Post by Richie3Jack on Jun 10, 2013 9:47:45 GMT -5
TPC Tampa Bay is a Bobby Weed design located in Lutz, a suburb roughly 15 minutes north of Tampa. I had initially attempted to get on the Copperhead course at Innisbrook Resort, but the course was closed for aerification. I like the city of Tampa quite a bit (one of the most underrated cities in the US, in my opinion) and wanted to hang out there for the day. I chose TPC Tampa Bay with some reservation.
One of the questions I frequently ask myself is 'if I was a teenager today, would I be into golf as much as I was when I was in high school?'
The game is not as social as it once was. When I got into the game golf courses were more of a social venue than anything else. But, I also enjoyed the classic designs much more. Today, the courses are more about forced carries and creating picturesque holes. Ironically, it's feels less artistic, almost like 'painting by numbers' despite trying to be more artistic.
That was the big part of my reservations about TPC Tampa Bay. I knew it would receive great reviews online. I think a lot of courses simply can achieve that by charging a lot of money to play there, make it somewhat exclusive and keep the course in tip-top condition. That doesn't make it a great course for my tastes, but it will usually get rave reviews online.
Fortunately, I was proven wrong.
First, the entrance to get to TPC Tampa Bay doesn't even feel like a TPC course. It's rather quaint in nature. It's certainly nothing like driving into Sawgrass or Sugarloaf. TPC Tampa Bay does hold a long time Champions Tour event there each year, but the surroundings are much more modest than the other TPC courses I've come around. If I didn't know any better, I would think I was at North Shore or Eagle Creek in Orlando rather than a TPC course. The range is not very big, but it sets the tone for what the golf course really is. An excellent course that is not over the top and trying too hard to impress people. I believe they offer memberships there and I think it's the place that if you were serious about improving your handicap that they would take great care of you. That's a rarity these days in the golf course industry.
It drizzled the entire drive down and then when I was about a mile away it started to pour. The pro shop was great as they told me that I could wait a while, get something to eat, and then hit some balls and finally go out and play. The restaurant is small in nature, but they served an excellent chicken caeser salad.
While the course was drenched, one could see that it was in terrific condition from tee to green. The greens were still rolling at about a 10 despite the rain. They have Championship Bermuda grass on the greens. If the course has the money and expertise to take care of Championship Bermuda, it's the best rolling Bermuda grass out there. And TPC Tampa Bay had their greens in great condition. The only hole that had a slight problem was the par-4 14th holes where the back of the green was undergoing some repair.
From a design perspective this reminded me much more of an old school Tour course design like Rio Pinar rather than the modern day TPC designs. You can't avoid having water on a course in the Tampa area, but this course lacked forced carries. If there was water, it was usually on the side of the hole or in front of a reachable par-5. I suspect this speeds up play as well as you're less likely to have people searching for golf balls.
The front nine is the easier of the two sides. The course only plays to 6,900 from the tips and I had no problem getting around. I liked the par-4's #1 and #3 along with the par-5 7th hole quite a bit. I didn't find much difficult on the front nine outside of the 191 yard par-3 2nd hole and the 472 yard par-4 9th hole.
On the back nine I dug both par-5's (#12 and #14) quite a bit. Particularly #12 with a narrow, but findable fairway which would leave a short 2nd shot over water. I can see that hole deceiving golfers into thinking that they should lay up off the tee. The 452-yard par-4 15th hole was a great hole as well.
Overall I think TPC Tampa Bay works for a lot of golfers. For the traditionalists like myself, we get that design we favor. For the glitz and glamor types, they get a course in impeccable condition with the great service. I would say that in the winter time a fair price for this course is about $75 and in the summer it's probably more like $50 or so. Thus, I cannot have any real complaints about the experience.
3JACK