Department of Travel
Get Out on the Links in the Bluegrass State

FRANKFORT, Ky. – With the arrival of spring, Kentucky is a great place for golfers who like to travel and play different courses with varying challenges.

With about 280 courses throughout the Commonwealth, including some 190 open to the public, golfers are sure to find a course that suits their ability level and location preference.

In addition to 18 Kentucky State Park golf courses, including six at resort parks with lodging, the Commonwealth is home to a growing number of privately-owned golf resorts that feature challenging play and excellent accommodations. At these resorts, visiting golfers will find cottages, villas, suites and rooms for rent. Here’s a list:  

Marriott Griffin Gate Resort & Spa, 859-231-5100, Lexington.    

The Club at Olde Stone, 270-393-4653, Bowling Green.

Pine Valley Golf and Resort, 270-737-8300, Elizabethtown.

Bright Leaf Golf Resort, 859-734-5481, Harrodsburg.

Woodson Bend Resort, 606-561-5311, Bronston (Lake Cumberland).

Peninsula Golf Resort, 859-548-5055, Lancaster.

Perry Park Golf Resort, 502-484-2159, Carrollton.

There are also about 50 golf communities throughout Kentucky, with another dozen under development, making the Bluegrass State an increasingly popular place for golfing retirees to settle.

Over the past 15 years, professional events have drawn thousands of spectators and international TV coverage to the region, raising Kentucky’s profile as a haven for golf. Louisville has emerged as an important setting for international professional tournaments. The PGA Championship will be staged at Valhalla Golf Club in 2014. Valhalla was also the site of the PGA in 1996 and 2000, the Senior PGA in 2004 and 2011 and the Ryder Cup in 2008.

Much has been written in print and online golf publications about some of the most popular Kentucky courses. On the Kentucky Golf Association’s website (www.kygolf.org) you can peruse a list of all of the association’s 200-plus member courses in the state. At www.parks.ky.gov, you’ll find descriptions of all the Kentucky State park courses.

As challenging courses proliferate around the Commonwealth – including high-difficulty links such as Persimmon Ridge in Louisville, Champion Trace in Nicholasville, Stone Crest in Prestonsburg and Nevel Meade in Prospect, among others – Kentucky’s reputation as a great place to play golf will continue to grow.

Now’s the time to break out the clubs and get out on the links in the Bluegrass State.

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The Kentucky Department of Travel and Tourism is an agency within the Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet, which promotes the Commonwealth as a travel destination. Tourism in Kentucky has an economic impact of $11.3 billion, supports about 170,000 jobs and generates $1.2 billion in taxes.