Sarasota National - Venice, Florida

Like chiclets in the checkout lane, this round of golf is powered by impulse. We're visiting Shawn's dad in Bradenton, and the weather is pretty crappy for the second day in a row. We played nine through the rain yesterday, but there's no point to do that when there's sunshine and golf 30 minutes south. A tee time is found, for an hour from now, and it's a 35 min drive. Perfect. To Venice we go.

Since this decision was made post-haste on a Starbucks patio, we are less than prepared for the round. For two type-A, overly analytical people, this is a rare occasion. We typically plan, revisit the plan, further calculate the plan, and then execute the plan. As a result of going on a whim, our golf clubs that we thought were in the trunk are, in fact, in my father-in-law's garage drying out from our previous

Interesting driving range.  Water in the middle.
How in the world do they get all those balls out of the water?

round. No big deal, we can make that be on the way. My rainy day golf shoes are back at the hotel. I'll just go with the super open weave ones. Can't be that wet on the course. Well heck, now traffic is moving slower than it should, so our extra stop and traffic are going to land us late for our tee time. At least we got all our bad vibes out of the way. The skies are blue ahead. Literally.

View from #2 Tee

Calling to apologize for what will be a late arrival, the guys at Sarasota National are very flexible. We land and have about 20 minutes to warm up before our new tee time. By the time we walk through the clubhouse it's lightly drizzling. A few swings in on the range, and it's now raining. We keep warming up despite the others going inside. After all, it's 30° and snowing at home, so what's a little rain? Then, the weather becomes a hurricane. The wind is slapping rain pellets against us. We are instantly soaked to the bone. "Seriously?" I ask myself. I grab the camera, and we run back in the clubhouse.
We end up starting about fifteen minutes later in light rain. Most of the cart path is shell gravel, and it's just flooded. A kayak might have been more appropriate for this round of golf. Cue the wind and heavy rain. It's back. Shawn looks at me. "You look miserable. Are you sure you want to do this?" I'm determined. We're in too deep at this point. I don't back down easily. It's not one of my better traits.

The sun decided to start showing its face on the third hole. It certainly wasn't the end of the rain, but the worst part was over. Funny thing: we couldn't be anymore wet than we were. I hung my glove and socks to dry on my bag. The good news about the 40 mph wind is it would help dry us out a little faster. What a day to play a links-style course.

Sand cranes.  Look real hard: baby sand crane beneath the right crane.

Despite the crazy weather start, I had some of the best shots I've had all week in the beginning of the round. Shawn's score for the front nine was also much better than the back. I think the distraction of weather helped us to play a better game. This silly game is all mental.

Later gator. 

This course is pretty new, and the neighborhood surrounding it is just starting to take form. I don't even think we saw more than a dozen homes. Additionally, the course runs through an Audubon International Certified Signature Sanctuary for birds. We saw a couple gators, cranes galore, and other critters of the wetlands unknown to me. While the course was nice, especially the back nine, the wildlife was one of the best parts of the experience. We share the same favorite hole on this course, number 7. A great expanse of water runs down the whole left side of the fairway that curls along it. The green, surrounded with low bunkers, is a peninsula jetting out over the water.

This was a very nice, playable course. There were some really beautifully carved holes, and the animal friends were pretty good company. I wouldn't recommend walking this course, as some holes have a great distance between them due to the preserve land. All in all, this was a nice mix of distances, target golf, and traditional golf elements. The diversity in structure helped keep the round interesting and set each hole apart from the next. While we didn't experience it due to the soggy conditions, the starter claimed the greens were 12 on the stimpmeter. We would like to come back in five to ten years, once it and the neighborhood are more established.

Sarasota National Official SiteMore sunny skies and creatures of the south

Sea Island GC, Seaside Course - Sea Island, Georgia

The Lodge

Sea Island.  The air is thick with southern tradition at this private club.  The families here are pulled from the pages of the Brooks Brothers catalog, and no detail has been overlooked at this club.  It's meticulously maintained y'all.  Fresh off yesterday's round at the modern layout of Tobacco Road, Sea Island was sure to be a change of pace.

Sunrise at the range.

We love an early tee time, and today was no exception.  The sun was just coming up over the water as we drove out to the driving range overlooking St. Simon's Sound and the Atlantic.  Shawn was pretty excited about playing his first seaside course.  We were the only people on the range, aside from the gentleman carefully filling the divots from the prior day.  I wouldn't have planned it any other way.  Peace and quiet, chirping birds, and the sunrise.
This reeks of vacation.

Putting green at The Lodge. 

The putting green alongside the clubhouse, The Lodge, was no exception.  We quickly realized the greens were going to be exceptionally fast and difficult to read, despite the dew that still covered them.  We decided to forgo the forecaddie (play on words there), even though one is included.  Using a caddie presumes I actually have control over what I'm doing on the course, and that would be foolish.  I'm here for the scenery, fresh air, and quality time with Shawn.

The first hole was a clear sign of what was to come for the seventeen following it.  The course, renovated in 1999 by Tom Fazio, offered a very traditional layout, with perfect edges on everything from the fairways, to the bunkers, and cups.  To be clear, the cups were cut so precisely that your putt had to be clearly intended for the center of the hole in order to fall in.  I can only speak for myself, but I had more three (and perhaps four or five, at times) putts than I'd like to admit.

Playing at Seaside is like eating at a white tablecloth restaurant where they use the table scraper tool to clean off your breadcrumbs and sugar granules mid-meal.  (Where do they get that fancy contraption from anyhow?  I'm sure Bed, Bath and Beyond probably has it.)  There were maintenance personnel everywhere, and I don't even think it was due to the fact we played in the morning.  I think this course is just in a perpetual state of cleanliness. We had a gentleman blowing off the tee box before and after us on one hole.  Filling each divot after doing so.  The sand in the bunkers didn't even stand a chance to look unkempt, since the caddies were quick to rake them back just as they were found.  Shawn described them as "pillowy."  I know we didn't do as nice of a job on our own, but I'm confident the caddy behind us took care of that.  Pristine with a capital "P."  Did I mention they have cute little wicker lanterns instead of flags on the greens?  I'm sure there's some meaning to it, or maybe it's just to counteract mold.  Whatever it is, the little red lanterns are too cute.  Yes, golf can be cute.

Perfect.  Pretty sure they even called in the blue skies and wispy clouds. 

Playing along the water was a pretty neat experience.  The breeze, salt marshes, and sailboats passing by all made for some pretty great scenery.  With that said, you have to stay focused and send your shot where you intend it to go.  There are no secrets as to where each fairway will lead you--dogleg or not.  Yet a poor lie will land you in a bunker, water, or rolling some place that turns your brow upside down.  I was getting pretty lethargic around hole 14 (gotta keep this girl fed or else I'm on the fast track to Crab City real fast), so I started to take in outside distractions to keep me entertained.  The many types of birds and flying fish were pleasant for the short term.  I knew flying fish existed.  Well, actually, I didn't know they existed, but I'd heard of flying fish.  Thought it might be just a fictional creature, or some type of hybrid fish-bird.  They are the real deal, and they are pretty fun to watch.  I tried to snag a picture, but the little buggers are pretty quick and grew camera shy once I was ready to capture them.  Our dog pulls the same trick.  I apparently have to work on not being so obvious.

Shawn's tee shot on #2.

The rest of holes were as beautiful as those at the beginning.  Overall, we were just so impressed with how well-kept we found this course to be.  Shawn's favorite was the second hole, where his tee shot had to clear nearly 200 yards of marsh, only to land right in the fairway, all while avoiding the water running along the right side.

Hole #2

I would say I liked just about every hole.  I don't know that I'd have a favorite.  Each had a little different personality, but somehow they all ran in the same family.  I enjoyed playing along the shore line, but I really enjoyed the landscape and layout of some of those more inland.  Really neat course.

All in all, I don't know that we'd come back for a second round– especially for the cost.  I'm happy we played here, but the east coast of Georgia isn't something we're eagerly running back to, nor are we enamored with the traditional layout.  If you do come and spend some time here, you might want to check out Sea Island's Learning Center.  This impressive facility schools some of the PGA's finest, including Davis Love III, Brandt Snedaker, Lucas Glover, and Zach Johnson.

The Learning Center

Sea Island: Seaside Course

Photos: See more Seaside

Scorecard

Tobacco Road GC - Sanford, North Carolina

First impression:  This is a fun house.  Cue the wavy mirrors and spinning tunnel.  From the moment you pull in, you can't help notice there are as many bunkers as fairway greenspace.  The flat landscape on the roads leading to the club are far different from the rolling landscape we've now entered.  The atmosphere of the course is something you feel as if you've stumbled upon.  Pines tower all around like soldiers in a row.  The road narrows, and we start to wonder if we're in the right place.  The clubhouse is unassuming.  A plantation-type house with a front porch spanning the front.  You would think it's someone's house.  Plows and cultivators line the tee boxes.   I guess this is all a pretty big first impression.  Overall, our excitement was growing by the moment.  

The clubhouse

The finer details.  I played from the cultivator tees.

Just outside the golf mecca of Pinehurst, Tobacco Road has been on Shawn's unofficial list of "must play" tracks even prior to our decision to play a course from every state.  It's more than we imagined.  Warming up, the driving range served it's purpose, but wasn't anything remarkable, and it's irons only.  On the other hand, the putting green proved a challenging start to the many other challenges that would come throughout the day.  There were putts I sent five different ways, and somehow none of them had the proper line.  The edges of the holes on this double-tier green were pretty tight as well.  

First hole.  Note the cart path winding up the "mountain" at right. 

Looking back at the first tee from the fairway.

The putting green sits alongside the first tees, and pictures don't begin to do justice to the elevation changes and awe of the land on the first hole.  The cart path runs up a plateau that's to the right of the narrow valley that is the first fairway.  I would compare it to the layout of a miniature golf course.  The only aspect missing was one of those windmills you have to hit through.  I suppose that makes Tobacco Road a big, miniature golf course.  So that's just a golf course then, I guess, but that's no way to describe what we're getting into here. 

Ten

You'd think it's a mirage in this desert-like oasis.
The only water on the course is on 14.  

Interesting to note, you can pick up your ball in the sand, ground your club, and take as many practice swings as you want.  Given most of the course is sand, there are no rakes.  You just smooth over the sand with your hand when you leave.  There are also a number of holes with bells to ring once you've left the fairway.  Therefore, it always sounds like it's dinner time, as you hear the bell chime from around the course, and, more importantly, it eludes to the fact there are a number of blind tee and fairway shots.  We had the luxury of having a great cushion between the groups in front of us and behind us.  Thus, we could take our time, and not worry about hitting into anyone (or being hit into).

Thirteen's hillside separating the fairway from
the green (to right in this picture).

Notable holes: It's hard to pick favorites because it was all so picturesque and sculpted.  Shawn's favorite hole was the thirteenth.  This zig-zag, or double-dog leg, par 5 makes the GPS a must.(Sidenote: TRGC has their own app.  Turn your phone into landscape mode, and you get a flyover of each hole.  After two holes, you realize why they really had to provide their own app.)  Shawn landed his shot right in the fairway, only to follow that with a blind seven shot.  His shot was a little thin, but that was clearly the work of the golf Gods, as it was thin to win.  His next shot was over a plateau covered in "monkey grass" (words of the starter, not my own...I liken monkey grass to McDonald's fry guys) that creates a mountain range between the fairway and the green.  Chipping out of the monkey grass, Shawn landed within 15 feet of the hole.  It was meant to be because he sank his par putt.  Maybe it wasn't all luck.  Maybe he's just that good.  I'll let him have that one.  

Sixteen.  One of my favorites.  Straight into the valley, and then dogleg left up a hill to the green.  Note the monkey grass EVERYWHERE.  It's like a dog shed really badly all over everything. 

11: from the green looking back at the
fairway over the expansive bunker. 

Caution: Bunkers are deeper than they appear.
Here's Shawn playing around in the sandbox on 11.

Eleven was pretty remarkable as well.  It's really just the bunker that had us in awe. You hit over a wetlands wash into the left-hand fairway bordered on the right by a bunker that's easily thirty feet deep and 130 yards long.  We both made our way safely into the fairway only for me to land in the aforementioned bunker on the next shot.  For the record, I was thisclose to clearing it.  Caught the lip and bounced down.  The difference one foot would have made...  Shawn cleared the bunker, but decided to take the stairway to heaven (or maybe hell...you are stepping down into red sand, after all) to try chipping out just for shits and giggles.  He was unsuccessful.  Doesn't hurt to try though.  My favorite would be fifteen or sixteen.  I did play my best golf on those two holes, so that surely doesn't hurt.  Both had Sedona-like red sand bunkers and amazing elevation changes. 

View from the seventeeth tee

Stairway to 17th tees

18: Hit over the road and sea of red sand to the elevated fairway that quickly doglegs left.

Off-road adventures

At the end of the day, we thoroughly enjoyed our time on Tobacco Road.  The course was challenging, beautiful, and fun.  We also thoroughly enjoyed being able to drive through the bunkers.  It was the perfect marriage of four-wheeling coupled with golf.  Cruising up hills and back down the bumps of others felt, at times, like a rollercoaster ride.  This is officially our new favorite course, and I have a feeling we'll be back to this area sooner than later to hit this track again and possibly try out some of the other Pinehurst offerings.  

http://www.tobaccoroadgolf.com

More of our Tobacco Road experience

Tobacco Road Golf Club (Sanford, NC)