By Margaret Swaine
“I’m in the sun a lot and I’d go for a facial. Every little bit helps,” said Tim Collins, Director of Golf at The Breakers in Palm Beach. At the swank Flagler Steakhouse overlooking the resort’s Ocean Course from above the pro shop, we were immersed in an animated discussion about the twinning of golf and spa. Collins was being challenged by public relations manager Margee Adelsperger, about the male acceptance of treatments other than massages. He won the point. While women are the major spa goers and men play more golf, the numbers are changing. Male spa visits are trending up just as the number of women golfers is increasing.
I was on the hunt for some of the best spa/golf combos in South Florida with a little beach thrown in for cool dipping. Spas and links are not a new concept here. The Bonaventure and The Doral have offered this combo for years. But a phenomenon that’s really good news for us gals is afoot. While in the past the marriage of golf and spa was rather rare in resorts, now it’s a must. If a property doesn’t have a spa, they are not in the game. And in Florida where there are 1,500 golf courses, if a resort doesn’t own their own fairways, they darn well better have good playing privileges elsewhere for their guests. What more could a woman golfer need?
“Spa and golf have become the key in order to compete with other Florida properties but also other destinations,” explained Joel Rosen, leisure industry expert and chairman of Horwath Horizon Consultants in Toronto. “After a round of golf it’s not uncommon for men to get their massage or go for treatments. I think we’ll see more and more of that,” he added. Rosen is a self-described “customer who would go for golf and spa.” The more men that want spas and women that desire golf, the better the facilities for all of us.
No expense is spared as old courses in Florida get redesigned under the skilled eye of top golf architects. And the spas? They’ve moved from a back room off the hair salon into their own state of the art buildings with 20,000 to 30,000 square feet of space now common. Sauna, steam room, exercise centre, pool, multi-treatment rooms, lounge areas with complimentary beverages, robes and slippers are all part of every modern spa.
The top of the pyramid has got to be The Breakers in elegant delivery of these amenities but also in price. Rosen said only one to two per cent of North Americans can stretch their budget to this height. However if you can stand the heat, the summer is low season when the rates drop by about half. Last year they ran a “the longer you stay, the less you pay” promotion that included golf for the cost of the cart only. A version of the deal is in the plans for this July/August but with some fee attached to the golf. Too many took to the links last summer for Collins in his role of golf director and protector of the fairways, to want to give it away so freely.
Stretched over 140 acres on the island of Palm Beach, The Breakers is a legendary luxury resort. Listed on the American National Register of Historic Places, its history spans over 100 years. Florida’s first 9 holes of golf were built here designed by Alexander J. Findlay in 1897. The resort is not resting on its laurels at all. In 2002 it completed a ten-year $145 million revitalization and expansion. Today the total’s reached $220 million in magnificent updates complete with a Brian Silva redesigned golf course and many entirely new additions.
I kick started my time there with a lesson at their Todd Anderson Golf Academy. My PGA instructor Eric Johnson used the VI video coaching system to record my swing before, during and after my lesson. My terribly long backswing had to be shortened and sure enough we had the video to mark the progress and then view the results. I also saw my outfit was more coordinated than me at times. Private instruction, small three person clinics and weekend retreats can be booked with Todd Anderson himself, ranked among the best teachers in America.
The beach beckoned however, then a tour of the property. There’s half a mile of private beach, four swimming pools and ten tennis courts. Kids have their own entertainment multiplex divided into rooms with fun in mind: an arcade, movie theatre, craft area and child friendly computer game centre. The restaurants were more my focus, particularly the wine cellar. Displayed behind 19th century European leaded glass doors were over 7,000 bottles, the crown jewels of the 22,000-bottle collection. More than 1250 selections chosen by chief sommelier Virginia Philip are on their Wine Spectator Grand Award winning wine list for L’Escalier their fancy French restaurant.
It was the wine at Flagler’s that night that fueled the conversation and later decision to check out Echo, the resort’s off-property Asian restaurant in the heart of Palm Beach. The sushi bar was hopping and the tables packed with locals who obviously appreciated the bold Asian flavours created by Chef Lee and manager David Thall as well as the quality wines on offer at their Dragon Fly bar. The next morning I was glad I had a spa facial booked so I could recoup before golf.
The Spa at the Breakers, recently named one of the top five hotel/resort spas in North America is 20,000 square feet of pampering elegance. I used one of the private change rooms to slip into the robe and slippers they gave me. Then I sunk into a comfortable chair in the lounge to sip complimentary herb tea before my treatment. If I wished I could have enjoyed the sauna or steam room. As it was, my facial left my face glowing and detoxified. Christine’s expert hands worked beauty magic using Guerlain Institut de Beauté of Paris facial massage techniques and Guerlain’s Issima skincare products.
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Golf followed at the Ocean Course, the state’s oldest, a grand dame with a major face lift. It had classic vintage course appeal with random bunkering and fairways that weave between sandy hazards. Silva’s redesign addressed tee elevation, surface slopes and other elements to heighten playing interest while reviving vintage details that didn’t survive the rigors of climate and time. It’s fairly short for us ladies with a yardage of 5,254 and only one par five. Precision counts with challenges to keep the ball straight and out of water and traps. Breakers West Course is more contemporary, better for those who hit hard and high. Exotic birds are everywhere including a green parrot found only on the island.
Next in line was The Turnberry, formerly known as the Aventura Country Club and now taken over by Fairmont. Headquartered in Toronto, I know Fairmont and have found it can be depended upon to deliver luxury in resort destinations. (They operate 43 properties in six countries and their parent company FHR manages 83.) Think Banff Springs, Lake Louise, The Plaza in New York, Le Chateau Frontenac and other classics. Six of Fairmont’s resorts were among Conde Nast Traveler’s list of top100 golf resorts around the world. Turnberry Isle Resort and Club located in Aventura, an exclusive enclave in North Miami, is their newest and they are keenly promoting it. They also are very much behind their spa concept called Willow Stream. The spa at Turnberry has been converted to feature signature Willow Stream treatments this spring of 2004. The “All the Best Package” is a sampler of golf, dining and spa offered as a special at Turnberry.
The 25,000 square foot spa and fitness centre is beautiful and offers an LPG massage machine designed to roll and stretch a golfer into greater flexibility. That’s providing you can handle the heavy suck and grab action. Golf instructor David Ledbetter is purportedly a big fan of it. The machine looks like a cross between an octopus and a vacuum cleaner. Before its tentacles are placed on you, first you must slip into a tight catsuit to protect your skin and hair. Then as you lay on a table, the sucking and stretching begins. This latest greatest doodad is quite something believe me. I saw the same machine in the fanciest spa ever in the Intercontinental in Hong Kong.
The resort has two Robert Trent Jones, Sr. designed golf courses and five golf pros. I took a golf lesson with Robyn Roberson, one of about five female teaching pros in South Florida. Her style was soothing and reinforcing of the psyche. “I always look at the little things,” she explained as she gently “tuned up” my swing to eliminate two common flaws. She moved my weight back to my heels and kept me looking at the ball until impact.
When playing either of the courses, wind is a major factor. You can be blown in the water that is in play on 13 of 18 holes on the south course. The dramatic 18th hole is the signature on these links with its big carry to an island green. The north course has challenging long holes on the first 9 and target golf on the back. Even low handicappers find it tough. Roberson, who was a top ranked Atlanta state amateur before she turned pro, said her own best is 68 on the north and 71 on the south. The resort also has a club membership that gives it a friendly, welcoming appeal. While it’s not on the beach, its Atlantic side private Ocean Club is just a quick shuttle bus away.
The Westin Diplomat Resort and Spa in Hollywood Florida about eight miles south of Fort Lauderdale airport is yet another face of the coin. High tech modern and gleaming on the beaches of the Atlantic Ocean with the Intracoastal Waterway on its other side, it’s brassy and corporate. Adjacent to the over 1000-room hotel is a huge 209,000 square foot convention centre. The lobby atrium with its soaring high glass ceilings and water sculptures is as dramatic as the multilevel pools and waterfalls outside. Best however are two things: Westin’s famous “heavenly beds” which allow the dreamiest sleep imaginable and the view from the ocean front rooms through the floor to ceiling glass balcony doors. The bathrooms offer sliding panels into the bedroom so the ocean can even be sighted as you brush your teeth.
The 30,000 square foot spa is a shuttle away as is the golf club. A Putt and Pamper package that offers one golf round and one spa treatment per room per night is available. As can be expected of a luxury spa there’s a spa pool, sauna, steam room, change rooms with lockers and many private treatment rooms. Service is at a high level and I found my massage table to be state of the art – heated, padded and easily adjustable. Wendy’s hands took all the kinks out of my body in time for my game.
The 18 hole Joe Lee re-designed course which opened in 2000 is rated five star on service and has several magnificent holes. (The original course was built in 1957.) The 2nd hole is the signature, a par four to a difficult island green. Play moved along at a good pace. However one of the guys in my foursome was going through a divorce and his cell rang constantly. Because people fork out big time to play here during high season, perhaps golf etiquette is enforced more loosely.
I came home after a long weekend away with a glow on my face, a better swing and memories of sometimes challenging but always enchanting golf with exotic birds and gleaming water ever present. Spa-golf was such a dynamo combo I never got around to the ocean dip. A perfect excuse to have to return.