Famed course architect Donald Ross played here. The PGA Tour returns every year. And like a Titleist skipping through a sand trap onto the green, plenty of visitors to the St. Petersburg/Clearwater area skip a day on the beach to tee it up at several prime golf destinations.
Looking for a classic test restored to glory? You got it. Want a modern beast that vexes the best players in the world? You can have that, too.
Whether you boldly stride to the back tees or stroll to the front of the tee box, there are plenty of opportunities to chase that little white sphere in St. Pete/Clearwater.
If you can just keep it off the sand.
Belleview Biltmore Golf Club
Donald Ross believed each hole should present a unique challenge, never allowing a player to sluff off for a swing without a price. Intellect prevails over brute strength, patience trumps a brash play.
His design philosophy led to many of the best courses in the world: Pinehurst No. 2, Oakland Hills, Inverness, Oak Hill and Seminole. These are where historical major championships are played, layouts that some of the most prestigious private clubs call home.
Belleview Biltmore Golf Club is your opportunity to see what all the fuss is about.
The course was built in 1925 and in recent years has undergone renovations to restore the noted Ross design features. It offers a walk down fairways designed by the game's master, covered with lush grasses that only modern agronomy could offer.
Though not long by today's standards, with back tees that stretch to 6,614 yards and a par of 71, the Biltmore tests every club in the bag. Long-but-wrong hitters find plenty of trouble, with plentiful water hazards and bunkers sprinkled in just the right places to make a player think. Each shot demands attention.
But it's not all punishment. The magnificent setting salves a bruised ego. And there is an on-site golf academy to help a wayward golfer find more fairways.
If scenery and education aren't enough, you'll know you have played a course that's stood the test of time. Prepare for a round of tradition.
Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club
The Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club claims that after you step onto the resort's extensive, manicured grounds, you will never want to leave.
They've got that right.
And the resort's four golf courses – The Copperhead, Island, Highlands North and Highlands South – offer something experienced players would never expect of a Florida course: hills.
The Copperhead uses its elevation changes, reminiscent of many courses found in North Carolina, to test the best players in the world each year. The 7,295-yard, par-71 brute is established as one of the PGA Tour's favorite stops each year, and Ernie Els called it the best course the PGA Tour plays in Florida.
The Copperhead rolls through mature trees with water strategically placed to test golfers of any level. Uneven lies are common, forcing creative play to slick greens guarded by daunting sand traps and unbelievable Bermuda rough. Choose your tees wisely to make sure you will make it up the hill to the 18th green with your spirit intact.
Innisbrook's other courses aren't softies, either. The 7,063-yard, par-72 Island Course, in particular, can prove every bit as tough as the Copperhead to a player who isn't in control of the ball. As the name implies, water abounds. Keep it straight, or keep plenty of balls within reach.
Bardmoor Golf & Tennis Club
Bardmoor Golf & Tennis Club offers a bit of a breather in places, with sometimes wide fairways and room to play.
But don't plan on setting any course records.
Home of the PGA Tour and LPGA Tour's JCPenney Classic for 13 years, the 7,015-yard, par-71 track received a $2-million face-lift from Gary Koch in 2001. The greens can be diabolical, both as targets for approach shots and again when putting.
Koch pushed up many of the greens from the fairways, and imperfect shots bound down the slopes. The greens are harder to hit than they appear. Short-side yourself one too many times, and you will begin to question your strategy.
The course offers several fantastic risk-reward holes. The 398-yard par-4 seventh slices around a lake, begging for a bold tee shot to set up a short approach, and the 529-yard par-5 eighth forces a carry over a pond to a green above another water hazard. The 376-yard par-4 14th wraps around a lake, daring you to swing the driver to set up a birdie. Great swings lead to great scores; bad swings leave you all wet.
Avoiding the water is the course's theme, with ponds in play on almost every hole. But avoid all the red stakes and keep the ball on the proper side of the hole, and you might be able to sign a scorecard worth remembering.
Jason Lusk is the Director of Design for Golfweek magazine and a former designer at the St. Petersburg Times.
