Biggest elevation changes in Florida

[Rob Marshall]

The other thread had me thinking. What courses in Florida have some good changes in elevation? I know they are few and far between. Copperhead and the Island at Innsbrook do. Belleair East has a nice drop down to the intercoastal. Only course I can think of in SW Florida is Hammock Bay. It's got a little bit. Enough to notice anyway. Streamsong Blue has some movement.

[Brian Finn]

The area just north of Orlando has a bit of terrain.  Mission Inn El Campeon is a really fun course that has more elevation change than any course I have played in FL.  A lot more, I would say.

[Tommy Williamsen]

Jupiter Hills is always noted for its hilly terrain. How much elevation change there is I can only guess.
World Woods Pime Barrens has some elevation change as well.
Or course the Quarry holes at Black Diamond have some 80 feet of elevation change.

[Brian Ross]

Capital City CC in Tallahassee has the most of any course I've seen in FL, probably 80-100 feet.


*Edit* Looked it up on Google Earth, it's 137 feet.

[Carl Nichols]

Bella Collina, near Orlando, has a decent amount of elevation change.  Didn't love it, but not because it was flat.

[Mike Worth]

Jupiter Hills is always noted for its hilly terrain. How much elevation change there is I can only guess.
World Woods Pime Barrens has some elevation change as well.
Or course the Quarry holes at Black Diamond have some 80 feet of elevation change.

I’m with you Tommy — Jupiter Hills for sure.

[Stewart Abramson]

In addition to Mission Inn and Bella Colina, there are several around Orlando that have significant elevation changes, e.g. Legends of Clermont, and Highlands Reserve.


Southern Dunes has six that fit in the category (10, 11, 12, 14 and 15 are downhill. 13 is pretty steep uphill,  but the other 12 holes are pretty flat. 


Sugarloaf Mountain (NLE) had a lot of steep elevation across the property.

[Pete_Pittock]

The biggest elevation change in Florida will be sea level. The largest I've experienced there is the first tee at Streamsong (Doak).

[Cal Seifert]

I do not know the exact number but the Deltona Club seems like a course with a lot more elevation changes than most Florida courses.

[Jonathan Cummings]

The other thread had me thinking. What courses in Florida have some good changes in elevation? I know they are few and far between. Copperhead and the Island at Innsbrook do. Belleair East has a nice drop down to the intercoastal. Only course I can think of in SW Florida is Hammock Bay. It's got a little bit. Enough to notice anyway. Streamsong Blue has some movement.

Rob - that's the 14th.  The drop is only about 30 feet.  In 50s Life Magazine came out to that 14th tee, set up and shot a picture down that fairway to the water.  It was the cover photo of one of their 1955 issues titled, "Florida Living."

[Kyle Harris]

The area just north of Orlando has a bit of terrain.  Mission Inn El Campeon is a really fun course that has more elevation change than any course I have played in FL.  A lot more, I would say.

So much so they refuse to let you walk the golf course…


…which was built in 1918.

[John Emerson]

Isn’t Sugarloaf Mtn and the old C&C course they highest point in FL?  Maybe a front runner for highest non-native point is the dunes directly behind the practice green at Streamsong, or various others on property?  If I remember correctly it looks to be 70+ ft. 

[Stewart Abramson]

Here are a few photos of some of the courses that have been mentioned and a few that haven't. Each of these Florida courses has some significant elevation change

Sugarloaf Mountain #13 downhill approach


Sugarloaf Mountain #9 uphill approach


Southern Dunes #13 uphill approach 863


Deltona #7 - uphill


Highlands Reserve #10 uphill


Highlands Reserve #11 from elevated tee 


Legends Clermont #1 from elevated tee


Legends Clermont #6 elevated approach 


Mission Inn El Campeon #14 from elevated tee


Mission Inn Las Colinas #7 a tee shot is blind over steep drop off


Sanctuary Ridge #4  uphill approach


Sandpiper #9 uphill approach


Streamsong Black #2 


Bella Colina #17 blind uphill approach to flag behind bunker


Bella Colina #12 downhill then uphill double dogleg par 5 

[Daryl "Turboe" Boe]

Bella Collina, near Orlando, has a decent amount of elevation change.  Didn't love it, but not because it was flat.

Agreed, there was a course I think called Sugarloaf Mountain.  Might have been a Coore & Crenshaw as I recall near Bella Colina that had some nice elevation change.  It was pretty good as I recall and finished in the top few on one of the Golf publications best new course around 07 or 08.  Ironically the day I was in the proshop they had just gotten that particular golf magazine in the mail that said they were one of the "best new" courses in the country and the pro told us they had just gone bankrupt or been foreclosed on by the bank.   It was gone a few years later.   Sad...
(Edited, I did not see that someone else had mentioned Sugarloaf Mt until after I had typed this response.)


Also I would propose the most elevation change I can recall in FL (and not in a good way) is Diamond Players Club of Cleremont in that same area it was crazy how over the top I recall some the holes were.  I remember shaking my head because I was in FL and I found myself saying this is too severe of a piece of property elevation wise to build a golf course on.   I was thinking in a state of "too flat" here was a course that was built on terrain that was "too hilly"

[Randy Van Sickle]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned John's Island West, I don't have any measured elevation changes, but there are a wide variety and they are pretty sizeable.

[Stewart Abramson]

I would propose the most elevation change I can recall in FL (and not in a good way) is Diamond Players Club of Cleremont in that same area it was crazy how over the top I recall some the holes were.  I remember shaking my head because I was in FL and I found myself saying this is too severe of a piece of property elevation wise to build a golf course on.   I was thinking in a state of "too flat" here was a course that was built on terrain that was "too hilly"

Diamond Players Club is the same course as Sanctuary Ridge (pictured in  post above). I've ben told it has recently closed its doors for good.

[Joel_Stewart]

Mountain Lake has quite a bit especially going up the 18th.

[Tim Gavrich]

The two courses at Lake Jovita have good vertical movement. I believe the par-5 11th on the South Course drops 90 feet from tee to green.


The website for Southern Hills Plantation Club in Brooksville is SoHilly.com.


The NLE Lekarica (Stiles/Van Kleek) had 100-foot elevation changes, I believe.


It's all relative, but there are some courses with good movement closer to the east coast, too - say, 20-40 feet. Seminole, of course. But closer to me, Indian Hills, the city course belonging to Fort Pierce, has an incredible piece of sandy, rolling ground. The original course was laid out by Herbert Strong, but a clumsy early 2000s renovation made it pretty mundane, not really doing justice to its piece of land, which would make any shortlist of the best for golf in the state.

[Mike Hendren]

For reference, the highest point in Florida is 345 feet above sea level - just south of Florala in the Panhandle.


Bogey

[Stewart Abramson]

The two courses at Lake Jovita have good vertical movement. I believe the par-5 11th on the South Course drops 90 feet from tee to green.

#11 at Lake Jovita does have a lot of drop. The tee shot is blind with a sharp drop off over the crest to a downhill fairway.


Lake Jovita South #11 downhill par 5 from tee 


Lake Jovita South #11 downhill approach 

The 13th at Brooksville CC has a big drop off the tee into a valley, followed by a steep uphill approach


Brooksville CC #13 from front tee 

[Phil Burr]

I seem to recall reading (perhaps in TD’s original Confidential Guide?) that there was a hole at the Eglin AFB course on the panhandle had a periscope on one tee to allow the player to verify they were clear to play.  I don’t know the course or general terrain in the area but such a contrivance would ordinarily imply significant elevation change.

[Joe_Tucholski]

I seem to recall reading (perhaps in TD’s original Confidential Guide?) that there was a hole at the Eglin AFB course on the panhandle had a periscope on one tee to allow the player to verify they were clear to play.  I don’t know the course or general terrain in the area but such a contrivance would ordinarily imply significant elevation change.

Phil, no periscope when I played there.  There was a bell on 6 for a blind shot down a hill and then back up.  They used to say there was a tow rope to assist in helping folks up to the green on the 7th hole (not sure if it's a tall tale or truth).  I measured with google earth and there is in the 120's of total elevation change so less than Capital City CC provided by Brian Ross.