Marriage of links and spa at golf resorts satisfies both sexes

The Old Course Hotel in St. Andrews, Scotland, has a state-of-the-art spa facility including a large lap-pool, saunas and a fully equipped gymnasium and fitness center

In this story: St. Andrews, Scotland Pebble Beach, California Hawaii American Southwest Southeast Asia On the high seas RELATED STORIES, SITES

By Stanley H. and Nancy S. Murray
Los Angeles Times Syndicate

(Los Angeles Times Syndicate) -- Among the myriad of problems associated with being married to an avid golfer is the bleak anticipation of repeated weekends alone, or those too frequent golfing "vacations" when there's little else to do but wait for him or her to return from the links.

How times have changed. Today, increasing numbers of former nongolfers are thrilled to be married to diehards and actually encourage their spouses to take more golf holidays so they can go, too.

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But it's not the golf that's attracting them. Instead, they journey far and wide to be pampered in the plethora of luxurious spas and spa facilities that have almost overnight become as important to golf destinations as the golf courses.

No longer limited to a few like Deauville, France's Hotel du Golf and its fabled oceanfront spa, Southern California's La Costa, or Florida's Doral Saturnia, many of the best-known venues in golf, as well as numerous Four Seasons, Hyatt and Ritz-Carlton Resorts now put almost as much emphasis on marketing their spas as they do on their golf.

And believe it or not, the spas are as popular with men as they are with women.

According to I. Martin Davis, a leading authority on consumer golf and president of American Golfer, publishers of specialty golf books, "Spas associated with golf resorts enable families to take vacations all can enjoy. What's happening is that more and more wives are beginning to take up the game while on holiday, while the husbands are availing themselves of the spa facilities."

Perhaps the prime example of this unlikely phenomenon is The Old Course Hotel, adjacent to the legendary 17th or Road Hole at St. Andrews. Not only has the hotel built a state-of-the-art spa facility including a large lap-pool, saunas, steam rooms and a whirlpool, there's also a fully equipped gymnasium and fitness center. The hotel has even taken the unprecedented step of enticing women to come to St. Andrews, the birthplace of the game, to play golf with a unique "for women-only golf retreat."

The Spa at Pebble Beach is a sanctuary for golfers and non-golfers alike

Now any golfer worth his divots will be quick to admonish that women on the sacred links of the Old Course at St. Andrews, home of the Royal and Ancient, the governing body of golf, are definitely a no-no. But then again, with the politics, lottery for daily tee-times and ongoing uncertainty of even men being able to play the Old Course, there's now an option for everyone.

The Old Course Hotel has recently built its own course, The Duke's, overlooking the village. Designed by Peter Thompson, it's the first and only parkland layout at that mecca of golf, and already extremely popular.

As one woman guest pointed out, "Not only can I luxuriate at the spa, but after all these years of listening to my husband and his friends brag about their exploits on the fairways, at last I can learn golf while experiencing the euphoria and exhilaration of playing in the ancestral home of the game, and site of the British Open."

And come 2005, when the Ryder Cup is played at the ultra-posh Kildare Hotel and Country Club, better known as the K Club, in Safran, Kildare County, Ireland, there will be two kinds of attendees -- those coming to witness the famed international golf rivalries, and those wanting to indulge in the resort's spa with its indoor pool, sauna, Jacuzzi, exercise room and solarium and extensive list of massage therapies, many of which have been specially designed for golfers.

Similarly, at California's Pebble Beach, arguably the citadel of the game and the most celebrated golf course in North America, a sybaritic spa opened last year at the new Casa Palmero resort, adjacent to the renowned Lodge at Pebble Beach. Think of it as being to American spas what Pebble Beach's golf course is to all others, save for The Old Course at St. Andrews.

As a resort spa, it's simply unequaled in providing a tranquil oasis to golfers and nonplayers alike. There, they can experience head-to-toe indulgence and where, after a round of golf, couples can lounge together in an intimate and romantic setting consisting of a 22,000-square-foot Mediterranean-style retreat surrounded by fragrant gardens, trellised walkways, soothing fountains and the splendor of the nearby Del Monte Forest.

Soothing mineral baths are among the treatments offered at the Spa Grande at the Grand Wailea Resort on Maui, Hawaii

Just a chip shot away down scenic 17-Mile Drive is the links-design course at the Inn at Spanish Bay, a lesser-known sister property of Pebble Beach. Not only is the cost of a round of golf at Spanish Bay far less expensive, but aficionados claim the ocean-front course is on a par with its better-known neighbor. And there's also a full spa, complete with areas for massages and European-style facials.

Also on the Pacific, though almost 1,000 miles to the south at the tip of Mexico's Baja, is a 4-year-old resort that has immediately earned a top spot on everyone's list of great destinations. It's Las Ventanas al Paraiso, or Windows to Paradise, part of the Rosewood Group that includes the Mansion on Turtle Creek, Little Dix Bay and London's Lanesborough Hotel.

Built into a hillside and cascading down to over three miles of unbroken white sand beach and three championship golf courses in the rolling hills above it, Las Ventanas features a superb spa facility that's equaled only by the comfort level of its sumptuous suites and unexcelled service. Virtually whispering with a seductive style and casual elegance, it's truly the perfect elixir for those traveling with nongolfers.

Several of Hawaii's upmarket resorts have also jumped on the spa bandwagon, or should we say massage table. Topping the list is the tres elegant Spa Grande at the Grand Wailea Resort on Maui, built in the early 1990s.

The premier resort in the Wailea complex built around three 18-hole championship courses, it's claimed that there will probably never be another hotel offering as much in such splendor as this 780 suite and room temple to life's exalted pleasures, many of which are found in its 50,000-square-foot spa.

Covering two floors, with one "wet," the other "dry," Spa Grande is based on an East Meets West philosophy, blending traditional Hawaiian healing techniques with the finest and most advanced European, Japanese and Indian spa treatments and therapies.

Much of the desert of America's Southwest has, over the years, been turned into verdant, challenging golf courses. Among the first was the ageless La Quinta Resort in Palm Desert, California, which welcomed its first guests back in 1926, and has never looked back.

The resort is the only one in the world to actually have a town named after it. And although the 640-casita hotel encompasses just 45 acres, its list of guest amenities is unmatched, with 25 swimming pools, 38 whirlpool spas, four restaurants, a shopping plaza, a 23-court tennis club, and five of the country's award-winning golf courses. And, you can now add a 23,000-square-foot spa facility to the list.

Spa La Quinta, completed in late 1998, is the epitome of the latest in resort spas with indoor and al fresco massage and treatment facilities, signature La Quinta Celestial Showers and an adjacent fitness center. Dedicated to the concept of "wellness," its programs combine the advanced knowledge of today with ancient treatments of the indigenous Mexican and Native American cultures.

The Greater Phoenix, Arizona area, nicknamed "The Valley of the Sun," but in reality more like "The Great Valley of Golf" because of the abundance of grand golf resorts, has seen a profusion of new spa facilities that have rapidly evolved into a major draw.

Such is the case at one of the region's truly grande dames, the legendary Arizona Biltmore, which, with the completion of its luxurious spa about a year ago, has suddenly become as well known for the spa's restorative and healing therapies as for its championship golf.

The treatments at the Biltmore's 22,000-square-foot spa, which has already been named the best in the state, have been culled from the ancient therapies of the local Native American tribes, and are based on indigenous desert herbs like aloe and rosemary.

Combining great golf with the opportunity to be pampered in a spa is gaining popularity in Asia as well. On the Thai island of Phuket, the Banyan Tree Club, one of five luxurious hotels comprising the Laguna Phuket Resort, guests can play the highly acclaimed Max Wexler-designed Banyan Tree Course either before or after having a treatment at the club's world-class spa.

In the same corner of the world, Shangri-La, with 37 luxury resorts in Southeast Asia, now has two properties on Saba, East Malaysia, offering both championship golf and state-of-the-art spa facilities. The newest is Rasa Ria, at the point where the jungle meets the South China Sea, overlooking Dalit Bach. The other is Tanjung Aru at Kota Kinabalu, better known as KK, at the mouth of the harbor.

However, perhaps the most unique and indeed pleasurable golf spa isn't to be found on terra firma. It's Silversea Cruises' Silver Links golf program, offering those who share a passion for the game the opportunity to play at the most revered courses in the world during eight imaginative 10- to 16-day itineraries created to give travelers an international golf experience like no other.

Guests participating in the Silver Links program will be called upon to test their swings at 39 breathtaking and legendary courses throughout Australia and New Zealand, the Mediterranean, the British Isles and North America, with each voyage featuring between four and five rounds of golf, depending on the particular cruise.

Couple this to the ecstasy of Silversea's famed Mandara Spas, noted for naturally blended treatments and Balinese techniques, and one has a mind-boggling combination of cruising on the best-rated ships, playing several of the world's most renowned courses and being pampered in one of the highest acclaimed spas.

Have spa facilities at golf resorts impacted the game? H.K. Pickens, editor of The Golfer definitely thinks so.

"While the number of golfers in the United States has remained reasonably stable at 26 million for several years," claims Pickens, "what has changed is the number of guests at those upscale resorts offering both golf and spas who not only bring their families, but tend to come more often. In other words, the proliferation of golf spas has given the game a new dimension, making it almost a world-wide destination for players and nonplayers alike."

This has led to another quandary. Does one visit the spa before or after a round of golf? For those looking to improve their game, experts recommend having a massage beforehand. But to simply luxuriate and be pampered, make an appointment for afterward.

Or do both! Chances are your happy golf widow or widower will be there all the while.

(c) 2000, Stanley H. and Nancy S. Murray. Distributed by the Los Angeles Times Syndicate.

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