Each coast has some great jewels of courses however the courses are different in geography and types of design.

The West coast has desert and coastal courses weaving around mountains sometimes.

The East coast has more forest and coastal courses weaving around ponds and rivers.

I love both types of areas for golf however coming from overseas you want to time your trip....I would suggest Nov-May for west coast and March-June for east coast (Hurricane season is Aug-Nov on east coast so I would avoid this area for this reason).

Lots of great places to play however once you zero in on the time frame and coast post here again and I will give you some specific ideas...there are literally too many to post! So you will not be disappointed eitherway!

Sounds like fun!

What "Chris92009" said! :-)

Many thanks to all for your quick response and sound advise, once we decided I will be happy to post here again asking for info on our final choices.

The point re weather is excellent. Living in Scotland we don't have these issues as it rains a lot.

Kind regards

a few ideas for you.
East Coast
Greenbrier resort. Has lots of great golf and many other activities, fishing, etc.
Carolina's lots to pick from and great prices
(Canada) Cabot links/cliffs resort. Cabot cliffs opened as top 15 in the world this season and scenery is beautiful. Plus the CDN dollar is weak right now so save 30% and do more.......!!!!!

West coast
Bandon Resort
multiple golf courses and great resort, look up golf channel reviews of this resort its fantastic

California
lots of great courses and weather on the southwest coast.
I've played Torrey Pines and been in San Diego its fantastic and of course the Pebble Beach Resort.

Agree with Cabot Links/Cliffs. Played at Inverness @ Cape Brittan, prior to the Cliffs being open to public play. It is a destination resort. You have to fly into Halifax then drive three hours. The courses are great and the Cliffs are tough and are walking courses. It is a very small town with limited eateries. Two small bar/restaurants on the resort and a great deli off site. They have plans for a airport for small planes about a twenty minute drive away. The folks up there are very friendly bunch. Caddies very knowledgeable. If you go take a light bag. Beautiful sunsets. You can set outside restaurant and enjoy mother nature at her best. All rooms face the water and the course as shown in the last picture, are spacious. I would highly recommend this course, but there are only two courses on the cape.

As others have stated, both coasts are different in what you get on the course. But it also depends on what time of year you are planning your trip.

I'm from Arizona, and there are a lot of great courses out here for you to try. Lots of desert and mountains. You can also play some courses that a lot of the pros live by/on, such Grayhawk.

But both coasts offer a wide range of courses and prices.

Let us know what you decided and I'm sure more TT members would be happy to provide suggestion when you narrow down the coast and even the states.

Cheers.

Allan,

It is essential that you first define the 3 month period of time you would like to come to the USA. There is so much variation in the microclimates within the USA you could wind up going to the wrong area during a poor weather period. Try pinning down this time frame first and then get back to TT. There are so many great locations to visit, things to do, as well as play golf. If would be helpful to know what other interests, other than golf, your family members have (beaches, theater, museums, dude ranches, autoracing, horse racing, parasailing, skydiving, national parks, etc...).

DV

I'd go West Coast purely based on weather alone...... You can start south at Torrey Pines and end up in Chambers Bay! It's great courses even Las Vegas and Utah.

Forgot to mention TPI, Vokey and Cameron fittings!

Being from the East Coast, I will have say come this way. Myrtle Beach is the number one golf destination. Sure June thru November is Hurricane season but that never stops the golfers from coming. My wife and I were discussing this tonight at dinner and we have had four hurricanes since 1989 that required some sort of evacuation. Do not recommend coming June-August because of the hot/humid weather. Best time of the year is October and November. Right now Hilton Head is recovering from Matthew is it will probably late November before most of the plantations will be open. Great courses in Hilton Head/Bluffton/Charleston/Myrtle Beach/Aiken. The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island in Charleston is a challenge for any golfer and there are four other course associated with the resort for your pleasure. The Sanctuary is a wonderful hotel and they have golf packages. There are two other courses at Seabrook Island that are not associated with Kiawah that would be worth playing. Number one restaurants in Charleston, which would be about a 35 minutes drive from the resort and worth the drive. And there is our northern neighbor North Carolina. Southern Pines and Pinehurst. You could stay in that area for a week and have an absolute ball. Just a couple of ideal destinations. I live across the river from Charleston and have played all the courses I have recommended plus Mid Pines, Pinehurst #2 and #4. And Charleston is filled with history. Another number one destination.

This is really more of a "depends on what YOU want in your golf courses" question. Certainly, the time of year will make a huge difference. There are so many great areas of the country in which to play, but some are better than others at certain times of year.

If it will be a summer trip, Florida, Arizona, Texas, Nevada or even Myrtle Beach can be downright uncomfortable. Central-Northern California would be great, and points further north. As would New England in the east.

Spring and fall are great for Myrtle Beach, Southern California, even Las Vegas in March/April or Oct/Nov, though early sunsets limit you in Nov.

Winter is an ideal time to play in Arizona or South Florida, though rates are at their peak then. Arizona's shoulder seasons--Nov/Dec and late March/April are also excellent times to play, with slightly lower rates. There are some fantastic desert-style courses in the Phoenix/Scottsdale area, as well as further south in the Tuscon area.

I play a lot on the western coast of Florida, in the Sarasota area, during the winter and find the courses in general there are okay, but not super lush. There are some great exceptions though. 60-65 degree days are typical in Jan.

The Myrtle Beach area is best in late September-October or late march-April in my opinion. And there are way too many courses to choose from, particularly when you throw in all the surrounding areas, which include Pawley's Island, Charleston, Hilton Head, or even further south into Georgia. Savannah has some beautiful tracks and even more of interest are the fantastic courses out on the Georgia barrier islands, like the Sea Island Resort. You can't go wrong there. Davis Love and Matt Kucher will be your hosts out there, among other PGA stars.

A bit northwest of this area is the Southern Pines area of North Carolina where you will find great golf, including Pinehurst. In fact, in all of the above areas I mentioned, you will find some of the top courses in the world.

Hi All

What can i say - fab response from all can't thank you enough.
Question would be
West members can tell me their best time of year
East members can tell me their best time of year

We are open minded as my wife and I will be retired to enjoy this special trip.

Regards
Allan A

The west coast Northern California, I would say from May - Oct.
The Pebble Beach area I would say August through the end of Sept.

Allan,

I'll show my bias by recommending you and the misses visit the mid-Atlanic area (Wash DC, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania) anytime from late April to mid November with the exception of the months of July and August. Those 2 months can be weatherwise unbearable in this region due to extreme heat and humidity. This region of the USA not only has significant golf course recreational facilities, but I believe is one of the top, if not the top, cultural hubs for our country. There is so much to do here from the arts, to enjoying the incredible ocean resorts, to the incredible history and museums available here, and numerous cultural activities throughout the region. You would be hard pressed to find another area here in the US that has the diversity of activities that you will find in this region. I would suggest you work with a travel agent that has experience with travel to the USA. All you need is a good sweater and your golf clubs and your off to Nirvana. Please let us here know how your trip works out for you. If you have any further questions you know where you can always drop us another inquiry here.

Best Wishes,

DV

I prefer West coast during Nov-Mar timeframe. Its the rainy season so be flexible. Try playing the triangle, San Diego to Los Angeles to Las Vegas with Palm Springs thrown in. Even if its raining in San Diego or Los Angeles it probably isn't in Palm Springs. La Quinta is great resort in Palm Springs to use as a "base camp". Las Vegas will give you some great courses at value prices. Try the Paiute Indian reservation courses, Sun, Snow, Wolf.