Tampa Area Golf & Resort Is Fantastic Florida Get-A-Way Destination!

By Al Ryding, Contributing Writer

Iyou’ve been dreaming about that long overdue golf trip destination lately, then be sure to consider Florida’s Innisbrook Resort. It may be the answer for you, your family, your customers and or co-workers or with your favorite golf buddies.

Located in Palm Harbor, Innisbrook is situated on 900 acres of rolling terrain about 25 minutes from the Tampa International Airport. This historic resort features 72 holes of championship golf, over 600 guest rooms and suites, 4 restaurants, along with multiple swimming pools, conference halls & meeting rooms, biking and walking trails, tennis courts, fitness center, nature preserve and much more.

Innisbrook has been around since 1970 and if you heard that this is an oldfashioned golf resort, then you’re in for very pleasant surprise. While still synonymous with golf, Innisbrook offers so much more to those seeking a full vacation and R&R who wish to relax and be pampered with the many other activities and venues the resort has to offer such as the Salamander Spa, Loch Ness Monster Pool and award winning Packard’s Steakhouse.

I had the opportunity to experience Innisbrook here in late January and caught up with Ramona Herald, the Director of Public Relations and Membership. “We are renovating Packard Steakhouse, Turnberry Pub, as well as upgrades to lodging and refurbishing of the property with changes to the North Course,” Ramona said.

Innisbrook’s 4 golf courses were designed by the renowned golf architect Larry Packard, who built and designed hundreds of courses across the U.S. in his legendary career. Of the estimated 600 layouts he worked on, the famed Copperhead course, home to the PGA’s Valspar Championship, is known as his crowning achievement. Packard’s design style included fast greens with gentle slopes, lots of elevated bunkers that were primarily positioned into mounds to catch errant drives or mishit approach shots. He also liked to feature the doubledogleg par 5, shaped like the letter S, which you see on Copperhead’s par 5 14th hole.

Aside from the signature Copperhead course – par 71, over 7,300 from the back tees - , the other championship designs include the Island Course – par 72, over

7,100 yards from the ; the South Course – par 71, over 6,600 yards and the North Course, the shortest – par 70 at almost 6,100 yards.

All four courses feature expansive and gorgeous views, significant elevation changes – up to 80 feet in some spots, strategic and deep bunkering and lightning fast greens. Many holes have treelined fairways and others have that links-style look, even on the same 18-hole layout. I was surprised and somewhat pleased that there wasn’t an over-abundance of water that one may typically see on many Florida courses. I sense you’ll experience more of a Midwestern or Carolina Sandhills-type feel when you tee it up at Innisbrook.

Innisbrook Resort is really a golfer’s paradise that caters to the vacation desires of the family, individual or group looking to get away to enjoy the first-class amenities of one of the country’s top resorts. TSG