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Bart Bradley

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Help! Ft Myers Golf
« on: October 24, 2012, 05:37:12 PM »
I just had a client call me and tell me that he wanted to plan a golf trip to Ft. Myers  ???

I admitted to him that I didn't know much about Ft. Myers golf, but I told him that I would do my best to find out.   So, what are the good (I doubt there are "great") public access courses in/near Ft. Myers. 

The wisdom and experience of this board are truly appreciated.  My deepest thanks.

Bart


Andy Troeger

Re: Help! Ft Myers Golf
« Reply #1 on: October 24, 2012, 05:42:50 PM »
Old Corkscrew is a pretty good Nicklaus course in Estero, not too bad of a drive. Would be considered "high-end" public--maybe $150 green fee. Its very difficult, but fairly thoughtful.

I really enjoy Eastwood, a Fort Myers municipal course. Its tough to get on, and they only take tee times 1 day in advance. You have to be willing to call early the previous morning, potentially for awhile if you can't get through. The price isn't bad, and I really like the golf course all things considered.

I've played some other stuff in the area, but nothing else that really stood out. All the other plays were at least 10-15 years ago on family trips. Coral Oaks (Art Hills) is a decent budget-friendly option in Cape Coral. 

Steve_ Shaffer

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Re: Help! Ft Myers Golf
« Reply #2 on: October 24, 2012, 06:40:55 PM »
River Hall CC, a semi-private DL3 design, looks very interesting.

http://www.riverhall.cc/golf-course-club.aspx
"Some of us worship in churches, some in synagogues, some on golf courses ... "  Adlai Stevenson
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Scott Sander

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Re: Help! Ft Myers Golf
« Reply #3 on: October 24, 2012, 06:53:20 PM »
Plantation CC (Hurzdan/Fry) has some very  interesting holes.  Last time I was there it was taking public play, but that has been at least a couple of years ago.
« Last Edit: October 24, 2012, 06:55:22 PM by Scott Sander »

Jason Topp

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Re: Help! Ft Myers Golf
« Reply #4 on: October 24, 2012, 07:14:35 PM »
Plantation/ River Hall is a decent combo.  There is a Nicklaus course down there as well. 

Bryan Izatt

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Re: Help! Ft Myers Golf
« Reply #5 on: October 24, 2012, 08:05:12 PM »
Old Corkscrew is probably the best, but relatively expensive.  River Hall is good; you can access it through Hampton Golf's web site.  Raptor Bay is decent, usually in good condition.  Eastwood is OK, but a step down condition wise and busy.  The other best bets are private development courses that are now taking some public play.  You can access them through golfnow.com.  Ones that I have played that I think are good include Verandah, out near River Hall and further down towards Naples: TwinEagles, Bonita Bay East, and Heritage Bay.  Resorts include Tiburon (overpriced in my opinion) and Lely.

Ed Brzezowski

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Re: Help! Ft Myers Golf
« Reply #6 on: October 24, 2012, 08:46:52 PM »
We used box groove .com.

Prices were very competitive at Tiburon and The Colony. This time of year there are some great deals down there,assuming you don't get blown away this week.

Raptor Bay was good and reasonable . I personally liked Tiburon, conditioning was excellent.
We have a pool and a pond, the pond would be good for you.

Roger Wolfe

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Re: Help! Ft Myers Golf
« Reply #7 on: October 24, 2012, 09:44:17 PM »
One of my Top 5 golf experiences ever was playing Redfish Point on the northern tip of Captiva during an incredible Gulf sunset.  One of the 2004 Florida hurricanes might have done irreversible damage but it was breathtaking.  A good day is 18 on one of the Sanibel courses then a sunset 9 at Redfish on Captiva!

Bill_McBride

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Re: Help! Ft Myers Golf
« Reply #8 on: October 24, 2012, 10:38:31 PM »
One of my Top 5 golf experiences ever was playing Redfish Point on the northern tip of Captiva during an incredible Gulf sunset.  One of the 2004 Florida hurricanes might have done irreversible damage but it was breathtaking.  A good day is 18 on one of the Sanibel courses then a sunset 9 at Redfish on Captiva!

Is Redfish Point the former nine holer on the South Seas Plantation resort?   Loved the 85 yard par 3 across the yacht harbor!

The best seafood dish I've ever had was the black grouper poached in a paper bag, at the Bubble Room just outside the resort, fabulous!

Brian Colbert

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Re: Help! Ft Myers Golf
« Reply #9 on: October 24, 2012, 11:37:49 PM »
Old Corkscrew is good but just so stupid hard. That's the only public I played last time I went down there. Nobody has mentioned Tiburon yet, it's a resort so obviously gonna cost about $1000000 a day but I've been told that all of their courses are good.

John_Conley

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Re: Help! Ft Myers Golf
« Reply #10 on: October 25, 2012, 10:53:06 AM »
Eastwood is a good municipal in North Fort Myers.

Ed Brzezowski

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Re: Help! Ft Myers Golf
« Reply #11 on: October 25, 2012, 11:00:30 AM »
Old Corkscrew is good but just so stupid hard. That's the only public I played last time I went down there. Nobody has mentioned Tiburon yet, it's a resort so obviously gonna cost about $1000000 a day but I've been told that all of their courses are good.

Brian look at post #6.   We played it for under a hundred bucks. Well worth it at that number.
Ed
We have a pool and a pond, the pond would be good for you.

Mark Ringsmuth

Re: Help! Ft Myers Golf
« Reply #12 on: October 25, 2012, 05:38:06 PM »
Bart,

I live in Fort Myers.  Starting in November it gets awfully difficult to find a place to play.  Most of the courses that allow outside or reciprocal play during the Summer only allow members or their guests starting November 1.

In Lee County, where Fort Myers is located, the highest quality course with public access would be Old Corkscrew (Nicklaus).  It's tough, but it is located in a great setting, is one of the best designed courses in SWFL and is the only course without housing in Lee County.  River Hall (DLIII) is a great bang for the buck course.  Plantation (Hurzdan/Frye) is good and in the past has allowed some public play during season.  I looked on GolfNow and of those courses I would recommend the Verandah - Whispering Oak (Nicklaus) course.  Eastwood (Devlin/Von Hagge) is an enjoyable municipal course that was a Golf Digest top 100 public course in the 1980's and Fort Myers Country Club is a Donald Ross course.  Of those two, Eastwood is better maintained and a higher quality track, but I would rather drink a couple beers after the round at FMCC.  If your client tries to get on either muni he needs to start calling at 8A.M. the morning before. 

Collier County, where Naples is located, is probably more limited during season.  I would recommend Bonita Bay East - Sabal (Fazio) and Twin Eagles - Eagle (Newly redone by Steve Smyers).  I have heard good things about La Playa Resort's course, but I think you need to be a guest. Tiburon is way overpriced unless he stays at the Ritz or gets a deal.

Let your client know that Streamsong is only 100 miles from Fort Myers. 

Good luck.

Bart Bradley

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Help! Ft Myers Golf
« Reply #13 on: October 25, 2012, 07:50:27 PM »
Thank you all for trying to be so helpful.  The client is going in January which makes seeking access at private clubs much more iffy or even impossible.  Streamsong won't open until Feb.

Again, thanks for all your help.  It looks like the options are pretty thin.

Bart

Ben Kodadek

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Re: Help! Ft Myers Golf
« Reply #14 on: October 25, 2012, 10:17:42 PM »
La Playa is everything wrong with FL golf. 

Greg Tallman

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Re: Help! Ft Myers Golf
« Reply #15 on: October 26, 2012, 12:00:43 PM »
La Playa is everything wrong with FL golf. 

Ben, With all due respect this is the kind of commentary GCA does not need. If you care to elaborate then bash away but hit and run comments like this are unwamted on this forum.

Brad Tufts

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Re: Help! Ft Myers Golf
« Reply #16 on: October 26, 2012, 01:33:23 PM »
La Playa is everything wrong with FL golf. 

Ben, With all due respect this is the kind of commentary GCA does not need. If you care to elaborate then bash away but hit and run comments like this are unwamted on this forum.

Not to pile on, but I would be curious what specifically makes La Playa "so bad."  One of the owners belongs to my club in Boston, and they host a big tourney for our club's snowbirds in March...I've never played it, and I don't hold out much hope for it as a golf course, but I'm curious...
So I jump ship in Hong Kong....

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