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September/October
2001
 Golf
Galore
Anytime
is tee time in Lee County
It’s
been said that Southwest Florida has more golf courses per capita than
anywhere in the world. Tough as that is to verify, it’s made even
more difficult by the phenomenal growth of the area, with two of the nation’s
fastest growing counties. Lee County, for example, has seen 31.5 percent
growth since 1990 according to the 2000 census. People come for the sun,
the water, the beach—and the golf.
For year-round and seasonal residents, there are
dozens of country club communities built around golf courses. Typical
of the most posh and plushest is the Bonita Bay Club. This private community
in Bonita Springs offers members and their guests five 18-hole courses.
Membership is restricted to residents of the prestigious community. The
developers of Bonita Bay now are developing another community in The Brooks,
again with multiple courses, and homes ranging from $500,000 to $5 million.
Those of more modest means or who are operating
on tourist time also have ample opportunities to smack the dimpled orb.
The Lee County area boasts 47 public and semi-private golf courses ranging
from championship par-72 layouts such as Gulf Harbour Yacht & Country
Club to executive courses including Bay Beach Golf Club. Those arriving
by plane see first-hand evidence of this cornucopia of courses. WCI’s
18-hole Gateway Golf & Country Club course, which practically abuts
the airport, can be seen from the airplane window. Designed by the legendary
Tom Fazio and bearing a four-star rating from Golf Digest, it is
as enticing from the air as it is formidable on the ground.
Driving west on Daniels Parkway, people pass one
entrance sign after another inviting them to buy homes in the community
or play there. Courses range from the friendly Cross Creek Country Club,
an executive course open to the public, to the tony Fiddlesticks Country
Club, where château-like homes overlook 36 of the area’s best-tended
greens and fairways. You must be a member or guest to play.
Heading south on Interstate 75, one encounters more
new and future golf course communities. One of the newest, sitting on
the southern boundary of Florida Gulf Coast University, is Grandézza
(formerly known as Grande Oak). This 18-hole course and surrounding community
is being developed by Hardy Development Group, which also has two excellent
private courses just a little south of Lee County. The Grandézza
course was designed by Darwin Sharp III with an eye toward providing a
course that is both challenging for the scratch golfer and fun for the
high-handicapper. Membership is open primarily to residents, but while
the community is in development, nonresidents are welcome.
One of the most attractive and playable courses
in the area is the city-owned and
-operated course in Cape Coral, Coral Oaks Golf Club, which sits among
some of the oldest oaks in the area. These stately trees shelter well-kept
greens of Eagle turf and well-watered fairways for 18 strenuous holes
designed by Arthur Hills. Those who live in Cape Coral receive a discount
on play at Coral Oaks, but the course is open to the public year-round
at very attractive rates. Incidentally, Coral Oaks is one of several courses
that rent clubs through their pro shops, so even if you don’t take
clubs with you, you can play.
Another Cape Coral course of some renown is the
former Cape Coral Golf & Tennis Resort, now known as the Golf Club
of Southwest Florida. It once was the site of many visitors’ first
encounter with the Florida land boom. The developers of Cape Coral flew
people down free, put them up at the resort, and let them play golf and
tennis if the prospects would agree to a high-pressure sales pitch to
buy land in the Cape. The Golf Club of Southwest Florida is undergoing
renovation and will be closed until fall, when it will reopen for public
play.
Another municipal course is operated by the City
of Ft. Myers at the Ft. Myers Country Club, one of the first golf courses
in the area. Jack Johnson, who lives with his wife, Linda, in a condominium
overlooking the 10th tee at Lexington Country Club, reminisces about the
days in Lee County when he was a boy. “I remember when there were
only two courses in the entire county—Ft. Myers Country Club and
the nine-hole course at South Seas Resort on Captiva. They seemed to meet
the need. Nowadays, even with all the new courses and golf communities,
you have to scramble during season to get on the tee before dusk,”
he says with a smile.
The Johnsons play year round at Lexington and
always look forward to the off-season, when a sizable percentage of Lexington
residents return north, making it easier to get a tee time. Lexington
is open to public play on a space-available basis with two-day maximum
advance request.
The course at Ft. Myers Country Club, which was
designed by Donald Ross, has a sister course on the east side of town
called Eastwood. Some regular players say the Eastwood Country Club course,
designed by Robert VonHagge, is one of the most engaging clubs in this
area. It plays longer and wetter than Ft. Myers Country Club. As city-run
facilities, both are open to the public at very reasonable greens fees.
Numerous other semi-private courses are sprinkled north of Ft. Myers such
as the 18-hole Heron’s Glen Country Club and the Burnt Store Marina
& Country Club.
Pine Island has Alden Pines Golf Club. At just
under 5,000 yards from the men’s tees, it’s a short but ruggedly
natural par-71 course that is characterized by its remoteness. Of course,
the more famous island in the county also offers golf, but on a limited
scale. Sanibel has two public-private courses and one extremely private
golf enclave. The latter, The Sanctuary, can be played only at the specific
invitation of a member. If you know Sanctuary residents, work on them
for that invitation. It is a beautiful, natural island course with great
views throughout.
Of the two courses available to the public on Sanibel, The Dunes is the
older, more challenging one. This is a course defined by water, with half
the total acreage devoted to lakes. The narrow, serpentine No. 10 fairway
must be reached over water. Seeing it from the elevated 10th tee in front
of the clubhouse is a harbinger of the golf that awaits you throughout
the 18-hole, par-70 course. This is a course filled with island ambiance,
ample wildlife, and is a delight to play—notwithstanding the requisite
investment in extra balls to complete 18 holes. The other public course
on Sanibel is at Beachview Country Club. It was a nine-hole course until
1990, when nine more holes were added. Despite its name, it does not have
a view of the beach, although there’s plenty of water from the Sanibel
River and sufficient sand traps to make you wonder. Because it is a little
less known, it may be easier to get onto in season. Off-season, you should
have no trouble getting tee times at either course.
Ft. Myers Beach on Estero Island also has an 18-hole
course, Bay Beach Golf Club, at its southern end. It is a par-61 executive
course and a well-kept secret.
A new course is going in at Shell Point Village, a self-contained retirement
community just east of the Sanibel Causeway on Summerlin Road. Currently,
it is a 9-hole course and will expand to 18 by the 2002 season. Mike Mongovon,
director of golf, says it always will be open to the public. This could
be part of a marketing promotion to introduce the community to retirees
who could be prospective new residents. But that’s as good an excuse
to play as any.
Excellent golf opportunities can be found out east, as well, such as the
aforementioned Gateway course. This is an excellently maintained course
used primarily by the residents of Gateway who are members. During the
summer months, it also opens up to non-member play. With the investment
WCI has in the community, you can be sure the course will be well kept.
Also in the eastern part of the county, Westminster Golf Club provides
an enjoyable golfing experience. This 18-hole course was built from the
ground up on land that was open but wooded. The result is a course that
makes few compromises with the terrain and has straightforward play. In
Lehigh Acres, the Admiral Lehigh Resort offers visitors two 18-hole championship
courses. One of them has the longest hole in the county—the only
par-6 in Florida.
The Bonita Springs area also boasts the Bonita
Springs Golf & Country Club, Hunters Ridge, Spanish Wells, and the
executive-length Bonita Fairways and Country Creek Club. Richard and Loretta
Pinkett, Ohio residents who spend winters in Bonita Springs, rave about
the golf options they have. “It is great to be putting on a lovely
green carpet here while our friends up north are sitting in front of the
fireplace cleaning clubs and knitting head covers,” jokes Dick. “I
am relatively new to the game,” Loretta adds, “so I appreciate
the opportunity to play with so many courses around. There seems to be
something for everyone, regardless of skill level.”
This is only a sampler of the great golf that awaits residents and visitors
in Southwest Florida. With some four dozen public and semi-private courses
and more coming, there are plenty of places to get your fill of golf under
the Lee County sun. If you’re still eager to play after the sun goes
down, Summerlin Ridge Golf Course, just off Summerlin Road at Pine Ridge
Road, offers executive golf under the lights. With four par-4s and 14
par-3s, it’s a chance to brush up your short game while the competition
sleeps.
Some people say the area’s main attractions
are the gulf waters and sands. Golfers say you can find all that on one
of the splendid, emerald-colored courses they call “the real golf.”
Where
to go
The Lee Island Coast Visitor & Convention Bureau lists the following
public and semi-private golf courses:
Championship
Courses
Admiral Lehigh Golf Course Resort, 941/369-3121
Admiral Lehigh Mirror Lakes Golf Club, 941/369-1322
Alden Pines Country Club, 941/283-2179
Beachview Golf Course, 941/472-2626
Bonita Springs Golf & Country Club, 941/992-2800
Burnt Store Marina & Country Club, 941/637-1577
Golf Club of Southwest Florida, 941/542-3191
The Colony, 941/498-5528
Coral Oaks Golf Course, 941/573-3100
The Dunes, 941/472-2535
Eagle Ridge Country Club, 941/768-1888
Eastwood Country Club, 941/275-4848
Ft. Myers Country Club, 941/936-2457
Gateway Country Club, 941/561-1010
Golfview Golf & Racquet Club, 941/489-2264
Gulf Harbour Yacht & Country Club, 941/433-4211
Heritage Palms Golf & Country Club, 941/278-9090
Herons Glen Country Club, 941/731-4520
Highland Woods, 941/498-0553
Hunters Ridge Country Club, 941/947-6467
Lake Fairways Country Club, 941/731-5220
Legends Golf & Country Club, 941/561-7757
Lexington Country Club, 941/437-1442
Lochmoor Country Club, 941/995-0501
Olde Hickory Golf & Country Club, 941/768-3335
Pelican’s Nest Country Club, 941/947-4600
Pelican Sound Golf & River Club, 941/498-9979
Royal Tee Country Club, 941/283-5522
San Carlos Golf Club, 941/267-3131
Shell Point Golf Club, 941/433-9790
South Seas Plantation Golf Course, 941/472-5111
Spring Run Golf Club, 941949-0707
Stoneybrook Golf Club, 941/948-3933
Westminster Country Club, 941/368-1110
Executive
Courses
Bay Beach Golf Club, 941/463-2064
Bonita Fairways, 941/947-9100
Cape Coral Executive Golf Club, 941/574-4454
Country Creek Country Club, 941/947-3840
Del Tura Country Club, 941/731-7814
El Rio Golf Club, 941/995-2204
Hideaway Country Club, 941/275-5581
The Landings Yacht, Golf & Tennis Club, 941/482-0242
Pine Lakes Country Club, 941/731-5822
Riverbend Golf Course, 941/543-2200
Sabal Springs Golf Club, 941/731-0101
Summerlin Ridge Golf Club, 941/432-0000
William
Ernest Waites is a freelance writer from Ft. Myers.
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