Golf and Gridiron at SouthWood G
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iehard golfers from coast-to-coast grin ear-to-ear at the thought of packing the clubs and heading off to the next great golf destination. Scotland for five days; Scottsdale for six … a golfer can dream, can’t he? But with all sorts of demands on our time, sometimes a two or three-day weekend getaway is just what the golf doctor, boss, and a nongolfing spouse ordered. Enter SouthWood Golf Club in Tallahassee. Not the first name to roll off the tongue of the avid golfer, Florida’s Capital City is known more for its college football and oak tree-canopied roads than its golf course inventory. But therein lies the rub. Why fight for fairways when you can settle into an award-winning Gene Bates/Fred Couples-designed course at your own pace? Since opening in 2003, SouthWood has emerged as one of the best overall tests of golf in North Florida and the word is finally getting out. It is without question a “championship caliber” layout, to fall back on cliché. To wit, it is home to the Florida State University men’s and women’s golf teams, the prestigious Tallahassee Amateur, and a fist full of other regional professional and amateur events of note. And as of earlier this year, SouthWood’s not just for locals to enjoy anymore. Five Georgia cracker box-style cottages near the course accommodate up to eight golfers overnight. Guests enjoy front porches with rockers, gas fireplaces and mini-kitchens. Diehard duffers from as far away as Atlanta, Birmingham and Orlando are flocking to SouthWood
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to take in a football game and 18-36 holes of golf. Starting at $200 per night, golf packages are available that include a daily round of golf, range balls, cottage accommodations and breakfast at the clubhouse. With the cottages located less than a mile from the course, and three meals served daily in the clubhouse, golfers can enjoy a totally self-contained golfing experience. The setting provides great place to rock away the day’s round on the front porch while enjoying a cold beverage and lighthearted conversation or card game. As for the course itself … it has the chops to justify the journey. From the back “Black” tees, it plays to a sporty 7,172 yards. Mid- to high-handicappers can tee it up from eminently playable Gold (6,628) or Garnett (6,022) tees. Hey, what colors would you expect? Bates and Couples routed SouthWood through wide corridors and created generous landing areas with a number of strategic pin positions for approach shots. The greens possess more break than they let on (especially near the cup), and typically roll between nine to 11 on the stimpmeter, depending upon the time of year and weather conditions. The back nine at SouthWood is the course’s bread and butter, as it features more elevation change and Bates and Couples created what are easily some of the most challenging holes on the golf course, in a four-hole loop from the 12th through 15th. For award-watchers, SouthWood Golf Club has garnered more than its fair share of national and regional accolades the past four years. It was an honorable mention for GOLF Magazine’s vaunted “Top 10 You Can Play” list in 2003, a Golf Digest “Best New” course in 2004 and one of the “Top 10 Courses of the New Millennium” according to T+L
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