The dog days of winter are upon us, a time of year that can make even the hardiest Midwestern golf nut start to get a little itchy for action. But as the days start slowly getting longer and the sun starts making more regular visits to the sky, now’s a good time to turn your daydreams about getting out and playing golf into actual plans to hit the links.
If you’re thinking about trying something new, you’re in luck! After decades of courses closing around the country, the current golf boom – five years old and going strong – means there are plenty of intriguing new places to play around the country. Granted, many are additions to existing resorts or destinations that already draw big numbers of traveling golfers. And the number of new golfers coming into the game has made openings at many destinations harder to come by. But those resorts are working to meet demand and entice past guests to return for another visit – and oh, boy, are the new courses out there worth the work it takes to plan a golf trip today.
With that spirit, here’s a list of five destinations that opened new courses last year that should be on your to-do list if you’re planning a golf getaway in 2025:
OK, North Carolina’s Pinehurst Resort & Club is hardly a sleeper. It hosted the U.S. Open on its venerable No. 2 course last summer, with Bryson DeChambeau blasting his way to a big win over Rory McIlroy. The second-biggest thing to happen at Pinehurst last year was the debut of the No. 10 course. It had been almost three decades since Pinehurst debuted an all-new course – Tom Fazio’s No. 8 opened in the 1990s, and No. 9 was an acquisition – but Tom Doak’s design of Pinehurst No. 10 marked a new era for the venerable property when it opened last April. Doak and his team, led by design associate Angela Moser, have created a rolling and rollicking layout on land that was once mined for sand. In fact, the area No. 10 sits on is now known as the “Pinehurst Sandmines” portion of the property, a 900-acre parcel that is likely to be home to a No. 11 (Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw have done a routing) and a par-3 course at some point. For now, No. 10 blends trademark Pinehurst style with sandy, dune-dotted terrain and interesting elevation changes. While you’re there, you can enjoy the exquisite No. 2, the No. 4 layout Gil Hanse reimagined, the fun Cradle par-3 course and so many more golf delights.
The first American property in the growing Cabot Collection of high-end destination golf facilities fully opened last month on the former site of World Woods Golf Resort between Tampa and Orlando. The 1,200-acre property is home to a pair of 18-hole courses – Karoo and Roost – along with a dynamic 10-hole course called The Squeeze and an 11-hole par-3 course called The Wedge, creating a unique 57-hole property. The secluded resort has a rustic feel, and the golf courses are big and bold, with more elevation change and visual drama than most Florida layouts. These might be the most Instagrammable golf courses ever built, with flashing bunkers, centuries-old live oaks, roaming wild turkeys, grazing cattle and a 40-foot sinkhole dotting the layouts. There’s also a cool area called The Porch with relaxing outdoor games and refreshments, a sporting club offers shooting, archery and bass fishing, and a racquet club with tennis, pickleball and padel will open this year. You might have been to Florida to play golf, but you haven’t been to a Florida destination like Cabot Citrus Farms.
The second 18-hole course to open at this resort on Georgia’s Lookout Mountain is set on truly dramatic land – five holes play along the edge of a cliff. McLemore’s existing Highlands Course is directly influenced by classic Scottish layouts, and The Keep follows that lead while making the most of the property’s elevation. “Above the Clouds” is the resort’s motto, and you may find yourself looking down on puffy clouds while you play The Keep, which is a unqiue experience. The new Cloudland hotel, a Curio Collection by Hilton property, adds to the atmosphere with a spa, dining and conference facilities. There’s a quiet calm around the property, which is an easy drive from Chattanooga, Tennessee.
It seems like par-3 courses are popping up everywhere, but what Streamsong in central Florida has added in The Chain is something bespoke in the category. Built for match play, the Coore/Crenshaw design has 19 holes that play anywhere from less than 100 to nearly 300 yards – and the course has no listed par for the layout. Instead, golfers are encouraged to enjoy some friendly competition with their playing partners on this interesting change of pace, which joins the highly ranked trio of traditional courses – Red, Blue and Black – at Streamsong. Tip for baseball fans: Streamsong is not far from many Grapefruit League sites if you’d like to combine a golf trip with Spring Training games.
Like The Chain, Shorty’s is a non-standard 19 holes that opened last year at Oregon’s Bandon Dunes Golf Resort. A true par-3 course, Shorty’s – named for the caretaker of the property when developer Mike Keiser bought it – has a wild collection of greens and might be the most fun you can have with a golf group. Weaving through dunes and coastal pines near the resort’s Bandon Trails course, Shorty’s makes a great addition to the property’s five 18-hole courses and the existing Preserve par-3 course. It’s a fine way to begin or end a trip to Bandon Dunes, and be sure to leave time for some freshly grilled birria tacos at Shorty’s small but mighty snack shop.
