From Oregon to South Africa, my best golf photos from 2015

There's no denying that the highlight of my 2015 was a golf trip to South Africa. It wasn't just about the golf; it was about all the other exotic things you get to do when you travel to South Africa, most notably, safaris.

But South Africa, though it represented my longest trip, was hardly the only highlight. Each summer, I do an epic road trip, covering the better part of a month, and this year's journey through the Rocky Mountain states of Utah, New Mexico and Colorado, was among the very best experiences I've had in recent years. It's hard to beat mountain golf.

Unless, of course, you're on the ocean, which is where a father-son trip took me this fall. The destination was Bandon Dunes on the coast of Oregon, and there might not be a better buddy or father-son trip in the world, with the possible exception of St. Andrews, Scotland. We played every course there, and with the exception of the first day, the weather was perfect.

There were also many golf courses I got to play for the first time, and many of those courses were beyond my expectations. They included Wickenburg Ranch and The Wigwam's Gold Course near Phoenix; Sand Hollow Golf Club in Utah; Cordillera Ranch in Colorado; the recently renovated Heron Point by Pete Dye at Sea Pines on Hilton Head Island, S.C.; the new paspalum version of the Links Course at The Resort at Longboat Key Club near Sarasota, Fla.; and what's becoming known as "Bandon Dunes East," the two courses at Streamsong Resort between Tampa and Orlando.

Here, then, are a few of my favorite pictures, from around the United States and slightly beyond its borders.