Post by Richie3Jack on Nov 18, 2012 19:42:55 GMT -5
Having played many of the golf courses in the Orlando area, we were looking to either play more towards the Daytona Beach or Melbourne areas. However, the weather forecast projected rain up the east coast and sunshine on the west side. We wound up giving Highlands Ridge North Course in Avon Park, about 90 minutes south of Lakeland, a try.
The North Course was designed by David Harman, who also designed the beautiful RedTail Club up in Sorrento. It also caught my eye in that Harman supposedly designed the North Course after Kauri Cliffs in New Zealand.
Getting to Avon Park is a bit of a task as there's really only one route there, Highway 27. And once you hit Hwy 27, it's filled with traffic and stop lights. As you get closer to Avon Park, it's really in the middle of nowhere, in orange tree grove country. Then you get west of the orange grove and it's a fairly large retiree golf course community, with the community revolving around the 36 holes at Highlands Ridge.
We started out hitting some balls on a fairly decent sized range. The greens were reading at a 9 stimp. The fairways were in pretty good condition. The greens were very so-so. The tees needed to be badly mowed. Condition wise, I would give it a 6 out of 10. Certainly playable, but needed improvements in this time of year.
And that's kind of where the problem of the North Course sets. I generally got the feeling that it was a likeable layout and then when we hit the front nine, I started to like the design even more. But, the conditioning of the course lacked that certain touch and I think that could have made the design seem even more special.
The only problem I had with the design was how far out the fairways were from the tee. From the back tees, some of the fairways required a 240+ yard carry just to reach them. But other than that, I think the design is every bit as good as RedTail Club or Juliette Falls, just the conditioning needed work.
My favorite holes were:
#7: Beautiful par-5 that offers the golfer the shot to go for it in 2-shots off a good drive. If they play for 3-shots, it's now a double dogleg hole. Punishing, but fair.
#9: Can serve as a good alternate finishing hole. Par-4 requires a good tee shot to an elevated fairway and then an approach into a low-setting green.
#11: tight little par-4 that rewards a good driver off the tee, but can be punishing, particularly on the wrong side of the green.
#12: another tight par-4 that is beautifully tree lined with a low setting green.
#16: well designed longish par-3 that has water and hazards, but set up appropriately so it doesn't require a great shot to be okay.
#18: Great finishing hole that is reachable in 2 shots. Requires some working of the ball, drawing off the tee shot, fading onto the 2nd shot.
In the end, we came away liking the course and the value was good as well ($33). However, the 2-hour drive was a little much and it's a course that should have been in better condition than it was. It won't detract from the overall design, but it prevents a course from being a great one.
3JACK
The North Course was designed by David Harman, who also designed the beautiful RedTail Club up in Sorrento. It also caught my eye in that Harman supposedly designed the North Course after Kauri Cliffs in New Zealand.
Getting to Avon Park is a bit of a task as there's really only one route there, Highway 27. And once you hit Hwy 27, it's filled with traffic and stop lights. As you get closer to Avon Park, it's really in the middle of nowhere, in orange tree grove country. Then you get west of the orange grove and it's a fairly large retiree golf course community, with the community revolving around the 36 holes at Highlands Ridge.
We started out hitting some balls on a fairly decent sized range. The greens were reading at a 9 stimp. The fairways were in pretty good condition. The greens were very so-so. The tees needed to be badly mowed. Condition wise, I would give it a 6 out of 10. Certainly playable, but needed improvements in this time of year.
And that's kind of where the problem of the North Course sets. I generally got the feeling that it was a likeable layout and then when we hit the front nine, I started to like the design even more. But, the conditioning of the course lacked that certain touch and I think that could have made the design seem even more special.
The only problem I had with the design was how far out the fairways were from the tee. From the back tees, some of the fairways required a 240+ yard carry just to reach them. But other than that, I think the design is every bit as good as RedTail Club or Juliette Falls, just the conditioning needed work.
My favorite holes were:
#7: Beautiful par-5 that offers the golfer the shot to go for it in 2-shots off a good drive. If they play for 3-shots, it's now a double dogleg hole. Punishing, but fair.
#9: Can serve as a good alternate finishing hole. Par-4 requires a good tee shot to an elevated fairway and then an approach into a low-setting green.
#11: tight little par-4 that rewards a good driver off the tee, but can be punishing, particularly on the wrong side of the green.
#12: another tight par-4 that is beautifully tree lined with a low setting green.
#16: well designed longish par-3 that has water and hazards, but set up appropriately so it doesn't require a great shot to be okay.
#18: Great finishing hole that is reachable in 2 shots. Requires some working of the ball, drawing off the tee shot, fading onto the 2nd shot.
In the end, we came away liking the course and the value was good as well ($33). However, the 2-hour drive was a little much and it's a course that should have been in better condition than it was. It won't detract from the overall design, but it prevents a course from being a great one.
3JACK