Signature golf course. Nicklaus made ample and creative use of the rock formations in his design, with putting surfaces placed in lava coliseums and fairways playing through lava valleys. Hole 17 is a lovely par-3 that plays across a black lava bed, down to the water, with views of Mount Haleakala poking through the clouds across the channel on Maui.

The Four Seasons Hualalai is widely considered the very best resort in Hawaii, and with the fun and excellent golf offering, it ranks among the top resorts in the United States. 808-325-8000; www.fourseasons.com/hualalai.

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George Fuller’s books include California Golf——The Complete Guide and Discover Hawaii’s Best Golf . He contributes frequently to Golf Magazine and Robb Report.

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