Southwest Florida Spring Training Golf Trip
Golf Magazine, 2/10
Links Magazine
ESPN.com, 3/11
For fans of the: Yankees, Phillies, Pirates, Twins, Red Sox, Orioles, Blue Jays, and Devil Rays
Best Public Course: Ernie Els has called Innisbrook's Copperhead course (www.innisbrookgolfresort.com; $200-$245), "the best course the PGA Tour visits in Florida." Normally reserved for resort guests, you can play with a valid USGA GHIN handicap. And Innisbrook is perfectly situated for Yankees, Phillies, and Blue Jays fans.
Best Bang For Your Buck: Developed as a private club north of Tampa, Cheval Golf and Country Club's (813-948-2114, www.chevalgolfandcountryclub.com; $30-$45) website discreetly "invites you to play at Cheval as a Member for a Day." Don't turn this one down. This Steve Smyers redesign has water on 17 holes, and 100 bunkers for less than the cost of 10 hot dogs. Fat Guy also recommends Westchase GC as a great Tampa value, click the link to see my full review.
Best You Can Play That You've Never Heard Of: Old Corkscrew Golf Club (239-949-4700, www.oldcorkscrew.com; $135-$180), is in Estero, just south of Ft. Myers and Cape Coral — and just a sac fly for Twins and Red Sox fans. Make sure to bring your big bat — this 7,393-yard Jack Nicklaus core design has a formidable rating/slope of 76/142.
Phillies Fans: ESPN named the Tiki Bar at the Phillies' Bright House Field, in Clearwater as one of their Top 10 Coolest Spots in Spring Training Ball. "Bright House Networks Field opened in 2004, introducing Sunshine State fans to a ballpark blueprint that borrowed heavily from design innovations already popular in the Cactus League. The park has a large outfield seating berm and more conventional seating options that appear not just along the baselines, but surround the entire field. More than just building upon these Arizona successes though, Bright House introduced another new type of seating innovation. The Tiki Bar, situated between the left field foul pole and the Phillies bullpen, provides an exciting, just-above-the-fence vantage point and a festive atmosphere that pays homage to Clearwater Beach's 'Margaritaville' reputation."
You'll see plenty of Hooter's girls at the park as they serve as ball girls during spring training games at Brighthouse Field, so change up the formula with a post-game trip to The Tilted Kilt Pub & Eatery (www.tiltedkilt.com, 2571 Drew St, Clearwater). Think 'Hooter's meets a great Irish pub.' They do a St. Paddy's Day celebration called St. Practice Day on the 17th of every month.
A couple of blocks south of the stadium you can get breakfast and lunch at Lenny's Restaurant (727-799-0402) in Clearwater, which is so Philly Red you'd swear the Liberty Bell is right next door.
Play at Bardmoor Golf Club (Largo, 7,015 yards, par 72, $65-$90, 727-392-1234, www.bardmoorgolf.com). A recent reworking by Gary Koch has given this tight, flat layout a new vitality — a bit like the World Champion Phillies in '08. Water affects play on 10 holes, including the 397-yard, par-4 9th, where a lake guarding the inside elbow of this dogleg-left will drown any left-leaning shot. The closing hole is menaced with trees, bunkers and water, and that's before you reach a tough green. The easiest drive of your day will be the last one: just 15 minutes north to the game at Bright House Field. Or, Links Mag recommends Phillies fans buck up for a stay at the Vinoy Renaissance St. Petersburg Resort & Golf Club. Guests of this historic hotel dating to 1925 and located along the bay have access to nearby Vinoy Club, which has a course that also dates to the 1920s. The 6,590-yard layout was originally designed by Donald Ross and renovated by Ron Garl.
Yankees Fans: ESPN digs the wind screens at George M. Steinbrenner Field, in Tampa, Fla. The miniature version of Monument Park that stands outside the entrance gates of George M. Steinbrenner Field may get most of the ink in the Spring Training travel guides, but equally impressive are the giant windscreens that spell out Y A N K E E S high above the swaying palms outside the stadium facade. This bold tribute to the home team is the first thing any visitor notices upon arriving at this Yankee outpost in the Big Stein's home city. Inside, meanwhile, fans find a playing field that mimics the dimensions of Yankee Stadium and white metal arches that replicate the famous exterior of the big stadium in the Bronx.
Play at the underrated TPC Tampa Bay (813-949-0090, www.tpctampabay.com; $135-$162) in Lutz as a worthy splurge. It hosts the Champions Tour in April, where Tom Watson defends and after 2 p.m., you can tackle its myriad bunkers, lakes and wildly contoured greens for $99.
Orioles Fans: Links Mag says play Longboat Key Club & Resort. Just a short drive from Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota, Longboat Key sits on a barrier island along the Gulf of Mexico and has numerous amenities, including two courses: Islandside and the 27-hole Harbourside.
Fat Guy research: After the game, Orioles fans should hit O'Leary's Tiki Bar & Grill (downtown Sarasota).
Twins Fans: ESPN digs the waterfall at the Twins' Hammond Stadium, in Fort Myers, Fla. Another Grapefruit League yard that strikes a one-of-a-kind pose before fans even pass through its turnstiles is Hammond Stadium, the spring home of the Minnesota Twins. After traversing a palm-tree-adorned path that leads from the parking lot to the stadium, fans find a delightful waterfall cascading into a clear reflecting pool, into which they can toss their lucky coins and wish for the home team to fare well in the season ahead. Just beyond these glimmering waters, rises a regal stadium, which with its peaked roof and many arches often is likened to Churchill Downs. From the seats inside, fans observe another water display – a pond with a fountain in the middle beyond the home run fence in right.
Links Mag says play Raptor Bay Golf Club. After playing in the Metrodome for 28 years, the defending American League Central champions will move outdoors to Target Field this season. Twins fans can get a preview of playing in fresh air at Fort Myers’ Hammond Stadium and at the nearby Raptor Bay, designed by Raymond Floyd. The Twins play spring training games at Hammond Stadium, exactly 9 miles from the Red Sox’s City of Palms Park. ESPN says grub at the Bubble Room, Captiva Island. If you're in Fort Myers to check out the Twins or Red Sox, be sure to make the long drive out to Captiva Island for dinner at this kitschy classic.
Pirates Fans: ESPN digs the championship flags at McKechnie Field, in Bradenton, Fla. Despite the Pirates' regular season struggles in recent years, the snowbirds in Bradenton remain fiercely loyal to the team that's trekked to their city every spring since 1969. A proud band of volunteers known as the "Bradenton Pirates Boosters" work the concession stands and turnstiles at McKechnie Field, while the ballpark itself remembers the home team's past glory with pennants on either side of the green batter's eye in center. The gold flags signify seasons like 1979, in which the Pirates won the World Series; the black ones represent seasons like 1927, when they won the National League title; and the white ones commemorate campaigns like 1992, when they won their division.
Links Mag says play at River Strand Golf & Country Club. Let’s play three! Located just east of the Pirates’ spring home in Bradenton, the semiprivate club features a tripleheader—the Estuary, Sanctuary and Tributary nines—designed by Arthur Hills.
Rays Fans: Links Mag says splurge for the weekend and head just south to the Ritz-Carlton Members Golf Club, Sarasota. The Rays spend their spring training in Port Charlotte, about an hour south of their regular-season home, Tropicana Field. That location makes it easier to access for guests of the Ritz-Carlton Sarasota, who enjoy privileges at the private club with a course designed by Tom Fazio.
Red Sox Fans: GolfChannel.com says:
Stadium info
Venue: City of Palms Park
Capacity: 8,000
Year opened: 1993
Surface: Grass
Address: 2201 Edison Ave., Fort Myers, FL 33901
Distance from home stadium: 1,475 miles
Schedule
www.springtrainingonline.com/features/master-schedule.htm
Ticket info
Prices: Box Seats $26; Reserved Seats $23; Bleachers $15; Lawn $12.
Ticket office: 877-RED-SOX9
How to get there
Airport: Fort Myers (RSW)
Directions: From RSW take I-75 North to Martin Luther King Blvd. West, turn left on Fowler St. then right onto Edison Ave.
Where to stay
Holiday Inn Fort Myers Downtown Historic
2431 Cleveland Ave.
Fort Myers, FL 33901
(239-332-3232)
Courtyard Marriott Fort Myers/Cape Coral
4455 Metro Parkway
Fort Myers, FL 33916
(239-275-8600)
Hilton Garden Inn Fort Myers
12600 University Dr.
Fort Myers, FL 33907
(239-790-3500)
Where to play golf
Fort Myers Country Club
3591 McGregor Blvd.
Fort Myers, FL 33901
239-321-7488
(Greens fees: 7 a.m.-1 p.m., $55; 1-3:30 p.m. $42; 3:30 p.m.-close $32.50)
Eastwood Golf Course
4600 Bruce Herd Lane
Fort Myers, FL 33905
239-321-7487
(Greens fees: 7 a.m.-1 p.m., $65; 1-3:30 p.m. $50; 3:30 p.m.-close $35)
Heritage Palms Golf & Country Club
10420 Washigtonia Palm Way
Fort Myers, FL 33966
239-278-9090
(Greens fees: before noon $41.50; after noon $31.50)