GREENSBORO, Ga. – A Ritz-Carlton situated in a small town in central Georgia? At first that seemed hard to imagine.

Then again, Greensboro – located off Interstate 20 midway between Atlanta (it’s 75 miles from the Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson Airport) and Augusta — isn’t your usual small town by any means. That explains why Ritz-Carlton has a special property at Reynolds Plantation, the golf destination that is the heart of this friendly, upscale town that — in February, 2016 — was named by Golf Magazine as one of its “25 Best Golf Communities in North America.”

Ritz-Carlton has 94 locations world-wide but the 251-room facility here is the only one that is designated as a lodge.

Reynolds Plantation also has 117 holes of great golf, an irresistible attraction for those visiting the Masters tournament in Augusta every April. Located barely over an hour from that tournament site, the Ritz-Carlton Lodge traditionally sells out for Masters week a month after the previous year’s tournament at Augusta National. This year is no exception. The day after the Masters concludes TaylorMade adidas will launch a new high-tech golf shoe at Reynolds Plantation, which will keep the resort in the golf spotlight even after the tournament is over.

“The Masters is our Super Bowl,’’ said Ralph Vick, the hotel’s general manager.

There’s no doubt about that. Vick said room rates start at $388 on most nights during the course of a year. During Masters week in April they start at $1,000. That’s not just because of the quality of the hotel. The golf options are extraordinary, and that’s been underscored since MetLife took over ownership of Reynolds Plantation two years ago from the family that created it.

Visitors during this year’s Masters will see some major upgrades at The National course, a Plantation favorite. A new clubhouse, pro shop and cart storage building are in various stages of construction. Obviously the goal is to have as much done as possible in time for the first major golf championship of 2015. The Ritz itself will also have a new expanded swimming pool area.

Golf-wise Reynolds Plantation has an interesting location. It’s within a reasonably short drive of both the year’s first championship (the Masters) and The Tour Championship, the climax to the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup Playoffs in October. The Tour Championship is played at East Lake in Atlanta, but vice president of golf operations Mark Lammi says there’s no question about which big tournament has more impact at Reynolds Plantation. It’s the Masters by a long shot.

Golfers will flock to the 10,000–acre community in April, and it won’t be just to watch the competition at Augusta National. They’ll also be playing the courses built around the beautiful Lake Oconee. It’s the second-largest lake in Georgia, spreading over 19,000 acres and having 374 miles of shoreline. All of the Reynolds courses touch Lake Oconee at some point.

The 117 holes are spread over six courses. One, The Creek Club, is private. The members-only layout was designed by Jim Engh and opened in 2007. Engh, Golf Digest’s first Architect of the Year, created a somewhat short course (6,490 yards from the back tees) that has three par-threes, three par-fours and three par-fives on each nine. And, each hole has seven tee placements.

Only one of the other five courses offers openings for public, non-resort, play. That would be The Landing, the first course built in the area in 1986. It’s one of two Bob Cupp designs at Reynolds Plantation and was originally known as Port Armor Golf Club. Immediately well-received upon its opening, the course was acquired by Reynolds Plantation in 2005. Only resort guests can play on the other courses.

The other Cupp course is The Plantation, which he designed with consulting help from PGA Tour players Hubert Green and Fuzzy Zoeller. It opened in 1988, when Golf Digest named it Best New Resort Course.

Our visit centered on the other three courses, all created by the highest of high-profile designers. The one we liked the best of The Oconee, a Rees Jones creation. Jones was in the early stages of building his reputation as “the Open doctor’’ when he did his work on The Oconee. He would eventually redesign seven U.S.Open courses and three layouts that have hosted Ryder Cup matches. Chicago’s Medinah No. 3, which has hosted both big events, was one of them.

The waterfalls that define several fairways are the stunning special feature of The Oconee, which opened in 2002 and is the closest layout (just a short walk) to the Ritz-Carlton Lodge. Water comes into play on nine holes, including the last three, and the par-threes are outstanding.

Toughest of the Reynolds courses is the Jack Nicklaus-designed Great Waters, which first greeted golfers in 1992. The nines are completely different, with the back having eight holes right on Lake Oconee. Great Waters was the site of the Andersen Consulting World Championship in its early years and was the most recent Reynolds course used for a somewhat high profile event. The first 72-hole Big Break Invitational was played there last year and was broadcast on The Golf Channel.

Last of the layouts, The National, has the other 27 holes. Architect Tom Fazio had the Ridge and Bluff nines ready for play in 1997 and the Cove made its debut in 2000. These nines differ from Reynolds’ other courses because of their more pronounced elevation changes. All the courses have generous fairways and offer fun challenges for resort visitors. The putting surfaces would obviously vary in difficulty according to the time of the year, but the least undulating were the greens on The Oconee.

The Reynolds Plantation golf experience doesn’t end with the courses. Director of instruction Charlie King, one Golf Digest’s 50 Best Teachers, oversees the Reynolds Golf Academy and cutting edge technology is available at The TaylorMade Kingdom. It offers swing analysis, club-fitting and on-site club building so well respected that PGA Tour players have made it a frequent stop. In fact, the only other such facility is at TaylorMade’s headquarters in Carlsbad, Calif.

Kingdom’s high-tech tools include Motion Analysis Technology, the Quintic launch monitor system to improve putting techniques and Trackman and Flightscope X2 launch monitor technology. Four experts in the use of this equipment are available to make good things happen to visitors’ golf games.

Reynolds Plantation isn’t all about golf. The Ritz-Carlton Lodge offers a variety of dining options at the Linger Longer Steakhouse, Georgia’s Bistro and Gaby’s, a lakeside café, and the clubhouse at each of the courses also offer dining options. In addition, there’s a 26,000 square foot spa, boat cruises, the Lake Club Wellness Center and Tennis Center, swimming pools and all sorts of activities on Lake Oconee, which has four full-service marinas.

Again, however, golf is the biggest thing. Reynolds Plantation has been rated with Pebble Beach, Pinehurst and Wisconsin’s American Club as the best golf resorts in the country by Zagat Survey.

I’m not big on those rating games, but I’ve been to the other three major U.S. resort destinations. Reynolds Plantation differs from the others in that it hasn’t hosted the big tournaments but – as a destination for avid players – it’s every bit the equal of any resort in the country.

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – An embarrassment of riches. That’s what I’ve always felt about this unique golf mecca. There is a potential problem for those many who make return trips, however.

You find a favorite course (or two or three) and there’s many times a tendency to just play them on each visit. To do that is doing Myrtle Beach a disservice. You don’t get the full experience of what this area has to offer. That’s why I insisted on changing things up for my fourth Myrtle Beach visit in probably a 15-year span.

No more returning to long-time favorites like Caledonia Golf & Fish Club or True Blue or Pawley’s Plantation or Founder’s Club – the last course to open in the area in 2008. Nope. This time I wanted to play good, interesting courses, of course – but none that I had played before. With the help of Chris King of Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday I was able to do just that.

King lined up tee times on four courses, and the very first one underscored just how much I had been missing. The Dunes Golf & Beach Club should have been the very first course I had played in the area, because it’s the one that gets the bulk of the attention as a tournament site. It’s also arguably the most historically significant.

Pine Lakes, which opened in 1927, was the first golf course in Myrtle Beach. Scottish-born Robert White, the first president of the PGA of America, was its designer. The second course didn’t come along until 21 years later.

That would be The Dunes Club, designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr. and later renovated by his son, Rees. It trigged the barrage of golf interest in the area, which carries into today. Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday has about 70 member courses, but there are quite a few more in the area. One course official said the number is more like 120. The number doesn’t really matter. Suffice it to say, Myrtle Beach has more than enough golf courses.

Back to The Dunes Club, the first on our schedule. For many years it was host to the last round of the Golf Writers Assn. of America championship. That provided immediate recognition to golf in Myrtle Beach, and The Dunes Club eventually hosted six Senior PGA Tour Championships, a U.S. Women’s Open and the finals of PGA Tour Qualifying School. Last year the PGA Professional Players National Championship was played there. The Dunes Club is a beautiful place, with a course that has survived the passing of time and the technological changes that have impacted the game.

After a round at The Dunes Club the trip continued at Tidewater, in North Myrtle Beach. It doesn’t have nearly as famous a designer. The architect of record is owner Ken Tomlinson, a tax attorney, but the layout and its most interesting setting couldn’t be more enjoyable. There’s a whole different kind of charm here, as we coped with thick fog that hampered play on holes along the natural wetlands and tried – many times unsuccessfully – to stay out of the numerous white sand bunkers which seemed to be a factor on every hole.

Weather was a big problem the rest of the trip, as temperatures dropped 40 degrees over night and descended into the 20s at times. Still, it wasn’t difficult to see the enjoyment possibilities at the Dye Course at Barefoot Resort or Grande Dunes, the partner course for The Dunes Club during the 2014 Professional Players National Championship.

Arriving at Grande Dunes for an early morning round was a shocker. Frigid temperatures suggested play would be minimal, but we were told that 150 players would be on the course that day. (That was considered a quiet day in March, as the usual daily average was about 240).

Grande Dunes was designed by Roger Rulewich, whose resume includes a renovation of Medinah’s No. 3 course for the 1999 PGA Championship. Rulewich worked beside Robert Trent Jones Sr. for many years.

The Dye Course had the visual deceptions and railroad ties so prevalent on courses designed by Pete Dye. It wasn’t as busy as Grande Dunes, as only six hardy souls from the Boston area were willing to take on the challenge when the temperatures had bottomed out.

Sam Puglia, the owner of the Dye Course, gave all four of his Barefoot Resort courses the grandest of grand openings back in April of 2000. Barefoot also has courses designed by and named after Davis Love III, Tom Fazio and Greg Norman. Puglia wanted all four to open on the same day – the only time a golf course owner has opted to open four by famous designers all at once. The courses didn’t even have clubhouses then; they operated out of trailers, but all four courses are still going strong today.

It only seemed right to follow a round of golf with a dinner at Greg Norman’s Australian Grille. Opened in 1999, it’s the only restaurant bearing the name of the famous golfer who has dabbled successfully in many other financial ventures outside of golf.

While trying out a variety golf courses is advisable in Myrtle Beach, it’s also important to analyze the variety of lodging and dining options. Lodging-wise you can get an oceanfront condo, a lodge on the outskirts and the area or a chain hotel most anywhere. There’s something to fit all budgets.

Getting the lodging or dining place that best suit you isn’t always easy, because Myrtle has so much in the way of variety. The are, for instance, about 1,500 restaurants in the area. All the chain restaurants are represented, and Norman’s Australian Grille isn’t the only upscale one by a longshot.

Sea Captain’s House is a long-time favorite, having been converted from an oceanfront guesthouse to a restaurant that has fed visitors since 1962. New York Prime and Aspen Grille are also among those representing the best in Myrtle Beach dining.

They’ll be bustling in the coming weeks, as Myrtle Beach has a full schedule of special events. The inaugural March Championship was on tap the week after we departed. It’s a handicap-based 54-hole event that drew 200 players from 28 states, Italy and Canada. Though a new event, its entry spots quickly sold out. The event will be played at the Arrowhead, Meadowlands, Sandpiper Bay, Shaftesbury Glen, Thistle and Tiger’s Eye layouts..

Next on tap is the Hootie and the Blowfish Celebrity Pro-Am at the Dye Course. It’s been held on the Monday after the Masters tournament for 20 years and always draws Masters participants as well as celebrities from the entertainment world.

The biggest event of them all, however, won’t begin until Aug. 31 when Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday hosts the 32nd annual World Amateur Championship. The handicap-based 72-hole event will have more than 30,000 players from over 30 countries and more than 60 area courses will be utilized.

Our next Myrtle Beach visit — one that I expect will come soon – won’t include stops at the courses previously visited. There are so many more to enjoy. If you are enticed by the various magazine course rankings, Myrtle Beach has plenty those honored layouts. I’m not so much about those. We just want pleasant overall golfing eperiences, and Myrtle Beach has loads of potentially good ones.

Black Bear? Carolina National? Crow Creek? Eagle Nest? Tournament Players Club of Myrtle Beach? Waterway Hills? Who knows where you might play next in Myrtle Beach?

Chances are, however, you can’t go wrong with whatever courses you choose.

PALM COAST, FL. – Our three-month stay in this ocean-side community between St. Augustine and Daytona Beach was much different than our previous three winters, spent in Sarasota, Naples and Port St. Lucie.

In this case, “different’’ means generally better golf-wise with one notable exception. We played lots of golf in cold (50 degrees), windy weather, and that’s something we rarely faced in the other, more southerly stops.

The less-than-ideal weather –much like fall golf in Illinois — was never bad enough to keep us from playing and that one drawback was overridden by two other factors. Courses in this area offered much more in the way of variety and affordability than we experienced the previous three years playing our recreational rounds in the heart of the Sunshine State’s tourist season.

This area is called Florida’s Historic Coast because St. Augustine, settled by Spanish explorers in 1565, is America’s oldest city. There’s over 60 historic sites there and is a great location for more than just golf. Still, recreational golf addicts need their golf fixes, and we got it here.

We played 18 rounds between Nov. 28 and Feb. 28, and they didn’t include visits to the most famous course in the area (TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra) or the only layout jointly designed by legends Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus (King &Bear in St. Augustine). We had played those courses on previous visits and our ultimate goal was to experience the widest variety of golf the area had to offer.

Our self-imposed “previous visit’’ rule also kept us from returning to one of the best-regarded public layouts, St. John’s in St. Augustine.

Still, we covered a good cross section of courses in the immediate area and stretched our experiences with visits south, to courses the Orlando’s western suburbs, and north, to layouts near Amelia Island.

As has been the case in previous years, we’re rating the courses strictly from our enjoyment playing them. We’re downplaying the cost factor, since greens fees vary so much –day to day and even hour to hour. Comparing the most expensive courses (some had greens fees slightly over $100) to the lowest ($25) is like comparing apples and oranges. Still, it should be noted that most of the public (non-resort) courses were priced in the $30-$40 range, cart included. That was much more affordable than any of our previous Florida destinations, and many offered the option of walking. That was also a rarity elsewhere.

Each round in the Historic Coast was memorable and enjoyable – and generally for different reasons. In fairness, weather conditions and general atmosphere on the particular day of play probably influenced our rankings. That said, here’s how we rank the courses we played on Florida’s Historic Coast.

1, SLAMMER & SQUIRE, St. Augustine. This is one of two courses at World Golf Village, a must-stop for golfers regardless of the playing options available there. The nearby CaddieShack restaurant also enhances the overall experience. Slammer & Squire is a tribute to Sam Snead and Gene Sarazen. It was probably the best-conditioned course we played. While many might prefer the longer, more challenging King & Bear layout, we lean towards Slammer & Squire because of its more sporty nature and proximity to the other World Golf Village attractions.

2, OCEAN HAMMOCK, Palm Coast. One of two courses offered at the Hammock Beach Resort, which – with Innisbrook in Tampa and Reunion in Orlando – is part of the highly respected Salamander Hotels and Resorts Collection. A Jack Nicklaus Signature design, Ocean Hammock lives up to its name with six views of the Atlantic Ocean, and you can’t beat holes on the water for memorability. Nicklaus also labeled the last four holes as “The Bear Claw’’ – a challenging finish to anybody’s round, but especially impactful when you play the course on an extremely windy day. A real tough call between Slammer & Squire and Ocean Hammock. Both have their unique charms.

3, THE CONSERVATORY, Palm Coast. This Tom Watson design is the other 18-holer offered by the Hammock Beach Resort, but the courses are about five miles apart. Both received accolades from Golf Digest and were used for PGA or Champions Tour events in their earlier years. The Conservatory, which has the most elaborate clubhouse of all those we visited, is the centerpiece for a proposed golf community that hasn’t materialized as yet. At 7,726 yards from the back tees, it’s one of the longest courses in Florida and has one of the highest slope ratings (78.2). The Big Ten Conference played its Match Play Championship at the Hammock Beach courses in February.

4, LPGA INTERNATIONAL, HILLS COURSE, Daytona Beach. One of the two 18-holers near the Ladies PGA headquarters, I was told the Hills (designed by Arthur Hills) was much more challenging than the Jones Course, a Rees Jones design. Both are used for the LPGA’s Qualifying School competition each fall. The Hills has generous fairways but lots of forced carries off the tees and quick greens. It’s a fun course with a fine finishing hole – a dogleg left par-4 that features an approach to the green that can make or break your round. The LPGA connection is significant (it’s prominently promoted off I-95) and the facility is well equipped as an instructional center. It even has practice holes.

5, AMELIA RIVER, Fernandina Beach. The first hole, as well as the fifth and 13th holes, run beside the Fernandina Beach Municipal Airport. That didn’t strike me as a plus, but there are some beautiful holes as well. The designer was Tom Jackson, who has done most of his work in his native South Carolina (he has seven designs in Myrtle Beach). Formerly known as Royal Amelia, the Amelia River layout’s signature hole is No. 17 — a par-3 to an island green — and the finisher is a strategic three-shot par-5 that ends at the edge of the Amelia River.

6, HALIFAX PLANTATION, Ormond Beach. The first course we played during our stay here, it was excellent from all ends –- affordability, conditioning, clubhouse setting and amenities. Bill Amick opened the oldest golf architectural office in Florida in 1959, and designed this course, which is located near that office in Daytona Beach. The course is an interesting layout that runs through a residential community. This one definitely merits a return trip.

7, DUBSDREAD, Orlando. We had to make this one, as its name spawned the name of the much more famous No. 4 course at Cog Hill – the long time Chicago home of the Western Open. This DubsDread is much older – a Tom Bendelow design in 1924 – and is much shorter (6,153 yards from the back tees). Very playable for a wide variety of players, it was obviously a favorite of the locals. It was one of the rare courses that was packed when we played there.

8, DEBARY GOLF & COUNTRY CLUB, DeBary. We strayed from the area to visit this Lloyd Clifton design from 1990 because the club had just been taken over by ClubCore, the Texas-based firm that moved into Chicago during the winter at both Ravinia Green, in Riverwoods, and Rolling Green, in Arlington Heights. ClubCore was in the process of doing good things at DeBary, which had hosted qualifying events for the PGA Tour, U.S. Open and U.S. Senior Open a decade or more ago.

9, RIVIERA, Ormond Beach. Family-owned and operated since 1953, Riviera proclaims itself as “the friendly club’’ on its entrance signage and it was that, both in greens fee ($32), the play on a crowded day and in the clubhouse lounge afterwards. The most fun part of the course, which measured just 6,250 yards from the tips, were the humps in the greens. Though obviously not in the same category as its California namesake, it’s also obvious that — in these difficult economic times — the golf world needs more operations like this Riviera.

10, PALATKA GOLF CLUB, Palatka. This is a Donald Ross design from 1925, a fact clearly promoted on the outside of the clubhouse. Made challenging by its small, turtle-back greens, it’s been the home of the Florida Azalea Amateur since 1958. There were lots of doglegs and waste bunkers with a few blind shots mixed in and moss hanging from some of the trees. A long-time Donald Ross fan, I felt this course was one of the best resemblances of a Ross original creation.

11, NEW SMYRNA, New Smyrna Beach. This municipally-owned layout is one of five courses played on this trip that were part of the Florida Historical Golf Trail, a state-wide conglomeration of 50 courses that have been continuously accessible to public play for at least 50 years. This one, opened in 1948, was one of Ross’ last designs. The famed architect died a few months after New Smyrna’s opening. The course is now notable for its white sand bunkers and the Italian restaurant in its clubhouse.

12, DAYTONA BEACH, SOUTH COURSE, Daytona Beach. Part of a 36-hole municipal complex that gets heavy play in one of Florida’s major cities, the South layout is another Ross design. While very playable, it had one most notable feature—a train track that ran right through the course. We were there when a train came roaring through with its horns blowing. I’m told the North Course is the more challenging of the complex’s courses.

13, RIVER BEND, Ormond Beach. This one had tightly-mowed fairways with a helicopter airport adjoining the course and a nature center across the street. Also memorable was the rickety bridge over a highway that was needed to get you from the No. 3 green to the No. 4 tee and the palm tree that was in the middle of the No. 6 fairway.

14, INDIGO LAKES, Daytona Beach. This layout had just come under new management and its pub held its grand opening the day before we visited. The fairways were wide, the greens unusually fast for the area. There was also a nine-foot alligator resting beside a pond off the 17th fairway. Unlike our other Florida stops, we didn’t see many alligators on these courses – but we will remember this big one.

15, PALM HARBOR, Palm Coast. Managed by Chicago-based KemperSports, this course opened in 1973 in what was to be a centerpiece for a planned community. Now it’s a busy city-owned municipal course with a big practice range and a particularly friendly staff. It’s also in the process of change, with home construction underway beside some of the holes. Most unusual about this layout is that you go past the clubhouse to get from the No. 4 green to No. 5 tee. You also make the same journey in the more traditional spot in the rotation — between nines.

16, PINE LAKES, Palm Coast. This is an Arnold Palmer design from 1980, a good layout with interesting contours on the greens. But, it had undergone a recent management change and the conditioning wasn’t good. It did offer a nice view of the 18th green from a huge glass bay window from the clubhouse.

17, ROYAL ST. AUGUSTINE, St. Augustine. We liked the rich sound of the name, the merchandise in the clubhouse and the low greens fee ($25). But this was a goofy layout, starting with the very first hole, as the course meandered through streets that featured some interesting homes.

18, CYPRESS KNOLL, Palm Coast. A Gary Player design, this course was once under the same ownership umbrella as Pine Lakes and Matanzas. We were told that Matanzas, a Palm Coast course which had since closed, was the best of that trio when all were in operation. Cypress Knoll was also in the process of a management change and had conditioning issues, which was reflected in its $25 greens fee. The back nine was much better than the front in both design and conditioning.

FINALLY, we couldn’t include this one in our rankings. Oceans Golf Club, in Daytona Beach Shores, has only 13 holes. The longest is 135 yards, the shortest only 40. But this walking-only course, which wanders through high-rise buildings and botanic gardens, was every bit as enjoyable as all the others we played on the trip.

Golf trails are nothing new. Courses and clubs have formed marketing partnerships for years with varying degrees of impact.

In the United States alone there are at least 50 trails. Texas has five separate of them. Colorado Golf Trails is one marketing entity, but it promotes 10 different trails within that state, and some of those trails have as many of 12 courses. Go to http://www.golftrips.com/golftrails/ to check out the various trails out there.

Most famous is probably the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail, which unites 11 Alabama golf facilities. It’s been a rousing commercial success, but some of the “trails’’ amount to nothing more than websites.

I’ve played all the courses on Indiana’s Pete Dye Golf Trail and some courses on a few of the others, including the Robert Trent Jones. This winter, though, I’ve been introduced to one that is different – and in some ways better – than all the others.

The Florida Historic Golf Trail is a collection of about 50 courses. Most were established between 1897 and 1949. All have been publicly accessible for at least 50 years and remain open to the public. Some have been at least partially updated. Some have conditioning issues. Some have retained much of their old-time charm. All would be worth a visit.

One good way to get a feel for an unfamiliar area is to play its golf courses. While I’ve played only five courses on the Florida Historic Golf Tour, four this year, it’s my belief that you can generally get a very affordable golf experience along with a history lesson if you opt for a stop on this list of links.

Florida’s golf history is one of the oldest in the nation, and courses on this trail are spread throughout the state. They’re listed at FloridaHistoricGolfTrail.com, and the site greatly enhances a visit to one of the courses because it provides historic details on each layout and the area surrounding it.

For instance:

Riviera Country Club, in Ormond Beach, started as the cornerstone of a housing development called Rio Vista on the Halifax in 1924. About all that’s left from that development are the elaborate arches that formed the entryway. The Meyers family has owned Riviera since 1953 and it’s the home of the longest-standing mini-tour event in the country, the Riviera Open, which made its debut in 1960.

New Smyrna Golf Club in New Smyrna Beach, might be the last 18-hole course designed by legendary architect Donald Ross. Now a municipal course, New Smyrna lists its opening in 1948 — though the Donald Ross Society says it was a year earlier. Only one other Ross designs, Lianerch-McGovern in Haverton, Pa., was listed in 1948 by the Society. Ross died on April 26 of that year.

Ross, who designed over 400 courses world-wide — most notably Pinehurst No. 2 in North Carolina, N.C. — was in the process of completing his last course at Raleigh (N.C.) Country Club at the time of his death.

Other Ross courses are included on the Florida Heritage Golf Trail. Palatka was another that I played. Ross designed it in 1925 and it’s been the home of the Florida Azalea Amateur since 1958.

The Bobby Jones Golf Complex in Sarasota also had a Ross influence, but a relatively minor one. He designed the first 18 of the 45 holes now there. The nines of Ross’ course are now split among the two existing 18-holers and a nine-hole executive course is named in honor of Scottish-born Colonel John Hamilton Gillespie. Gillespie built a two-hole practice course in Sarasota in 1886 and because of it the city has claimed to be “the Cradle of American Golf.’’

While Ross courses are prominent, other famous designers like Seth Raynor and Tom Bendelow have courses on the trail as well.

Another course in the mix is Dubsdread, in Orlando. The late Joe Jemsek liked the name so much he used it for his famed No. 4 course at Cog Hill in Lemont, IL. – for 20 years the site of the PGA Tour’s Western Open. Orlando’s Dubsdread was a PGA Tour site, too. It hosted the Orlando Open from 1945-47 and such legendary players as Patty Berg, Jimmy Demaret, Sam Snead and Babe Zaharias were frequent visitors in the 1940s and 1950s.

A Chicago architect named W.D. Clark designed the Jacksonville Beach Golf Links in 1928. Ten years later Golf Magazine rated it with Pebble Beach, Oakmont and Pine Valley as among the hardest courses in the nation. That course eventually became what is now the Ponte Vedra Inn & Club’s Ocean Course.

All these places have a different feel about them, something you don’t find at the newer facilities.

The Florida Department of State created this golf trail with funds from the National Park Service. The courses on the trail, strangely, haven’t embraced their membership as much as they could. The promotional literature consists simply of a scorecard listing of the courses, with places to record the date and score posted for each round. Those promotional scorecards were hard to find at some of the courses we visited.

One aspect of this ongoing golfing adventure is noteworthy, however. Most of our nearly 20 rounds played this winter were on much newer courses, and there was rarely a delay in play on any of them. That wasn’t the case in our visits to Palatka, Riviera or New Smyrna. Those courses may be old, but they were packed with people having a good time and many of them were staying after their rounds to socialize in the clubhouses. There’s a message there some place.