Father’s Day is fast approaching. Looking for the best getaways for the dad who loves to hit the links? A private jet offers safe, seamless access to the finest fairways across the country—and the personalized, worry-free experience of a private flight with Magellan Jets means dad will enjoy the same level of tranquility in the sky as when he’s teeing off on the green. Here are our 10 best golf trips by private jet:
- 1. Playa Grande Golf & Ocean Club, Dominican Republic
2. Whistling Straits, Kohler, Wisconsin
3. The Broadmoor, Colorado Springs, Colorado
4. Pinehurst Resort, Pinehurst, North Carolina
5. Abaco Club, The Bahamas
6. Shadow Creek, Las Vegas, Nevada
7. Augusta National Golf Club, Augusta, Georgia
8. Indian Wells Golf Resort, Palm Springs, California
9. TPC Sawgrass, Ponte Verda Beach, Florida
10. Bandon Dunes Golf Course and Resort, Bandon, Oregon
Best Golf Courses By Private Jet
Playa Grande Golf & Ocean Club, Dominican Republic
Ever wanted to tee off amid lush rainforest, rolling hills, and seaside cliffs, all on one course? Playa Grande Golf & Ocean Club’s Rees-Jones-designed 18-hole championship course has the most oceanfront fairways in the western hemisphere. Set within the course are luxurious private villas operated by Magellan Jets’ partner Amanera—guests staying at these villas, fully serviced and managed by Aman resorts, will have access to the amenities of both Amanera resort and Playa Grande Golf and Ocean Club.
Whistling Straits, Kohler, Wisconsin
Whistling Straits is set to host the Ryder Cup in September, has hosted multiple PGA championships, and was ranked as the #3 public golf course in the country by Golf Digest. Though sculpted into the Lake Michigan coast of Wisconsin, the rugged, wind-swept Straits and Irish courses, designed by World Hall of Fame golf course architect Pete Dye, evoke the classic links of the Emerald Isle. Stay at Destination Kohler’s collection of private cabins, set in secluded woodlands and full of fantastic amenities.
The Broadmoor, Colorado Springs, Colorado
The Broadmoor first opened to guests in 1918. Since then, Jack Nicklaus won his first national title and major championship there in 1959, Annika Sorenstam won her first U.S. Women’s Open there in 1995, and it hosted the 2008 and 2018 U.S. Senior Opens. Aside from this rich history, the resort offers two courses designed by Donald Ross and Robert Trent Jones, Sr. that meander through the foothills of Colorado Springs’ Cheyenne Mountains. The East Course features wide, tree-lined fairways, while the West Course’s more challenging terrain includes multi-level greens and an abundance of difficult hazards. The Broadmoor resort offers unmatched Rocky Mountains lodging and activities like horseback riding and mountain biking.
Pinehurst Resort, Pinehurst, North Carolina
The nine courses that anchor the golf resort billed as “America’s St. Andrews” and “The cradle of American golf” are steeped in history. Pinehurst’s first course, designed by Donald Ross, opened 120 years ago, and their newest, a nine-hole short course dubbed The Cradle, is “the most fun 10 acres in all of golf” according to The Golf Channel. For lodging, the resort’s Carolina Villas offer perfect privacy and luxury for golf groups, with private, separately-keyed guest rooms sharing a spacious living room and amenities like marble bathrooms, balconies, and patios.
Abaco Club, The Bahamas
Less than 200 miles off the coast of Florida is the #1-ranked course in the Bahamas, the Donald Steel and Tom Mackenzie-designed course at The Abaco Club on Winding Bay. The course combines a Scottish-style links design with a lush Caribbean landscape including dunes, palm trees, seaside, and sand. Abaco says the course, full of pot bunkers and sloping greens, is designed to play “firm and fast.” Private lodging options include luxurious state homes and cozy oceanfront cottage villas for the ultimate island experience once you’ve hit the links.
Shadow Creek, Las Vegas, Nevada
This exclusive, unique course was first designed as a private club for hotel and casino mogul Steve Wynn, and is now open to guests staying at MGM Resorts International locations. The truly one-of-a-kind golf experience begins with a private limousine to the course from the resort. Shadow Creek’s Tom Fazio-designed course is an oasis in the middle of the Nevada Desert, ringed by mountains and dotted with waterfalls and lush greenery. Since it opened in 1990, it has been called “the most luxurious US golf course” by Forbes, and has hosted “The Match: Tiger vs. Phil” in 2018 and the CJ Cup in 2020.
Augusta National Golf Club, Augusta, Georgia
If dad loves following professional golf as much as he loves hitting the links himself, he probably dreams of playing the legendary club that has hosted the Master’s Tournament each year since 1934. Designed by Bobby Jones and Alister MacKenzie, each hole at this storied course has its own name—Tea Olive, Flowering Crab Apple, Pink Dogwood—and though PGA fans may know them well, few actually get to play there. Augusta is one of the most exclusive courses in the world; membership is by invitation, and only members can play the course.
Indian Wells Golf Resort, Palm Springs, California
The 36 holes at Indian Wells Golf Resort have received many accolades over the years, and are renowned for their natural beauty. The Players Course is lauded for its stately palms and views of the surrounding mountains; the Celebrity Course, meanwhile, features floral-lined fairways and many water features in the form of flowing streams, babbling brooks, and waterfalls connecting split-level lakes. The nearby Miramonte Resort & Spa offers a Villa Suite with a private entrance and garden terrace, offering spaciousness and privacy in a desert paradise.
TPC Sawgrass, Ponte Verda Beach, Florida
Home of The Player’s Championship every March, TPC Sawgrass has 36 Pete Dye-designed holes to play between the Players Stadium Course and Dye’s Valley Course. The Stadium Course was designed to be a championship-caliber course accessible to golfers of all levels. Fans will recognize the Stadium Course’s famed 17th hole, known as “The Island Green”—a green almost completely surrounded by water. TPC Sawgrass even offers the Tour Player Experience, which will let dad enjoy behind-the-scenes touches and play through just as his favorite PGA players do with a completely personalized VIP package.
Bandon Dunes Golf Course and Resort, Bandon, Oregon
Four of Bandon Dunes’ Scottish-style links courses made Golf Digest’s list of 100 greatest public courses. The rugged Pacific Northwest coastal landscape offers fantastic oceanfront golf with unforgettable scenery. Architect David McLay Kidd sought to use the area’s native dunes to challenge and reward skilled golfers on courses perched on high bluffs above the Pacific Ocean. Dad and his friends can stay in the resort’s private Grove Cottages, perfectly designed for groups of four, with four private rooms sharing a parlor and patio.
