Just when it seems that Florida has maxed out on possible golf courses, new 18-hole championship venues keep
opening. You can virtually play a different golf course every day for years and not play the same course twice! Studies show that the percentage of golf played in Florida has not decreased, yet most golf
courses have experienced a drop in play simply due to the increased availability of golf courses. Same number of players, with more courses to play, will equal less play on each course.
Champions Gate
One of the newest facilities is Champions Gate. Located about 20 miles
east of Lakeland on Interstate 4, the development includes two championship courses designed by Greg Norman, the "Shark". The facilities also include a beautiful clubhouse, office space, housing
development and soon a hotel. Norman is known for wearing black as his trademark, and that theme has been carried over to the golf course. The tee markers are black, including the ball wash buckets.
The International course, considered the more difficult layout, spans 7,406 from the championship tees.
It has the look and feel of a links-style layout in the British Isles, with
bump-and-run fairways and plenty of strategically-placed bunkers. The National Course is a classic par 72, 7,048 yard American-style layout, with wider fairways sprinkled with water traps.
Recently, members of the Executive Women's Golf Association tried out the National Course. Women are a growing market opportunity for golf courses, as evidenced by the 22 members who showed up to
this spur-of-the-moment weekend event. The course was in excellent shape and provided a definite challenge to the majority of players. It was exciting to learn that many of the PGA TOUR players who
live in the Orlando area have frequented Champions Gate. For more information, call Champions Gate at 1-888-558-9301 or visit www.championsgategolf.com.
Several other courses available to Polk County residents and visitors include Bramble Ridge with its narrow fairways and high-bermed roughs; Eaglebrooke, home to the SBC Futures Golf Tournament and
a challenge from any of its six tee placements; and Grenelefe Resort with 54 holes of championship golf and a great value in the summer time.
PGA Village
Located in Port St. Lucie, just two hours from Lakeland, this is the first golf club owned and operated by the PGA of America that is open to the public. This model golf facility offers sweeping innovations
for the future of the golf industry.
Players of all levels can enjoy 72 Championship golf holes from the world's finest architects, Tom
Fazio, Jim Fazio and Pete Dye, a 6-hole Short Course, plus the new state of the art 35-acre PGA Learning Center™.
The North Course, a Tom Fazio design, opened January 1, 1996 and
offers rolling hills, pine groves and wicked water hazards for a distinctive Carolina feel. The South Course, by Tom Fazio, is a pure Florida course
with sharply sloped greens and tricky doglegs set against a backdrop of wetlands and palm trees.
The challenging Dye Course features fairways generously dotted with
bunkers and moguls, and large expanses of crushed limestone shells as waste areas.
But the biggest surprise is the PGA learning center. This extraordinary
prototype facility provides the ultimate learning experience for golfers of every level. With putting greens and courses, chipping areas and a variety of bunker styles and over 100 practice stations, this 35-acre golf
park provides the opportunity to learn how to execute every conceivable golf shot. Catering to individual golfers as well as groups, the PGA Learning Center features a unique lighting system that enables
golfers to practice in the evening hours. True to The PGA of America's mission to grow the game of golf, the PGA Learning Center is affordably priced and easily accessible.
For more information visit their website at www.pgavillage.com or call 877-519-6766.
TPC in Ponte Vedra and the Diplomat Resort
For those anglers wanting to add a little golf to their adventure (or
fish the water hazards), two beautiful Florida resorts stand out among the hundreds. In North Florida, next to the TPC in Ponte Vedra is the Marriott at Sawgrass Resort. A series of lakes full of
bass surround the hotel and meander through the two fabulous TPC courses. In South Florida at Hollywood, the newly-opened five-star Country Club at the Diplomat Resort offers travelers a beautiful
golfing "oasis" on the Intracoastal waterway.
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