7 California Golf Resorts from Pebble Beach to Wine Country

Overlooking the Pacific Ocean from its bluff-top perch, with fire pits, sustainable menus, and surf lessons available just around the corner, the Ritz-Carlton Half Moon Bay is the ultimate California experience. Add two championship golf courses to the mix and you’ll understand why it’s especially beloved by discerning golfers.

Foodies will particularly savor a stay here, where the abundance of surrounding wineries and organic farms provide endless culinary opportunities for the resort’s kitchens. Make a reservation at Navio for an upscale ocean-to-table seafood meal (Sunday brunch is a particular treat here), or take a more casual approach at The Conservatory, where beach house vibes accentuate locally-inspired craft cocktails and a menu of elevated California comfort meals.

For the al fresco experience, sip beer or wine at The Ocean Terrace while sampling the raw bar menu by a fire at sunset. The combination of the freshest ingredients and stress-free California-cool at all three venues will remind you why you chose the golden state for your golf getaway in the first place.

No American locale is more synonymous with wine than Napa Valley. More than 400 wineries call Napa home, so if you love grapes as much as golf, Silverado Resort and Spa is the spot for you.

Bike or hike the Napa Valley Vine Trail to some of the several wineries just outside the resort, and extend the wine experience after your return with a visit to The Spa At Silverado. Here, you’ll find the Chardonnay Sugar Scrub treatment among other more traditional massages, scrubs, and salon services.

Equally chic and well-appointed, choosing between Silverado’s four accommodation varieties should ultimately come down to location. For the truly immersive golf getaway, stay at The Grove or Oak Creek, where golf course views are plentiful (Oak Creek also boasts the largest accommodations of the four options). Those looking to be more centrally located to Silverado’s additional amenities should opt for Mansion Estates or Cottage Drive, where the property’s swimming pools, tennis courts, and, of course, golf courses are all easily accessible.

The 36 holes at Pelican Hill Golf Club may be woven into Southern California’s coastal cliffs, but the Resort at Pelican Hill is modeled on the work of 16th-century Italian architect Andrea Palladio, resembling the Venetian villas for which he is most famous.

Imposing columns giving way to sweeping vistas, Italian plaster and hand-carved terra cotta grace the exteriors, and most accommodations are appointed with marble bathrooms, wood beam ceilings, and limestone fireplaces. Outside, the scene is just as reminiscent of Northern Italy as the painstakingly authentic interiors. Cypress, fig, palm, and pine trees grace the landscape where 100-year old olive trees have been transplanted to create Pelican Hill’s very own grove.

No stay is complete without a dip in the coliseum pool. Experience the convergence of the Italian Renaissance and contemporary California in this perfectly circular stunner, 136 feet in diameter, where 1.1 million hand-cut glass mosaic tiles were hand-placed to create the pool’s exquisite floor, and the views of open landscape, including the golf course, are seemingly endless.

There may be no more romanticized course in California than Pebble Beach Golf Links, and if you’re looking for a resort to match that aura of elegance and prestige, Casa Palmero is for you. The 24-room Mediterranean-style villa epitomizes old-world class with luxurious room categories ranging from the 585-square-foot Estate Rooms to the 1,268-square-foot Palmero Suite, featuring a private garden entrance and a patio courtyard with an outdoor whirlpool. But it’s the personal services that push this property over the top.

Enjoy the breakfast basket delivered to your room or suite along with your choice of newspaper before heading to The Spa at Pebble Beach for a pre-golf warm-up service designed specifically to improve your game through stretches and soft-tissue releases. After your morning round, head back to The Spa for post-golf therapy, focusing on your forearms, neck, lower back, and hips to aid in a quicker recovery (be sure not to miss this treatment if you’re going to play again tomorrow).

Later, take advantage of your complimentary Lexus loan to cruise down 17-Mile Drive in search of the Lone Cyprus, the symbol of Pebble Beach and one of the most photographed trees in North America. Head back in time for evening cocktails and hors d’ouevres, another gratis service provided by Casa Palmero.

If any California golf resort deserves more than one entry on this list, it’s Pebble Beach. The Inn at Spanish Bay (unsurprisingly situated along the spectacular holes of The Links at Spanish Bay) is Pebble Beach’s luxurious nod to Scottish ambiance along the California coast. Just how Scottish is it? Every evening, you’ll find the Spanish Bay Bagpiper playing during a 45-minute stroll from the first tee to the fire pits near the second green. The tradition was borne of a quip made by course co-designer Tom Watson who surveyed the course and said, “Spanish Bay is so much like Scotland, you can almost hear the bagpipes.”

Choose between ocean view, garden view, or forest view rooms, and indulge in bathroom amenities provided by The Spa at Pebble Beach, but don’t spend too much time lounging about in your plush robe. Explore the facilities at The Spanish Bay Club and The Beach & Tennis Club, both included with your stay, featuring tennis pavilions, modern fitness centers, and indoor and outdoor swimming pools. Your membership to these clubs also nabs you discounts of up to 20 percent off at resort restaurants, retail outlets, and The Spa, where you can stock up on some more of those indulgent bathroom amenities to relive some of the experience at home.

Diego is a year-round paradise of near-perfect weather that couldn’t be better for golf-lovers, and The Grand Golf Club at Fairmont Grand Del Mar takes full advantage of its consistently warm and reliably dry climate. It’s a private course for resort guests, club members, and villa owners, so your only way to play this Tom Fazio-designed course is with a stay at the property. Fairmont Grand Del Mar was voted the number one luxury hotel in California and packs a trove of accolades including a Forbes Five Star rating, AAA Five Diamond rating, and the only Five Star and Five Diamond restaurant in Southern California, Addison (go for the coffee roasted canard).

After golf, soak up the California sun with a host of other outdoor activities facilitated by the resort. You’ll find resort standards like swimming pools and tennis courts, but the Equestrian Center is where Fairmont Grand Del Mar edges out its competitors. Slap on some sunscreen and hop in the saddle for a trail ride through neighboring Los Peñasquitos Canyon. If you haven’t ridden before, consider a personal riding lesson first, and if you’ve brought the kids along, sign them up for pony rides or even horse day camp to get the whole family involved in this unique offering rarely found outside of the ranches.

Nestled in the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains of Northern California, Rosewood CordeValle is home to a championship Robert Trent Jones Jr. golf course that you’ll undoubtedly love, but the surprise just off the 6th hole is extra special. Here, Close LeChance winery sits perched above its 85-acre vineyard in a setting that is truly idyllic.

Stop by for a tasting or spend an afternoon with a picnic lunch and a tour of the winery where the hand-picked grapes are processed. If Close LeChance whets your appetite for more tasting, Rosewood CordeValle can arrange an itinerary with several additional estate wineries nearby.

Indulge further with a visit to Sense Spa, where local herbs, plants, fruits, and minerals are incorporated into specialty treatments designed to maximize their healing properties. Set aside a day to focus on your total wellness with the CordeValle Journey package, which begins with a fresh air hike through the surrounding hills and a light lunch followed by a two-hour head-to-toe massage with scalp and foot treatments capped by a customized facial. This rejuvenating journey takes about six hours from hike to facial.