There was a time when "environment" meant little more than "lost ball" to most golfers. But in recent years, eco-friendly golf courses have come to the fore, especially in second-home communities. Here are four examples of green golf courses that meld seamlessly into their surroundings, preserving both nature and guilt-free golf.
The Sanctuary Golf Club
Sanibel Island, Florida
Bordering the world-renowned J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge on the northern tip of Sanibel Island in southwest Florida, the 6,657-yard, Arthur Hills-designed Sanctuary Golf Club is a study in back-to-nature aesthetics. The 518-yard 6th is the first of many holes edged by a wildlife preserve, while the 569-yard 9th — considered the toughest hole on the course — features a bird rookery to the right of the fairway. With its pristine, tropical habitat and strong layout, this is one Sanctuary anyone can appreciate.
sanctuarygc.net
Spruce Peak at Stowe Mountain Club
Stowe, Vermont
If you think this 2006 Bob Cupp design is a creampuff at just 6,411 yards from the tips, prepare for a bruising. With a slope of 141, Stowe Mountain is plenty tough enough. The hilly front nine gives way to a flatter back, which features three holes on Peregrine Lake. Throughout the round, golf, real estate and nature co-exist perfectly, which earned the club a Bronze Certification from Audubon International in 2007.
sprucepeak.com/stowe_mountain_club
Old Greenwood
Truckee, California
This Jack Nicklaus layout, which sits just north of Truckee on the California side of Lake Tahoe, is a real brute from the tips, but at least it's kinder to wildlife than it is to golfers. You won't score any eagles from the tips (7,518 yards) but at least you'll see plenty of them overhead. The mountain meadow setting — at an elevation of 6,000 feet — features home sites, custom homes, villas and fractional residences, but they're never in the way.
oldgreenwood.com
Sanctuary Golf Course at WestWorld
Scottsdale, Arizona
Wayward drivers won't find sanctuary at this trek through the desert scrub of north Scottsdale, but keep it straight and life will be sweet. Carved out in 1999 by architect Randy Heckenkemper, Sanctuary boasts outstanding views of the McDowell Mountains, but keep an eye out for the jackrabbits, quail, roadrunners, coyotes and bobcats, too. Homes and townhouses bracket the perimeter but blend in so well you seldom notice them.
sanctuarygolf.com
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