Recreation for the Business Traveler: Unique Golf Courses in the Central USA

Golf courses are some of the best and most manicured real-estate in the world. Even though I don't play the game, I find myself drawn to various courses and sometimes I think I'd even pay the green-fees just to be able to walk the links with a camera. Recently, I read an article that described some of the most unique and picturesque golf courses in the country and I thought I'd pass them along this week. Today, we visit the Central USA.

Coeur d'Alene Resort; Coeur d'Alene Idaho

Packed with lush lakes and Rocky Mountain vistas, this course could easily be considered the most artistic if not the most beautiful course in the USA. The par-3 14^th hole boasts the only floating, moveable golf green in the world. You need to board a shuttle boat to gain access to it. The 5-million pound computer controlled green can play anywhere from 100 to 175 yards from the tee.

Angel Park Golf Club, Cloud Nine; Las Vegas, Nevada

Mercury vapor lights make this course more fun to play at night! Imagine blasting a shot high into the darkness of the night, watching it disappear into the darkness, then "poof," it reappearing somewhere down the fairway. Additionally, there are 12 "replica holes" that mimic some of the most famous par-3 holes in golf history, like the island green from TPC Sawgrass, or the donut-hole from the Riviera course.

The Quarry Golf Club; San Antonio, Texas

The back-nine holes on this course were built in the belly of an old limestone quarry. Rock mined and cut from this quarry build the state capital as well as many other San Antonio land marks. Many fairways are bordered by sheer cliff walls that shoot over 100 feet vertically into the air. Enormous rock piles adjacent to many of the greens make this a very challenging course!

Whistling Straits; Sheboygan, Wisconsin

Pete Dye, a world-famous golf course architect once said of this course, "In my lifetime, I've never seen anything like this. Anyplace. Period." It is beautiful. The link-style design smacks of a centuries old Scottish course; right down to the fescue grasses, deeply scooped bunkers, and the grazing sheep that watch you play through. The course is built on the cliffs that overlook the lighthouse dotted horizons of Lake Michigan. If you play this course near sundown, you might find yourself abandoning your score-card, packing up your clubs, and just watching the sunset.