Judgment Day: Grading Your (and our) 2018 CAGGY Travel Picks

The stunning coastline at Cape Kidnappers (New Zealand), Kingsbarns in Scotland, and Big Cedar Lodge in Missouri are must-play bucket list courses for the avid golfer.
The stunning coastline at Cape Kidnappers (New Zealand) is a must-play bucket list course for the avid golfer

Our Travel Expert, Chris Duthie, weighs in.

By Chris Duthie

[easyazon_infoblock align=”right” identifier=”B074KCKDKP” locale=”US” tag=”coloradoavidg-20″]Each year I eagerly await the 2018 CAGGY Awards, which, despite being a bit of a stomach punch to snowbound Coloradans, does offer a joyous reminder that the state’s 2018 golf season is just a month or two away.

Snow has finally started blanketing the high country and lowlands, which in turn provides time to examine this year’s lucky CAGGY winners. No doubt you’ve already drooled over the list of best out-of-state experiences, but just in case you’d like to double dip into last week’s candy-laced bucket, here it is again:

Your (and our…) 2018 CAGGY Travel Picks – GRADED:


BEST GOLF EXPERIENCE: ARIZONA

Ak-Chin Southern Dunes 5

Troon North, Desert Mountain and the TPC Scottsdale are the deserved public-pick winners, while Ak-Chin Southern Dunes (pictured above), The Boulders and We-Ko-Pa were selected by the Colorado AvidGolfer staff. Great choices every one, but if I were to throw a dart, I’d hope it lands on Ak-Chin Southern Dunes in Maricopa. Its dramatic course routing, Troon-managed customer service, no-houses-anywhere solitude and ease of access make this Lee Schmidt/Brian Curley/Fred Couples collaboration a dynamic and unforgettable design.


BEST GOLF EXPERIENCE: NEW MEXICO

paa ko ridge par 5 12th

If you selected Paa-Ko Ridge (with it’s par-5 12th pictured above), Sandia Golf Club and UNM South Course (public favorites), plus and Sandia Golf Club, Towa Golf Club and Twin Warriors Golf Club (CAG picks), your crystal ball was working perfectly. My hands-down standout is the same as yours and Golf Digest’s — Paa-Ko Ridge, which selected the 27-hole Ken Dye design the No. 1 New Course in America in 2000 and has listed it the best public course in New Mexico ever since. Plus, its panoramic Sandia Park locale is only about 30 minutes east of Albuquerque.


BEST GOLF EXPERIENCE: NEVADA

Wolf Creek -2018 CAGGY Award Winner - Best Nevada Golf Experience

In a state rife with so many America’s Top 100 candidates, I salute those of you that whittled the choices to Wolf Creek Golf Club (iconically pictured above), Shadow Creek and Bear’s Best (public), plus Coyote Springs and Falcon Ridge Golf Club (staff). Looked over were some personal-fav Las Vegas heavyweights like Cascata, Las Vegas Paiute, Rio Secco and Wynn Golf Club, as well as Primm Valley near the Nevada/California state line. Everybody got it right again this year, however — Wolf Creek, the John and Dennis Rider masterpiece — inarguably testifies that a great course doesn’t oblige a big-gun architect to be showered in accolades.


BEST GOLF EXPERIENCE: UTAH

Sand Hollow Resort - 2018 CAGGY Award Winner - Best Utah Golf Experience

Southern Utah again received all the glory in this year’s CAGGYs: Sand Hollow Resort (pictured above), Coral Canyon Golf Course and The Ledges were the public’s choices, while the staff mixed in Entrada at Snow Canyon and The Ledges. It’s easy to see why: Most of these singular courses are also members of Utah’s Red Rock Golf Trail, a collection of 10 courses centered within a 30-minute radius. Still, there’s no arguing that the John Fought-designed Sand Hollow Resort is the cream of the crop, But I’d be remiss to not also mention the Keith Foster-crafted Coral Canyon, which is breathtaking.


BEST GOLF EXPERIENCE: INTERNATIONAL

Scotland's Historic Kingsbarn Golf Links
Chris Says You Missed: Scotland’s Historic Kingsbarns Golf Links

Another “impossible duty” was accomplished here, with St. Andrews, Old Head and Royal Dornoch gaining the public’s favor, and Cabot Links Resort, Cape Kidnappers (pictured atop) and Royal County Down turning the staff’s heads. I revere each of those extraordinary courses, however I think y’all missed your proverbial tee times on this one. Despite their ruthlessly expensive greens fees, I proudly toast as my personal favorites Scotland’s Kingsbarns Golf Links, followed by the timeless but politically stained Trump Turnberry.


BEST GOLF EXPERIENCE: OVERALL

Call Him Nostradamus: Branson, Missouri and Big Cedar Lodge (home to a Tiger Design course) is Duthie’s next golf mecca

There were more super difficult choices in this category, but the winners were all richly deserving: Pebble Beach Resorts, Bandon Dunes Resort and Pinehurst Resort (public), plus Kohler, which obviously includes Whistling Straits (staff). Near misses were the fabulous courses in Los Cabos, Palm Springs, San Antonio, Gaylord and that amazing golf smorgasbord in Alabama, the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail. My vote went to an odds-on dark horse: Branson, Missouri. Maybe I’m a tad premature, but keep an eye out for this burgeoning golf destination, which hosts a super-popular Champion Tour event and will soon add (or already has added) brand new courses crafted by Coore/Crenshaw, Gary Player and Tiger Woods.


RELATED LINKS:

Four Can’t-Miss Experiences in Branson

Winn Big in Sin City

Splendid Springtime in St. George

Las Vegas is Iconic Golf and More

2018 CAGGYs: Travel


Chris Duthie is a contributor to Colorado AvidGolfer, the state’s leading resource for golf and the lifestyle that surrounds it. It publishes eight issues annually and proudly delivers daily content via coloradoavidgolfer.com

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