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The third instalment in this series covers the greatest tract of land to date . From two courses on Florida ’ s west coast , to the sandy hills of Pinehurst , across to the edge of the great river in Mississippi , it arcs westward to the Ojai valley of California , to the great linksland of Oregon , before returning eastward to the low country of South Carolina .
In between lies so much golfing land yet to be explored . At the end of the road , I realized that one man , one generation could not explore it all , but its effort would leave a lasting impression , bordering on a legacy .
The west coast of Florida hasn ’ t been the sequence of sleepy hamlets for over two generations . Discovered by Tom Brokaw ’ s greatest generation in the 1960s and 70s , retirement communities have been matched and surpassed by business centers from Fort Myers to Tampa . Golf courses negotiate the watery lands off the coast , forced to depend on carries over ( or journeys around ) the lagoons and ponds that perpetuate throughout the region . My time in the area was brief , coming near the end of the sixmonths journey around America , and I wanted to see both a world-recognized layout and an under-the-radar track that would tie both ends of a golfing spectrum together . I found each , at Innisbrook and Buffalo Creek .
The PGA Tour counts the Copperhead course at Innisbrook as one of its most challenging layouts . I ’ m not here to disagree , but I will say that it is quite playable when the rough is not up . The Copperhead dates back to 1974 , making it just over forty years old . Its architect , Larry Packard , was contracted to build a great many golf courses , back in a day when economic production was an important watchword . At Innisbrook , Packard benefitted from some of the most undulating land in Florida , allowing him to run holes down slopes and up to bluffs . Both the first and tenth holes beckon the golfer to fire away from on high , down to sunken fairways where roll-out is embellished . The joy of those first , soaring tee balls soon dissipates , as the tree-lined fairways aren ’ t the easiest to hold . On each half , the majority of the holes traverse a low , flat acreage . From tee to green , holes edge past ponds and plentiful bunkering . From time to time , a secondary ascent and descent are encountered , but the true return to the clubhouse heights is not revealed until the final hole on each side .
It is a credit to Packard that no golfer will ever depart Copperhead saying “ The par three / four / five holes are the best .” Packard found excellent and memorable holes of each distinction across
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