Post by Richie3Jack on Sept 30, 2012 19:12:53 GMT -5
Champions Gate is a 36-hole facility with both courses designed by Greg Norman. The International Course is considered one of the toughest in all of Florida, playing at 7,363 yards from the back tee with a handicap index of 76.3.
Given Norman is Australian and some of the Florida landscape resembles parts of Australia, it's no surprise that this was more of an Australian sand dune style of course. It's literally out in the middle of nowhere and it's safe to say that before they built a course here, it was just an open field with some marshland.
The facility in itself is impressive, but a little weird. For instance, the drive up into the clubhouse was looked a bit desolete, but it's an impressive clubhouse nonetheless. When you go into the clubhouse, to your right is the pro shop, to your left is the restaurant. But there are no walls that separate the two. In fact, there's a bar area that sits in the middle and down below the pro shop and restaurant.
Champions Gate is also the home of David Leadbetter's personal Academy. I could only catch a glimpse of it as I passed it on one hole. I'm assuming that it's a top notch facility, it ought to be if you're paying $10K for a full day lesson. And what's weird is that the first hole on the International course requires the golfers to drive down the cart path about 300 yards. What's even more unorthodox is that the cart path is also shared by the 10th hole at the International course. Thus, golfers playing #10 often have to wait for golfers driving their cart to the first hole.
The course reminded me a bit of Walkabout GC, located in Mims which also has the Australian theme and design style. But where it really reminds me of Walkabout is just how difficult the course is, particularly on the front nine. The first hole isn't particularly easy with not a lot of room to safely play left and water and bunkers right. #2 is a 205 yard par-3 into a tight gateway into the hole. Then there's 575 yard par-5 3rd hole, which is one of the most difficult par-5's I've ever played.
Generally I enjoyed Champions Gate, although it's a bit tougher that even I would like which kind of sucked the fun out of it. For example, the 6th hole is a 496 yard par-4 and it's perfectly flat. And it still requires steady accuracy off the tee. Typically those holes are designed to go downhill a bit so even 110 mph driver speed players don't need to obliterate a driver and 4-iron just to get onto the green with a little help from the wind.
The back nine is much easier, but still difficult and with a few holes that are a little ridiculous like the 231 yard par-3 14th hole guarded by pot bunkers.
That being said, the easier back nine made it more enjoyable. Part of the other issue I had with the course is that there's little room for shade and we were playing in temperatures in the upper 80's with 90% humidity. Thankfully there was plenty of drinking water and the cart girl was always around.
Condition wise the course was in pretty good shape although some of the bunkers still had water on them. I thought the greens were a bit slow, right around 8 on the stimp, but in pretty decent shape as well.
In the end, I think it's a course that you could probably enjoy playing more than once, but there's a limited return in the fun given the difficulty of the course. Once you get familiar with it, certain things won't trip you up on the course. But the difficulty tends to trim down the amount of fun one can have there. The Champions Tour is supposed to have their Q-School there. Good luck.
3JACK