text: Best Summer Golf Destinations: The South | SI.com
  Best Summer Golf Destinations: The South
  1 of 10 Courtesy of Pinehurst
  1. Pinehurst Resort, Pinehurst, NC; 910-295-6811, pinehurst.com The Sandhills region of North Carolina, 70 minutes southwest of Raleigh/Durham is studded with wonderful public plays. Still, there's only one Pinehurst No. 2, and it's worth every penny to say you've played it. Fresh off a Bill Coore/Ben Crenshaw restoration in time to host the 2014 U.S. Open, No. 2 dishes out the fiercest test of chipping in golf, amid the tall longleaf pines and enhanced sandy waste areas that have restored the strategic challenge to Donald Ross' original specs. Two other Ross designs are available to resort guests but second choice for many is Tom Fazio's No. 8. It can't approach fabled No. 2 for history and lore, but it's undeniable that for sheer beauty, variety and memorable holes, No. 8 holds its own. Lakes, wetlands, an abandoned sand pit and a man-made dune ridge add to the fun, but it's the huge, fast crowned greens that can send scores soaring.
  2 of 10 Courtesy of Kiawah Island
  2. The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island Resort, Kiawah Island, SC; 843-768-6000, kiawahresort.com This 10,000-acre coastal resort serves up ten miles of private beach, 30 miles of marsh-lined, forested paths and access to nearby Charleston, but unquestionably, golf is the top draw, notably the Pete Dye-designed Ocean Course, which plays host to the PGA Championship this summer. It's not quite the beast that terrorized "War by the Shore" Ryder Cup players in 1991, but it's still a beautiful brute. Accommodations take several forms, but don't miss the Sanctuary hotel. Its twin, curving staircases off the lobby ooze "Gone With the Wind" noblesse, but the marble flooring and huge picture windows that offer Atlantic vistas are pure modern beauties.
  3 of 10 Courtesy of Caledonia
  4 of 10 Courtesy of the Homestead
  4. The Homestead, Hot Springs, Va.; 800-838-1766, thehomestead.com Dating to 1766, The Homestead may be one of America's most historic resorts, but it's hardly stuck in the past. By restoring its treasured Cascades course, to William Flynn's original 1923 design, the powers that be have guaranteed one thing: the Allegheny Mountain magic is back. Cascades serves up a dazzling array of lies, stances and imaginative shots you will be asked to manufacture. The first 12 holes are hemmed in by thick woods, while the last six open up and strategy options abound. Gurgling brooks, tree-cloaked mountains and library-like tranquility fuel a round of golf that offers perhaps the finest blend of shotmaking and solitude in golf.
  5 of 10 Courtesy of Greenbrier
  5. The Greenbrier, White Sulphur Springs, W.Va.; 304-536-1110, greenbrier.com The Greenbrier hotel is an enormous Georgian structure with tall white columns, yet it fits comfortably into a landscape of trees, flowers and gentle mountain slopes. A truly dizzying array of activities await, including such unusual fare as sporting clays, bowling and first-run movies, but with three courses, including the Jack Nicklaus-designed Greenbrier (a past Ryder Cup and Solheim Cup venue) and C.B. Macdonald's Old White (now a TPC course and current host to the PGA Tour), golf is king.
  6 of 10 Courtesy of Linville
  6. Linville Golf Club/Eseeola Lodge, N.C.; 828-733-4363, eseeola.com Public access at Linville is limited to guests of the Eseeola Lodge, but it's well worth the splurge to check out the eye-candy afforded at this 1924 Donald Ross design, situated in the Blue Ridge Mountains an hour northeast of Asheville. Trout-filled Grandmother Creek affects play on 14 holes, including at the signature 472-yard, par-4 third, where it must be carried to find the green. 6. Linville Golf Club/Eseeola Lodge, N.C.; 828-733-4363, eseeola.com Public access at Linville is limited to guests of the Eseeola Lodge, but it's well worth the splurge to check out the eye-candy afforded at this 1924 Donald Ross design, situated in the Blue Ridge Mountains an hour northeast of Asheville. Trout-filled Grandmother Creek affects play on 14 holes, including at the signature 472-yard, par-4 third, where it must be carried to find the green.
  7 of 10 Courtesy of Grand Cypress
  7. Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress, Orlando, Fla.; 407-239-1234, grandcypress.hyatt.com A gorgeous, airy lobby atrium and a swimming complex that will refresh and delight no matter what your age are hotel highlights, but as appetizing as the pool is during mid-summer, it's the golf that still captures top billing. The original course is a Jack Nicklaus-designed 27-holer, that's as '80s as big hair and Duran Duran, complete with terraced fairways, dramatic mounds, shar-edged water hazards and well-fortified greens. The New course on the other hand, is a throwback to the 1880s. Jack Nicklaus' surprisingly faithful homage to the Old Course at St. Andrews has no trees, but plenty of double greens, semi-blind shots and deep bunkers.
  8 of 10 Courtesy of Sea Pines
  8. Harbour Town Golf Links, Hilton Head Island, S.C.; 843-363-8385, seapines.com As iconic golf landmarks go, few can compare with the candy cane-striped lighthouse that backdrops the 18th green at Harbour Town. With the Calibogue Sound looming to the left and OB lurking right, Harbour Town's home hole is one of the game's greatest. Just following in the footsteps of past champions Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Davis Love III is reason enough to make this a must-play. Nearly as captivating is its sibling, Heron Point by Pete Dye, a sturdy, handsome test that was recently softened for enhanced playabilty. Add in the Ocean course, family playground, beach, horses and bicycling and you have a superior summertime package.
  9 of 10 Courtesy of Reynolds Plantation
  9. Reynolds Plantation/Ritz-Carlton Lodge, Greensboro, Ga.; 888-298-3119, reynoldsplantation.com Rustic elegance best defines the Ritz-Carlton Lodge, but you won't be spending much time indoors if the sun is shining, thanks to the some of the finest and most varied golf offering in the South. Tall pines define the opening eight holes at Great Waters, but beginning at the 9th, the course lives up to its name, with a succession of memorable holes that play over and alongside massive Lake Oconee. The back nine at Jack Nicklaus' Great Waters has rightly transfixed everybody for years, but Rees Jones' big, bold Oconee matches up in virtually every way, from the rolling terrain that sweeps through giant pines to the sterling finish that mixes strategy-laden shot shotmaking options with eye candy views of Lake Oconee. Reynolds National, the Oconee and nearby Reynolds Landing dish out more lakeside enticements.
  10 of 10 Dave Martin/Getty Images
  10. Ross Bridge/Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail, Birmingham, AL; 205-949-3085, rtjgolf.com Ross Bridge, which opened midway through 2005, is the priciest course on the Trail. It is also perhaps the first luxury course, due in part to its on-site proximity to the 259-room Renaissance Ross Bridge Golf Resort & Spa, which features fine dining, wireless access for business travelers and a 12,000-square-foot spa. The vaunted Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2012. While all of the 11 sites are worthy, Ross Bridge shows just how far the Trail has evolved.