What’s the best way to beat the heat of a Florida summer? By grabbing your clubs and teeing it up in the relative cool of a northern golf getaway. For example, consider Wisconsin, with its major championship-worthy destinations like Erin Hills, Whistling Straits and SentryWorld, and the expanding Sand Valley Golf Resort. Average high temperatures are 15-20 degrees cooler than many parts of Florida during a Wisconsin summer, and the nights are often cool enough to gather around a fire pit to discuss the day’s rounds.
If you’re into outdoor pursuits beyond golf, like hunting and fishing, check out cooler locations like North Carolina’s Sequoyah National Golf Club, which features views of Great Smoky Mountains National Park and year-round temperate weather. Or go really big at Missouri’s Big Cedar Lodge, owned by Johnny Morris of Bass Pro Shops, which offers five golf courses and a host of outdoor activities around and on Table Rock Lake in the Ozarks. You could spend the morning on the links and the afternoon on a fishing boat or in a kayak – or simply sitting by the set of saltwater pools known across the resort as The Swimmin’ Hole.