Steve,
Yes, but it's been quite a few years, maybe 12 or 13. It is as described in the article, quiet and no houses, but not much else stands out in my memory (not a relfection on the merits of the course
).
Some of the old timers down there keep a bottle of nail polish remover in their carts. When I asked my old friend, and Myakka member, why this was so he said "just wait a bit Jimmy and you'll see". We eventually come to a par 5, slight dogleg left, where I hit a respectable drive. There is a bit of rise to the fairway (for this part of Florida) and then it runs back downhill ) toward the green.
The old boys, my friend included, are all aiming for the cart path on the inside of dogleg. They find it and the curbing traps their balls, which run back out onto the fairway about 100 yards closer to the hole than me ! Then they all break out their bottles of nail polish remover and clean the black off their balls.
I laughed my butt off.
He may be long gone by now, but there was an old alligator who lived on the property nicknamed 'Big George'. Largest reptile I've ever seen, probably 16' long.