Florida Golf Monthly

Grenelefe- The Haines City Resort has Long Been a Lure for Golf Enthusiasts.

If you ask people outside of central Florida, "What is Grenelefe?" Most would reply, "It's a big golf resort in Haines City." Of course, they'd be correct, but if this were an actual written exam, they'd lose a few points for giving an incomplete answer. A comprehensive answer would point out that Grenelefe also serves as a highly successful golf community.

With Lake Marion in the background, the resort center has a beauty all its own. Grenelefe has long been a lure for the resort seeker. It offers 54 holes of highly varied golf experiences. With easy access to Orlando International Airport and that famous theme park that attracts millions of visitors to Kissimmee each year, Grenelefe's popularity comes as no surprise. Yet, this golf resort provides something most places don't. Here you have convenient access to all that central Florida has to offer without the rush of the tourist throng. Grenelefe offers open spaces where both relaxation and recreation can flourish.

To no one's surprise, this "relax and recreate" concept caught on as a potential place to live. If you stumble on a place where restful peace and quiet abound and also offers accessibility to everything there is to do in central Florida (don't forget the Tampa Bay area just 45 minutes to the west), why leave? For the many people who couldn't come up with a logical answer, the result was that they stayed on and the Grenelefe community was born.

Hole 6 at the South Course has 3 fairway bunkers placed on the left side. To attract the maximum number of residents, there had to be a variety of home plans to meet the level of commitment potential residents would make to Grenelefe. The developers provided an ample number of diverse residences, ranging from efficiency apartments to single residences priced over $500,000 with various levels of townhouse condominium and single family homes as well. As much as Grenelefe has to offer the potential resident, golf has always been and most likely always will be the force that drives the bus on this property. To that end, a one-membership-fits-all plan enables Grenelefe members to enjoy a smorgasbord of golf experiences.

The cornerstone of the golf facility is the West Course, where the PGA Tour often separates the real players from the "wannabes" during the PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament held on this Robert Trent Jones-designed track. Have no doubts about it; this is a real players' course.

Stretching to a maximum of 7,325 yards from the back tees, intermediary tees at 6,898 yards and 6,199 yards, with front tees totaling 5,398 yards, length is the first challenge you'll face on the West Course. It's far from the only one. Typical of his design, Jones gives you the fairway off the tee, but he makes the shot to the green the real challenge. The course belies Jones' penchant for tucking a pin behind a cavernous bunker that seems to stretch halfway back down the fairway &emdash; an intimidating sight to even the strongest of hearts.

Like Church pews on a Sunday morning, hole #1 at the South Course is sure to have you praying for forgiveness! The course plays to a par 72. As a testimony to its difficulty, from the back tees, the U.S.G.A. has rated the course at 75.6. From the second set of tees the rating is 73.1. The rating from the third set of markers is a more humane 70.5 and from the front tees, the rating is 71.3. If the West Course offers any degree of forgiveness, it does so in its hard-to-miss fairways and ample-sized greens. It's the getting there that's tough.

In order to accommodate the size of the Qualifying Tournament field in 1997, the PGA Tour had to use a second course on the property, and they chose the South Course. Designed by Lakeland architect Ron Garl in concert with Lakeland PGA Tour player Andy Bean - the South Course is comparatively benign when placed beside the West Course, but it does provide a variety of challenges in a more user-friendly environment, perfect for the resort guest.

One of the many villas at Grenelefe offer spacious living and great views of the courses. During the recent Qualifying Tournament, the players found that the South Course was no birdie giveaway. With the longest distance of the South Course at 6,869 yards playing to a par of 71, the successful player has to have not only a full arsenal of shots, but also a discerning strategy for using them. Every par and birdie on the South Course is earned, and every bogey and above deserved.

It's the definition of a fair golf course. It plays fairly for the better player who ventures to the back tees as well as for those who choose the course that measures 6,343 yards, 5,939 yards or favor the front markers at 5,174 yards.

Unlike the West Course where water is rarely an obstacle, the South Course challenges players with water at every turn. However integral water hazards are to the course's challenge, they aren't the overriding threat. Unlike many courses where water shows up tucked just over a rise or slightly out of view behind a bunker, the water on the South Course is part of the risk/reward factor that makes the game both interesting and diabolical all at once.

Water-lined holes and green-side bunkers challenge the wit and courage of golfers of any handicap. Grenelefe's third course all too often doesn't get the proper respect it deserves. The East Course is an Ed Seay design and can be played at 6,802 yards, 6,366 yards, 6,166 yards or 5,095 yards. Regardless of which course you decide to play, you'll come away thinking it played a lot longer. Then it dawns on you &emdash; the reason it felt longer was those intimidating narrow fairways that kept your driver in the bag on many occasions, resulting in much longer second shots than usual. Therein lies the third distinct challenge of Grenelefe.

Not to be outdone by its counterparts, the East Course is also a qualifying course &emdash; the Nike Tour used it as the course for its open qualifying for the Nike Lakeland Classic. The East Course's subtle challenge lies in its sloping greens, the most contoured of all the courses boasting the smallest targets as well.

Grenelefe's three courses are the hook, but they're not the only bait. The Grenelefe resort property also offers boating and fishing on Lake Marion, a world-class tennis facility and an exercise trail that would keep any top athlete fit and trim.

At one time, many regarded Grenelefe as too remote. Perhaps 15 or 20 years ago, the argument had some credence, but those days are gone. Greater Orlando has spread its wings, and their shadow reaches well beyond Haines City. If you're looking for a place where golf, a complete recreation package and easy access to the major cities of central Florida are a regular part of your lifestyle, Grenelefe may be the answer to your prayers. Sure, Grenelefe is still known as Florida's Centerpiece, the first resort of critical acclaim in the area, but it's much more than that. Grenelefe is now regarded as one of the top golf communities in the area and one with a history of providing resort amenities to homeowners.