Palm Harbor Golf Club:
Head Back in Time with this Layout
By Derek
Duncan, Staff Writer
PALM COAST, FL - Of the four golf
courses in the Palm Coast Resort rotation, Palm Harbor is the oldest
and should be played for recreation with the least expectation. Its
greatest claim to fame is being the home course for a young Nancy Lopez,
but overall it is an average design typical of the style of the 1970's.
Compared to Cypress Knoll, Matanzas
Woods, and Pine Lakes, this course seems unremarkable, but it is well
kept, close to the hotel, and does offer bits of interest in its own
small way.
Palm Harbor was built in 1973,
designed by William Amick. Amick is a familiar name in the state of
Florida and beyond, based just down the road from Palm Coast in Daytona
Beach. He was actively designing golf courses in Florida throughout
the 1960's, before Florida was a booming tourist destination, and before
golf course architecture at large had evolved into its modern state.
His desire to design "small" golf courses, layouts that are
shorter in yardage, more accessible for golfers of a handicaps and abilities,
and easier to manage, is evident here.
These trademarks, combined with
this piece of property, equal a golf course that lacks thrill but not
necessarily merit. Some of the "smallest" holes are in fact
the best.
Palm Harbor was the only course
in Palm Coast from 1973 until 1980, when Pine Lakes Country Club opened.
At the time it was designed methods of architectural construction that
are standard now, such as significant mounding, landscaping, and mass
displacement of earth, were not affordable for public budgets.
This type of land manipulation
is certainly absent at Palm Harbor; it is a flat, "pre-modern"
design routed with standard real estate development in mind. It is closed
in, with few views off the course and little additional space surrounding
the holes. Houses border on many sides and it's not uncommon to hear
lawnmowers running and traffic driving through the nearby streets.
There's no way around the fact
that Palm Harbor is a product of the architecture popular in the late
sixties and early seventies when golf courses were often reflections
of the urban area surrounding them and designed as recreational extensions
of a particular neighborhood. Unfortunately the site itself is endowed
with little natural flair. Considering its relation to the surrounding
neighborhood, the presence of numerous stands of tall mature trees,
and the flatness of the fairways, the golf here is akin to playing in
a city park, which not a bad thing, by the way. At the very least, though,
it seems atypical of golf on the Florida coast.
With so many of its holes lined
with pine and cottonwood trees, and at a mere length of 6,572 yards
from the championship tees (6,013 for the men), Palm Harbor qualifies
as a cozy golf course. Hitting drivers here can be a dicey gamble. Most
par fours and fives have one or two strategically placed fairway bunkers
that obscure the desired landing areas, and a number of holes dogleg
to such a degree that irons and fairway woods must be used from the
tee to keep the ball in the fairway.
This and the general tightness of the course severely mitigates the
long hitter's advantage. As the driver must be kept sheathed on so many
holes, the short hitter is able to play with anyone here. This probably
accounts for the popularity of the course among retirees and women,
for it allows everyone a chance to score as long as they hit the ball
straight, much as Amick intended.
The course is completely level with practically the only elevation
being the built up tee box on the 11th hole, a 204-yard par three. It's
rare to play a course where on so many occasions the entire hole is
visible from the tee, including pin placement. Three of the four par
fives are as flat as could be (the 16th fairway is mildly contoured)
with numbers three and 12 bending at the green only slightly.
The greens are large and slightly elevated. They are raised above
the fairways just enough to provide strong visual targets, as well at
to include undulation and added contour, and most of them slope drastically
back to front. Though they are generally not very slick (being above
the hole does not necessarily translate into difficult putts), they
are well maintained and accepting.
Certain greens have a greater degree of break than others, though
typically there is one large ridge or saddle as the defining feature.
Some of the most difficult strokes of the round might be putts, such
as if you are on the wrong tier on the sixth green the right portion
of the green on ten, or above the hole on 18.
Most of the holes are designed to be forgiving and playable for golfers
of all abilities. Though this means that there are a number of unremarkable
holes on the course, there are several that are well conceived and challenging.
The strongest hole on the course is the third, a 510-yard par five.
The tee shot plays straight away and needs to avoid a bunker on the
right and trees and out-of-bounds on the left. Assuming the ball has
been advanced far enough, the green becomes potentially reachable, tucked
away at the end of the fairway on the right. It is protected by tall
pines on the inside corner that block its right side and two large bunkers
are staggered at its front.
The creativity in the design is the use of these large bunkers. The
first bunker, rising out of the fairway, projects the illusion of guarding
the green's front, but in reality is forty yards short, and thus is
capable of being carried on the second shot. The pin position dictates
how the second bunker, which does nestle up to the front center of the
green, comes into play. If the first bunker is negotiated, low scores
may follow. The smart play might be to bail out to the left of the green
where there is plenty of room.
The seventh hole is a short dogleg
left that demands accuracy and patience. At only 370 yards it requires
a drive with a fairway wood or iron, avoiding the bunker on the inside
corner. This sets up a short- to mid-iron to a green that is angled
to the left away from the player and guarded short by another bunker.
Trouble is on the right and through the dogleg, so an overly aggressive
drive is punished while the prudent play is to lay back. Two draw shots
work well on this hole.
The third hole worthy of appreciation
is the 13th, another short, tight dogleg, this time bending right. Again
there is a fairway bunker at the inside corner and tee shots must be
played to the left of this or over it if the player is daring. The difficulty
is the blind landing area-tee markers give the player yardage to the
"ideal" fairway position, but it is unclear by sight alone.
This is a narrow little hole bordered closely by trees, with an open
green bunkered on the left. At only 349-yards it still has plenty of
teeth, yet might reward a birdie to the golfer who strikes two accurate
irons.
There are no hidden hazards at
Palm Harbor, and no trickery. It is a course that plays straight ahead
and shows with little deception what it has to offer. This fact, as
well as its shortness in length and its central location, means it's
likely to be the most populated of the four Resort courses on any given
day. If not the most exciting of the quartet, it deserves credit for
being an ample test of golf that plays out as a fair and solid experience.
Play this course as a warm-up, work on your accuracy and iron play,
and then move onto Pine Lakes.
Palm Harbor Golf Club
Casper Drive Ext.
Palm Coast, FL 32137
Pro Shop: 904 445-0845 |
