Tampa Bay Golf Scene

The Premier Semi-Private Facility in the Tampa

Fox Hollow Golf Club holds the enviable distinction of being the very last golf course in a long line of world famous golf courses to be built and designed by Robert Trent Jones, Senior.

Everywhere you turn, from the player-friendly fi ve sets of tees, to the rolling, undulating fairways, it’s vintage Robert Trent Jones Senior. But what really makes a Trent Jones Senior golf course is the way it looks and feels—as though the piece of earth it occupies was always meant for the course he designed. Fox Hollow Golf Club is no exception. Although it was necessary to move thousands of tons of dirt to create the gentle undulations and subtle elevation changes, it looks as though every blade of grass, every tree, every drop of water has been there since time immemorial. 

Palm Springs-Style Golf in Ocala

Expansive view of horse country from scenic par 5s; open landing areas lined by wild grasses, rock formations, and sandy waste areas. The warm breezes play a factor in every shot decision. This may sound like Palm Springs, however, this course is as close as Ocala’s On Top of the World Communities.

Candler Hills Golf Club is an intriguing Gordon Lewis designed course. Only in its third year, this course has already received the accolades of pros that have played the North Florida PGA Senior Open, the Ocala Open, and the Florida State Women’s Golf Association Tournament. If it’s good enough for them, it’ll likely be good enough for you or your own group’s championship as well.

How were you introduced to golf? Maybe it was your father or another close relative. Or a friend who needed a partner. Maybe you didn’t get the “bug” until a business associate or a charity outing got you involved. Likely somebody nudged you toward the game that has become so much more than just recreation, but a microcosm of life.

You’ve undoubtedly heard of the The First Tee Program, which has already introduced the game, and its values, to more than 1.5 million young people in its first decade. What has set The First Tee apart from any other program is its Life Skills Experience component, that not only teaches golf to newcomers, but also nine “core values” that many of us learned through playing the game that has enriched our lives.

In this age of “Big Box” golf stores, it’s nice to know there’s a family owned and operated business that meets its customer’s needs better than the “big boys”.

Twenty years later, there are two T&D Golf locations. The original shop has expanded exponentially into a 7,000-square-foot, full-service golf store. The Oldsmar store specializes in building custom clubs on the premises. You’ll also find thousands of used clubs, including drivers, fairway metals, hybrids, sets of irons, wedges and putters. Oldest son Deason runs this operation. The Oldsmar Flea Market is at the northwest corner of SR 580 and Race Track Road. Terry Smith, a club professional from Rocky Mount, NC moved to Tampa in 1983 with wife Marjorie and their two young sons, Deason and Ben. In 1986, Terry, Marjorie and Deason started T&D Golf in a 10-sq. ft. booth at the Oldsmar Flea Market.

The game of golf is a game of honor played by honorable people to have fun. There are as many opinions on how to play the game as there are teachers. This can be very confusing.

There is no one right method for every situation, but there maybe several right methods due to differences in athletic ability and physical conditioning.

That’s why I have chosen to break down my teaching method into three categories: grip; stance/alignment; and swing path. My method is very simple to understand and adapt to. It fits players both physically and psychologically. It incorporates swing styles for both taller and shorter players, beginners and veterans.

The folks at Westchase Golf Club are far too low-key to create a brassy slogan like “It’s Not Private, You’ll Just Think It Is”. That line has actually come from more than one visitor to this upscale, but very public course located in the master-planeed development of Westchase in northwest Hillsborough County just north of downtown Tampa.

And the visitors who coined that moniker aren’t the only ones impressed by the day-in-day-out excellence of this 15-yearold Lloyd Clifton design. The National Golf Foundation surveyed players at hundreds of courses for their prestigious CLASP (Customer Loyalty and Satisfaction) awards and ranked Westchase in the Top 10 nationally, and #1 in the state of Florida.

Unique. An online dictionary (what else are there these days?) defines it a couple of ways you might expect. One-of-a-kind, unusual. Then there’s the definition that also passes for the description of the first Pete Dye-designed course in the Tampa Bay area, Southern Hills Plantation Club in Brooksville.

Without equal, unparalleled. As in Golfweek magazine naming it one of the Top 50 Best New Courses for 2006 and also including it in the Top 100 Residential Golf Courses.

In some respects, this is one of Dye’s most unconventional layout. There aren’t any railroad ties or waste areas at Southern Hills, but its length (over 7,500 yards from the tips), its small greens (just 3,500-4,500 square feet), devilishly deep and small bunkers and extensive mounding still make this Hernando County layout vintage Dye.

It makes you feel good to hear about a real-life success story, especially when it’s a “dream come true” kind of story. Brian and Jeff Fish, two brothers who grew up in Wisconsin, made their dream come true and then made an even bigger dream a reality.

Brian and Jeff come from a golfing family. In fact, their grandfather was a club professional who owned his own course in Rhode Island. “We’ve played golf since we were little and golf has always been big in our family,” said Brian.

The brothers came to Tampa in 2000 and opened Golf Etc. New Tampa. They chose Tampa because golf is a year-round business in Florida (and it doesn’t snow). Their first store was certainly successful. They offered brand name clubs, clothing, shoes, full-service club repair and custom fitting. They were among the first in the Tampa Bay area to invest in a launch monitor. But, at 2,000 square feet, the store was small and limited their options.

Every once in a while, it happens. The right combination of beautiful property, creative vision and the genius of a legend cross paths at
exactly the right moment, and a one-of-a-kind community is born.

Blended into this neighborhood is a perfect mix of luxury and privacy, recreation and relaxation. Even the most discriminating golfers, and golf community connoisseurs, should consider the possibilities available here.

It has all come together, in a unique combination of daily-fee golf and luxurious golf homes, at The Champions’ Club Community at Fox Hollow. Just as you don’t have to be a golfer to love the lifestyle of The Champions’ Club, you don’t have to live within its gates, or be a member of the club, to enjoy the thrills of playing the last course designed and built by Robert Trent Jones, Sr., one of the most prolific and innovative golf course designers of all time, working with longtime associate Roger Rulewich.

The Tides Golf Club, overlooking beautiful Boca Ciega Bay in Seminole, has been a favorite of locals and visitors alike since 1973. “The Tides” is a throwback to an era of Florida golf that is all but forgotten. The relaxed, friendly atmosphere that reets you in the clubhouse lets you know right away that you are in for a great golf experience.The staff, headed by General Manager/Superintendent Louis deVos and PGA Head Professional Darryl Spelich, is dedicated to customer service. They know that if their golfers have fun, they’ll keep coming back.

New owners took over The Tides in December of 2005 and immediately began a comprehensive improvement program. A major tree removal effort along the shoreline adjacent to holes 2, 11, 12, 13 and 14 has opened up spectacular views of Boca Ciega Bay. As you play these holes you’ll see an incredible variety of bird life including spoonbills, cranes, egrets and herons.