Looking down from the plane as it descended toward the Jacksonville airport, my husband, Michael, and I spotted a labyrinth of blue-green lagoons and a lake surrounded by precisely carved patches of vivid green and white. “I know that’s World Golf Village”, he said, “and from the size of it, I think we should have planned a longer vacation.”

Avid, some say obsessive, golfers, we try to visit at least one world-famous golf resort every year, and this winter, we decided it was high time to make our pilgrimage to the beating heart of golfdom in this country, World Golf Village (WGV) in the northeast corner of Florida. Besides visiting the World Golf Hall of Fame and playing the two unique golf courses there, we would play the notorious Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass at nearby Ponte Vedra Beach, and end our trip at Amelia Island, on the border with Georgia, where we would have our choice of several beautiful courses.

After checking into the Renaissance Resort at WGV and making our tee time reservations for the next two days, we headed for the Hall of Fame, where I got a lump in my throat as soon we walked through the door. Just as baseball fans dream of their Hall of Fame at Cooperstown and football lovers put Canton, Ohio, on their “places to go before I die” list, I knew this would be a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Grinning through the tears running down my face, I posed while Michael snapped a photo of me standing on the life-sized replica of the famous Swilcan Burn Bridge at the Old Course at St. Andrews, Scotland, the birthplace of golf. Browsing the early history exhibits, we tried out a hickory-shafted putter, a “Massie niblik” and a “baffie spoon”, and we wondered how players of the 1800s managed to hit those clunky “gutta percha” balls with these heavy clubs.

At a lineup of interactive sound and video “scrapbooks”, we listened to Lee Trevino joke as he caddied for Arnold Palmer, and we stood under space-age parabolic spheres to watch clips from forty years of Shell’s Wonderful World of Golf TV specials. Then, we got into an actual putting contest on a realistic green, complete with lights, camera and a crowd that claps and yells, sighs and roars, as you sink ‘em… or you don’t.

After a short respite in the “Spirit of the Game” theater watching highlights of famous golf moments–Paul Azinger’s bunker shot to keep the U.S. alive in the 2002 Ryder Cup, Nick Price’s double eagle to win the 1998 British Open, and even Allan Shepherd’s “Moon Shot” drive on the moon–I stepped into the golf simulator, the most popular venue in the museum. Of the forty-eight famous courses from which to choose, I “played” the Plantation Course at Kapalua in Hawaii–warming up, perhaps, for our next golf vacation.

My favorite exhibit is the gorgeous, wood-paneled Locker Room, where on display in separate, open lockers are more than a thousand personal items donated by Hall of Fame honorees, such as bags, shoes, hats and clubs from Nick Price, Annika Sorenstam and Tom Kite, and some surprising finds–a baseball bat, a Barbie doll and a red sequined evening dress. It is fun to see Jack Nicklaus’ fishing rod and Bob Hope’s plaid golf shoes, Bing Crosby’s driver, one of the last straw hats that Sam Snead wore, and the clubs and bag that Johnny Miller used when he won the 1973 U.S. Open.

Layout of the Village
From the top of the five-story Trophy Tower at the museum, through the wall of windows we located the elaborate, 18-hole grass putting course that runs around the lake; and a faithful re-creation of the notorious, 132-yard island hole at the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass, a daunting challenge that we would soon be required to to meet.

We could see players on the practice range at the one-and-only PGA Tour Golf Academy, headquartered here, and a glimpse of the mother-of-all-golf-stores, PGA TOUR STOP. Credit cards wear out fast here in 30,000 square-feet of logo goodies like David Duval’s cool shades, Greg Norman’s black hats, signed memorabilia from dozens of players, plus books, videos, apparel and custom laser-fitted shoes, gloves and clubs.

We discovered later than the giant golf ball we could see imbedded in a wall was at the entrance to the Murray Brothers Caddyshack restaurant, owned by comedian Bill Murray and his five brothers, a fun eatery and watering hole loaded with artifacts of the game, where patrons are encouraged to “eat, drink and be Murray”. Chicago Blues Burgers and ribs are menu specialties.

2007 Induction Ceremony
At the annual induction ceremony at the Hall of Fame this year, to be held on November 12, honorees will include golf icons of the past: the Irishman Joe Carr; the American pro, Hubert Green; Charles Blair Macdonald, said to be the father of American golf course architecture; and the Aussie player, Kel Nagle, in addition to two contemporary stars, the LPGA great, Se Ri Pak and PGA pro, Curtis Strange. At the ceremony, the Hall will also unveil a new, year-long exhibit, “Jack Nicklaus: Golf’s Golden Champion”, showcasing the Bear’s life and extraordinary golf career.

The Golf
Only here at WGV does there exist a golf course co-designed by Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus, “The King and the Bear”. When we played it, we found the course to be a cross between parkland-style, with wide-open fairways lined with overhanging, 200-year-old oaks, and a traditional Florida plantation layout liberally watered by a (in my case, ball-grabbing) long lake. Fortunately for mere mortals, five sets of tees make the 7,279 yard length and tough course rating of 75.2 manageable.

The second championship course at WGV, The Slammer and the Squire is a whisper easier, although it is advisable to be alert for the alligator on the ninth hole. Named for the legendary “Slammin’” Sam Snead and Gene “The Squire” Sarazen, the course winds through lovely wetlands and an ancient pine forest–called flatwoods. The entire area was once a private game reserve, and remains habitat for foxes, wood storks, osprey, eagles, deer, and for tortoises who lay eggs in the bunkers.

Apres Golf
After our two rounds of golf, we retired to the PGA TOUR Laterra Spa, where we settled into a “floating cabana” surrounded by a koi pond. Focused on the neck, forearms, lower back and hips, the “The 19th Hole” massage was a welcome indulgence. A unique offering here at the spa is the 3- to 5-day “Mindful Golf” customized program put together by a golf-specific personal trainer, a golf instructor and a massage therapist.

Later as we drove away from World Golf Village toward Ponte Vedra Beach, Michael looked over at me and said, “Now, what are you crying about?”

“I just love those guys,” I blubbered, “Arnie and Chi-chi and Annika, all of them. I never imagined how touching it would be to hear the voices of all those players, to see the old photos and their clubs, and the quirky mementos like Nancy Lopez’s Barbie doll. Did you see the Purple Heart that the 1946 U.S. Open champion got for the Battle of the Bulge in World War II? We have to come back when Tiger gets inducted, when he’s 40. They’ll have to build a whole new wing for him!”

Non-Golfers Play Around
Plenty of fun is to be had at World Golf Village, from the IMAX theater to the PGA TOUR Laterra Spa and guest privileges at the private Serenata Beach Club at Ponte Vedra Beach, where oceanfront swimming pools, water sports, tennis and a kids’ activity program make this a daytrip delight.

About 13 miles from WGV, Ponte Vedra Beach is a resort destination with more than 20 miles of sandy beaches, anchored by upscale resorts: The Ponte Vedra Inn and Club, The Lodge and Club, and the newly renovated Sawgrass Marriott Resort and Spa, site of the world-famous PLAYERS Stadium Golf Course at TPC Sawgrass and 82 more holes of top notch golf (St. Augustine, Ponte Vedra and The Beaches Visitors and Convention Bureau, www.getaway4florida.com).

Founded by the Spanish in 1565, St. Augustine is a warren of historic sites, quaint neighborhoods and cobblestone streets lined with antiques shops, museums, art galleries and restaurants.

Home of the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars and jumping-off point for vacations and touring in Northeast Florida, Jacksonville offers golf, boating, fishing and ocean water sports, miles of beaches and the St. Johns River. Stroll the Southbank Riverwalk, paddle the river in a kayak, linger in museums, or hop a water taxi to the restaurants, shopping and nightlife at Jacksonville Landing (Jacksonville and The Beaches Convention and Visitors Bureau, www.jaxcvb.com).

30 minutes north of Jacksonville, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the Intra-coastal Waterway and Nassau Sound, Amelia Island is fringed by duney beaches. Much of the island’s Victorian-era, seaport town of Fernandina Beach is on the National Register of Historic Places. 72 holes of golf at Amelia Island Plantation by such renowned architects as Pete Dye and Tom Fazio are laid along the coastline in a lush “old Florida” landscape of salt marshes and marine forests of cypress and oaks.