Florida - World Woods - Pine Barren Course

I was down in Alabama visiting some of my mother's side of the family and had a few extra days before I had to head back up to Indiana to tie up some loose ends so I headed down to Florida to play one of the Top 100 I hadn't played yet. I was just fortunate there was one on the list within a days journey. And who kidding who, I've always got a "few" extra days. Ha!

World Woods - Pine Barren Course - #18/#39

I could tell this is a beautiful dunes course but to be honest it was still too early in the season to see much of its true beauty. Even though it is Florida, it is Northern Florida and the grass on the course wasn't green yet. Shame! It really is a beautiful course. However, that being said, World Woods - Pine Barren Course is not one of my favorite courses just due to the fact that there is only one, maybe two holes that have any water on them or anywhere in sight. I say 'anywhere in sight' due to some of the more beautiful and challenging dunes courses don't have water on them but are near oceans, seas or lakes; the Whistling Straits courses in Wisconsin are two that come to mind.

I shot an 85 with 3 mulligans! Hey, it was my first time swinging a club in over two months. Enjoy the pics.

Holes #1, #5, #15 and #16

Wisconsin Golf

This is a tough post for me to make. My plans were to play all three Whistling Strait courses (includes Blackwolf Run) before leaving Wisconsin but today I canceled playing the Straits course, the more famous of the three and also the more expensive, due to the weather conditions.

After playing Blackwolf Run in 50 degree weather, raining most of the round and winds gusting to 40 mph and then next day playing Whistling Straits Irish course in 50 degree weather and winds gusting to 20-30 mph I decided my money would be better spent on a future date. Don't get me wrong in that I don't mind playing in lite rain, or even 50 degree temps or even some gusting winds but all three!! Sheesh! I love golf, but not enough to fork out the kind of money they want for the Straits Course to shoot 100+ in cold, dreary, windy weather. Yuck! I'll wait until I can talk some other of my fool-hearty friends into coming up when the weather is nice.

As it was both Blackwolf Run and the Irish courses are beautiful in the own way. I personally like Blackwolf Run better but just taking a couple glimpses at the Straits Course I'm sure it would have won out of the three. Would have been my new No. 1, I don't think so. TPC Sawgrass and The Quarry and Giant's Ridge, I believe, would have still nudged it out. But that final decision will have to wait for another day. And look at the bright side, I'm about $500 richer! lol

Blackwolf Run
#2


#5


#7


Whistling Straits - Irish Course
#2


#10


#13


#18


On to Illinois if the weather cooperates.

Florida

I will be traveling to Miami this coming July 15-16th to meet up with my friend Bill. Then I am off to Argentina for two weeks.

Although I have already played the courses I've wanted to play in Florida when I arrive back from Argentina I will probably take a leisurely drive up the coast to Georgia and play a couple more times in the state.

The three courses of note that I played are Doral, PGA National Championship Course and Copperhead at Innisbrook. Of the three I would say I was most disappointed with Copperhead. I played it the most recent in late June and whereas the course itself was beautiful the greens were a mess and very, very slow. not at all what you'd expect from a course of its stature.

My best round of the three was shot at PGA National Championship playing from the blue tees. I shot an 88 and that was after a horrible start on the first three holes with a caddie. I'd never experiences a caddie before and thought I'd give it a try. Disaster!!! Maybe because I was the only one with a caddie. I'll never try using a caddie again unless everyone in the foursome has a caddie.

Doral was memorable if only because I started with a par and had a par on the famed Blue Monster closing hole. The rest of the round was, well, lets just say it wasn't championship golf.