Author: lenz

This Florida course sure knows how to attract golfers

WINTER PARK, FLORIDA – A big reason for scheduling a round at Winter Pines Golf Club is that it is – at least arguably – the busiest course in Florida. Given the reported 1,500-plus courses in the Sunshine State – and particularly the array of good ones in the Orlando area – that’s saying something.

Determining the busiest course anywhere is difficult, since the number of rounds played is self reported. It’s hard to imagine any U.S. course, for instance, getting more rounds than Rancho Park – the city-owned Los Angeles hotbed that is blessed with consistently better weather year-around than any course in Florida.

Winter Pines is right up there in popularity, though. In 1992 it had a reported a high of 90,000 rounds. That’s about 300 players a day. That number dropped off to about 75,000 rounds in 2002 but general manager Steve Singh says the course still averages about 65,000 per year despite the economic struggles that have affected the golf industry nation-wide.

I’ve played Rancho Park, once the site of the PGA Tour’s Los Angeles Open and the U.S. Golf Association’s U.S. Senior Open among other big events. It’s still a championship-style course and still busy. Winter Pines is much different.

The course is short, but not a par-3 or executive-length layout. It plays at 5,401 yards from the tips and is a par-67. When building began in 1964 the architect, C.A. McCalister, plotted a par-62 course for the five original owners of a course then temporarily called Golfside Country Club.

The course opened in 1968 and was expanded in 1977. Five holes were lengthened by Bud Timbrook, a golf professional who was part of the original ownership group, and Gardner Dickinson, the veteran PGA Tour player.

Ed McMillin, whose family owns a pie factory in Erie, Pa., bought the course in 1980. About to turn 90, McMillin had the right idea from the start, offering players a good product at a fair price. That policy continued when McMillin’s son Jon served as the club’s general manager. Jon is now the club president. Singh started working at Winter Pines 13 years ago when he washed carts as an 18-year old and worked his way up to the GM position.

“Winter Pines is my family, and I’m very lucky to be part of the company,’’ Singh says. He’s not alone in feeling that way. Joe Ondo, the superintendent, arrived in 1979 and hasn’t left. He plans to retire in August after 37 years on the job.

The Winter Pines leadership has the right idea. It draws big numbers of players year-around — not just during the heart of the tourist season –for a variety of reasons.

You can’t beat the price (currently a high of $25 on the weekends, cart included), but the popularity of Winter Pines is just based on cost. The course conditioning is good throughout. The practice area is more than ample. For those who prefer walking, the course is great for that. There are programs offered for juniors and an event calendar for all types of older players as well. The clubhouse had a cheerful atmosphere and the staff was friendly when we visited.

Located across the street from the Orlando city limits, Winter Pines felt like just what it is – a nice neighborhood golf course. Winter Park Pines is the subdivision in which the course is located, and it’s only about 15 minutes from the downtown area.

As for the course, its most striking architectural feature is the stream that meanders through most all the holes. It serves as a hazard in spots and a visual enhancement in others. Players, though, will probably find the four consecutive par-3 holes on the back nine the most memorable aspect. The layouts has two par-5s, the longer of which is 480 yards. The seven par-3s range from 85 yards (front tee at No. 8) to 224 (back tee at No. 12).

There are no par-5s on the back side, and that may be a big plus in attracting new players. Shorter holes do facilitate lower scores and lower scores are encouraging for any player. Winter Pines won’t beat you up, that’s for sure, and showing a greatly improve score on the back nine is incentive to come back for more.

Lehman’s radical new Florida course is one of a kind

OCALA, Florida – The ingenuity of golf course architects never ceases to amaze me, but Tom Lehman – a player first and designer a distant second – has outdone all his architectural counterparts for the time being.

Lehman — a two-time major championship winner, former Ryder Cup captain and a regular on the Champions Tour – has unveiled a radical new design. Working with Tripp Davis, an architect with roots in Oklahoma, Lehman created a full-fledged 18-hole course on just 50 acres.

And, actually, the course is much more than that. It can be played as a six-hole par-3 layout, a six-hole executive course (one par-3, four par-4s and one par-5), an 18-hole par-54 short course or a full 18-hole par-72 layout that measures over 6,600 yards.

This mind-blowing creation is at the Trilogy Golf Club at Ocala Preserve in Florida, just three miles down the road from Golden Ocala Golf & Equestrian Club – home of the Coates Championship on the LPGA Tour.

According to Brian Woodruff, who left a club job at Vistancia in Arizona to become The Trilogy’s head professional a month before the course’s February 2 grand opening, the highly innovative design was Lehman’s idea and Davis helped him bring it to fruition.

Lehman lists Verrado and Encanterra in Arizona as his two main golf architectural efforts and he also is planning an 18-holer at the Prairie Club in Nebraska. The Trilogy, though, is better proof that his creative juices are flowing big-time.

Trilogy is actually four courses. Two are 18-holers. The short Skills is a par-54 with holes ranging from 63 to just over 200 yards and the Players will stretch over 6,600. It’s a par-72 and includes two tee complexes and two hole locations per hole.

Also available are two six-hole loops – the Gallery which is a par-3 layout and the Players, which is a par-24 with one par-3, four par-4s and one par-5. Players with limited time will be accommodated on those holes.

Mixed into all that is the possibility of a Horse Course, one in which players can have a match much like the classic version of a basketball game of the same name. The Horse Course isn’t completely new. The Prairie Club in Valentine, Neb., has a 10-hole version designed by Gil Hanse, architect of the Olympic Games venue in Brazil, and Geoff Shackelford. I’ve played it and found it lots of fun.

Getting players around The Trilogy sounds complicated (and it is, believe me), but Woodruff – sounding only somewhat confident – said “I don’t believe players will get confused.’’

Well, we’ll see. The course won’t be fully open until Feb. 12, when public players get their first crack at it. Then it’ll be a case of deciding what players can play which of the four courses and at what times. One thing that will help is the use of different colored flags. They’ll be blue on the Skills Course and red on the Players Course.

For starters the courses will be open to members only Sunday to Thursday and the public can play Fridays and Saturdays. Members will pay $7 for use of the course for a whole day. The public rate will be $35 in the current tourist season and $20 out of season.

The Trilogy will be a walking-only course with push carts and a Golf Skate Caddy available for those who don’t want to carry their own bag.

One other unique thing of note: there’ll be only one tee marker per hole. A player can tee off within a yard in front, behind or to either side of the marker. Lehman wanted to create different lies, even from the tees.

There’s a bit of history to this new concept. The land on which The Trilogy was built was once a golf course – an 18-holer called Ashley Farms. Its owners went bankrupt and the land sat idle for six years. Lehman and Davis built their course in nine months and it’ll eventually have a boathouse and clubhouse with all the amenities. The surrounding housing community is targeted for 1,700 homes, about 50 of which are in various stages of construction.

I thought I’d seen everything when I walked over The Loop, a Tom Doak design in Roscommon, Mich., when it was in the early stages of construction. Planned as a second course to complement play at the adjoining Forest Dunes, The Loop layout enables players to go 18 holes in one direction on one day and then play 18 in the other direction the next. And I thought that was radical.

As is the case with The Trilogy, I’ll have to see The Loop in operation before I can judge it. The Loop is expected to open this summer. Woodruff promised me a chance to play The Trilogy once its deemed ready for play. You can bet I’ll take him up on it.

This Florida course sure knows how to attract golfers

Winter Pines’ golfers get a good look at the green on the par-3 eighth hole from behind the No. 7 green.

WINTER PARK, FLORIDA – A big reason for scheduling a round at Winter Pines Golf Club is that it is – at least arguably – the busiest course in Florida. Given the reported 1,500-plus courses in the Sunshine State – and particularly the array of good ones in the Orlando area – that’s saying something.

Determining the busiest course anywhere is difficult, since the number of rounds played is self reported. It’s hard to imagine any U.S. course, for instance, getting more rounds than Rancho Park – the city-owned Los Angeles hotbed that is blessed with consistently better weather year-around than any course in Florida.

Winter Pines is right up there in popularity, though. In 1992 it had a reported a high of 90,000 rounds. That’s about 300 players a day. That number dropped off to about 75,000 rounds in 2002 but general manager Steve Singh says the course still averages about 65,000 per year despite the economic struggles that have affected the golf industry nation-wide.

Signs of city life are visible at Winter Pines but don’t detract of the atmosphere on the course.

I’ve played Rancho Park, once the site of the PGA Tour’s Los Angeles Open and the U.S. Golf Association’s U.S. Senior Open among other big events. It’s still a championship-style course and still busy. Winter Pines is much different.

The course is short, but not a par-3 or executive-length layout. It plays at 5,401 yards from the tips and is a par-67. When building began in 1964 the architect, C.A. McCalister, plotted a par-62 course for the five original owners of a course then temporarily called Golfside Country Club.

The course opened in 1968 and was expanded in 1977. Five holes were lengthened by Bud Timbrook, a golf professional who was part of the original ownership group, and Gardner Dickinson, the veteran PGA Tour player.

Ed McMillin, whose family owns a pie factory in Erie, Pa., bought the course in 1980. About to turn 90, McMillin had the right idea from the start, offering players a good product at a fair price. That policy continued when McMillin’s son Jon served as the club’s general manager. Jon is now the club president. Singh started working at Winter Pines 13 years ago when he washed carts as an 18-year old and worked his way up to the GM position.

“Winter Pines is my family, and I’m very lucky to be part of the company,’’ Singh says. He’s not alone in feeling that way. Joe Ondo, the superintendent, arrived in 1979 and hasn’t left. He plans to retire in August after 37 years on the job.

The Winter Pines leadership has the right idea. It draws big numbers of players year-around — not just during the heart of the tourist season –for a variety of reasons.

You can’t beat the price (currently a high of $25 on the weekends, cart included), but the popularity of Winter Pines isn’t just based on cost. The course conditioning is good throughout. The practice area is more than ample. For those who prefer walking, the course is great for that. There are programs offered for juniors and an event calendar for all types of older players as well. The clubhouse had a cheerful atmosphere and the staff was friendly when we visited.

Located across the street from the Orlando city limits, Winter Pines felt like just what it is – a nice neighborhood golf course. Winter Park Pines is the subdivision in which the course is located, and it’s only about 15 minutes from the downtown area.

As for the course, its most striking architectural feature is the stream that meanders through most all the holes. It serves as a hazard in spots and a visual enhancement in others. Players, though, will probably find the four consecutive par-3 holes on the back nine the most memorable aspect. The layouts has two par-5s, the longer of which is 480 yards. The seven par-3s range from 85 yards (front tee at No. 8) to 224 (back tee at No. 12).

There are no par-5s on the back side, and that may be a big plus in attracting new players. Shorter holes do facilitate lower scores and lower scores are encouraging for any player. Winter Pines won’t beat you up, that’s for sure, and showing a greatly improve score on the back nine is incentive to come back for more.

The clubhouse is a good starting and finishing point when you visit Winter Pines.

Chicago Golf Club gets first U.S. Senior Women’s Open

America’s first 18-hole course is back on the U.S. Golf Assn. tournament schedule — and as the site of its newest national championship to boot.

Chicago Golf Club, in Wheaton, was named Saturday as the first site of the U.S. Senior Women’s Open. It’ll be played July 12-15, 2018.

The USGA has been pressured to host an event for women in the 50-plus age group for several years. It has long held championships for men in all age groups and also conducts youth and women’s national championships, highlighted by the U.S. Women’s Open and U.S. Women’s Senior Amateur, for players of both sexes, but it didn’t have an event for all the competitive older women. Those who spurred the growth of the Ladies PGA Tour were ignored.

Last year the organization announced such an event would be added to its schedule but it wasn’t until Sunday that the actual event became a reality – and the first playing is still over two years off.

“The USGA is proud to realize its vision of hosting a national championship for players of all age demographics, and we are thrilled that that first two editions of the U.S. Senior Women’s Open will be contested at two of the most respected courses in the U.S.,’’ said USGA president Tom O’Toole.

Pine Needles, in Pinehurst, N.C., will host the second U.S. Senior Women’s Open in 2019. Both will be walking-only events over 72 holes and have 120-player fields, to be decided in a series of nation-wide sectional qualifying events for players with Handicap Indexes not exceeding 7.4. As is the format in other USGA competitions, the starting field in the finals will be cut to the low 60 and ties after 36 holes.

Sectional qualifying sites, as well as prize money for the finals, will be announced at a later date.

The Ladies PGA Tour has existed in 1950 for professional players, and that circuit has a Legends Tour for players who have reached their 45th birthday. The great players of the last few decades – like Nancy Lopez, Joanne Carner, Laura Davies, Carol Mann and Jan Stephenson – may find it challenging to get their games tournament-ready for Chicago Golf Club but they played a big role in finally getting the event on the USGA calendar.

While the USGA was slow to act on the senior women’s side, one of the other top LPGA players – Jane Blalock – organized The Legends Tour, which has provided competitive opportunities for the older, former stars of the LPGA circuit. They’re the counterparts to the PGA’s Champions Tour, which has long flourished for male players whose competitive skills have diminished with age.

“We hope this championship will inspire generations of female golfers to continue competing at the highest level long into their careers,’’ said O’Toole.

The selection of Chicago Golf Club was most appropriate, as it will make the inaugural U.S. Senior Women’s Open something special historically. The course in Wheaton was designed by Charles Blair Macdonald, the first U.S. Amateur champion, and was renovated by Seth Raynor in 1923. Otherwise, the layout has been relatively untouched since then.

“As a founding member of the USGA, Chicago Golf Club is honored to support the newest championship,’’ said Brad Kinsey, the club’s president. “We look forward to making this, our 12th USGA championship, an exceptional event for players and spectators alike.’’

Chicago Golf Club hosted the first U.S. Open and first U.S. Amateur in 1897 and also hosted U.S. Opens in 1900 and 1911. The first U.S. Senior Women’s Open, though, will be the first USGA event at the club since the 2005 Walker Cup matches and first individual national championship since the U.S. Senior Amateur in 1979.

The USGA regularly picked Chicago courses for its biggest events in its first century of existence but that hasn’t been the case since 2000. Though the U.S. Open of 2003 and the U.S. Amateur last year were played at Olympia Fields, the USGA did not have a Chicago course on its schedule for a national championship until Saturday’s announcement.

Now, however, Chicago golf has jumped into the forefront of women’s golf. The LPGA’s UL International Crown team event will be played at the Merit Club in Libertyville in July and the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship will be at Olympia Fields in 2017 and Kemper Lakes in 2018. The Kemper Lakes event will be played a month before the U.S. Senior Women’s Open comes to Chicago Golf Club.

LPGA has big plans to boost International Crown at Merit Club

With the PGA Tour’s BMW Championship to be played in Indianapolis this year, the biggest golf tournament of 2016 in the Chicago area will be the UL International Crown – a global team competition put on by the Ladies PGA Tour. will be played at the Merit Club in Libertyville from July 19-24.

The LPGA has taken a low-key approach to this year’s Crown since last fall’s surprise venue change. That will soon change, according to LPGA media communications director Kelly Schultz.

“We’ll be having a few different events – perhaps one in February, then ones in May and June. There will be a big push for us in Chicago, said Schultz. “We’re still educating people because the Crown is very different from everything else.’’

The Crown event, to determine the best nation in women’s golf, has been played only once. Spain won the inaugural staging at Cave’s Valley near Baltimore in 2014. The creation of the competition was announced at the PGA Merchandise Show in 2013 and Rich Harvest Farms, in Sugar Grove, was named to host the second staging in 2016.

A fallout between the LPGA and Rich Harvest owner Jerry Rich ended that possibility, and the Merit Club was named the site last Nov. 24. Neither the LPGA nor Rich has discussed the reasons for the split.

“I can’t speak to any specifics,’’ said Schultz, “but we’re really excited about the Merit Club. It’s a great location, a great venue with a major championship history. Now it will be host on the big stage again. We love Chicago, and Chicago loves women’s golf.’’

Chicago certainly did in 2009, when crowds were big at the Solheim Cup matches at Rich Harvest. The Crown, though, is a different animal. It has a somewhat complicated two-year long qualifying process that requires some immediate study to fully appreciate the significance of what will happen at the Merit Club in six months.

The eight team participants will be revealed after the A&A Inspiration event on April 3 and the four players on each of those teams won’t be determined until June 13, after the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. Both the teams and the individual participants will be decided by the world rankings on those dates. The competition for both heats up this week in the LPGA’s first U.S. event of the year – the $1.5 million Coates Championship at Florida’s Ocala Golf & Equestrian Club, which is about 80 miles from last week’s PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando.

To avoid conflict with the Super Bowl the Coates Championship has a Wednesday through Saturday run (FEB 3-6). Regardless of the outcome in Ocala and the results in the next seven tournaments, the Crown participants will have some notable absentees.

Last year Suzann Pettersen, consistently one of the world’s players, couldn’t participate because she had no teammates from Norway on the LPGA Tour. That same problem will keep the current world’s No. 1 player, 18-year old sensation Lydia Ko, away from the Merit Club.

Last year Ko became the youngest player – man or woman – to gain golf’s No. 1 ranking but she can’t play in the Crown because New Zealand doesn’t have any other golfers eligible for the competition.

At this point defending champion Spain hasn’t even qualified. That country is No. 10 in the current standings and needs to climb to No. 8 to get in. The present top eight are Korea, the U.S., Japan, Chinese Taipei, Sweden, England, Thailand and Australia. China is No. 9 and – like Spain – needs some good showings by its residents in the next three months to play in the second International Crown.

On the individual side, one attraction for the Merit Club being chosen as Rich Harvest’s replacement as the host site was that it had hosted the 2000 U.S. Women’s Open. Australian Karrie Webb won that one, but her participation in the Crown is precarious at best. Australia is on the bubble, standing No. 8 and Webb hasn’t played yet. She makes her season debut next week in the Australian Open.

“Our players always get excited about competing for their country, and now they have the opportunity to do it twice within a month,’’ said Schultz, noting that golf returns to the Olympics in August in Brazil. Schultz insists the Crown won’t be looked on as a warmup for the Olympics.

“The Olympics is stroke play, a typical tournament,’’ she said. “Our players love the match play element (used in the International Crown). The International Crown represents what the LPGA is all about – the best players from around the world competing. It’s a huge thing for every country.’’

IT ZIEHMS TO ME: Lehman’s new Florida course is one of a kind

Head professional Brian Woodruff must educate players on how to get around The Trilogy course.

OCALA, Florida – The ingenuity of golf course architects never ceases to amaze me, but Tom Lehman – a player first and designer a distant second – has outdone all his architectural counterparts for the time being.

Lehman — a two-time major championship winner, former Ryder Cup captain and a regular on the Champions Tour – has unveiled a radical new design. Working with Tripp Davis, an architect with roots in Oklahoma, Lehman created a full-fledged 18-hole course on just 50 acres.

And, actually, the course is much more than that. It can be played as a six-hole par-3 layout, a six-hole executive course (one par-3, four par-4s and one par-5), an 18-hole par-54 short course or a full 18-hole par-72 layout that measures over 6,600 yards.

This mind-blowing creation is at the Trilogy Golf Club at Ocala Preserve in Florida, just three miles down the road from Golden Ocala Golf & Equestrian Club – home of the Coates Championship on the LPGA Tour.

According to Brian Woodruff, who left a club job at Vistancia in Arizona to become The Trilogy’s head professional a month before the course’s February 2 grand opening, the highly innovative design was Lehman’s idea and Davis helped him bring it to fruition.

You only get one tee marker per hole at The Trilogy.

Lehman lists Verrado and Encanterra in Arizona as his two main golf architectural efforts and he also is planning an 18-holer at the Prairie Club in Nebraska. The Trilogy, though, is better proof that his creative juices are flowing big-time.

Trilogy is actually four courses. Two are 18-holers. The short Skills is a par-54 with holes ranging from 63 to just over 200 yards and the Players will stretch over 6,600. It’s a par-72 and includes two tee complexes and two hole locations per hole.

Also available are two six-hole loops – the Gallery which is a par-3 layout and the Players, which is a par-24 with one par-3, four par-4s and one par-5. Players with limited time will be accommodated on those holes.

Mixed into all that is the possibility of a Horse Course, one in which players can have a match much like the classic version of a basketball game of the same name. The Horse Course isn’t completely new. The Prairie Club in Valentine, Neb., has a 10-hole version designed by Gil Hanse, architect of the Olympic Games venue in Brazil, and Geoff Shackelford. I’ve played it and found it lots of fun.

Getting players around The Trilogy sounds complicated (and it is, believe me), but Woodruff – sounding only somewhat confident – said “I don’t believe players will get confused.’’

Well, we’ll see. The course won’t be fully open until Feb. 12, when public players get their first crack at it. Then it’ll be a case of deciding what players can play which of the four courses and at what times. One thing that will help is the use of different colored flags. They’ll be blue on the Skills Course and red on the Players Course.

Even the look from the first tee is distinctive at Tom Lehman’s new course.

For starters the courses will be open to members only Sunday to Thursday and the public can play Fridays and Saturdays. Members will pay $7 for use of the course for a whole day. The public rate will be $35 in the current tourist season and $20 out of season.

The Trilogy will be a walking-only course with push carts and a Golf Skate Caddy available for those who don’t want to carry their own bag.

One other unique thing of note: there’ll be only one tee marker per hole. A player can tee off within a yard in front, behind or to either side of the marker. Lehman wanted to create different lies, even from the tees.

There’s a bit of history to this new concept. The land on which The Trilogy was built was once a golf course – an 18-holer called Ashley Farms. Its owners went bankrupt and the land sat idle for six years. Lehman and Davis built their course in nine months and it’ll eventually have a boathouse and clubhouse with all the amenities. The surrounding housing community is targeted for 1,700 homes, about 50 of which are in various stages of construction.

I thought I’d seen everything when I walked over The Loop, a Tom Doak design in Roscommon, Mich., when it was in the early stages of construction. Planned as a second course to complement play at the adjoining Forest Dunes, The Loop layout enables players to go 18 holes in one direction on one day and then play 18 in the other direction the next. And I thought that was radical.

As is the case with The Trilogy, I’ll have to see The Loop in operation before I can judge it. The Loop is expected to open this summer. Woodruff promised me a chance to play The Trilogy once its deemed ready for play. You can bet I’ll take him up on it.

The scorecard at The Trilogy may look strange, but the course offers real golf challenges.

IT ZIEHMS TO ME: Rio Pinar is hanging on to its tournament history

Years have past, but the challenges remain for Rio Pinar’s golfers.

ORLANDO, FLORIDA – It probably wasn’t a good idea for the operators of St. Lucie Trail and Rio Pinar to have those courses open in the immediate aftermath of the 63rd PGA Merchandise Show. Both had been pelted with two-plus days of rain while the show was in progress at the Orange County Convention Center.

Even in marginal playing conditions there was still plenty of interest in playing these courses, which have joined the fast-growing list of one-time private facilities that are now open to the public.

That was especially the case at Rio Pinar, which was in its heyday one of the most famous courses in the United States. It was one of the first courses to host tournaments on both the PGA Tour and LPGA Tour.

Rio Pinar, in Orlando, opened in 1957 with a course designed by Mark Mahannah. It hosted the PGA tour’s Florida Citrus Open from 1966 to 1978. When the men left the women came in immediately. The LPGA’s Women’s Citrus Open was played there from 1979 to 1982.

Rio Pinar’s list of its past champions is hard to beat.

Both tournaments had an impressive list of champions, the men’s featuring Arnold Palmer (1971), Lee Trevino (1975) and Hale Irwin (1976) and the women’s including Jane Blalock (1979) and Beth Daniel (1981) before Patty Sheehan closed out the course’s rich pro tournament history with her victory in 1982. Champions were awarded coveted orange jackets in addition to the prize money and trophies.

Palmer bought another Orlando facility, Bay Hill Club & Lodge, three years after winning at Rio Pinar and eight years after his Citrus Open victory he became the tourney’s host. The Citrus event was moved to Bay Hill in 1979 and is now known as the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

Though the club is over 50 years old Rio Pinar isn’t on the Florida Historic Golf Trail because it was closed to the public most of the time. That requirement aside, Rio Pinar is very much a part of Florida’s rich golf history.

Rio Pinar remained a private club until 2013 when it was acquired by Integrity Golf, which opened it to non-member play. Prices are eminently affordable, currently ranging in the $28-$60 range. The course was a busy place during our weekend visit and the players included members of the Rollins College men’s team.

While the Rio Pinar course certainly isn’t what it used to be, the facility still offers touches of the big event feel as you work your way around it. It’s somewhat of a throwback in time, with its clubhouse including memorabilia from those glory years.

Rio Pinar still has its memorabilia, most notably the orange jackets given to its champions.

The course was re-designed by Lloyd Clifton – like Mahannah an architect with numerous Florida designs — in 1995 and it now stretches over 7,000 yards (albeit by one yard) from the back tees. Its most unusual aspect comes at No. 16. That’s one of the very few par-3 holes designated as any course’s No. 1 handicap hole.

St. Lucie Trail, meanwhile, was private when we spent a very pleasant winter in Port St. Lucie – about 90 miles from Orlando — two years ago. Owned and operated by the PGA of America, it was called the PGA Country Club then.

On Nov. 2, 2014, the course was renamed and opened to the public. It’s now part of a four-course rotation that includes the three courses at nearby PGA Golf Club – the Wanamaker, Ryder and Dye layouts. Tom Fazio designed the Wanamaker and Ryder and Pete Dye created the other course.

Designed by Jim Fazio, St. Lucie Trail is greatly enhances the PGA Golf Club offerings and is much more of a challenge than Rio Pinar largely because of its speedy, tricky greens. They were tough to deal with, even in soggy conditions.

IT ZIEHMS TO ME: Ross or Raynor? Lake Wales course has a nice dilemma


LAKE WALES, Florida – I can’t think of a much more pleasant golf experience than playing a Donald Ross course on a crisp, sunny day. That’s what we thought we were doing when we visited Lake Wales Country Club, which is about 40 miles from Orlando.

Lake Wales is managed by Chicago-based GolfVisions, and we found it a well-conditioned, nicely designed layout that clearly had the feel of a Ross course. The club proclaims it a Ross design in its website and uses a likeness of the legendary architect in its most recent logo.

There’s only one problem.

Ross was involved in the course’s creation for sure, but recent research suggests he wasn’t the only architect and may not have even been the main one. Another almost-as-famous architect, Seth Raynor, was involved as well.

Lakes Wales’ latest logo honors only one of its designers.

A long-time member, Chuck Wolf, played with us on the back nine and alerted us to some revisionist history that was later supported by both staffers at the club, media reports and Internet research. All of it plays out nicely for Lake Wales as well as the Florida Historic Golf Trail. After all, how many courses could justifiably claim both Raynor and Ross as its designer?

We’ve gotten fascinated in recent years by the Florida Historic Golf Trail, which lists 52 layouts in its celebration of the state’s rich golf heritage. All the courses on it opened between 1897 and 1949 and all were open to the public for at least 50 years. We’ve played eight courses on the Trail and will check out a few more in the next month or two. Some have withstood the tests of time better than others but the last two we’ve visited – El Campeon in Howie-in-the-Hills and Lake Wales – are definitely well preserved.

Like many of the courses on the Trail, Lake Wales had a stint as a private club. Circumstances around its opening, though, are where the interesting historical controversy emanates.

Lake Wales started as a municipal course that was built for $190,000 and opened in 1925. Latest research suggests that Raynor designed the first nine holes to open. He had designed the nearby Mountain Lake course, which opened in 1918. (Mountain Lake isn’t on the Florida Historic Golf Trail).

The logo on Lakes Wales’ shirts may require a revision.

The Lake Wales mayor declared a holiday on January 27, 1925, for the course’s grand opening and over 1,000 spectators turned out for an exhibition match that pitted two local club professionals – Alic Gerard of Mountain Lake and Jimmy Maiden of Sebring – against two Scottish brothers, Dave and Allan Towns, who had moved to the U.S. Dave was the head professional at Lake Wales.

Only nine holes were available for the opening day match, and Raynor died the following January after a bout with pneumonia. He was only 51, and his passing came at a hotel in West Palm Beach where he was staying in anticipation of the opening of one of his other courses.

Raynor hasn’t received all the acclaim that he deserves for his architectural work. He started working with Charles Blair Macdonald, who designed Chicago Golf Club – America’s first 18-hole course. Raynor, who was involved in that project, didn’t venture out on his own until about 13 years before the Lake Wales opening. His portfolio, though, includes some outstanding courses – Fox Chapel in Pennsylvania, Shoreacres in Illinois, The Course at Yale in Connecticut and Piping Rock and Fishers Island in New York.

Colorful floral offerings spice up a round at Lake Wales.

Apparently Raynor got started on the second nine at Lake Wales but Ross finished it. The second nine opened in 1926. Ross is among the most famous of architects, with Pinehurst No. 2 in North Carolina probably his most noteworthy creation. He was a long-time Pinehurst resident.

Lake Wales never achieved Pinehurst status, but the course has hosted many qualifying events for U.S. Golf Assn. tournaments as well as the Symetra Tour. It operated as a municipal course until a membership group purchased it during World War II.

The layout underwent typical updates over the years and the present version measures 7,072 yards from the back tees and 4,263 from the most forward markers. Fairways are generous and the green complexes interesting.

Ben Hill Griffin Jr., who had been a caddie at the club during his high school years, took over ownership in 1980 and the present Spanish-style clubhouse was built in 1984 during his ownership period. The University of Florida’s football stadium in Gainesville also bears the Griffin influence, having been named Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in 1989.

Private owners purchased Lake Wales in 2013 and it’s become a gated community with a pleasant, well-maintained variety of mediterranean-style homes and condominiums.

There’s a wide variety of in the plant look at Lake Wales. This is one of the more unusual.

Newest golf gear will be unveiled at PGA Merchandise Show

ORLANDO, FL. — The weather in most parts of the country may not suggest that the golf season is imminent, but it’s in full swing at the Orange County Convention Center here. For the golf industry this is the start of show-time.

The 63rd annual PGA Merchandise Show, which starts on Tuesday (JAN 26) with a Demo Day at the massive Orange County National Golf Center, traditionally draws 40,000 industry professionals and 74 countries will be represented in the contingent of visitors.

This week’s event is not open to the public but after it concludes on Friday there will be a series of smaller shows across the country. Chicago golfers can see what’s new in the game at the Tinley Park Golf Show from Feb. 12-14 and the Chicago Golf Show at the Rosemont Convention Center from Feb. 26-28.

While the Orlando show has always been a big deal, this time is special. It marks the start of the PGA of America’s centennial celebration. The PGA, which now has 28,000 members and is the largest working sports organization in the world, was formed in 1916 and one of its original seven sections was the Middle States, which included Illinois club professionals. The Middle States was changed to the Illinois Section as part of a restructuring in 1921.

This year’s PGA Merchandise Show has over 1,000 companies and brands exhibiting their new products of equipment, technology and training aids. They include Chicago area equipment manufacturers Wilson and Tour Edge. First viewing of the new gear comes Tuesday at the 42-acre Orange County National Golf Center, which has a circular practice and over 100 hitting bays.

Then the show moves inside for three days. While the new club models usually draw the most attention, other new products always draw onlookers, too. Two sure to get attention this week are ClubHub, the first ever portable golf swing analysis and shot-tracking system, and Johnny Miller’s Motion Fit Glove.

ClubHub was developed by Kinetek Sports and its $500 product can provide players with instant feedback both on the practice range and on the course, as it delivers analytical information to a smart phone app.

Miller, the one-time PGA Tour star turned broadcaster, announced recently that he has become a part-owner and endorsee for Zero Friction’s new line of compression-fit gloves. They come in but one size, but reportedly fit the hands of all golfers.

Here and there

Former world No. 1 Luke Donald, after revealing he considered quitting the PGA Tour during a difficult 2015 season, had a good start in 2016. The former Northwestern star posted a tie for 28th at the Sony Open in Hawaii.

The Western Golf Assn. has a new chairman, and the first to come from Michigan since 1997. David Robinson, of Troy, Mich., was selected to succeed Dennis O’Keefe, who lives in Winnetka.

With the WGA’s BMW Championship shifting to Crooked Stick in Indianapolis in September, the only PGA Tour stop in Illinois this year will be the John Deere Classic in the Quad Cities – and iit’ll be played on new dates, Aug. 11-14, opposite the revived golf competition at the Olympic Games in Brazil.

The PGA Tour’s satellite Web.com Tour announced that it will have a tournament in the Chicago area for the first time since 2007 when Ivanhoe hosts the $600,000 Rust-Oleum Championship from June 6-12. The circuit has also since added a second Illinois stop, the Lincoln Land Charity Classic at Panther Creek in Springfield from July 11-17 – the dates usually held by the John Deere Classic.

Reunion Resort’s courses are a good starting point for a Salamander Slam

This short par-4 seventh on the Arnold Palmer-designed Legacy course is Reunion’s signature hole.

ORLANDO, FLORIDA – Want to take on a real golf challenge? Try to complete what I’m now declaring the Salamander Slam.

The Salamander Golf Collection includes nine courses in Florida plus another in the company’s home base of Middleburg, Va. Sheila C. Johnson — former Chicago resident, University of Illinois alum and founder and chief executive officer for the Salamander group – has 180 holes under her jurisdiction. Play them all and you’ve completed the Salamander Slam.

Playing them all – and I’m only halfway done – will also expose you to the architectural efforts of three of golf’s legendary players as well as that of the late Larry Packard, who designed four of the courses including the most famous one.

Salamander is the largest independent golf course operator in Florida, and playing all nine of its courses there won’t be easy since you can’t come in off the street at any of them. Only members and resort guests at the various locations can get on the courses, but the experience will be well worth it. Not only will you enjoy a quality golf atmosphere but you’ll also get a sampling of what Florida is all about because the courses are spread throughout the state.

Reunion Resort is in the heart of Orlando’s large array of tourist attractions.

Johnson created her Salamander Hotels and Resorts company in 2005. The nine Salamander courses in Florida range from the four at the Innisbrook Resort on the western edge of the state to the two at Hammock Beach Resort on the eastern side. Innisbrook is located in Tarpon Springs, near Tampa, and Hammock Beach is roughly between St. Augustine and Daytona Beach

Packard’s Copperhead course at Innisbrook is easily the best known of the Salamander courses. Arguably the best course in Florida, it has long been a PGA Tour site for what is now called the Valspar Championship. Jordan Spieth will defend his title in that event in March.

Just as the courses all have their unique qualities, so do the resorts where they’re based. Other than offering great golf, there’s been only a minimal effort to make the locations similar.

Annika Sorenstam’s unique Academy enhances Reunion’s status as a mecca for golfers.

My suggestion for a starting point on a Salamander Slam would be in the middle – at Reunion, which is in Orlando on the edge of Kissimmee. Though Innisbrook has more courses (four) than Reunion (three), Reunion is the biggest property in the group. It’s built on 2,300 acres and features a 96-suite main hotel topped off by Eleven, a fine dining steakhouse on the top floor. There’s also a water park, boutique and spa, tennis, biking and walking trails and a meeting and conference facility on the premises within a few minutes of DisneyWorld and the other Orlando tourist attractions.

Its place in golf is secure if for no other reason than Reunion is the only location in the world with designs by Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Tom Watson. Those greats of the game parlayed their success as players into successful careers as architects as well.

Not only that, but Reunion is also the home of the Annika Academy, a unique instruction facility organized by another legendary golfer – Annika Sorenstam. Her Academy incorporates fitness and nutrition into the golf instruction.

As for the Reunion courses, Nicklaus’ The Tradition is the longest at 7,240 yards and – with its small greens, narrow fairways and water, which comes into play on nine of the holes – the most difficult as well. It’s probably the best layout there as well, though it has an interesting history. Nicklaus had to create two new holes after a property dispute surfaced, and the course has no clubhouse. A tent has served as an alternative until a clubhouse is built.

Watson’s Independence course was the first Watson design in Florida. It has lots of elevation changes but no water and is probably the easiest of the three layouts.

I’ve played many Palmer courses over the years, but none are as challenging as his Legacy course – at 6.916 yards the shortest of the three Reunion layouts. It’s filled with sand traps and waste bunkers and the elevation changes are not what you’d see at most Florida courses.

Get through those courses and you can decide whether you want to proceed to the west — where the recently-renovated Copperhead layout is joined by the Packard-designed Island, North and South layouts – or go east and test Hammock Beach, another Nicklaus creation, or The Conservatory, which was designed by Watson. Next to Copperhead, The Conservatory is my second favorite of the Salamander courses played so far.

Nicklaus also designed Creighton Farms, the Virginia course that has a connection to the nearby Salamander Resort & Spa.

From the bunkers to palm trees to floral arrangements the courses at Reunion are a visual delight.