Gulf Coast
Place
Gasparilla Inn & Club, Boca Grande
The Deal
Golf & Spa: one night in the historic hotel; one round with cart on the Pete Dye–designed course, which sits on an island in Charlotte Harbor, and one sixty-minute Swedish or deep-tissue massage; basket of fresh fruit
The Golf
The inn has had golf since the early 1900s, but in 2004 Dye essentially started over. He redesigned almost every hole, improving the drainage and removing many trees, particularly on fourteen through sixteen, which now play rousingly along the sea.
Price*
From $448 per room per night; available through June 21
Contact
gasparillainn.com, 800-996-1913
Place
LaPlaya Beach & Golf Resort, Naples
The Deal
Endless Golf: one night in a room overlooking the Gulf of Mexico or Vanderbilt Bay; unlimited play for two on the resort’s LaPlaya Golf Course; two chairs and an umbrella on the beach; complimentary access to the fitness center
The Golf
Overall, the landing areas on Bob Cupp’s design are generous, but well-placed bunkers and plenty of water (in play on fourteen holes) provide stout defenses. Should the course get the best of you, a David Leadbetter Golf Academy is on site.
Price*
From $189 per night; available through December 31, 2009
Contact
laplayaresort.com, 800-237-6883
Place
Longboat Key Club & Resort, Longboat Key
The Deal
Island Time Together: three nights in a beach-view suite; one eighteen-hole round for two on either the Harbourside Course or the Islandside; choice of a couples massage or two fifty-minute spa treatments; daily breakfast
The Golf
Ron Garl’s recent renovation improved two of Harbourside’s three nines—on the fifth of Blue Heron, water now runs along the entire right side and crosses in front of the peninsula green. Islandside was built along the Gulf and is lined with palm trees.
Price*
From $589 per room per night until December 18; from $619 until January 31
Contact
longboatkeyclub.com, 888-237-5545
Place
Watercolor Inn & Resort, Santa Rosa Beach
The Deal
Guys’ Golf Gorge: three nights in the boutique inn or in one of the resort’s rental homes, alongside the Gulf; unlimited golf at two private courses and at the six-hole Origins Course by Davis Love III; dinner and daily breakfast
The Golf
Tom Fazio’s Camp Creek wends through grass-covered dunes. Shark’s Tooth, designed by Greg Norman, unfolds along a coastal plain and Lake Powell’s banks, offering ample landing areas and approaches that challenge even the best.
Price*
From $195 per person per night; available through April 30
Contact
watercolorresort.com, 866-426-2656
*Details accurate at press time but subject to change. Blackout dates may apply. Prices based on double occupancy unless otherwise noted.
