COURSE REVIEW

Golf Club of Quincy is an underrated Florida gem for a very pleasing price

By Tim McDonald,
National Golf Editor

QUINCY, Fla. - The Golf Club of Quincy is one of the best deals in north Florida/south Georgia, even if you don't consider its $25 green fees.

Photo gallery: The Golf Club of Quincy Tallahassee golf courses Destination Florida at WorldGolf.com Tallahassee boasts working-class golf

Quincy is only a few miles outside of Tallahassee, in a part of Florida that has some rare hills, and the Golf Club of Quincy, the only game in the little town, matches up against any of those of its larger neighbors to the east.

For one thing, the golf course makes full use of the terrain with which it was blessed. Nearly every hole has some degree of elevation change, some of them so dramatic you might think you were playing in north Georgia or even the Carolinas. It's a little startling, and very pleasing, to find elevation like this in Florida.

Most of the tee boxes are elevated, showing off some nice views of the surrounding countryside, and you're frequently teeing off sharply downhill, or uphill, sometimes over valleys up to elevated fairways, sometimes uphill to blind landing areas.

The course, opened in 1968, was designed by Joe Lee, a prolific and underrated architect with notable designs like Diamondback in Haines City, the Hampton Club on St. Simons Island, Hawk's Landing in Orlando and some respected golf courses on Marco Island and at the Disney World complex.

There are virtually no homes on the course, giving the experience a pastoral feel with a variety of wildlife. The Georgia red clay bunkers are a nice touch and add some color.

The greens are excellent, rolling very true and rather fast. They are smallish and with excellent slope and undulation; putts can easily slide by 10-12 feet if you aren't careful.

Golf Club of Quincy: The verdict

The Golf Club of Quincy would be twice as expensive in some other parts of Florida, and even three and four times more in other, more upscale areas. It's that good.

The conditioning is very good throughout - not high-style resort type conditioning, but for $25, it's all you would expect and more.

It has imaginative routing from Lee's design and an array of interesting holes, doglegs, risk/reward options and blind landing areas. There are some short carries off the tee, and some water, but not enough to be overwhelming, as many courses in Florida are. There is one brutal, 231-yard par 3 over water, however.

The course is defined by its elevation, like No. 3, where you tee off to a fairway that drops dramatically back toward the tee box, and No. 5, where you tee off downhill and hit back uphill on your approach. Actually, there are quite a few holes that follow that design.

No. 9 is a tricky one. It's a 522-yard par 5 with an approach shot over water, which you can't see, into the green. There's a spreading oak tree guarding the right side of the approach.

You tee off downhill again on No. 10, a dogleg right with a sharply tilting, left to right fairway that will funnel balls hit to that side to a scum-topped pond. Your approach is into a smallish green also tilted left to right.

The Golf Club of Quincy has four sets of tees, playing 7,045 yards from the back tees, which can be quite demanding if you want it to be.

Quincy lodging

Quincy has long been known to Floridians as the "Coke" town; many of the townsfolk got rich because of their early financing of Coca-Cola.

The Golf Club of Quincy 2291 Solomon Dairy Rd. Quincy, FL 32351 Tee times: (850) 627-8386

It is also known as having some of the best and most interesting antique shops in Florida; people from all over the region come to Quincy for antiquing.

The city likes to show off its history, with a 36-block, downtown historic district, and several locations are registered on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Quincy Library.

There are some very nice bed and breakfasts, like the Allison House Inn, an English-style B&B, and the McFarlin House, a restored Queen Ann Victorian house with a southern, wrap-around porch.

April 1, 2008

Any opinions expressed above are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of the management. The information in this story was accurate at the time of publication. All contact information, directions and prices should be confirmed directly with the golf course or resort before making reservations and/or travel plans.