Golf - Resort Public Course · 18 Holes · Par 71
Palm Harbor, FL
Website
Review and Rating of Innisbrook's South Golf Course
Innisbrook Resort is home to some great golf stay and play accommodations, excellent dining options, and lots of fun amenities (like tennis courts, pools, racquetball, a Spa, fitness center, and more), but best of all it has four outstanding golf courses. And it's not surprising that the Resort and Courses have received a number of awards and accolades including Golf Magazine’s “Top 100 You Can Play” and Golf Digest’s “Top 75 Golf Resorts in America.”
Each of the four courses is very different from the others and each has it’s own unique personality and characteristics, for example:
The South Course at Innisbrook, after the first three tree lined fairways, has a links look and feel to it with more open grip it and rip it fairways, rolling terrain, and plenty of sweeping fairway bunkers. The South Course is regarded as the easiest of the four Innisbrook Golf Courses and it's short at 6620 yards from the tips, but it's no walk in the park. You'll be up against 48 bunkers, Gulf Coast breezes that can play havoc with your shorts, 10 water hazards, elevation changes, tight fairways, some tempting risk reward opportunities, and challenging green complexes.
The front seems pretty easy if you can stay in the fairway, avoid the bunkers, manage the wind, and stuff it on the small greens. The South Course front nine is fair but demanding and there are some great holes like:
The back nine is longer by by 400 yards and has a good mixture of fun and demanding holes. You'll encounter collection areas, lots of wind, mounding, swales, elevation changes, dog legs, water hazards, and plenty of bunkers. I found a large majority of the bunkers, took a lot of sand home with me, and got a lot of raking practice.
When we played in early March, the fairways were in very good condition as were the roughs. They are ample, but if you miss you're in the trees, water, sand, or in the back yard of huge beautiful home.
The South Course greens are all shapes and sizes and are well guarded. They were in great condition, running true and smooth, and at a good speed of around 10 or so.
The bunkers were in excellent condition and filled with soft fluffy sand that was a pleasure to hit out of.
You’ll want to play the South Course a couple times and you should also play the other three courses, so why not stay a few days in one of the excellent lodging options at Innisbrook Resort. They have a great stay and play package, excellent restaurants, 6 pools, 3 bars, a spa, and lots of other recreational activities. Read our review of Innisbrook Golf Resort & Spa
Tee Box | Yardage | Rating | Slope |
---|---|---|---|
Blue | 6,340 | 70.9 | 128 |
White | 5,900 | 68.9 | 126 |
Gold | 6,620 | 72.3 | 130 |
Red | 4,975 | 68.9 | 128 |
Approximate Weekend
Rates: $100.00 to $220.00
Service is excellent, the pro shop has everything you can think of every needing to look good and play well, and the practice facilities are great. The bar and restaurant are excellent - the patio overlooks the putting green and 9th hole and is perfect for lunch or drinks after a fun round.
Here's How Texas Outside Determines the Scorecard RatingThe Texas Outside rating scale ranges from 1 to 10 – a perfect 10 course would be something like this: links along a cliff overlooking the Pacific ocean and bordered by tall trees; lush fairways on rolling hills with lots of natural hazards; water (which is crystal clear) on most of the holes; immaculate greens (but they are undulating and tough); lots of variety and character (each hole is completely different and includes blind shots, elevation changes, doglegs, and significant challenges); perfectly manicured traps with the whitest and prettiest sand you’ve ever seen; a nice club house with great food and a 19th hole; a GPS; plenty of beverage carts or your own cooler and ice; and it only costs $40 bucks! What this means is that you probably won’t find any 10s in Texas – try Cabo San Lucas, Pebble Beach, or some of the Hawaii courses!
All of the above determines the overall score for the golf course. In other words, we like courses that are pretty, fun, very challenging with a lot of variety, and fairways and greens in excellent condition – all for $40. We also tend to play the courses that are affordable for the masses, which means in the $30 to $80 range. We rate hard and we haven’t found a 10 in Texas yet – don’t worry we haven’t given up and we’re still looking.
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