Amelia River Golf Club is the only course at Amelia Island Plantation not set against the Atlantic Ocean or with the sprawling marshland as its picturesque backdrop. But the course winds through a pristine, lowland forest of oak and pine trees. You'll find Amelia River is a course comfortable with its identity.
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Oak Marsh Golf Course at Amelia Island Plantation is arguably the toughest test among the northeast Florida resort's four courses. The dominance of the marsh, not Pete Dye's architecture style, blends the layout into the landscape. Tee boxes are close to greens, a characteristic seemingly lost in the modern design era.
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A collaboration between Pete Dye and Bobby Weed, the Ocean Links course at Amelia Island Plantation in Florida measures only 6,108 yards from the tips. But this destination resort gem is no pushover.
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Like many places in Florida, the mission at University Park Country Club in the early 1990s was to create an upscale golf course that would quickly take its place among the glitterati of local layouts. The folks there quickly accomplished that and more, crafting a golf course that they called "close to perfect."
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St. Johns Golf and Country Club is a sprawling, near-pristine course in a ritzy neighborhood in upscale St. Johns County, Fla. with a clubhouse like a mini-Taj Mahal. What's surprising is that the green fees at this Clyde Johnston-designed gem are so reasonable amidst such opulence.
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The layout of the Belleview Biltmore Golf Club was renovated in 2001 at a cost of roughly $2 million and 12 months. The result is a joy to play, Tim McDonald writes. You understand you're playing a Donald Ross course, just updated for the modern era.
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The Renaissance Vinoy Resort & Golf Club has had a long, interesting history, including hell-raising by Babe Ruth and Marilyn Monroe, as well as intermittent ghost sightings. The course is just 6,581 yards from the back tees. But it's challenging for the modern golfer thanks to nine lakes, as well as bunkers only slightly smaller than Tampa Bay itself.
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Highlands South is generally acknowledged as the easiest track at the Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club in Palm Harbor, Fla. But this links-like course is no pushover. Its openness brings into play a hazard that the resort's other three courses pretty much avoid: wind. Breezes off the Gulf of Mexico can come sweeping across the wide-open fairways, and usually do.
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The Bobby Jones Golf Complex in Sarasota has cemented its place among the top historic municipal courses in Florida. It also is one of the great budget golf values on this coast of the Sunshine State, Tom Spousta writes.
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The Chi Chi Rodriguez Golf Club and Youth Foundation, a scenic little course that uses green fees to help at-risk youth, is used by students, but it is also open to the public. But don't tee off thinking you're playing a kids' course, or you'll be in for a surprise. It is short - a par 69 - but it has a number of holes that can eat you up.
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