In our continuing series of insights into area golf
courses, I invited Golf Doctor Michael Leighton and Mind Doctor Rick
Jensen to play
Golden Bear Golf
Club Hammock Creek. This way I'd be covered from head to toe!
We met at the clubhouse for a quick lunch before teeing off.
From a diverse menu. Michael chose the cobb salad, Rick and I the
grilled dolphin sandwich. The chef prepared custom-made cocktail
sauce as hot as we wanted. We were pleased with our choices and
well-fueled for our round.
As we approached the first tee, threatening rainclouds
and lightning were approaching. The Nicklaus magic must have been at
work...miraculously, they stayed in the distance all afternoon.
After a few holes, Rick noted, "The fairway bunkers are
well-designed, creating an illusion that they're further then they
appear, which can result in a drive landing in one. It necessitates
paying careful attention during practice rounds to actual yardage
from the tee box to the bunkers. The greens play fast and roll true."
After a few more holes he added, "This is a good Florida course
for the low, mid, or high handicapper. It's not too penalizing when
you miss a fairway; you won't easily lose balls. You get the
opportunity to recover out of the rough and play the shot up to the
green. The fairways are well-maintained, providing clean, not tight
lies. This allows you to get plenty of spin on shots that require
spin. The greens then hold very well."
The author enjoying at day at
Hammock Creek.
Michael stated, "It wasn't until the 11th hole that I adjusted to
the deceptive looks and started to figure out the distance from the
tee to the traps and hills. The greens were well-guarded in the back
by sand traps, thick rough and underbrush. On the 11th hole, Dan
rolled a beautiful shot up and hit an 8 footer for par. I was able to
negotiate the gigantic green and on this occasion did not three
putt." He added, "The course is quite hilly. Dan was getting
alternate clubmember and non-clubmember bounces - fortunately a few
more of the clubmember variety. Rick didn't worry about bounces...he
was all over the green the entire day."
"The 5 tees play from 5,031 to 7,080 yards so a player of any
handicap can find one that's right for them", said Rick.
Michael added, "You can run up on all the greens, so if you
can't get great distance on your long irons you still have the chance
to get on. Control is rewarded. The course is conducive to the
seniors game."
Rick responded, "It's not necessary to hit a drive 200-250 yards
to carry trouble; if you go low and run, you're fine. The low
handicapper will still be challenged to play good shots into the
greens to make birdies. Played from the back tees, this is by no
means a simple course, but a real challenge. The rough is
fair...thick, but you can find your ball. It's not impossible to get
out of, but provides a reason to hit the fairways which are wide and
in fantastic condition, as are the greens. On a windy day, this would
be fun. The large greens will allow the player to consider wind in
playing right or left of the pin."
Michael noted, "Not only are the greens large, but extremely
undulating. They're not all tiered, but have considerable slope and
roll."
After recording a hot score, Rick mused, "Everything tracks to
the hole!" I don't know about that, but we agreed that this course
won't dictate the quality of game the player will have. At Golden
Bear Golf Club at Hammock Creek, any player can experience a great
day!
