Conservatory golf course at Hammock Beach Resort in Palm Coast, Florida deserves more praise
PALM COAST, Fla. -- The Conservatory Course at Hammock Beach Resort could be golf's greatest one-hit wonder. This Tom Watson design hosted a PGA Tour event just once -- the ill-fated Ginn sur Mer Classic in 2008.
Blame it on the financial collapse of the sponsor that the pros never returned, not the quality of the layout. Hammock Beach Resort's Ocean Course by Jack Nicklaus might get more publicity, as it hugs the beach and the Atlantic. But the Conservatory probably remains the better golf course, at least strategically.
The Watson design could host a PGA Tour event tomorrow if necessary. Everything's in place. This masterpiece stretches to 7,776 yards, making it the longest course in Florida. Even more than length, the Conservatory plays like a 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzle that takes time and thought to solve.
Watson peppered it with more than 140 bunkers, including three sod-faced bunkers as a tribute to his love of links golf. The layout's natural setting and rolling site -- not to mention its par-3 island green at no. 8 -- would look great on HDTV. And even the pros would feel spoiled inside the palatial Mediterranean-themed clubhouse.