Spring Break is rapidly approaching, and the time has arrived to make plans and reservations for a family vacation. If golf is part of the trip, planning will be key to selecting a destination suitable for the golfers and non-golfers in your family. Careful analysis of location, lodging, transportation, golf courses and amenities, golf facilities geared for younger family members, and other activities for parents and kids will ensure a successful vacation.

Golfing families now have a wide selection of resort destinations. Many resorts have created programs that welcome families on their courses. Kid’s camps, waterslides, family-friendly courses and other amenities abound. The La Costa Resort and Spa in Carlsbad California and the Breakers Resort in Palm Beach Florida are just two such resorts offering golf programs for kids and adults of all ages, excellent food and lodging, and fun kid’s activities off the green.

Here is a list of some premiere courses and resorts that may help with finding the best fit for your family during Spring Break.

WALT DISNEY WORLD RESORT, LAKE BUENA VISTA, FL

Disney World, perhaps the most well-known family vacation destination, also offers outstanding golf amenities. In addition to four theme parks, numerous hotels, two water parks and first-rate dining and shopping, the resort includes three exceptional championship golf courses that were part of the PGA Tour from 1971-2012 and a par-36 walking course.

Operated by the Arnold Palmer Golf Management company, the five golf courses on Disney’s property include Magnolia, the Palm, Osprey Ridge, Lake Buena Vista and Oak Trail — the 9-hole walking course that is ideal for young golfers. There are also two themed miniature golfing layouts on the property: Fantasia Gardens and Winter Summerland.

The Magnolia, Oak Trail, Palm and Lake Buena Vista courses are open to hotel guests and the general public. While the resort is kid-oriented, all the golf courses require proper golf attire, which is a good place to start teaching them about golf etiquette.

Your kids will enjoy riding the golf carts at Disney's Palm, Magnolia and Lake Buena Vista Golf Courses. The GPS units are entertaining as well as informative, with displays that show a real-time dynamic layout diagram on every hole including the yardage and flagstick location.

PINEHURST GOLF RESORT, NORTH CAROLINA

The area of Pinehurst, Aberdeen and Southern Pines in North Carolina is considered by many to be the mecca of golf in the U.S. With more than 40 courses in the region, its most famous may be the Donald Ross-designed Pinehurst No. 2., Mid Pines and Pine Needles courses. In 1996, renowned golf course architect Tom Fazio built Pinehurst No. 8 and redesigned Pinehurst No. 4 to commemorate the resort's 100th birthday.

Pinehurst has a long history of hosting PGA events. The first major tournament held there was the PGA Championship in 1936. The Ryder Cup was held at the resort in 1991 and 1992. The second major held at Pinehurst was the U.S. Open in 1999. Future tournaments scheduled include the U.S. Open and U.S. Women’s Open Championships in 2024.

The Pinehurst resort is not only a first-class golf resort; it also offers amenities for the entire family. Five of the eight courses at the resort have inclusive features, including special tee markers. Junior and family tee times, as well as lessons and clinics, are offered by the club.

A Family Fairways package during the summer is designed to encourage families to play together. Free rental clubs for all family members, a one-hour lesson, unlimited range balls and one round of golf on course No. 8 are included in the deal.

The Pinehurst resort offers large suites, a kid’s club, a swimming pool and special family pricing. This year-round program features a pricing plan with free lodging, golf, and meals for kids under the age of 12 when accompanied by a paying adult.

MOON PALACE GOLF AND SPA RESORT, CANCUN, MEXICO

Less than a 2-hour flight from Miami, the Moon Palace Resort in the neighboring country of Mexico offers a family golf vacation accented by culinary delights and access to nearby ancient Mayan ruins.

Located in the heart of the Mayan jungle between the Caribbean Sea and the Nichupte Lagoon, the Iberostar Cancun Golf Club rewards adventurous golfers with majestic views of lagoons and the ocean. A challenging course for even low handicappers, the layout features palm tree-lined narrow fairways, deep sand traps, undulating greens and the occasional unexpected change in terrain. More than just lush green and clear blue water, golfers may also spot iguanas and monkeys, along with the occasional crocodile. Unlimited drinks and snacks are available to golfers while out on the course or in the clubhouse.

The resort offers a Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course, one of only two in Cancun. Golfers will enjoy the 27-hole layout that features a variety of 9-hole landscapes that sound straight out of “Jumanji”: lakes and dunes, dunes and jungle, and jungle and lakes.

An all-inclusive resort, the Moon Palace Golf & Spa is an ideal family golf destination. Many of the rooms have their own hot tub, large enough for the entire family. Private childcare is also available in some luxury rooms.

Activities abound for every age group with seven lagoon-style pools, a children’s pool with water slides, a bowling alley, a kid’s clubhouse with an exceptional outdoor pirate ship play structure and a wave simulator that creates perfect waves for surfing or body boarding.

The golf club offers private lessons for kids and a family golf lesson package for up to five players.

PEBBLE BEACH RESORTS, PEBBLE BEACH, CA

Pebble Beach arguably contains some of the best golf courses in the world and the most breathtaking views from many of the holes on the Pebble Beach Golf Links — where 9 holes border Carmel Bay overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Spyglass Hill, Links at Spanish Bay, Peter Hay and Del Monte also offer stunning courses.

In 2001, Pebble Beach Golf Links became the first public course selected by Golf Digest as the No. 1 Golf Course in America. The PGA Tour and Champions Tour plan several events every year at Pebble Beach, including the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and the First Tee Open. Distinguished by its history, the course has hosted five U.S. Open Championships and a PGA Championship.

Carmel and the Monterey Peninsula offer an endless variety of family activities away from the links, including the Monterey Bay Aquarium, historic Cannery Row, Fisherman’s Wharf, the Dennis the Menace Playground (popular with toddlers) and whale and dolphin watching on the coastline.

For younger golfers, Pebble Beach provides Stevenson School golf camps, where all meals and lodging are included as well as junior and intermediate lessons with some of the best instructors in the country.

KIAWAH ISLAND GOLF RESORT, KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C.

The Kiawah Island Golf Resort has been awarded several honors in recognition of their family-oriented atmosphere. A golfer’s paradise, the Kiawah Island Golf Resort comprises five golf courses, including the famous Ocean Course. The challenging layout has hosted an impressive number of professional tournaments, including the Ryder Cup in 1991, the 1997 and 2003 World Cup of Golf, the Senior PGA Championship in 2007 and the 2012 PGA Championships.

For younger golfers, the Turtle Point course features The Tommy Cuthbert Learning Center, where kids 12 to 17 can participate in two-day junior golf camps. The resort also features Kamp Kiawah, appropriate for children ages 3 to 11.

When the family is not golfing, Kiawah Island offers many other activities to keep everyone happy.

Bicycle riding: Bicycle tours with an experienced naturalist are available. These experts can guide the whole family through wetlands and salt marshes. The American alligator, Loggerhead sea turtles, and various species of birds may be spotted during the ride.

Charleston, South Carolina: Just 45 minutes away, this historic town provides something for every family member. Everyone will enjoy touring the streets by carriage, and the kids will love Museum Mile and the South Carolina Aquarium.

Spa: While the kids are away on an island adventure, parents can relax with a luxurious spa treatment. Afterward, the entire family can enjoy the swimming pool and one of the fine restaurants on site, like Kiawah’s signature steakhouse, The Ocean Room.

OMNI ORLANDO RESORT, CHAMPIONSGATE, FL

One of the most respected golf schools in the world, the Leadbetter Golf Academy, headquartered at the Omni Orlando resort in Florida, is the crown jewel of 34 golf academies worldwide. The school offers the very finest learning and practice facilities available anywhere.

The Omni Orlando Resort has been selected as the best golf resort in America by publications such as Golf World Magazine,Conde Nast Traveler and Golf Digest Magazine. It offers two top-notch golf courses designed by architect and golfer Greg Norman, luxurious amenities, family-oriented accommodations and a waterslide playground.

The National and International courses offer completely unique designs that are linked to Florida’s natural habitat and feature beautiful vistas from every hole.

Children can enjoy Camp Omni Kids Escape as well as the Zero-Entry family pool and the Lazy River. Teens won’t feel left out with an abundance of activities geared toward them, including a DJ spinning tunes by the family pool, hula hoop contests and more. With so many fun activities, a family could easily stay at the resort and never venture elsewhere.

However, if a visit to Walt Disney World is on the family to-do list, the resort offers complimentary transportation, and it’s only about 15 minutes away.

LA COSTA RESORT AND SPA, CARLSBAD, CA

The world's best professional tour players — Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and many more — have played (and in some cases, conquered) the challenging layout of the two tournament-level golf courses at Southern California’s only Gold Medal Golf Resort.

The Champions Course, designed by Dick Wilson, hosted the 2012 LPGA Kia Classic, recently restored to its original splendor with new bent grass greens and Bermuda fairways. The Legends Golf Course presents golfers with a different challenge while preserving the legacy that made the course popular in the first place.

The Golf Performance Institute at the La Costa Resort lists an assortment of instructional programming that can be customized by the golfer’s individual goals. Low handicappers and beginner golfers can raise the level of their games and immediately test new and improved techniques on the legendary courses of La Costa. The Institute also offers lessons for the entire family, including full-day and half-day Junior Golf Programs.

The luxurious on-site spa has the perfect atmosphere for unparalleled treatments and service that gives parents the opportunity for some relaxation while the kids enjoy other resort amenities.

Kidtopia at La Costa Resort & Spa provides a children’s program for ages 6 months to 3 years that is unequaled by other family-oriented golf resorts. The facilities include small slides and soft climb items, arts and crafts activities, a magical forest journey, an interactive game floor and a 600-gallon saltwater aquarium with exotic fish.

THE BREAKERS, PALM BEACH, FL

Florida’s oldest 18-hole course, the Breakers’ Ocean track, has challenged golfers for more than a century. Originally designed in 1896 by Alexander H. Findlay and redesigned in 2000 by Brian Silva — named “Architect of the Year” by Golf World — the Ocean Course features winding fairways that interlace between ample sand bunkers, six lakes and the occasional view of the Atlantic Ocean. Silva's redesign preserved the course’s unique characteristics while implementing technology that modernized it for today’s golfer.

The Breakers offers a second exceptional golf course located a short 10 miles from the resort. The Rees Jones Course is a modern counterpart to the traditional Ocean Course with a spectacular expanse of green punctuated by clear blue ponds. Built in 1968 and renovated in 2004, it reflects the signature style of renowned course architect Rees Jones, and it has become one of the premier golf experiences in the southeast United States. Both courses offer golfers an opportunity to play different architectural styles during their stay.

The Breakers resort boasts a Mediterranean-style beach club, a one-and-a-half-mile stretch of private beach, 25 luxury beach bungalows, five oceanfront pools and rooms with enchanting ocean views.

The 6,100-square-foot Family Entertainment Centre is a kid’s dream with facilities and activities for all ages. Outside, there is a playground, basketball and dodgeball court and two pet tortoises. Illuminated at night, the play area offers tunnels, slides, swings and interactive sensory games.

Indoors, the center features a 20-game arcade room, a video game lounge with PlayStation IV and Xbox One, plus an arts and crafts Camp Room with a 1,000-gallon saltwater aquarium. The toddler’s playroom is stocked with toys and surrounded by glass windows that allow parents to keep an eye on their kids while dining at the adjoining restaurant.

Final Thought

This is just a partial list of the many vacation destinations available to golfing families for Spring Break. A more complete list includes resorts all over the U.S. as well as international locations. Most resorts offer the same programs all year long, but some have created special Spring Break family packages. Space is always limited, so an early reservation will insure the resort of your choice, providing the best vacation for your family this year.