Locals advice wanted for a couple of Australians

[BrettnMichele]

Hi,

My wife & I are travelling to Florida from Australia for the Players Championship and would like to spend a week or so afterwards playing golf. We have previously played in and around Orlando, so we are looking for other courses.

 

We have considered Innisbrook and also Streamsong Red, but are definitely open to ideas and suggestions. We will have a hire car, and are happy to base ourselves somewhere and travel to various courses daily.

 

This is a 40th Birthday trip, so I want to make the most of it, and play on courses I may not get the opportunity to play on again! Any tips on securing tee times would also be appreciated.

 

Thanks in advance.

[Juan73]

One idea is to play the courses you see on TV that host PGA events...

 

So if you stayed in Orlando, you could play Bay Hill, which this week is hosting the Arnold Palmer Invitational

You could drive to Tampa/Clearwater to play the Cooperhead Course at Innisbrook where they just played the Valspar Championship

You could drive south to PGA National to play The Champions Course where they play the Honda Classic

You can play TPC Sawgrass the week after the tournament

 

Here is another idea. The link below lists the top courses you can play in Florida (you have to scroll down to the Florida list)... choose ones on those... I played everyone of the Florida courses last year... and it was fun to travel and play and meet folks. So if you select from these you should have a wonderful golfing experience.

 

http://golfweek.com/...-by-state-2016/

 

One last idea, if you decide to play Streamsong, in addition to playing the Red and Blue courses, check to see if the Black course is open. They plan on doing a soft opening sometime in the Spring.

 

Hope you have a great trip.

[RichieHunt]

Not sure if you have been to the PLAYERS Championship before. I would recommend drinking plenty of water and be prepared for the heat, sun and the rain. This time of year you never know what you're going to get.

 

I'm not a fan of attending The PLAYERS for many reasons. The course is so spread out it's not easy to walk. It's extremely busy there and the parking lot is enormous and feels like it's in a province away. Also, the timing of the event is wehn the weather is very unpredictable in Florida. And there is no seating on the driving range.

 

I would recommend walking the course on Tuesday and/or Wednesday to see the course if you like doing that type of thing. Then I would plant myself in the bleachers in the shade for the event on a hole. Sunday is best to get a seat early on 17, particularly because if they go into a playoff, 17 is the hole they play over and over again.

 

The good news is that the Ponte Vedra Beach/St. Augustine area is very nice this time of year and there's a lot of good local cuisine in that area like Barnacle Bill's, O'Steen's Restaurant and the Bunnery.

 

 

It depends on how much golf you want to play and what you can afford to spend. The good news about Streamsong is that you don't have to stay at the resort to play there. So you can play both courses and then go somewhere else if you want. I do think their resort is top notch, although it's in the middle of nowhere.

 

You could go to Streamsong, play a couple of rounds there and then head up to World Woods and play both the Pine Barrens and Rolling Oaks courses. I think a good 6 day golf trip would be:

 

Streamsong Red

Streamsong Blue

GC at Eaglebrooke (Lakeland)

World Woods - Rolling Oaks (Brooksville)

World Woods - Pine Barrens (Brooksville)

Southern Hills (Brooksville)

 

I like the other courses mentioned in this thread. I would check to make sure what the aerification schedules are. Typically places don't aerate until June, but some places will start in May. I know that Streamsong NEVER aerates their greens. And I don't think World Woods starts until June 7th.

 

 

 

 

 

 

RH

[OutBackHack]

From one Aussie to another, check out Sea Island, it has everything you could want in a golf trip/birthday celebration, in an atmosphere so different to anything in Oz. They also play a PGA event there and the courses should be in fabulous shape that time of year.

I also live here, feel free to DM me if you want any particulars.

Outside of that, Richie Hunts info is always spot on......

[Bucsraysgators]

There are a lot of very nice courses in Florida. I would also recommend that you play some off the beaten path. So you can see the real Florida. Since you'll be in Ponte Vedra take a short trip south (45 minutes) to Palatka and play the Palatka golf club. It's is a 1925 Donald Ross hidden gem for around $30. Get a feel of the real Florida.

[Hybrid]

I'd agree with most of the recommendations. One slight exception, Southern Hills Plantation. It's a fine layout and there is a lot to like. But I think the designer-and everyone knows who that is-designed the greens to be hard and to kick the ball off the putting surface. Otherwise a great course with some interesting elevation changes and nice staff. No gps on the carts.

[Chanceman]

Hi,

My wife & I are travelling to Florida from Australia for the Players Championship and would like to spend a week or so afterwards playing golf. We have previously played in and around Orlando, so we are looking for other courses.

 

We have considered Innisbrook and also Streamsong Red, but are definitely open to ideas and suggestions. We will have a hire car, and are happy to base ourselves somewhere and travel to various courses daily.

 

This is a 40th Birthday trip, so I want to make the most of it, and play on courses I may not get the opportunity to play on again! Any tips on securing tee times would also be appreciated.

 

Thanks in advance.

Reviving this old thread because I am thinking about a similar trip (from Australia) to Florida next year.

Did you play Streamsong, World Woods, Southern Hills? How did they rate? Play others?

Where did you stay? Comments?

My proposed loop from Orlando is Black Diamond Ranch / World Woods / Innisbrook / Streamsong / Bay Hill.