GOLF
CLUBS The Grand Cypress
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The first shot on the 153-yard, par-3 fifth hole is a testy one from an elevated tee to an island green, like that of the famous 17th hole at the TPC of Sawgrass, also in Florida. Youre either on the green putting for birdie, in one of the two bunkers or in the drink.
The closing hole, a 511-yard par-5, requires the toughest tee shot at the resort a carry over water and a bunker along the left side of the fairway. On the approach shot, most players will lay up short of the rough, which runs through the fairway at the 100-yard mark, as the land bottlenecks between water on the left and the trees to the right.
As expected, golfers marvel at how strategic Nicklaus designs really are. The courses are in immaculate condition, said Nick Packer, who recently visited from England. Each hole, each shot is a challenge. Its beautiful.
THE NEW COURSE: The New Course, which opened in January 1988, is a refreshing change from the tough, target-style golf of the other resort course. The New Course, which is a tribute to St. Andrews in Scotland, is so unique, Golf Magazine rated it the 73rd best public course in the country in its 2000 rankings.
Set in an open meadow, there is little water (except for burns fronting greens No. 1 and 10), no rough and virtually no trees. Wheres the challenge in that, you ask? Tricky greens, tightly trimmed fairways and more than 100 pot bunkers can sending scores soaring. The course has everything St. Andrews does, with pot bunkers as much as 12 feet deep, double greens, burns with stone bridges and even a road hole, with a giant stone wall running along the waters edge.
Many of the pot bunkers are hidden from view off the tee, but if you follow the advice of the computerized yardage systems in the carts, youll be OK.
Rowden says the New Course plays several shots easier than the North-South
course, but the challenge is still great fun. A lot of the time
you have to contend with the wind, he said. The most important
club in your bag is the putter. There are a lot of places off the green
that you can put from. Rowden added there are no plans to build
another course in the near future, but that there is plenty of room
among the resorts 1,500 acres of land to do so.
GRAND CYPRESS ACADEMY OF GOLF: The Grand Cypress Academy of Golf is ranked as one of Americas top 25 Golf Schools by Golf Magazine for good reason. Two instructors, former touring pro Phil Rodgers and director Fred Griffin, are ranked among the top 100 teachers in the country by Golf Magazine. Rodgers had a successful career on the PGA Tour, winning six times, and the Senior Tour. LPGA hall-of-famer Kathy Whitworth, who won 88 times in her career in the late 1960s and 1970s, adds more firepower to the knowledgeable staff.
The staff uses CompuSport to analyze each students swing. This computer then matches any swing with that of a PGA player, like Mark OMeara or Nicklaus. Showing every movement in slow motion, the computer tells each player how to improve his or her club position along the swing plane.
The 21-acre practice facility also features a par-3, par-4 and par-5 hole to practice any new-found techniques, along with a covered driving range, a 7,500-square foot putting green and nine practice bunkers.
The Grand Cypress Resort Golf Club
One North Jacaranda
Orlando, Fla., 32836
Phone: 800-835-7377

GOLF
CLUBS
THE ORIGINAL COURSE: The tournament course is the North-South design,
which opened on Feb. 1, 1984. It has hosted the LPGA HealthSouth Inaugural
(1998-99), the LPGA Tournament of Champions (1994-96), the Shark Shootout,
the World Cup of Golf, the Skills Challenge and the new LPGA.com Classic
in January, 2001.


