Florida Golf Monthly - Innisbrook Resort

Very few golf resorts in Florida, or anywhere for that matter, have attained legendary status, but the Westin Innisbrook Resort ranks as one that has. And as the Westin management team has discovered, the legendary status brings with it the burden of living up to that famed reputation. High expectations result in misperceptions that can become misconceptions. Such notions have forced Innisbrook managers to deal with the mathematical problem confronting them: one negative multiplied by another negative equals a positive. In this case, the positive manifests as a belief, such as, "I'm positive that Innisbrook has fallen a notch or two."

The truth is, Westin has taken aggressive steps to elevate the status and reputation of the entire resort to an even higher plane. Too often, successful resorts acquire and exude a cocky attitude: the resort has made it to the highest ranks, so it need not bend over backwards to earn the loyalty of its paying customers. This sensibility usually shows up first in the little things. The well-manicured grounds are left neglected. The once beautiful property appears shabby and unappealing.

The germ of complacency soon invades the golf course. Teeing areas take on the same shabby look as the rest of the property. The definition separating the fairway from the rough dwindles, and the fringes of the green bear an uneven cut. The whole place spirals downward from there.

There had been whispers about just such a complacency epidemic at Innisbrook. But they have been hushed, and rightly so. Today what you'll find at the Tarpon Springs resort is a marvelous golf facility that not only works hard to live up to its lofty reputation, but also to burnish an even greater image of itself on the minds of every one of its customers. Everything about Innisbrook, from the service at the courses to the pleasant attitude of the groundskeepers and staff, demonstrates a newfound desire to please. The Westin team works diligently to get you to Innisbrook and to keep you coming back.

Like most upper echelon resorts, the Westin Innisbrook possesses just the hook it needs to reel in golfers: its premier course, Copperhead. Set on 172 acres of land, the Copperhead course is a real player's course. You can test yourself at distances reaching 7,087 yards, playing to par of 71. If that doesn't convince you of the magnitude of Copperhead's challenge, the fact that the course carries a USGA rating of 74.4 with a slope of 140 should dispel any doubts about this track's legitimacy. Annually rated among the top 75 resort courses in the United States by numerous golf publications, the Copperhead course hosts the JC Penney Classic, pairing PGA Tour stars with LPGA Tour stars to comprise two-player better ball teams.

But last year's nationally televised classic didn't help the course's struggling image. Just prior to the tournament, the greens-keeping crew was busily putting the final touches on the course in preparation for the showcase event when disaster struck. While in the midst of some last-minute greens fertilization with multi-barreled sprinklers, one barrel inexplicably emitted an all-purpose weed killer that would destroy any grass it touched. The error wasn't discovered until lines of dead grass started to appear shortly after the spraying.

To restore the grass, the only option seemed to be an attempt to drown out the weed killer, to inundate it with water. But that was to be a dice roll that didn't pay off. Instead of washing the weed killer out of the greens, the water spread it, browning out huge sections of the greens just before the tournament began.

At some resorts, there would have been loud wailing and gnashing of teeth. At the Westin Innisbrook Resort, the first move was to gracefully bite the bullet. The JC Penney Classic was held as scheduled, and viewers were left to form whatever opinions they fancied. The second move was more direct. Westin made the decision to completely tear up and re-sod the infected greens. This meant shutting down their premier course at the outset of the high season while the newly laid greens took hold. It wasn't a pleasant decision to have to make, but if Innisbrook wanted to preserve its reputation, there was no question that it had to be done. And so it was.

Then a funny thing started to happen. With the Copperhead closed, people discovered that the other two courses on the property were exciting and challenging in their own right. The Island Golf Course, designed by Chicago-based architect Lawrence Packard, who also designed all the other courses on the property, including Copperhead, was the first course at Innisbrook, opening in 1970. Packard may have designed this 6,999-yard course, but it looks as natural a part of the surrounding terrain as any course you'll ever see. Packard took full advantage of the elevation changes and included a lot of thought-provoking strategy throughout the course. Even on holes where length is a necessity, misplaced length can be a detriment. On the shorter par fours, there's no room for a deep breath. Either you'll be challenged by the claustrophobic tightness, or the miniscule greens will offer a difficult target at best.

Packard saved the best example of the latter for last. The 18th on the Island Course is a relatively tame 370-yard par 4. A severe dogleg left requires you to put laser-beam accuracy into play because if a stray shot here is found, you'll have to extricate the ball from serious trouble. The green is protected at the entrance by water, and, naturally, the green slopes towards it. So the finishing hole doesn't have length, but does it really need any more? Definitely not!

This brings us to the odd number in the Innisbrook equation: the Sandpiper Golf Course. With 27 holes, all par 35, the course has been a mix and match situation. When the Palmetto and the Pines nines are offered as the course of the day, you're in for two very distinct experiences.

The Palmetto nine is definitely on the short side, but that doesn't mean a good score is a gimmee. Chances are if you miss a fairway (which is very easy to do), your ball is going to be wet. By the time you finish this nine, you'll be thinking twice about going down a fairway beside your playing partner. You'll probably conclude that there isn't room for two people abreast, and you'll probably be correct.

The Pines nine is embroiled in a serious ranking battle to establish itself as the top nine at the Westin Innisbrook Resort. Not only does the Pines offer some dramatic elevation changes, it also presents a great use of sand and judicious use of length. The three highly rated holes on this nine include the third, a 198-yard par 3 with a Pine Valley style waste area from tee to green; the fourth, a 464-yard, winding par 4 flanked by bunkers with a large, well-bunkered split-level green; and a 519-yard par 5 dogleg right ninth hole featuring a devilish fairway bunker set to snare all but the strongest drives attempting to cut the corner. Fronting bunkers guard the narrow green well. Also included in the Sandpiper mix is the Palms nine, where driving is at an absolute premium. Not only is length a requirement, but pinpoint accuracy is a must as well.

Given the opportunity to play any and all of these nines is a gift. But when Westin took over last July, they decided to enhance the course with a different approach to the Sandpiper setup. Thus, they embarked on a new project and have added yet another nine holes that, when completed and opened, will couple with the revamped and lengthened Palmetto nine. The two 18-hole tracks will be known as Eagle's Watch and Hawk's Run. Additionally, Westin Innisbrook acquired the former Tarpon Woods Golf & Country Club and renamed it The Lost Oaks of Innisbrook. This brings the number of holes at the Westin Innisbrook to 90, with only 18 off-property.

The Westin Innisbrook will enthrall even the casual visitor. Guests can accommodate themselves in one of the 28 low-rise lodges nestled around the courses. Non-golfers and golfers who've finished their daily round will appreciate the opportunity to test their athletic skills on the 11 tennis courts or six swimming pools. Because no one can live on golf alone, four on-site restaurants offer guests the finest in American and European cuisine.

So, you can rest assured that the Westin Innisbrook Resort hasn't fallen into the ranks of the tired and worn down resorts. It is alive and well, and the people there are committed to ensuring that everyone who comes through the gate shares their enthusiasm and feels the energy that flows from the almost daily improvements.