It's been years since I've played there. I used to go on an annual golf trip with a bunch of fun guys back in the day. We always enjoyed ourselves, but I can't say that I remember much about the courses we played at Innisbrook. EXCEPT the Copperhead course, which was always a great test of golf. Watching the Transitions Championship this weekend on television, I'm reminded what an excellent Florida golf course it is. Larry Packard is the architect who laid it out, but we never talk him up here abouts.
I'm no architect and not really a player, so here's a quote from Jerry Pate, who is both of those things, from Yahoo Sports:
Many Tour players regard The Copperhead course at Innisbrook Resort as one of their favorite courses on Tour. It is a very well-routed and strategized golf course that fits comfortably into its site. That is why it is so well-received.
Larry Packard, a landscape architect by education and early professional experience, originally laid out the Innisbrook Resort master plan and the Copperhead Course in the early 1970's. Packard's experience in landscape architecture led him to believe in the economical and efficient creation of spaces for human interaction. This core value carried over into his prolific golf course architecture career. Packard designed or renovated approximately 200 courses.
The economically planned Innisbrook Resort and its Copperhead Course are perhaps the crowning achievements of Packard's career. The resort incorporates the clustered development of condominiums throughout the development. This planning technique allows for fewer roads, a smaller network of utilities, and less impact on the natural landscape. The result is less development and operational costs, and a more open and pleasing landscape to experience. The golf course is exceptionally routed to maximize the subtle natural landforms. The features were gently shaped into the topography with curvilinear, free-flowing lines. Nothing was over-created or over-dramatized to wow golf course raters or to create a spectacular photograph for a magazine cover.
It is a shame that during golf development's boom over the last thirty years we -- golf industry professionals, developers, and the golfing public -- tended to glorify the dramatic, the expensive, and the over-built courses instead of the beautifully and honestly crafted courses such as Larry Packard's Copperhead Course at Innisbrook.