| Championship |
169 |
| Maroon |
163 |
| Teal |
163 |
| Orange |
143 |
| Green |
133 |
| Ocean |
133 |
| Khaki |
118 |
| D. Muirhead |
118 |
Par
(Mens/Ladies) |
3/3 |
Handicap
(Mens/Ladies) |
17/17
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You climb the high tee and suddenly this hole tells you that here is an entirely different type of golf course. If the shock is abrupt, it is meant to be.
Since this was the first golf course I had designed in 10 years, I was looking for an ordering principle; perhaps a different idea which was directed away from the imitations of links land or "natural" golf courses with which I disagree philosophically.
"Why not try some symbols?" I thought, "ideas which made suggestions." Building architecture is filled with symbols, so are art and literature. That grandfather of golf courses, St. Andrews, is also filled with them. There are bunkers called Lion's Mouth, Coffin and Principal's Nose, a green called Ginger Beer, a depression called the Valley of Sin.
I have always maintained that is it the similarity of golf to life which makes the game so facinating. If we were to reflect and emphasize this fact, symbolic ideas could be enlarged to encompass holes.
Abstract symbols are also effective on the psychology of the game. For instance, even a small rise in elevation such as climbing a flight of steps increases one's feeling of power. I discovered some time ago that good-sized, elevated, platform-like tees induce a sensation of security and calm, much appreciated by all golfers.
The tee on number 3 is the first of many which are elevated to give the golfer a sense of personal power, so that he can enjoy his dominance over the flat Florida landscape. When he hits a full-blooded shot off this podium tee and watches his ball soar toward the flag, he is already a candidate for what the Scots call "that grand and glorious feeling!" Why else do we love golf so much?
The white traps are hands waiting, grasping at the green with fingers clutching at the ball, while the encircling mound represents the human psyche, a prehistoric hammock enclosing the symbol of the hands.
The green is divided into three parts. The front and rear are both unguarded, while the covetous fingers grasp the central part which has simple ledges front and back. If you hit the front of the green to avoid the grasping hands, you must negotiate the 18-inch ledge. If you over hit to avoid the hands, you have a horrible downhill putt down another steep ledge.
Desmond Muirhead |