Tampa

Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club

Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club in Palm Harbor is one of the premier golf resorts in America, boasting 72 holes of championship golf, including the Copperhead Course, which annually hosts the PGA Tour's Chrysler Classic. While the length (nearly 7,300 yards) can be intimidating, Copperhead is refreshingly forgiving off the tee, which includes many elevated tee shots. The Island Course is shorter and tighter than Copperhead, but at just over 7,000 yards length is still a factor. The layout is also the most diverse of resort courses at Innisbrook and rewards successful bold play. Highlands South is home to Florida's longest par 5: the 650-yard 13th, but the course plays shorter and easier than the Island and Copperhead courses. The Highlands North course is similar in terrain to Copperhead but the layout is far less bold, stretching to just 6,600 yards. Recent renovations added more waste areas and bunkers making play more difficult.

Fast fact: Renovations to Copperhead in 2000 stretched the par 71 course from 7,087 yards to 7,230. Holes 4, 5 and 11 all increased in length by at least 20 yards.

TPC of Tampa Bay

Florida's "other" TPC course is the TPC of Tampa Bay. While it doesn't hold the Players Championship and have the most dramatic hole on tour, it does host the Senior Tour's Verizon Classic and is also considered one of the finest venues on the circuit. Opened in 1991, 10 years after Sawgrass, TPC of Tampa Bay is a Bobby Weed design with Chi Chi Rodriguez assisting as the TPC's player consultant. TPC characteristics are present here: stadium seating around greens, exotic bunkering, elevated tees and challenging, high drama holes. Perhaps the most noticeable difference, however, is the property's attention to nature. It's a certified member of the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary program.

Fast fact: A special feature at the TPC is a wildlife refuge built within the property, making colorful birds and other animals part of everyday scenery.

Saddlebrook Resort

Opened in 1980, Saddlebrook has emerged as one of Florida's most popular business retreats, due to its abundance of activities and proximity to the Tampa International Airport. Saddlebrook hosts two 18-hole Arnold Palmer designs: the original Saddlebrook Course and the Palmer Course. The Saddlebrook Course is the original course and was renovated by Palmer's head designer Ed Seay in 1996. It's a classic Florida layout with flat fairways, subtle doglegs, large greens and an abundance of hazards. Bumps and mounds on the fairways and greens are more abundant on the newer Palmer Course. Loads of land were moved and shaped in order to give the Palmer Course a different, more visually-stunning feel than the original Saddlebrook. Neither course is especially long. The Saddlebrook Course is the longer of the two at just over 6,500 yards. Saddlebrook Resort is also home to the Arnold Palmer Golf Academy.

Fast fact: Major renovations in 1996 to Saddlebrook refurbished restaurant interiors, the main lobby and added a spa, Sports Village and an 18,000-square-foot conference area.

World Woods Golf Club

Well past the outskirts of the Tampa metro area, World Woods is worth the drive. The recent opening of the Veterans Expressway has cut drive time from the Tampa International Airport down from 60 minutes to 40. Renowned architect Tom Fazio put his stamp on both 18 hole courses at World Woods. Pine arrens is the top draw at World Woods, considered among the elite in Florida. Its abundance of waste bunkers has dubbed Pine Barrens by some as the "Pine Valley of the South" and Pine Barrens resembles nothing of Fazio's previous designs. It's a rugged course, with extreme penal architecture. The 4th hole is one of the state's most photographed, with a dominant waste area to the right as the fairway curves around it. On this hole and several others, waste bunkers are so steep they are equipped with ladders for entry and exit. The stage for World Woods' other course, Rolling Oaks, is the polar opposite. The setting is more of a cosmetic, country club environment with manicured bunkers and fairways. It is the same length at just under 7,000 yards but plays slightly shorter than Pine Barrens. Also, World Woods' practice facilities are second to none, complete with a 20-acre circular driving range, a two acre 36 hole putting course and multiple short game greens.

Fast fact: World Woods' location is so remote because owner Yukihisa Inoue wanted to own a club opposite of the clutter and busy climate of his club in Japan.

Dunes Golf Club

The Dunes Golf Club located in Seville lies on a beautiful piece of land in an isolated setting. Despite being just several miles from the better-known World Woods complex, the Dunes holds its own, sharing the same sandy and rugged terrain as its neighbor. Architect Arthur Hills, whose design credits include some of the most coveted land, labeled this particular plot extra special. The jagged steep bunkering and sand pits along with the 7,140 yard layout intimidates visually and mentally, penalizing erred shots. The land has several distinct moods. Holes two through six play through thick pines over smooth ground. The following holes become more open and vary more aesthetically. But the back nine is where the features of the land are highlighted. The greens are more irregular in shape and giant sand craters come into play dramatically if not logistically along with increased topographical change.

Fast fact: Opened in 1988, Arthur Hills said the Dunes was one of the best inland sites he's ever worked on.

University Park

University Park in Sarasota is Ron Garl's vision to forego the '80's design principles of manmade heroics and get back to the roots of golf course architecture. In doing so, University Park was created not to exploit its flat land, rich in vegetation, but showcase it, making strategy the key point of play along the way. Though opened in 1991, University Park has an aura of class and dignity not found in other courses opened at the same time. The par threes are the pinnacle of design, two playing over water and the other two possessing a distinct, gulf coast feel. A third nine was added to University Park in 1996, also designed by Garl.

Fast fact: University Park is the first installment of architect Ron Garl's "Classic Design Series."

Choose other destination:

Western Florida | Orlando | Jacksonville/St. Augustine | Tampa