Raven Golf Club at Sandestin

Raven Golf Club at Sandestin: Just east of Destin on Florida's Emerald Coast, the Sandestin Resort boasts four very impressive championship golf courses. Setting off from a clubhouse which it shares with the Baytowne course, the Robert Trent Jones Jr-designed Raven layout exudes a slightly more open feel than Sandestin's other great standard-bearer, the Burnt Pine course (designed by younger brother Rees Jones).

The Raven's out-and-back routing impressively flows through a mix of partly open, partly tree-lined settings. Along the way, several small lakes and ponds flank the fairways and defend the greens. Even though the Raven doesn't get you "bayside" (as does Burnt Pine), it's wonderful variety of golf holes and scenery is accompanied by a dazzling array of flora and fauna. Pampas grass, pristine wetlands and woodlands of oak, pine, magnolia and myrtle all play their part in framing the excellently maintained, challenging array of holes.

As if in competition (or perhaps collusion), the Burnt Pine's superb bunkering is matched by beautifully crafted sand traps on the Raven, many giving full vent to RTJ Jr's artistic flair. At the farthest point from the clubhouse, Raven's long par-5 11th runs directly alongside Burnt Pine's par-5 18th; the work of the two brothers separated by a single line of mature trees. Among many outstanding holes, the par-3 6th majestically rises out of its surrounding pond, the attendant greenside bunkering only needing a palm tree or two to create a tropical desert island scene.