Tom,
I haven't played many of the Florida courses, so I can't necessarily make that comparison. I did find it to have some similarities to the Blue Monster (flat, water, bunkers), but was very different than Streamsong, which is my other frame of reference.
I'd give it a Doak 6 maybe a 7 if I were going to stretch it.
When I said "not sure if it's top 100" I was absolutely being deliberately vague. In all honesty, you guys are an intimidating bunch. I'm slowly increasing my architecture IQ as I play more courses, but it still pales in comparison to the knowledge of most of the people here. Not making bold statements is more about confidence, than trying to hide the way I feel about a course.
Bill, I should rephrase, you can see greens/flagsticks of about half the holes from the clubhouse. I also just reviewed my photos and there is water or marsh grasses that come into play in one form or another on 16 holes by my count. Sorry for misspeaking.
As for the 8th, it was one of my favorite holes on the course, and also forced me to make one of my biggest decisions of the round.
Here's the hole Bill is referencing:
Also sorry if the formatting/quality sucks on this, still always have issues with images in this forum.
I was 230 out sitting up in the right rough, and debated for a good 2-3 minutes between laying up and hitting 3 wood. I went for it knowing it would have to be a perfect shot, which was absolutely the wrong decision given the pin placement. It kicked hard right into the water, but I still got up and down for par.
The risk reward was there, the strategy was there, and I really enjoyed it.
I appreciate all of the thoughts you guys have shared here, it's conversations like this, that force me to be more upfront and bold in my opinions, which will only make my travels that much more valuable and fulfilling.