Great golf getaways on the cheap - Off Duty, Sports, Hunting, Fishing - Navy Times

Great golf getaways on the cheap

Honolulu

With 90 holes spread across six courses, all within an hour’s drive, you’d be hard-pressed to find more military golf courses packed in a smaller area. And we’re talking world-class locations.

For nongolfers in your crew, the real question is, what isn’t there to do? If they get bored with the beaches, they can hike, bike, go on island excursions and visit historical must-sees such as the USS Arizona Memorial.

Mamala Bay Golf Course, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam: 18 holes, http://hickamservices.com (go to Recreation, click Golf, then scroll all the way down)

Navy-Marine Golf Course, Pearl Harbor: 18 holes, http://hickamservices.com (search keyword “navy-marine golf”)

Kaneohe Klipper Golf Course, Marine Corps Base Hawaii: 9 holes, http://www.mccshawaii.com/golf.shtml

Leilehua Golf Course, Wheeler Army Airfield: 18 holes, http://mwrarmyhawaii.com/leilehua

Walter J. Nagorski Golf Course, Fort Shafter: 9 holes, http://mwrarmyhawaii.com/walter-j-nagorski

Barbers Point Golf Course, near the former Naval Air Station Barbers Point in Ewa: 18 holes, http://hickamservices.com (go to Recreation and click on Golf)

California

Monterey Pines, Monterey: 9 holes, http://www.nps.edu/Services/MWR (Monterey Pines is listed under Fitness and Recreation)

MCAS Miramar Memorial Golf Course: 18 holes, http://www.mccsmiramar.com/golfcourse.html

Marshallia Ranch Golf Course, Vandenberg Air Force Base: 18 holes, http://www.30fss.com/fscg.html

Navy Golf Course, Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach: 18 holes and 9 holes, http://www.navygc.com/

Admiral Baker Golf Course, Naval Base San Diego: two 18-hole courses, http://abmc.gshotts.com/

Sea ’N Air Golf Course, Naval Air Station North Island: 18 holes, http://seanairgc.org/index.html

Marine Memorial Golf Course, Camp Pendleton: 18 holes, http://www.mccscp.com/home/recreation/Golf_Course.aspx

Las Vegas

Sunrise Vista, Nellis Air Force Base: three 9-hole courses, http://www.sunrisevistagolf.com

West Texas/New Mexico

Escalating drug war violence puts cross-border shopping excursions off limits for service members, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t plenty on this side of the border. Fort Bliss hosts 36 holes of golf, and two more military-run courses are just across the state line in New Mexico. Off-course fun includes theme parks, state parks and national parks, including the largest urban park in the U.S. with 37 square miles of hiking, biking and climbing, all within El Paso city limits.

Underwood Golf Complex, Fort Bliss, Texas: two 18-hole courses, http://www.blissmwr.com/golf

White Sands Golf Course, White Sands Missile Range, N.M.: 9 holes, http://www.wsmrmwr.com/white_sands_golf_course.php

Apache Mesa Golf Course, Holloman Air Force Base, N.M.: 9 holes, http://www.hollomanfss.com/Golf/Golf.html

San Antonio

Home to the Alamo and the serpentine Riverwalk shopping and dining district, San Antonio also serves up plenty of family-friendly fun, including the Fiesta Texas amusement park and one of the best zoos in the nation.

Salado Del Rio, Fort Sam Houston: two 18-hole championship courses, http://www.fortsamhoustonmwr.com (go to Dining & Leisure and click on Golf Club)

Randolph Oaks Golf Course, Randolph Air Force Base: 18 holes, http://www.randolphfss.com (click Facilities; Randolph Oaks is listed under Community Service Flight)

Gateway Hills Golf Course, Lackland Air Force Base: 18 holes, http://www.lacklandfss.com/gateway_golf.html

Savannah, Ga.

With Hunter Army Airfield’s 18-hole course smack in the middle of midtown Savannah, your golfing day can’t start more conveniently if you’re looking to spend the afternoon exploring the city’s squares (see if you can find the one in the opening scene of “Forrest Gump”) and then catch dinner on a riverboat cruise. Or you could wrap up your day just across the state line at Parris Island’s course that, by most accounts, lives up to its name: The Legends.

Hunter Golf Club, Hunter Army Airfield: 18 holes, http://www.huntermwr.com (look under Recreation, then Recreation Facilities)

Taylors Creek Golf Course, Fort Stewart: 18 holes, http://www.stewartmwr.com (look under Recreation, then Recreation Facilities)

The Legends, Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, S.C.: 18 holes, http://www.mccssc.com/thelegends

Florida

Drive the 100-mile stretch of Florida’s panhandle from Pensacola to Panama City and you’ll pass five military-run golf courses. (Keep going to Florida’s Atlantic coast and you’ll find two more in Jacksonville.)

Farther south, you’ll find courses at MacDill Air Force Base near Tampa on the Gulf coast and Patrick Air Force Base near Cocoa Beach on the Atlantic.

Although the BP oil spill was a disaster for the region, many beaches remain unspoiled.

A.C. Read Golf Club, Naval Air Station Pensacola: 27 championship holes plus an 18-hole executive course, http://www.naspensacola-mwrcom/leisure/acread.htm

Whiting Field Golf Course, NAS Whiting Field: 18 holes, https://www.cnic.navy.mil/WhitingField/MWR/GolfCourse/index.htm

Eglin Golf Course, Eglin Air Force Base: two 18-hole courses, http://eglinforcesupport.com (click on Recreation, then Golf Course)

Gator Lakes Golf Course, Hurlburt Field: 18 holes, www.myhurlburt.com/gatorlakes

Pelican Point Golf Course, Tyndall Air Force Base: 18 holes, http://www.325fss.com/facilities/golf.php

Naval Air Station Jacksonville Golf Course: 27 holes, http://https://www.cnic.navy.mil/Jacksonville (go to Recreation, click on Recreation and Outdoor Activities, then on Golf Course/Pro Shop/Mulligans)

Windy Harbor Golf Club, Naval Station Mayport: 18 holes, https://www.cnic.navy.mil/Mayport/Recreation/OutdoorActivities/Golf

Bay Palms Golf Course, MacDill Air Force Base: two 18-hole courses, http://www.macdillfss.com (click on Recreation, then Bay Palms Golf Complex)

Manatee Cove Golf Course, Patrick Air Force Base: 18 holes, http://www.gopatrickfl.com (click on Golf Course)

Rota, Spain

Sitting at the mouth of the Mediterranean Sea, Rota is within a few hours of skiing in Spain’s Sierra Nevada, bargain-hunting in Moroccan bazaars and beachcombing in Portugal. And while Scotland may get most of the ink in European golf guides, Spain’s southern links are gaining respect, with some dozen courses near Rota.

Capt. Jake Dennis Memorial Golf Course, Naval Station Rota: 18 holes, http://www.rotamwr.com (go to Fitness and click on Golf Course)

Okinawa, Japan

Just a quick air hop from Tokyo, visitors go to Okinawa — Japan’s southernmost island chain — for its warm weather, sandy beaches and abundant water sports, including scuba diving, surfing and fishing.

Taiyo Golf Course teed off March 1, 2010, to become the military’s newest course.

Banyan Tree Golf Complex, Kadena Air Force Base: one 18-hole course, one 9-hole course, http://www.kadenaforcesupport.com/golf

Taiyo Golf Course, Camp Butler: 18 holes, http://www.mccsokinawa.com (click on Recreation & Services, then on Golf)

Guam

Guam and its surrounding islands offer some of the best scuba diving in the world, made easy and affordable through dive shops on base. If you’d rather stay dry, Atlantis Adventures offers 45-minute submarine rides — not the fake variety you find at Disney, but the no-kidding, go-underwater kind.

Meanwhile, you can have fun trying to avoid the water hazards at the island’s two military-run courses.

Admiral Nimitz Golf Course, Naval Base Guam: one 18-hole course, one 9-hole course: http://www.mwrguam.com (click on Recreation, then on the golf course’s logo)

Palm Tree Golf Course, Andersen Air Force Base: 18 holes, http://www.36fss.com (click on Recreation 1).