At the finest golf resorts, great courses, first-rate food and comfy accommodations are pretty much given. Beyond that, you might find a spa, a golf academy, a kids’ camp and enough outdoor pursuits, from fly fishing to balcony, to keep you busy from dawn to dusk. And then there are the things you never saw coming: a museum of exotic Americana, a walk through a labyrinth, a tree older than most civilizations, a cave beneath the golf course or a game drive in search of the Big Five. Here are five of our favorite quirky offerings from GOLF’s new Top 100 Resorts list.
Big Cedar Lodge | Ridgedale, Mo.
Ancient Ozarks Natural History Museum
Johnny Morris built Big Cedar as an homage to the Ozarks, where he was born and raised. The result is a resort that celebrates the great outdoors. But Morris didn’t forget the indoors, either. Among the musts at Big Cedar is the Ancient Ozarks Natural History Museum, Morris’s astounding personal collection, which ranges from arrowheads and dinosaur fossils to Sitting Bull’s war vest. You can even get a look at a lock of Abraham Lincoln’s hair.
courtesy big cedar
Bandon Dunes Golf Resort | Bandon, Ore.
The Labyrinth
Golf is often likened to life, with its wandering paths, wrong turns and occasional moments of enlightenment. At Bandon Dunes, you can take that comparison literally. Tucked into the woods is a soapstone replica of the labyrinth at France’s Chartres Cathedral, dating to the late 12th or early 13th century. The path winds toward the center, then back out again, a meditative counterpoint to the more traditional loops you’ve been walking around the resort’s courses.
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Kauri Cliffs | Matauri Bay, New Zealand
The Ancient Kauri
You think golf is an old game until you meet a tree that has been standing for roughly 700 to 900 years. On a native-bush walking trail at Kauri Cliffs, guests can visit an enormous kauri, one of the oldest individual specimens on privately held land in New Zealand. Getting there takes only about 10 minutes on foot, an easy stroll to kick off a journey back in time.
Pronghorn | Bend, Ore.
Lava Tube Tours
The golfing grounds at Pronghorn are rich in character. The landscape underground is compelling, too. Near the 8th hole of the Fazio Course, a 45-foot canyon leads to a network of lava tubes formed roughly 60,000 years ago, when molten rock cooled beneath the surface. The resort offers guided tours into the tubes, including seasonal sunset outings — a subterranean answer to a twilight round.
Sun City Golf Resort | Sun City, South Africa
Big Five Safaris
Golf has its Big Three: Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player, a South African who designed the Lost City course here. But the real alphas at Sun City are the Big Five. The resort sits at the doorstep of Pilanesberg National Park, which fills an ancient volcanic crater and is home to lions, leopards, elephants, rhinos and buffalo. Game drives run at dawn and dusk, and night drives reveal a different cast of characters after dark. More ambitious travelers can take a short flight east to the Greater Kruger area and spend two or three nights at a private Big Five lodge, with guided 4×4 drives through the bush.
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