Next golf destination

So a few years ago my wife and I took a mini vacation in Charleston, South Carolina and had a blast. On our way home to Cincinnati we stopped in NC and I played Tobacco Road early in the morning then finished our trip. I’m looking for our next destination where I can play a fun course at the end of our trip. A couple courses on my list to play are Streamsong and Sweetens Cove. I spend a lot of time in Florida already so I may put Streamsong on the back burner for right now. My main concerns are that it needs to be more than a golf trip. I need to find fun places to eat and visit with my wife so she isn’t bored out of her mind when I’m out playing a round.

Where have you guys gone recently that had some fun courses to play? Preferably somewhere within 1000 miles of southern Ohio.

Check out Michigan - not a bad drive from Cincinnati (I'm from the Dayton area) and lots of shopping/dining/etc in addition to golf. I'm going to Traverse City in May for my anniversary and will be playing Arcadia Bluffs while there. Plenty of other great courses I'd like to play as well if I were planning a dedicated golf trip.

Chattanooga has a fun downtown. You could roll your trip to Sweeten's (and may I take opportunity to recommend Sewannee as I always do when Sweeten's comes up) with a Gatlinburg trip or jaunt up the Blueridge Parkway.

If you just want to slow down and relax Old Waverly and Mossy Oak in Mississippi might be a good trip for you. But there ain't nothing else around or on the way to it.

Depends on time of year;

Summer; Beaver Creek, CO. Lots of great golf courses and many things to do.

Winter; San Antonio. Good golf and fun place to visit.

There's nothing nearby at Streamsong. There's some good stuff to do on the campus, but it's not cheap and only so much you can do at the campus. It's simply in a place that time forgot.

Chattanooga isn't a bad place to visit, but I would get there more towards the summer time.

Pinehurst is usually a good bet. It's very quaint with awesome North Carolina golf.

I've actually been thinking of taking a golf trip to Spokane and staying at Couer D'Alene. It looks wonderful.

A trip to LA really isn't all that bad. I get round trip tickets for $200 from Orlando, rental cars are cheap and stay in the South Bay for $150/night (only 15 minutes from the airport). You can always check out Torrey Pines, Pelican Hill and Rustic Canyon. Or maybe head up to Santa Barbara and play Sandpiper. I've also heard great things about Rams Hill, but it's really out in the middle of nowhere. Lots of stuff to do in SoCal while you're out golfing.

RH

Rams Hill was excellent in the late 1980's and early 90's when I played it. It is out near Borrego Springs which is a haul from SD,CA.

Come to NYC.

Unlimited entertainment, sightseeing, restaurants and there are Bethpage and Trump Links for public to play.

Yeah that’s my concern with Streamsong being in the middle of nowhere. I think I’m going to put it on hold because I visit Florida so much already. I like the advice though!

Why not try Kohler/Sheboygan, Wiconsin? My wife and I took our first trip there about 8 years ago. it was going to be just a one time trip, but we have gone back every year since. There is plenty of great golf for you, Whistling Straits, The Irish, Blackwolf Run, Meadow Valley and the Spa for her. There is also a cool little shopping area near Inn on Woodlake called The Shoppes of Woodlake. Great food, and can also walk the water front in Sheboygan.

The Sheboygan area may have the best collection of public access courses in the world. But obviously, it's a "summer only" destination for those of us who don't like cold weather.

True statements. Probably some of the best collection in an area that is drivable.

If it's a warm season, you might want a beach for your wife, Myrtle Beach, SC.

And you can try a Pinehurst course again on the way home.

Taking the wife to Mendocino this summer for a week and getting away - ocean lodging, hiking, redwoods, great photography opportunities, awesome food based on research so far, maybe a vineyard (not much of a wine drinker so will save big $ vs. some who go that way, lol) and no golf week one ---- week two = Monterey and I can play all I want! Never been to Northern California and seems like the first week will be a true getaway. But golf galore after that, and plenty else to do in the area for either or both of us.

Art, I'm not sure I'd suggest to my wife that she is "beached", lol. ;-) Or are you Art the marine biologist?

Another vote for Chattanooga in the summer. I’d avoid Myrtle Beach and Hilton Head because their beaches actually suck. I like the Wisconsin Dells area in the summer for fun and golf. Upstate New York is cool. So is Boston. As a matter of fact, I’d recommend Cape Cod, MA and check out a Red Sox game while in the area. Go to the North End for some awesome Italian food and be sure to eat some REAL clam chowder while there as well.

You might like to drop in to Northwood GC on your way there or back. It's a superb little 9 hole course through the Redwoods along the Russian River and was designed by Alister Mackenzie. Even if you dont play the drive is really nice.

Wow!

Our travel day after Mendocino is Mendocino to Sausalito, and already planned a stop at Bodega Bay (get some shots of the "schoolhouse" from "The Birds"). It's looking like up early, head down the coast to the golf course, play 9 and lunch in Bodega Bay!

Thanks, this was not on my radar and wouldn't have found it! No way I'm passing this by.

My wife and I are going back to Pebble later this year. It's our second trip there (first was back in 2013). There's so much to do outside of golf. She was actually the one who pushed for us to go back this year. That's how much she loved it.

It might be out of your "1000 miles" range from Ohio, but if you're willing to bend that rule a little I think you'd love it.

For some reason I have zero desire to play Pebble Beach. Im thinking more in lines with being able to pack the car up and make the drive in one day, play some golf, have some fun food and stay in a hotel for a couple nights then drive home all on a reasonable budget.

Oops, disregard my Cali suggestion, but at least it got me a heads up on a great hidden gem!

It’s not a bad suggestion. It’s just a little more travel than I want to handle.