Location: Palm City, Florida.

Architect: Jack Nicklaus and Jack Nicklaus II

Opened: 1995

Par: 72.

Yards/Rating/Slope: Tips (Black) tees 7,131 yards/ 74.6/143; Gold 6,770/73.2/140; Blue 6,360/70.9/135; White 5,922/68.7/124 (men), 74.1/133 (women); Red 5,045/64.3/114 (men), 68.6/118 (women).

Saturday morning green fee: $59 (but varies with the season).

Caddie Service: No.

Walker friendly: Yes.

Fairways: Bermuda.

Greens: Bermuda.

THE REVIEW

For starters: The is the first course co-designed by Jack Nicklaus and Jack Nicklaus II in Florida. The head professional is also has a familiar name. Rod Curl Jr. is the son of Rod Curl, who played regularly on the PGA Tour from 1969-78. Rod the father’s only PGA Tour win was at the 1974 Colonial National Invitation when he beat Jack Nicklaus (the father) by one stroke.

Play because: It’s not just about those names. This course hosted several events on the Golden Bear Tour and has a convenient location with I-95 and Florida’s Turnpike both near by. The conditioning is consistently good, with lively fairways and smooth greens, and the design is adaptable for a wide range of players.

Takeaway: Hammock Creek may be the best golf buy in South Florida and it’s an outstanding value for Nicklaus-designed layout. While the greens fees change on an almost weekly basis, it’s always very competitive with other public courses, many of which aren’t nearly as good.

THE COURSE:

Best Par-5: No. 2 (504 yards from tips/489/475/460/362). This hole is a wake-up call after a timid opening hole. A long water hazard on the right greets you when you arrive at the tee and water is a factor the rest of the way in, on both the right and behind the green.

Best Par-4: No. 11 (454 yards from tips/433/379/355/302). A good test for the No. 1 handicap hole. Water is somewhat a factor off the tee, especially if your drives goes even slightly left. While the course offers largely generous fairways off the tee, this one is on the more narrow side.

Best Par-3: No. 14 (151 yards fom tips/141/133/118/105). Water blocks the green most of the way on Hammock Creek’s shortest par-3, but this creates more of a psychological factor — especially if you play the course with any regularity. It’s the last par-3 in the rotation, and not really difficult if you hit even an average tee shot. You especially need a good number here, though, as the last four holes are long and strong and can influence your score significantly

THE RATINGS (1 to 10 scale, 10 being the highest)

Food/beverage: 8.

Pro shop: 8.

Clubhouse: 7.

Difficulty: 7.

Pace of play: 7.

Overall: 7.75.

INFORMATION

Phone: 772-220-2599.

Website: www.hammockcreekgolfclub.com

Facebook:@Hammock Creek Golf Club.

Twitter: @golfcreekgc

Instagram: @hammockcreekgc

Rater: Len Ziehm

Location: Jasper, Indiana

Architect: Tim Liddy, a Pete Dye disciple.

Opened: 1992.

Par: 72

Yards/Rating/Slope: Black tees – 6,859, 73.5, 143; Gold – 6,429, 71.5, 138; Silver – 5,762, 68.8. 129; Green – 4,911, 69.1, 129.

Saturday morning green fee: $69. (The course is closed for the season but may re-open when weather permits. It’s scheduled to open for the 2019 season on March 1.

Caddie Service: No.

Walker friendly: No.

Fairways: zoysia.

Greens: bentgrass.

THE REVIEW

For starters…This is an extension of the French Lick Resort, which is 20 miles away. Sultan’s Run is owned by Jasper resident Steve Braun whose brother Mike has recently elected to a U.S. Senate seat. French Lick, which has hosted the Senior LPGA Championship the last two years, has three courses – the Pete Dye Course, the Donald Ross Course and Valley Links, a nine-hole course designed as a tribute to old-time architect Tom Bendelow – on its property and Sultan’s Run is another option.

Play because…: Sultan’s Run, designated as “affiliated’’ with French Lick, provides a fun layout for players looking for another place to play in the area, plus Jasper is a bigger community with more dining and retail options than French Lick has. The Pete Dye Course and Donald Ross Course are among the very best in Indiana. Sultan’s Run is more on the sporty side.

Takeaway: Alvin C. Ruxer, who donated the land for the course, was into show horses and one of his best was named Supreme Sultan. The golf course derived its name from that and each of the holes is named after one of Ruxer’s horses. Head professional Jeff Howerton has been on the job for seven seasons during which the course hosted the 2016 Indiana Senior Open and qualifiers for a Web.com Tour event at nearby Victoria National. The Indiana Golf Course of the Year in 2015, Sultan’s Run is a worthy, more economical partner course for the French Lick layouts.

THE RATINGS (1 to 10 scale, 10 being the highest)

FUN METER OVERALL: 8.5.

Food/beverage 8.0

Pro shop: 8.0

Clubhouse 8.5

Difficulty: 9.0

Pace of Play: 8.5

THE COURSE

Best Par-5: No. 13 (574 yards from the back tees, 538, 481, 407. Located near the entry to the course, both the tee and green are elevated on this hole.

Best Par-4: No. 9 (412 yards from the tips, 393,280, 271). A very picturesque hole, you can’t see the green from the tee on this dogleg left that also features a big ravine.

Best Par-3: No. 12 (209 from the back tee, 191, 145, 128). A nice-looking short hole, there’s water behind the green that features a fountain.

INFORMATION

Phone: 812-482-1009

Website: www. SultansRun.com

Facebook: @Sultan’s Run Golf Club

Twitter: @SultansRunGC

Instagram: #sultansrun

Location: Bark River, Michigan.

Course architect: Paul Albanese.

Opened: July, 2018.

Par 72

From the tips: 7,375 yards. There are five sets of tees, beginning at 5,231 yards.

Rating: TBD. (STUART, Raters have been out but not provided info yet).

Slope: TBD.

Saturday morning green fee: Basic rate is $85 but there are a variety of options, based on groups and hotel guest status.

Caddie service: No.

Walker friendly: No.

Fairways: Low-Mow Bluegrass.

Greens: Bentgrass.

THE REVIEW

Starter: This is one of Michigan’s newest courses and it has a unique design courtesy of architect Paul Albanese, a resident of Plymouth, Mich. It complements Sweetgrass, another Albanese design, that is part of the Island Resort & Casino in Harris, Mich. Sage Run is eight miles from the Island Resort and its creation is part of an $8 million renovation of the resort.

Play because: In addition to being new to Michigan’s vast golf marketplace, Sage Run has an unusual look. Albanese made use of a huge drumlin — a big ridge that runs through the center of the 300-acre property and creates a variety of elevation changes. The holes run around, over and through the drumlin.

Takeaway: Sage Run is a most challenging layout, no matter what tees you play. It’s obviously lacking in maturity and there are plenty of loose rocks in the rough areas that can come into play. Lots of balls get lost in those areas. The clubhouse and pro shop are small but cozy in these early days of operation. Once the obvious cleanup measures are completed, however, Sage Run figures to be a nice option for golfers in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

Ratings (1 to 10 scale, 10 being highest)

Food/beverage: 6.5

Pro shop: 5.0.

Clubhouse: 4.5.

Course difficulty: 9.0

Pace of play: 6.5.

Overall score: 7.0

THE COURSE SCORECARD

Best Par 3: No. 5, 170 yards. The first short hole on the course can be very misleading. It plays severely uphill, meaning that two or three extra clubs might be needed to accommodate the listed yardage.

Best Par 4: No. 8, 298 yards. This one plays uphill, too, but it’s drivable. This is a good risk-reward hole thanks to its split fairway. A successful tee shot to the left side could lead to reaching the green. A drive to the right is safer, but then you have to contend with lots of bunkers fronting the green.

Best Par 5: No. 12, 585 yards. Another dual-fairway situation to a green that is slightly elevated. The lower fairway is wider and safer, but the approach is then over bunkers to a blind putting surface. The upper fairway is tougher to hit but could offer a less challenging approach to the green.

INFO

Website: islandresortandcasino.com.

Phone: 877-ISL-GREEN.

Facebook: @sage run golf course

Instagram: NA

Twitter: NA

Rated by: Len Ziehm

Location: Port St. Lucie, Florida

Architect: Jim Fazio

Opened: 1988

Par: 72.

Yards/Rating/Slope: 6,901/73.4/142 from the tips; Tournament 6.470/71.0/139; Standard 5,946/69.8/126; Combo 5,778/69.1/124; Middle 5,608/68.2/120; Forward 5,012/65.4/115

Saturday morning green fee: $49 is top fee in December (Rates will increase for winter of 2019).

Caddie Service: No

Walker friendly: No, but GolfBoards are available.

Fairways: Bermuda.

Greens: Bermuda.

THE REVIEW

For starters: This course, now in the throes of a massive reorganization, was the start of the PGA of America’s PGA Golf Club – the winter home of the PGA of America’s 29,000 members. Originally it was a private layout called PGA West Country Club, then was renamed PGA Country Club. It remained private as three resort courses were added to the PGA complex. In 2014 the PGA dropped the private designation and changed the name to St. Lucie Trail. The course was sold to CGI Investments, which also owns The Evergreen Club in Palm City (15 minutes away) in 2017.

Play because…: St. Lucie Trail is shorter, but tighter, than the three PGA Golf Club courses on the opposite side of Interstate 95. St. Lucie Trail was frequently used for tournaments while under PGA ownership and remains a challenging test since the ownership change.

Takeaway: The ownership change has affected this place, as different parties now operate the tennis courts, swimming pool and restaurant. The course, though, is one of the oldest and most challenging in the Port St. Lucie area. Whether it will regain its place as a frequent tournament venue is uncertain.

THE COURSE:

Best Par-5: (550 yards from tips/535/473/460/460/415). The longest hole on the course is a good one to finish on with the clubhouse in the background. While many finishers are risk/reward holes the one should be played conservatively with hazards right and left all the way to the putting surface.

Best Par-4 : No. 6, 418 yards from the tips/409/370/355/355/316. This one presents the most demanding tee shot on the course and it is the No. 1 handicap hole. Drives hit left will like wind up in a pond and the uphill T-boned-shaped green is tough to hit.

Best Par-3: (No. 17, 184 yards fom the tips/154/140//140/123/111): A very pretty hole, with water leading up to the green. Any tee shot left of the green will likely wind up in a hazard and the right side of the green is protected by some severe slopes. A most memorable hole given demanding look from the tee.

THE RATINGS (1 to 10 scale, 10 being the highest)

Food/beverage: 8.

Pro shop: 7.

Clubhouse: 9.

Difficulty: 9.

Pace of play: 7.

Overall: 8.2

INFORMATION

Phone: 772-340-1444.

Website: www.stlucietrail.com

Facebook: @ St Lucie Trail Golf Club

Twitter: NA

Instagram: #stlucietrailgolfclub

Rated by: Len Ziehm

Coming off a third-round 65 on the Champions Course at PGA National Resort on Saturday, the 56-year old Singh started the final round of the $6.8 million championship just one stroke behind leader and playing partner Wyndham Clark. Clark, 32 years younger than Singh, was (and still is) winless on the PGA Tour.

There were other challengers, though, and a most unlikely one got the win. Keith Mitchell, despite opening the final round with two bogeys, nabbed his first on golf’s premier circuit thanks to a 15-foot left-to- right birdie putt on the final green.

That killed off the hopes of local stars Rickie Fowler and Brooks Koepka, who had finished at 8-under-par 272. Mitchell, posted a final round 67, finished at 9-under 271, earned $1,224,000 and claimed spots in seven of golf’s biggest events including the upcoming Players Championship and Masters.

“My mind started wandering a bit at the end,’’ said Mitchell, “and then I hit a great putt.’’ That said it all for this staging of the first event on the PGA Tour’s Florida Swing.

As for Singh, he was in a tie for the lead twice on the back nine and was in contention until his tee shot at No. 17 – a par-3 that concludes the fearsome stretch of holes known as the Bear Trap – came up short, with the ball partly submerged in a water hazard. That led to a bogey, and Singh finished sixth after his final round 70.

“It was awesome to see Vijay play well this week and get himself in contention,’’ said Fowler. “I’d love to be healthy and swinging and being able to compete with guys that are half my age at that point. It’s impressive stuff.’’

Mitchell was impressed, too.

“It’s so amazing what he has done at that age,’’ said Mitchell. “He’s 30 years older than me and he’s hitting more balls on the range than I am. That guy is a true testament to fitness, to health. If I’m anywhere near a golf course when I’m 56 I’m going to be excited.’’

The last of Singh’s 34 PGA Tour wins was 11 years ago but he won his first major title on PGA Tour Champions last year at the Constellation Senior Players Championship at Exmoor Country Club in suburban Chicago.

The strong showing against the young stars also came after Singh and the PGA Tour recently reached a settlement on a lawsuit that had been a distraction for both since 2013. It had started with the PGA Tour suspending Singh for use of deer antler spray, a banned substance. But the settlement means that neither side will talk about it any more – and that’s a good thing.

Mitchell’s clutch putt on the last green wasn’t such a good thing for two hometown heroes. Fowler lives in nearby Jupiter and Koepka, the reigning two-time U.S. Open champion and defending PGA champion, grew up in West Palm Beach. They were waiting for a playoff with Mitchell – a player neither knew very well. Still, both were there to congratulate Mitchell before he reached the scorer’s table.

“I know he went to Georgia,’’ said Koepka. “He was there when I was at Florida State so I knew him a little bit in amateur and junior golf. He’s a good player, strikes it really well, a powerful golf swing. Good to see him win.’’

“I’ve always heard a lot of good things about him,’’ said Fowler. “I haven’t played with him or seen him play much but you can’t fake it around this golf course. You have to go out there and earn it.’’

Mitchell did.

“It was awesome, just to have a chance coming down the stretch against Rickie and Brooks,’’ said Mitchell. “I’m just glad I could prove myself against guys like that.’’

There isn’t much more Bernhard Langer can accomplish as a golfer. Last week he became the career money leader on PGA Tour Champions, surpassing Hale Irwin.

Thanks to his $255,000 payday for winning the Oasis Championship on the Old Course at Broken Sound, Langer has $27,120,554 in career earnings on PGA Tour Champions. He needed just $179,050 to climb ahead of Irwin, who – at 73 – plays only a limited schedule now.

Irwin still leads Langer in wins on the 50-and-over circuit. Langer has 39 — six behind Irwin – and hopes to reduce the number by winning another Florida tournament this week. The Chubb Classic tees off on Friday at Lely Resort in Naples.

Don’t be surprised if Langer wins there, too. He already has been the champion three times in Naples – in 2011, 2013 and 2016. Broken Sound was 10 minutes from his home in Boca Raton. The Chubb site isn’t very far, either – less than a two-hour drive from Boca. Langer relishes those few home games available to globe-trotting golf stars.

His win in Boca Raton was another family affair. It came with Jackie Langer John – his married oldest offspring – as his caddie. Jackie was the last of Langer’s four children to carry the bag during one of his victories. Stefan, Christina and Jason already had experienced that thrill. Jackie also lives in Boca Raton.

“I know it meant lot to her, especially with the home crowds, lots of friends and family members around who follow us and cheer us on,’’ said Langer. “She had only caddied three times for me. We had a second, lost in a playoff and now a first – so that’s a pretty stellar record for her.’’

Talk about stellar records, consider Langer’s. He’s 61 now, and Champions Tour players usually see their games start to fade after they turn 60. Langer’s has shown no signs of that. In 11 years on the circuit he has topped the money list 10 times and been Player of the Year eight times. His latest win was one of his most impressive.

Starting the final round with a one-stroke lead Langer made birdies on five of the first seven holes and won by five strokes over Marco Dawson.

“One of my best starts ever,’’ said Langer, who didn’t cool off much after that. His 19-under-par 197 score for the 54 holes was a tournament record and he became the first player in the event’s 12-year run to win it twice.

“He lives like on the putting green here, doesn’t? Isn’t that where is house is,” chided David Toms, who also was in contention through 36 holes. “Obviously he has a lot of experience out here, and he’s a great player. He plays with confidence all the time and he’s won so many tournaments it’s kind of second nature.’’

Langer’s rivals in Boca Raton included nine members of the World Golf Hall of Fame and 17 former major champions. Some had better records on the PGA Tour than Langer, who was a late-bloomer.

Of his 113 world-wide professional victories only three came in PGA Tour events. They included his only two wins in majors, at the 1985 and 1993 Masters. He followed the first Masters win with his only other PGA Tour victory, at the Sea Pines Heritage Classic, the following week and that hot streak was a big reason he became golf’s first official No. 1-ranked player when the Official World Golf Rankings were created for the following year.

Born in Anhausen, Germany, Langer posted the bulk of his wins on the European PGA Tour. He won there 43 times, 29 of which came before his second win at the Masters.

“The key to success is a lot of things,’’ said Langer. “You’ve got to be healthy, and a lot of guys at age 61 aren’t healthy anymore. They had this operation or that operation or a hip replacement. I’ve been fortunate enough not to have any major surgeries besides my thumb in 2011.’’

He believes his strong religious beliefs are a factor too. He carries a Bible verse in his pocket during many of his tournaments. That included his latest win.

“I felt very calm out there and very peaceful, and that enabled me to do the best I could,’’ said Langer. “That doesn’t mean I’m going to win every time I put a Bible verse in my pocket, but it just makes golf less important and something else more important.’’

BOCA RATON, FL. – Fred Couples, eight months away from his 60th birthday, returns to the PGA Tour this week. He wangled a spot in the Genesis Open thanks to a sponsor’s exemption, but he’s going with some reservations.

“I probably should go to Naples (the Chubb Classic in Naples, FL., on PGA Tour Champions),’’ said Couples. “Sounds like bragging, but I won Naples a couples times (2010 and 2017) and still want to play in L.A. Riviera is one of my favorite events.’’

Couples was the champion of Los Angeles’ longstanding PGA Tour stop twice, in 1990 and 1992, and was the runner-up (or tied for second) three times in the 1990s so it’s understandable why he’d like to go back to that tournament one more time.

With Couples, though, you never know where or when he’ll show up to play. That’s just the way it is.

No question his career is winding down, but Couples is still competitive with the younger guys. Last October, on the same week that he turned 59, he went back to the PGA Tour for the Safeway Classic in Napa, Calif. That week he said that tournament would be “my last PGA Tour event besides Augusta (the Masters).’’

Couples tied for 41st that week, dropping 26 places after shooting a 75 in the final round), and that came after a surprise showing in the Masters. In 2017 he skipped the site of his biggest victory (the 1992 Masters) because of back problems were too painful.

“I physically couldn’t move,’’ he said, between practice swings at the Oasis Championship. “Last year I went basically wearing a back brace. I just didn’t want to miss the Masters again, and I made the cut. It felt like I had won the tournament just by making the cut.’’

He started 2019 with two events on PGA Tour Champions – a tie for fifth in the Mitsubishi Electric Championship in Hawaii and a tie for eighth in the Oasis Championship in Florida. He was a late entry for the first full field event of the Champions season in Boca Raton in part because his back was feeling good. That’s obviously not always been the case.

“The process is just trying to figure it out,’’ said Couples. “I’ve been doing this a long time. I could play great one day, get in the car and drive to the hotel and get out and something could go wrong with my back. Or I can hit a driver as hard as I can and something could happen there. There’s no rhyme or reason, but I really feel pretty good at the moment and I’m planning on playing a little more this year. Twelve, fourteen events — that’s my goal.’’

He won’t predict where he’ll play after Riviera, however.

“I look at the schedule at the beginning of the year, and it’s a pipe dream,’’ he said. “I mark like 16 tournaments. I skip majors on our (Champions) tour because I don’t really feel like I should go play in them. That’s not the greatest thing, either.’’

To play, or not to play, in major championships? Being Fred Couples isn’t as easy as his classic swing looks, but he’s found a scheduling formula that has worked – at least to some extent – for almost three decades.

“I know the year. I was 32 years old when it started happening,’’ said Couples. “It was never really horrible except for the first time it happened. I was out for like seven months and thought, `Am I going to be able to play?’’’

Play again, he did, and Couples has built a resume that shows 13 PGA Tour wins (the last at Houston in 2003) and 13 Champions Tour titles (the last at the American Family Insurance Championship in 2017).

“Since I came back I’ve taken it easy because all my buddies are young kids,’’ said Couples. “I tell them, don’t worry about missing a cut or having two bad months of golf. This isn’t a sprint. This is a marathon. That’s how I really wanted to treat it. Knock on wood, I’ve lasted.’’

BOCA RATON, Florida — This should be Mark Calcavecchia’s time. His troublesome back problems are under control and another PGA Tour Champions season starts this week in Hawaii with the Jan. 17-19 Mitsubishi Electric Championship for last year’s tournament winners. Then Calcavecchia returns to one of his favorite courses to make the first title defense in a full-field event of the Champions’ season, the Oasis Championship.

For whatever reason, though, Calcavecchia isn’t entering this season on an optimistic note. He started the 2018 campaign with a wire-to-wire victory in what was then called the Boca Raton Championship. That win was even more special, in that it came in Palm Beach County — Calcavecchia’s long-time Florida home — with his wife Brenda on his bag.

“It meant a lot to win,’’ said Calcavecchia in a pre-tourney visit less than a month before his title defense is to begin. Now called the Oasis Championship, the tourney has a Feb. 4-10 run at the Old Course at Broken Sound. Last year Calcavecchia birdies seven of the first 10 holes, then hung on during a precarious final five holes. The couple was in tears when the last putt dropped.

“We had quite a few chances to win tournaments on the Champions Tour together, and I blew them basically,’’ said Calcavecchia. “ We did win the Wendy’s Three-Tour Challenge, the Shark Shootout and a tournament in Korea but Lanny (Wadkins, the Champions Tour analyst on Golf Channel) said some things, like maybe I would have won a few if she wasn’t caddying for me.’’

Now 58, Calcavancchia hadn’t won on PGA Tour Champions since 2015 so that win had to be special.

Revisiting the subject less than a month before his title defense, however, brought an unusual reaction from Calcavecchia on the 30-year anniversary of his biggest-ever win, at the 1989 British Open.

“I’m not as excited to play as I was last year,’’ he said. “Maybe it’s just because I’m a year older.’’

Or, maybe it’s because the 2018 season didn’t end on the high note on which it started.

“I missed the last tournament by a shot or two, and that was frustrating,’’ he said. “I didn’t touch a club for 43 days starting in November. I gained about 15 pounds, and I’ve lost about eight of those back because I worked hard the last two weeks to get stronger.

“I’m moving in the right direction, but it’s hard. I’m trying to get back in the mode of playing golf. I’ll get there, but once you stop playing it gets harder to get back going. I like doing nothing. It’s easier that way. I literally didn’t get out of my chair for a week straight. Brenda was mad at me.’’

There’s some incentive to get his act together fast beyond just keeping the peace with Brenda. The tournament on the Old Course at Broken Sound has been a strong one for the 50-and-over players, though it has had sponsorship issues. The city sponsored it last year to keep the event going and now it’ll be called the Oasis Championship. Oasis, founded in South Florida 20 years ago, specializes in providing human resource services to small and medium-sized businesses. It picked up tournament sponsorship for the next three years.

Regardless of its previous titles, the tournament has never had a repeat champion in its 13-year history. Calcavecchia could be the first, and that would mean something.

“I’ve never defended a title,’’ said Calcavecchia, who has won tournaments on either the PGA Tour or PGA Tour Champions in four straight decades. “Well, maybe I did in junior golf, but that doesn’t count. I won the Argentine Open two years in a row, but didn’t go to it for a year in between, so I don’t think that counts.’’

Calcavecchia, with 13 wins on the PGA Tour and four on PGA Tour Champions, likes hometown tournaments and has a good record in them.

A South Florida resident the last 46 years, Calcavecchia went to high school in West Palm Beach and was the 1978 Florida prep champion for North Shore High School. After playing collegiately at the University of Florida he won the Honda Classic twice at PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens. He also has a home in Phoenix and has three PGA Tour wins there.

“That’s six home wins (five on the PGA Tour and last year’s victory at Broken Sound),’’ said Calcavecchia. “It may take the cake for home wins other than Jack (Nicklaus). How many Hondas and Dorals did he win?’

(For the record, Nicklaus won the Doral Eastern Open in 1972 and 1975 and the Inverrary Classic (the original name of what is now the Honda Classic) in 1977 and 1978).

Broken Sound and the Honda base at PGA National are both about 45 minutes from where Calcavecchia lives. He moved into the Loxahatchie Club (in Jupiter) last April but also uses Tequesta County Club as a winter practice site.