Site Focus
French Lick, IndianaThe French Lick Resort, already home to a fabulous reconstruction of a Donald Ross course and the nine-hole Valley Links, this spring opened a challenging 8,100-yard Pete Dye hilltop layout.
Golfers of all abilities are welcomed by the course's five sets of tees.
Accommodations and meeting space are plentiful at the resort. The 443-room French Lick Hotel offers a 109,000-square-foot conference center, including a 13,000-square-foot ballroom, plus a 60,000-square-foot sports and exhibits complex with a driving range and tennis courts. The 243-room Baden Springs Hotel offers another 10,000 square feet of meeting space. Two spas combine for 42,000 square feet of relaxation.
■ The 250-room Ritz-Carlton, Dove Mountain, opens this fall near Tucson, Ariz. Already welcoming players is the 27-hole Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, one of the latest layouts from Jack Nicklaus, with a 50,000-square-foot clubhouse.
■ Opening Oct. 1 are the 497-room Waldorf Astoria Orlando, the 1,000-room Hilton Bonnet Creek and their shared Waldorf Astoria Golf Club, designed by Rees Jones. The resorts will have a total 150,000 square feet of meeting space.
■ The Doral Golf Resort & Club in Miami recently debuted the Jim McLean Signature Course, formerly the Silver Course. The layout has been lengthened to more than 7,100 yards.
■ Verdura Golf & Spa Resort in Sicily, Italy, opened this month with 203 rooms, a conference center and a golf course designed by Kyle Phillips, who created Scotland's Kingsbarns Golf Links.
■ The Old Macdonald Golf Course, the fourth layout at the celebrated Bandon Dunes Golf Resort in Bandon, Ore., has opened for limited play this summer.