Golf getaways
It's golf season! The fairways await you...
Great golf and amenities galore at Bodega Bay
“Wow! Sami has great taste,” I exclaimed as my family and I entered Sami’s Place, our Bodega Bay Vacation Rentals USA home for our family golf getaway weekend. With the prospect of blue skies and PGA-endorsed weather, this getaway was off to a perfect start.
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Sami's Place offers a beautiful living space with everything you need, including a view of the Pacific. |
The Links at Bodega Harbour, designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr., is annually rated among the top golf courses in Northern California. This coastal jewel offers rolling fairways, large contoured greens, deep pot bunkers, a distinctive freshwater marsh and, of course, spectacular views of the ocean’s waves gliding onto a tidy sand beach.
Director of Golf Bob Caldwell, PGA, who provides big-city service in a small-town atmosphere, says, “We’re very proud of the golf offered at The Links at Bodega Harbour. Our course offers a challenging golf experience and remarkable views in a peaceful environment. Our three finishing holes are the perfect capper to an enjoyable day. We’re probably not far away from where you are, but we’re worlds away from what you’re used to!”
Bodega Bay is about a 90-minute drive from Fairfield and a great spot to sneak away to for an extended weekend—to play a little golf and let your mind wander while watching waves break on the shore.
Vacation Rentals USA offers a delightful assortment of homes for two to 12, for a weekend, a week or more.
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The Links at Bodega Harbour is a course where land and ocean meet. |
“We offer guests a home away from home,” says owner Joann Beckman. “Whether they’re looking for a cozy one-bedroom retreat or five bedrooms for the extended family, we have it in and around Bodega Bay. Everything we do is designed for a relaxing stay; it seems to work because people return again and again.”
For my money, a home on the golf course with a view of the ocean is pretty good stuff. Sami’s Place features a bright, airy floor plan on beautiful cherry wood floors. Tastefully decorated and equipped with dishes, linens, books, a gas fireplace and a flat-screen television, it gave us space to relax and enjoy the weekend. Most of the homes offered by Vacation Rentals USA can be previewed on the company’s website, where photos and descriptions of amenities will help you choose accommodations near the ocean along Highway 1, in the harbor or on the golf course. Beckman prides herself on finding the perfect getaway home for every need.
For me, the beach is a great spot for making memories. Some of my favorite photos include my family on the beach at Bodega Bay. There’s nothing quite like a walk along the water’s edge, dodging the waves to keep your shoes dry. Additionally, you’ll find opportunities for fishing, horseback riding, kayaking, surfing, diving, wine tasting and whale watching.
You’ll also find plenty of good restaurants in town and in nearby Sebastopol. Neighboring Occidental’s Union Hotel Restaurant has long been a favorite (see below). A drive there would not be complete without a stop at the Wild Flour Bread organic brick oven bakery in Freestone.
Northwood Golf Club in nearby Monte Rio is well worth a visit. Designed by Dr. Alister MacKenzie in 1928, the nine holer’s fairways are flanked by redwood trees, making it the shadiest course you’ll ever play.—F.L.
For tee times at The Links at Bodega Harbour, call (800) 503-8158 or visit bodegaharbourgolf.com. To see pictures of homes offered by Vacation Rentals USA, visit vacationrentalsusa.com or call (800) 548-7631. To learn more about Northwood Golf Club, visit northwoodgolf.com.
All the goodness of home...
It felt like Thanksgiving as we left the historic Union Hotel Restaurant with armloads of dinner leftovers—not only because of the amount of food served but, moreover, from the genuine feeling that comes with having spent quality time with good friends. That's the goal of the Gonnella family, the third-generation owners of this popular restaurant.
Barbara Gonnella was hostess this night, but like the rest of the family, she may well have been on the cooking line, waiting tables or pouring drinks. "Ours is a labor of love," she explains. "Our recipes are Old World, and our guests return generation after generation. We make sure they feel the warmth of an atmosphere that comes from the heart."
From pastas and pizza to porterhouse steaks, from roast duck to chicken cacciatore, the succulent dishes feature liberal use of fresh garden herbs. Don't leave with treating yourself to the tiramisu!
The Union Hotel Restaurant is family dining at its best.
3731 Main St. (707) 874-3444; unionhotel.com.
Graeagle: Where time slows down
I may well be among the last to discover the Graeagle area of Northern California, but I will be among the first to say I’ve found a spot with some great golf and recreation that’s a bit of heaven on earth.
Nestled in the pristine Mohawk Valley north of Truckee, the Graeagle area is a testament to a time when a visit to the mountains meant a chance to relax, breathe the fresh air, and above all, get far away from it all. Graeagle is a place where time may not have stopped, but where clocks seem to tick a lot slower than the rest of the world’s. It’s also a great spot for a golf odyssey on which you and your foursome can try and play as much golf as possible from sunup to sundown.
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The rustic cabins at the Lodge at Whitehawk Ranch. |
Amidst the beautiful pines of the Plumas National Forest, against the middle fork of the Feather River, Plumas Pines Golf Resort is a special spot with a layout to test players of all abilities. Don’t let the length fool you—it can be a handful. The tight fairways put a premium on club selection and driving accuracy.
Head golf professional, Brandon Bowling, PGA, is in his 17th year at the course. Born and raised in the area, Bowling hopes to be there forever. “This area has wonderful recreation opportunities in addition to golf,” he says. “It’s a great spot to swim, hike, fish, ride horses and camp. And the locals are very excited to welcome visitors.”
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The links at Plumas Pines Golf Course are a true test of a golfer's abilities. |
A great place to end your day is on the deck of Longboards Bar & Grill, which not only serves up a great view, but food that is an area favorite, as well. It’s casual and fine dining in one, with an Italian flair.
Whitehawk Ranch Golf Course in nearby Clio is a player’s delight. From the fine practice range through the 18th green, the course is one of the best-conditioned you’ll play. It’s as natural as a manicured course can be, with emerald green fairways framed by native grasses and a profusion of wildflowers. Seven streams meander through tall pines, cedars, firs and aspens, creating ponds and waterfalls that contribute to the challenge and beauty. The course features holes that traverse quiet meadows and holes cut through stands of sweet-smelling pines. It’s challenging but manageable when played from the correct tees. While you’re warming up, look up from the driving range and you’ll see Eureka Peak, a proud vista featured on the Great Seal of California. Whitehawk is the No. 11 public course in California on Golfweek’s top 100 list.
The area also boasts the renowned Nakoma Golf Resort at Gold Mountain (formerly called The Dragon) and the private Grizzly Ranch in Portola, which offers limited public access.
The Mohawk Valley and the Graeagle area take me back to a simpler time. The small shops, quaint homes and people who truly seem to care about each other remind me of vacation trips before freeways and fast food. I can hardly wait to go back for another visit.—F.L.
For tee times for Plumas Pines Golf Course call (530) 836-1420 or visit plumaspinesgolf.com for a live look at the course via webcam or to book tee times online. For golf at Whitehawk call (800) 332-4295 or online at golfwhitehawk.com.
Where to stay while you play:
Graegle & Plumas Pines Vacation Rentals offers custom homes, villas, cabins in the woods and houses on the Plumas Pines course, and can also arrange area stay-and-play golf packages. For rental information, contact Kerry Bowling at (530) 836-2500.
Rustic on the outside and well-appointed on the inside, the one- and two-bedroom cabins at the Lodge at Whitehawk Ranch are a wonderful way to enjoy the peaceful mountain panorama. Owner Jerry Crowe will help with reservations at (877) 945-6343.
A little romance at CordeValle
A relaxing weekend getaway should be a priority for all of us. However, the catch is to find a destination that satisfies the need to hit the links and still leaves room for romance. To truly escape from it all, travel to the small town of San Martin, located in the Santa Cruz Mountains halfway between Gilroy and Morgan Hill, to find the oasis that is CordeValle, A Rosewood Resort.
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The private whirlpool spa begs the question: "Why leave the room?" |
Commonplace recedes the moment you drive up to the clubhouse. Everything is taken care of for you—the valet parks your car, your bags are on their way to your room. All you have to do is stop at the hospitality desk to pick up your room keys. An attendant will be ready and waiting to drive you to your room.
Actually, CordeValle doesn’t really have “rooms;” when a Rosewood Resort says “luxe,” it means it. The resort offers three varieties of well-appointed accommodations that continue the Craftsman style seen throughout the property. The Bungalows offer 750 square feet with oversized everything: from the opulent California-king bed covered in scrumptious white linens to the spacious bathroom complete with a jetted tub and separate steam-rainfall shower—perfect for two—continuing to the stone fireplace and the wall of floor-to-ceiling windows that open to allow a seamless transition onto the private patio and grassy area overlooking the pristine golf course. The 1,100-square-foot Villa Suites feature the same amenities as the Bungalows, plus an enclosed patio with outdoor shower and whirlpool spa. Lastly, the Fairway Homes—full-size homes with a butler kitchen and 3,100 square feet––are perfect for families or groups of friends.
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The CordeValle fairway is a distinctive blend of natural and man-made amenities. |
If golf is your game, hitting the links on the world-class 18-hole golf course designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr. is not something you can pass on. Jones used the natural topography of the valley to create an innovative mix of natural and man-made obstacles, making this course, as Jones said, “one of those rare, pure ‘core golf’ experiences.” It maintains a coveted position on Golf Digest’s ranking of the top 30 courses in California, as well as on Golfweek’s list of the top 100 resort courses.
Not one for golf? Then lose yourself in a therapeutic spa treatment while your other half is on the course. The spa at CordeValle surpasses being a place to simply dissolve stress; it is a respite, a place to center your mind and body. To begin that centering, I highly recommend indulging in Raindrops From the Vines, one of its signature Vino body treatments. The treatment begins with a private aromatherapy steam, easing the body into two hours of sheer bliss.
Next, melt into a hydro massage with a grapeseed body gel in the Vichy shower, followed by a purifying grapeseed and rosehip mud body wrap. The experience is polished off with a nurturing head-to-toe grapeseed oil massage. Continuing in the resort’s grand traditions of golf, the spa offers a golf spa program designed for players at the top of their game.
But, as I said, every relationship needs some romance, and the spa can help with its Romancing the Heart treatments. I suggest splurging on the Bungalow Love, the ultimate evening of in-room pampering.
With golf and relaxation taken care of, don’t forget about two other necessities of any getaway: food and wine. Spend an extended evening savoring the bold American flavors in The Dining Room, CordeValle’s main restaurant, while relishing the panoramic view of the sun setting behind the surrounding mountains; enjoy a casual lunch at The Grill, conveniently located next to the golf shop on the course; or go wine tasting at Clos LaChance, a small family-owned winery on the CordeValle grounds and the 2005 winner of In Wine Country’s prestigious “Golden Grape Award.”
A getaway needs to be just that: a break from your daily routine with time to relax and rejuvenate. And a trip can still be romantic even with a little world-class golf on the side.—J.H.
For more information or to book your trip to CordeValle call (877) 255-2626, (408) 695-4500 or visit cordevalle.com. One CordeValle Club Drive, San Martin.
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