Our Top 5 Pete Dye Designs

It’s PLAYERS Championship week and that means a steady diet of golf the way Pete Dye intended it to be: challenging, dramatic and anything but boring. Dye’s Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass has a history as unique as its infamous 17th hole. Back in the early 1980s, then PGA TOUR commissioner Deane Beman bought 415 acres of wooded wetlands and swamp for $1. He then commissioned Dye to design a golf course that favored no particular player and focused heavily on spectator viewing. Dye delivered: the Stadium Course has a wide variety of short and long par-3s, par-4s and par-5s. Oh, and that island green? We can thank Dye’s wife, Alice, for that amazing golf hole, it was her idea after all.

With summer well and truly upon us, it's time to start planning our vacation days. When it comes down to it, we all know that it can be super expensive to play golf. There are many places out there that will charge you a small fortune for a simple round of golf.

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If you love playing golf but are not at liberty to pay a $500 green fee in places like Pebble Beach or Shadow Creek, you are not alone. Good golf doesn’t have to break the bank. All over the U.S., there are public golf courses and golf-centered retirement communities where you can still get excellent golf, beautiful scenery, and affordable prices. Here is our short list of the five best affordable golf courses and five of the best affordable golf retirement communities, where you can get excellent value golf all at excellent prices. (Prices are approximate peak season public rates and may vary.) So put the money back in your pocket, and enjoy some amazing golf

If you plan your vacations around golf, chances are you usually focus on which courses provide the best challenge or are most unique. But have you ever considered which clubs have the best clubhouses? These structures often set the tone for a club and help you feel miles away from everyday life thanks to their style and amenities. Check out our list of the top 10 clubhouses in America and you might just find the perfect spot for your next weekend getaway.

While you can leave the top hat, tuxedo, and bow tie at home (unless that’s your thing), it’s important for everyone to remember basic etiquette on the course. If you’ve ever been waiting for a hole for an excessive amount of time, had a shadow come over your ball, or felt boxed in at the tee box, you know what we’re talking about. Ladies and gentlemen, allow us to introduce you to the rules of basic golf etiquette. 1) Do the honors. The player who took the lowest number of strokes on the previous hole has the honor of teeing off first at the next hole. However, if the player up-to-tee is not ready, then ready golf it is! Do your part to keep up the pace. 2) Wave players through. If you and your buddies are playing at a slower pace than the waiting group behind you, simply let them play through. 3) Pay attention and keep track of where you are in relation to other golfers. For safety reasons, always be aware of where others are hitting and stand behind or even with them. Don’t overstep the mark: it’s never wise to stand in front of a golfer (no matter how good they think they are). 4) Wondering if you should go for the green or not? If the players on the green are reachable, don’t hit your approach shot yet, even if you’re not sure you could make it. You wouldn’t want to feel rushed because of the group behind you. It’s common courtesy. 5) Calling all fellow golf ball hunters! If the course is busy and there are several groups on every hole, don’t spend more than seven minutes looking for your lost ball. (Don’t worry, Lost Golf Balls will find it later. After all, it’s what we do!) 6) Without a shadow of a doubt, be mindful of shadow hock. When another golfer is putting, don’t let your shadow obscure their line of putt. 7) Watch your step; you don’t want to accidentally step into a putting line. Be polite and walk around. 8) Think outside the box—the tee box that is. Don’t disturb a player on the tee by talking or moving during their swing. It’s not polite to stand directly behind them either. 9) Fix any marks with either a ball-mark repair tool or even a tee. That way, you can help the green heal quicker and maintain the overall aesthetic of the course for everyone. 10) Know and follow the cart path rules for the day. Some courses don’t allow carts on certain holes in an effort to keep fairways in better shape after adverse weather conditions. So please, remember to mind your P’s and Q’s on the course and we’ll tip our hats to you—before collecting those magically disappearing balls that require more than seven minutes to find. And at Lost Golf Balls, get a golf ball that minds its manners on the course.

What is it like to go golfing in a winter wonderland? For many courses around the country, winter means bare trees, icy waters, and greens white with snow. But winter golf doesn’t have to be like that—there are some places, even in the wintertime, where the land is teeming with wildflowers, the grass is as green as ever, and a cool ocean breeze is welcome on a sunny day. We picked our five favorite courses all over the country where you can play a round year-round.

Where do you want to be when your club meets your golf ball? Where water meets earth? How about where Lake Michigan, the Puget Sound, or the Pacific Ocean meets Wisconsin, Washington, or California? Let us take you to the ten must-play golf courses in the United States.