3Jack's Stay-cation 2013

[Richie3Jack]

Welp…

I just put in my vacation time for ‘Stay-cation 2013’. This year I get an extra week off and I’m planning on doing the Stay-cation here in June and then hitting either Vegas or Myrtle Beach in the Fall. Here is the list of courses I played last year at Stay-cation

Celebration Golf Club – solid course in great condition. Very weird routing. Too expensive ($130). Overall I would give the experience * * ½

World Woods (Rolling Oaks) – It’s not Pine Barrens. A good track, but still not Pine Barrens. Good price, long trip. * * ¾

Legends at Orange Lake Resort – Great Palmer design. Had a cheeseburger where the cheese was macaroni and cheese. Good service, we flew around in 2.5 hours. Helped that I shot 68. * * * * ¼

Harmony Golf Preserve – Very nice layout on the back nine. Front nine is decent. Course was in a bit rough shape. Good price. * * ¾


This year I hope to play:



Orange County National (Crooked Cat) – I have played Panther Lake 3 times. I usually go to OCN and start to enjoy it and think to myself ‘I have got to hit up OCN more often.’ Then I realize after a 5 hour round why I don’t play there more often. Still, it’s one of the best conditioned courses in the area and IMO, probably the best conditioned course in the winter. Well, this is summer.




World Woods (Pine Barrens) – I didn’t play Pine Barrens last year and I regret it. I think I finally figured the best way to get there. I will also be taking an earlier tee time instead of waiting until 3pm for a lower rate and then not getting home until 9:30 at night. Just a great golf course.




Grand Cypress (New Course) – I have been wanting to get on here for quite some time, but have been unable to do so either the rates were too high or I wanted to play it with a friend and the friend couldn’t make it. Nicklaus design.




TPC Tampa Bay or Innisbrook Resort – Neither are cheap, but Innisbrook is particularly pricey. A lot of hassle to get on Innisbrook as well.

[Richie3Jack]

Here's my bookings so far:

Sunday: World Woods Pine Barrens - $30

Monday: Grand Cypress (New Course) - $45

Tuesday: Orange County National (Crooked Cat) - $29

Wednesday: Innisbrook Resort (Copperhead) - $155

Thursday: Undecided

Maybe I could get a tax write-off on Innisbrook since the Tour plays there

Right now I'm not hitting the ball all that well since I'm working on a few things. But, when I get on the course I seem to play better than I hit it on the range.

I've wanted to play Grand Cypress for a while now, but I get the feeling they are probably in the midst of aerifying their greens (popular time to aerify in Central Florida).

I was trying to get onto Streamsong Resort instead of Innisbrook. Streamsong is down by Lakeland and they are calling it the East Coast version of Bandon Dunes. Ted Fort told me that a friend of his played there and said it is a must play. I just couldn't get a tee time. It looks pretty incredible on their Web site.







3JACK

[cwdlaw223]

Stream strong looks gorgeous on their website.

[Richie3Jack]

Yes. I never knew it existed until Ted Fort told me about it. I guess they have a special rate for Florida residents which should help.

I looked at playing TPC Sawgrass, but the best deal I could find was for $395.

No thanks.





3JACK

[Richie3Jack]

Just found out that Innisbrook is closed for aeration. Going to try TPC Tampa Bay. If not, then try Streamsong.






3JACK

[Richie3Jack]

Pine Barrens was good as usual. I got a couple bad breaks that caused a couple of double bogeys and I turned it around and shot 75 (+3)

Grand Cypress was really great. It's a pure links style course with double greens on every hole. And it's in magnificent condition. It's not really hard, but it has pot bunkers everywhere. 71 (-1)






3JACK

[Richie3Jack]

Crooked Cat at Orange County National is much easier than the Panther Lake course. The back nine at Crooked Cat was more like Panther Lake in terms of difficulty, but still wasn't overly difficult. Having some real struggled out there, but I managed to shoot 76 (+4). Greens are in great shape, but the rest of the course is subpar by OCN standards. Still, Crooked Cat is a solid design and a relatively fun course to play. It only cost me $25 since I'm an Orange County resident.

TPC Tampa Bay was a pleasant surprise for me. I was thinking with it being a TPC course it would be a lot of forced carries. But TPC Tampa Bay had an old school PGA Tour venue feel to it. If they had water, it was always to the side. It really felt a lot like Rio Pinar. It was in impeccable condition, best so far of the trip.





3JACK

[Richie3Jack]

Here’s the rundown for my ‘Stay-Cation’

Evans Prairie (The Villages, FL) – I think it’s the best design in The Villages. The greens are flatter and therefore they can make the stimp at a reasonable rate. It’s more of a ‘standard’ course design than a ‘resort’ design like the rest of the courses in The Villages. Greens are in good shape. But, they are sorely lacking rain as the ground was super hard. I hit a drive on one hole 370 yards with the wind behind me. On another hole I hit a ‘soft driver’ to not go into the hazard that was 320 yards away…and did go in the hazard. They should really consider shutting down the course until the daily rainfalls start kicking in and helps make the ground softer and allows the grass to grow more. Still, they treat you well in The Villages and we got around in less than 3 hours. Shot 71 (-1) * ¾.


World Woods (Pine Barrens) – From reading the Top-100 Golf Course blogger it’s pretty clear he values different facets to a course than I do. I tend to enjoy ‘fun’ designs that are very practical the most. I think he prefers exclusiveness, history and conditioning. Therfore, he dislikes Pine Barrens and I love it. He feels Pine Barrens is not a Top-100 course and I think if you go purely by the course, it is a top-100 venue. The only crazy hole on the course is #15, a 335 yard par-4 that gives you two routes to drive the ball. Still, it’s creative and different enough to make the hole fun to play. The woman working the pro shop could have been friendlier. But, the rangers (one of which I got to play with) were super nice and helpful. Got around in 3 hours 15 minutes. Shot 75 (+3). * * *


Grand Cypress (New Course) – Course was in immaculate condition outside of a few greens were slightly in rough shape in certain areas. But, you’re not going to find a links course that is in that good of condition. I’m assuming that they are using TifDwarf on the greens because that is what TifDwarf can look like at times. Still, I’m being very nit-picky here as the rest of the course was pristine. Fun design for the most part. However, they stick fairway bunkers everywhere and you can hit a good drive down the middle and get penalized for it. Only 6,800 yards and with no wind I was able to shoot 71 (-1) with ease. * * * ½


Orange County National (Crooked Cat) – A storm came by as I went to hit balls. I don’t like that OCN simply will not allow singles to reserve a tee time. You have to call the day you want to play and see if they have a time for you. Still, it only cost me $25 since I’m an Orange County resident. The course was generally in good condition, particularly the greens. But, there were some real rough spots around the greens. Crooked Cat is way easier than Panther Lake. Panther Lake is a test for me, but Crooked Cat I struggled with my swing heavily all day and still shot 76 (+4) with ease. I don’t think there’s any reason for me to not shoot under par here. It’s probably a little more fun than Panther Lake because Panther Lake can be unreasonable on some holes if the wind is blowing a certain way. Still, I prefer Panther Lake because it’s just a more inspiring design. * * ½


TPC Tampa Bay – They have played a Champions Tour event here since the 90’s. It’s only 6,800 yards long and I made it around pretty easily. The course was soaked from TS Andrea, but you could tell it was in immaculate shape. Even better than Grand Cypress. Staff was very helpful. Not a typical TPC course as it had very few forced carries. Plays a lot more like old school Tour stops like Riviera, Rio Pinar (used to hold the Citrus Open) and Seven Oaks (up near Colgate University). And I love those types of designs rather than the modern TPC designs. Cost was $55 which alleviates some of the worry of playing a course like Innisbrook ($160) or Streamsong ($200) and hoping you get your money’s worth. * * * *







3JACK