In golf travel news this week are items from True Blue, McLemore, Eagle Ridge and more.
Champion Hills Earns Place Among America’s Top 200 Modern Golf Courses in Golfweek Ranking
Champion Hills has been ranked No. 153 in Golfweek’s 2026 list of America’s Top 200 Modern Golf Courses, a category that evaluates layouts built since 1960. The ranking places the Tom Fazio design among a crowded field of highly regarded modern courses across the country.
Located in the Blue Ridge Mountains near Hendersonville, North Carolina, Champion Hills is known for its use of terrain. The course moves through significant elevation changes, with several holes routed along ridgelines that open to wide mountain views. Fazio’s design leans into variety, mixing downhill approaches, uneven lies, and shifting sightlines that keep the round from feeling repetitive.
Golfweek’s rankings are based on evaluations of design, conditioning, memorability, and overall playing experience.
The course has also appeared on Golfweek’s list of top residential golf communities. Amenities beyond golf—trails, racquet sports, and social spaces—are part of that broader appeal, though the course itself remains the primary draw.
True Blue: Big, Bold and Pure Mike Strantz
True Blue Golf Club has always stood a little apart from the typical Myrtle Beach golf experience. Since opening in 1998, Mike Strantz’s design in Pawleys Island has offered something larger in scale and looser in philosophy than many of its neighbors.
Read GolfBlogger’s review of Caledonia, True Blue’s sister course, also designed by Mike Strantz.
Built on a former indigo plantation, True Blue is defined first by its size. Fairways are expansive, greens are oversized and contoured, and bunkers stretch across the landscape in a way that feels more sculptural than penal. The visual impression is bold, but the playing experience is more forgiving than it initially appears.
Strantz, known for his unconventional approach to architecture, gives players room off the tee while still emphasizing angles and decision-making into the greens. The width encourages aggressive play, but approach shots and green complexes introduce enough complexity to differentiate scoring outcomes. It’s a course that can accommodate a wide range of skill levels without feeling diluted.
The routing adds another layer of variety. With five par 3s and five par 5s, the round avoids a standard rhythm, highlighted by back-to-back par 5s at holes nine and ten that create a natural scoring stretch. Late in the round, water hazards become more prominent, shifting the challenge and tightening decision-making down the stretch.
More than 25 years after its debut, True Blue remains a clear representation of Strantz’s design tendencies: visually dramatic, strategically flexible, and built to prioritize engagement over restraint. It continues to anchor Pawleys Island as a distinct stop within the broader Myrtle Beach golf landscape.
Israel Open Golf Championship to be held in Caesarea in October
CAESAREA, Israel — The Israel Open Golf Championship will be held Oct. 11–13 at Caesarea Golf Club on Israel’s Mediterranean coast.
The 18-hole, par-72 course plays to a maximum of 7,200 yards and features dunes and lakes.
Golf course architect Pete Dye designed the course.
“Golf has long been defined by iconic destinations in the United States, from Augusta National to Pebble Beach,” said Yoram Elgrabli, Tourism Commissioner for North America, Israel Ministry of Tourism. “We welcome American golfers to compete in the Israel Open Golf Championship in Caesarea this fall.”
The tournament will feature Professional, Amateur, Masters, Grand Masters and Youth divisions, with formats and scoring governed by IGA category rules. If entries exceed capacity, selection will be based on handicap ranking, with preference given to lower handicaps.
Registration is open, with a deadline of Sept. 1, 2026. Full details are available at
Eagle Ridge Resort and Spa Honors Veterans With Two-Day Fourth of July Celebration Benefiting Honor Flight
Eagle Ridge Resort & Spa in Galena, Illinois, is hosting a two-day Fourth of July celebration that blends golf, community events, and veteran recognition into a single holiday weekend.
Read GolfBlogger’s Review of Eagle Ridge East, Eagle Ridge North, Eagle Ridge South and The General.
Branded “A Soaring Salute,” the July 3–4 event will benefit Honor Flight of Dubuque and the Tri-States, a nonprofit that provides veterans with trips to Washington, D.C., to visit national memorials. The program is designed as both a fundraiser and a public-facing celebration, with most activities open to guests and local visitors.
The golf component anchors the first day’s schedule, with the Fourth Annual Honor Flight Golf Scramble taking place on the resort’s North Course. It’s part of a broader lineup that includes a Firecracker 5K/10K run, a skydiving demonstration from Team Fastrax, and a WWII living history encampment featuring reenactors and period equipment. The day closes with a Jeep showcase and additional on-site events.
Programming shifts on July 4 to a more family-oriented format at the resort’s Shenandoah Riding Center. Activities include live music, pony and wagon rides, and standard festival offerings like food vendors and games, positioning the event as a regional draw beyond just golf.
McLemore Courses Lauded by Golfweek in ‘Best Courses You Can Play, State-by-State’and ‘Best Modern’ Rankings
McLemore Resort continues to build momentum as one of the Southeast’s emerging golf destinations, with both of its courses earning recognition in Golfweek’s latest rankings.
Read GolfBlogger’s review of the Keep.
In the publication’s 2026 “Best Courses You Can Play, State-by-State” list, The Keep debuted as the No. 2 public-access course in Georgia, while the Highlands Course checked in at No. 7. The Keep also landed at No. 80 on Golfweek’s list of the Top 200 Modern Courses in the U.S., placing it among a competitive group of layouts built since 1960.
Designed by Bill Bergin and Rees Jones, The Keep has quickly attracted national attention since its debut, including “Best New Course” honors from Sports Illustrated and additional recognition from Golf Digest and Golfweek. The layout is defined by its dramatic setting atop Lookout Mountain, most notably a stretch of five cliffside holes overlooking McLemore Cove that shape much of its visual identity.
The Highlands Course, the resort’s original layout, continues to hold its own in rankings as well. It remains particularly well known for its closing hole, frequently cited among the best finishing holes in American golf.
Beyond the courses, McLemore has expanded into a full-scale resort experience. The recent addition of the Cloudland hotel, part of Hilton’s Curio Collection, adds lodging, dining, and amenities that position the property as a destination rather than a single-course stop. A six-hole short course, The Cairn, rounds out the golf offering.
Escalante Golf Announces Transformational Expansion at Kingsley Club
Kingsley Club is set for a significant expansion, as Escalante Golf has begun work on a multi-phase project that will add a second course and a new clubhouse to the highly regarded northern Michigan property.
Read GolfBlogger’s Kingsley Club Review.
The centerpiece of the roughly $40 million investment is a new 18-hole layout from Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw. Routed across a newly acquired 520-acre parcel near the existing site, the course is expected to reflect the minimalist principles associated with both the architects and Kingsley itself. Plans call for fescue fairways, native grasses, and limited land movement, with a walkable routing that includes a 19th “bye hole” looping back to the clubhouse early in the round. Preview play is anticipated in 2028, with a full opening scheduled for 2029.
The addition will complement the club’s original Mike DeVries design, which has earned consistent national recognition, including appearances in multiple Top 100 and modern-era rankings.
Off the course, construction is also underway on a new clubhouse, scheduled to open in spring 2027. Replacing the club’s long-standing temporary structure, the new building will add expanded dining, locker rooms, and gathering spaces, while maintaining a restrained architectural style intended to match the club’s understated identity.
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