Tallahassee

The capital of Florida will never be called the golf capital of the Sunshine State.

That argument is best saved for the heavyweights of Jacksonville, Naples, Miami and Orlando to duke it out. But there’s still plenty of choices for golfers dragging their sticks along to Tallahassee. The winter months of January and February can be a bit chilly at times, but the occasional frost delays never shut down the golf courses for too long.

The 27-hole Killearn Country Club & Inn has hosted the PGA Tour and the LPGA Tour a combined 25 times (The last of the 21 Tallahassee Open/Centel Classic tournaments was held in 1989). It’s reasonably priced, a rarity among Tour stops. There’s also the 29-room inn on site.

Fred Couples, who used to play in the Tallahassee Open, designed the area’s best course, Southwood Golf Club, in 2002, along with Gene Bates. The semi-private layout is the centerpiece of a 3,200-acre housing development, but that doesn’t spoil the beauty of the natural terrain. There are a handful of more affordable courses, too, like the Don Veller Seminole Golf Course and Golf Club at Summerbrooke. Summerbrooke and Southwood are particularly hilly, a rare treat in Florida more reminiscent of the Carolinas.

For life away from the golf, Tallahassee, a historic city dating to 1823, revolves around two things: Government business at the capital, and Florida State University. The Governors Inn Hotel is the most luxurious place to stay downtown. There’s always something cooking at FSU, whether it’s a big football or basketball game or some cultural event or show on campus.

Tallahassee lists 122 properties on the National Registry of Historic Places. The Tallahassee Museum of History and Natural Science, located on 52 acres around a chain of lakes, features many animals that call the area home, including the Florida panther. The Tallahassee Antique Car Museum boasts a rare private collection of cars, including two Batmobiles, and the world's most expensive piano. For the curious, the Knott House is filled with eccentric rhymes attached to furniture throughout a mansion built in 1843.

More historic homes are found between Tallahassee and Thomasville, Ga. This 28-mile stretch houses the largest concentration of plantations (71) in America. The Pebble Hill Plantation in Thomasville provides a taste of the Old South with its 40-room mansion, carriage collection and log cabin schoolhouse.

Outdoor lovers flock to the Alfred B. Maclay State Gardens or the hiking-biking trails of the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge 25 miles south of town.

An eclectic dining scene typical of a college town is stocked with anything from dive bars to fancy steakhouses such as Shula’s 347 Grille in Hotel Duval. Since 1976, Chez Pierre has served tasty French cuisine in an elegant atmosphere and a popular Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre. For breakfast, get up early and beat the crowd to Jenny's Lunchbox. It’s a great spot to fill up before a tee time.