Kiawah Island South Carolina
The sight of an alligator sunning itself feet away as you line up your putt is not one to be missed — unlike the putt. The renowned and feared Ocean Course is one of four that sit in a pristine — and protected — stretch of saltwater marshes. There's a hotel and villas to rent: all on the sumptuous side. kiawahresort.com
The Grove Hertfordshire
The Grove is many hotels in one: glam media hangout, conference centre, mega-spa and grand country house for the green-belt moneyed. It's also a very fine golf destination for anyone a bit fed up with dress codes, fusty clubhouses and closed membership lists. If you have the money, you play. thegrove.co.uk
Royal Westmoreland Barbados
The Westmoreland has established itself as a fixture on the Caribbean golfing scene in the past decade, thanks to the patronage of course-side residents such as Ian Woosnam. The designer Robert Trent-Jones called this his 'purest' course. The par three 12th, complete with its own ravine, certainly is: pure evil. The resort is a collection of luxury villas and penthouse apartments. royalwestmoreland.com
Cameron House Loch Lomond
Cameron House, now owned by the same people as The Hotel Du Vin, is a more relaxed proposition for guests and golfers than some of the more forbidding Scottish golf resorts. Its newly opened Carrick championship course is a delight for golfers and geologists, as it straddles the great rift between highland and lowland Scotland. cameronhouse.co.uk
Mount Juliet kilkenny
The K Club may have gained everyone's attention when it landed the Ryder Cup for Ireland but Georgian Mount Juliet remains the classy grande dame of Irish golf. The hotel, near the characterful village of Thomastown, is set in fine Kilkenny countryside. The course was designed by Jack Nicklaus and wooed Tiger Woods who rhapsodised about the 'perfect fairways'. mountjuliet.ie
