Gil Hanse – Page 3 – Syndication Server

Golfweek’s Best 2022: Top public and private courses in Florida

Where to play golf of any kind in Florida? Check out these Golfweek’s Best course rankings.

The No. 1 public-access course in Florida isn’t really a surprise, seeing how it has been broadcast worldwide into living rooms during each year’s Players Championship for decades. The Players Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass ranks as one of legendary designer Pete Dye’s top five masterpieces, perplexing PGA Tour pros since it opened in 1980, and it ties for No. 15 on Golfweek’s Best list of all modern courses in the U.S.

And it isn’t the only course on the Ponte Vedra property to rank among Golfweek’s Best Courses You Can Play in Florida. Next door to the Players Stadium Course is Dye’s Valley, which clocks in at No. 18 among the Sunshine State’s best public layouts. Dye’s Valley doesn’t have the scale or fame of its neighbor, but it does have plenty of the features, challenges and visual tricks that made its designer and namesake famous.

Dye’s Valley at TPC Sawgrass in Florida (Courtesy of TPC Sawgrass)

Looking for even more highly ranked public-access courses all at one property? In Florida, that would be Streamsong, home to Nos. 2, 3 and 4 on Golfweek’s Best list of public-access layouts. The popular resort in Bowling Green, about an hour’s drive east of Tampa or 90 minutes southwest of Orlando, features courses by Tom Doak, Gil Hanse and the team of Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw.

Coore and Crenshaw’s Red Course tops the rankings for Streamsong’s courses, coming in at No. 2 among the state’s public-access layouts and tying for No. 37 among all modern courses in the U.S. Hanse’s Black Courses isn’t far behind, ranking No. 3 in the state and tying for 50^th among modern courses. Doak’s Blue Course is right there, too, ranking No. 4 in the state and No. 53 among modern courses.

Streamsong Resort — Streamsong’s Red Course (Courtesy of Streamsong/Laurence Lambrecht)

How do you choose which layout at Streamsong to play? Take our advice: Play all three, then get back to us on your favorite. Every player to visit has plenty of opinions on which course they prefer and why, and none of them are really wrong. Combined, the three layouts make Streamsong one of only a handful of resorts in the U.S. to offer so many highly ranked courses, and the resort also has started construction of a new short course, the Chain, by Coore and Crenshaw that promises even more golf.

No. 5 in the state is no stranger to PGA Tour fans either, as Bay Hill Club and Lodge in Orlando is home each year to the Arnold Palmer Invitational. A statue of Palmer still stands guard near the first and 10th tees, reminding players of the decades in which the King lived at the resort while leaving his fingerprints on every aspect of the operation.

Florida is also home to a staggering array of private courses, many of which serve as winter retreats for well-heeled clientele and residents who chase the warmth south each year. Topping the list of private courses in the state is Seminole, a Donald Ross design in Juno Beach that is No. 12 on Golfweek’s Best list of classic courses in the U.S. and one of the most exclusive clubs in the U.S.

Can’t get a tee time at Seminole? Get in line – almost all of us are waiting on that call. In the meantime, check out the rest of the best public-access and private clubs in Florida below.

Cabot buys Castle Stuart Golf Links in Scotland with plans for a new name and a new course by Tom Doak

Canadian-based developer Cabot plans to expand Castle Stuart with a new Tom Doak-designed layout.

Cabot, the developer that leaped into the world of golf with Cabot Cape Breton in Nova Scotia and has expanded beyond the Canadian border with projects in Florida and St. Lucia, has added to its portfolio, this time in the Scottish Highlands.

Cabot will announce this week that it has acquired Castle Stuart Golf Links and its accompanying resort amenities near Inverness, Scotland. The property will be rebranded Cabot Highlands.

Opened in 2009 with a design by Gil Hanse and the late Mark Parsinen, with holes that feature Moray Firth on one side of several fairways and bluffs to the other side, Castle Stuart Golf Links ranks No. 4 on Golfweek’s Best list of modern courses in Great Britain and Ireland.

In 2024 that course will be joined by a second 18, Cabot said, this one to be built by Tom Doak. The property also is home to a new short course that is open now for preview play and officially will open in 2023.

Castle Stuart Cabot Highlands — Castle Stuart Golf Links in Scotland will be renamed Cabot Highlands. (Courtesy of Cabot)

“Castle Stuart has been considered a benchmark of exceptional Scottish golf since it first opened thirteen years ago,” Ben Cowan-Dewar, CEO and co-founder of Cabot, said in a media release set for Tuesday that will announce the acquisition. “We are honored to be a steward of the land and carry the original vision for the property forward. Our goal is to create unforgettable memories in magical places, and there are few places in the world more awe-inspiring than the Scottish Highlands.”

The property will feature boutique accommodations, and Cabot said real estate will be a major part of the expansion with sales expected to begin in 2023. The property will feature upscale cabins that homeowners can rent to resort guests when the owners are not in residence. Featured activities for guests and property owners will include hiking, cycling, fishing, falconry, horseback riding and more. The property’s features include views of Kessock Bridge and Chanonry Lighthouse

“I couldn’t think of a better partner than Cabot to lead our next chapter,” said Stuart McColm, general manager of Castle Stuart and the forthcoming Cabot Highlands. “The work that’s been done at Cabot Cape Breton on the courses and within the community speaks for itself, and I know our beloved founder, Mark Parsinen, would be proud of the plans ahead to fulfill his original vision for the destination. Not only is this significant golf news, it is also a major boost for the regional economy of the Highlands.”

Cabot has been busy announcing expansions in the past couple years. The company took off in 2012 in Nova Scotia with Cabot Links, a Rod Whitman design that ranks No. 2 on Golfweek’s Best list of modern Canadian courses. That course was joined in 2015 by Cabot Cliffs, a Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw design that ranks No. 1 on that modern Canadian list.

In the Caribbean, the Coore and Crenshaw design at Cabot St. Lucia is slated to open in early 2023. In Canada, the company announced last year the development of Cabot Revelstoke in British Columbia, which will feature a course designed by Whitman that is scheduled to open in 2024. And in Florida, Cabot has purchased the former World Woods, rebranded it Citrus Farms and is having its two courses renovated by Kyle Franz and the team of Keith Rhebb and Riley Johns with a planned reopening in 2023.

The new layout at Cabot Highlands will be the first by Doak for the company. That course will play around the property’s namesake 400-year-old castle and across expansive land with several holes along the water, Cabot said. Doak plans to start construction in 2023.

“I’m thrilled to partner with Ben Cowan-Dewar and the Cabot team,” said Doak, who has built courses around the world, including The Renaissance Club in Scotland. “We have been searching for the perfect destination for years. Our goal is to create a distinctly Scottish golf experience that appeals to players at all levels with an authentic links-style course that puts the golf holes front and center.”

Check the yardage book: The Country Club Composite Course for the 2022 U.S. Open

See StrackaLine’s maps of the classic layout near Boston with holes from two courses that create a stern test of tiny greens, deep rough.

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The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts – site of this week’s 122nd U.S. Open – opened in 1893 as a three-hole layout. Willie Campbell, a Scot and head professional at the club, extended the course to nine holes and then to 18 in 1899.

Several designers have worked on The Country Club over the decades, most recently Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner before the 2013 U.S. Amateur.

The layout used for the U.S. Open – which features small greens and thick rough among its considerable challenges – is actually a composite of two courses, the Main course and the club’s Primrose nine. Three holes of the Primrose (No. 9 Primrose playing as No. 9 of the Composite, a combo of Nos. 1 and 2 Primrose playing as No. 13 on the Composite, and No. 8 Primrose playing as No. 14 of the Composite) will be used for the national championship.

The Composite ranks No. 1 on Golfweek’s Best 2022 list of top private courses in the state, and it is No. 24 among all classic courses built in the U.S. before 1960. It will play to 7,264 yards with a par of 70 for the Open.

Thanks to yardage books provided by StrackaLine – the maker of detailed yardage books for thousands of courses around the world – we can see exactly the challenges the players face this week. Check out the maps of each hole below.

PGA Championship: Gil Hanse, Jim Wagner return Southern Hills to Perry Maxwell greatness

The modern design duo focused on restoring the classic features of Southern Hills.

TULSA, Oklahoma – Perry Maxwell was an Oklahoma golf legend, a banker-turned-architect who designed dozens of courses in the Sooner State and beyond. Best known for his challenging, undulating greens, Maxwell worked – as either principal architect, collaborator or renovator – on many of America’s top-rated courses.

Augusta National, Merion, Crystal Downs and Prairie Dunes – each ranked in the top 15 among Golfweek’s Best ranking of classic courses in the United States – were among the beneficiaries of Maxwell’s touch.

His design tally, of course, includes Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, site of this year’s PGA Championship. Opened in 1936, Southern Hills has been host to a slew of championships ranging from the U.S. Women’s Open to the Senior PGA Championship and counts among its men’s majors four past PGA Championships (1970, ’82, ’94 and ’07) and three U.S. Opens (’58, ’77 and ’01). It sits at No. 1 among private courses in Oklahoma in Golfweek’s Best rankings, and it is No. 38 on Golfweek’s Best list of classic courses built before 1960 in the U.S.

Southern Hills: Yardage book | Aerial shots and drone footage

No. 12 at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Okla. (Gabe Gudgel/Golfweek)

And thanks to 2019 restoration and renovation efforts by the architecture team of Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner, Southern Hills will again display in full grandeur Maxwell’s brilliant routing and sometimes infuriating greens during this year’s PGA Championship.

“We’re excited about the work we did there,” said Hanse, who in recent years has become known as a go-to expert in restoring major-championship courses . “Perry Maxwell’s routing was absolutely brilliant. I don’t know how you could lay a golf course better on that piece of property. The variety, the character, just the way the holes seem to fit perfectly there. And the features, primarily the greens and how good they were and what interesting targets they were and the level of precision required to play good golf at Southern Hills – it struck us as being really, really high quality.”

Photos: Southern Hills Country Club for the PGA Championship

Check out the photos of a recently restored Southern Hills Country Club heading into the PGA Championship.

TULSA, Okla. – The PGA Championship visits Southern Hills Country Club for the fifth time this week, giving the club a chance to show off a recent restoration by architects Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner.

Originally designed by Perry Maxwell and opened in 1936, Southern Hills is No. 1 among private courses in Oklahoma in Golfweek’s Best rankings, and it is No. 38 on Golfweek’s Best list of classic courses built before 1960 in the U.S. The rolling layout has been host to four PGA Championships (1970, ’82, ’94 and ’07) and three U.S. Opens (’58, ’77 and ’01), among many other elite competitions.

Check out the photos below, some provided by the PGA of America (Gary W. Kellner) and the rest by Golfweek’s Gabe Gudgel and Jason Lusk.

Here’s how Southern Hills has changed ahead of 2022 PGA Championship

Gil Hanse was tasked with a challenge of restoring an old golf course while preparing it to host future major championships.

TULSA, Okla. — Gil Hanse was tasked with a challenge.

Restoring an old golf course while preparing it to host future major championships. Southern Hills Country Club was his canvas.

The course is considered one of the best designs from Perry Maxwell, a world-renowned golf architect who also created Dornick Hills in Ardmore and Twin Hills in Oklahoma City.

Southern Hills was constructed during the Great Depression when a group of citizens in Tulsa raised $140,000 for a new country club. Local oil baron Waite Phillips donated a tract of land south of downtown.

Maxwell was known for creating golf courses as cost effective as possible, using contours of the land to shape holes and guide the property. That’s what he did with Southern Hills.

It opened in 1936 and quickly became a site for major golf tournaments. It hosted the 1946 U.S. Women’s Amateur and the 1958 U.S. Junior Championship before the first men’s major, the 1958 U.S. Open, came to Tulsa.

Southern Hills PGA Championship — A flagstick at Southern Hills in Tulsa, Oklahoma (Photo: Jason Lusk/Golfweek)

Half a century later, the 2007 PGA Championship came to town. Tiger Woods captured the 13th of his 15 major championships, and since, Southern Hills has gone through extensive changes.

Although the layout of the course is similar, Hanse’s renovation, which took 10 months and cost $11 million, changed the future of Southern Hills while bringing it back to its foundation.

The course is more prepared now for the modern era of golf to remain a viable championship host. It also more closely resembles Maxwell’s original design, from the bunkers to the greens and the hole layouts.

Come May 19-22, when the PGA Championship returns to Southern Hills for the fifth time, Hanse will find out if his work accomplished what he set out to do.

Hanse began consulting with Southern Hills in 2015. The club wanted to have its course challenge the best golfers in the world, and Hanse wanted to maintain Maxwell’s original design.

Between hosting the 2001 U.S. Open and 2007 PGA Championship, Southern Hills underwent renovations that included removing trees, expanding fairways and restoring greens.

Yet the property had waltzed far from its original intentions, which is what Hanse wanted to restore.

Work started with the greens, specifically the edges. The restoration before the 2007 PGA meant golf balls tended to funnel to the center of the greens from the edges. After Hanse’s changes, that wasn’t the case.

Hanse and his team stripped away the edges of the greens and restored edge conditions, meaning instead of a ball being funneled toward the center of the hole, a shot left on the outskirts would likely fall off.

That accomplished both of Hanse’s goals, making the greens more similar to Maxwell’s original design while strengthening the natural defense of the course. Golfers would be forced to think about numerous aspects of their approach shots, placing a premium on the angle and trajectory, among other things.

The greens also have a hydronics system underneath to help with heating and cooling.

The bunkers also changed extensively. They returned to more irregular patterns with manicured edges.

Hanse also restored creeks that originally ran across the 10th and 17th fairways, which in the 1930s remained mostly dry. Because of run-off from neighboring properties, Southern Hills receives plenty of water in its creeks in the modern day.

Some of the major hole changes are seen on the 1st and 7th.

On the first hole, bunkers were moved from the right to left side of the fairway, placing a premium on positioning off the elevated tee. With a green that slopes away from the fairway and to the left, the more left a tee shot is, the better angle for the approach shot.

This change gives players an added challenge. For the best chance at a strong approach shot, a tee shot hit closer to the left bunkers is required.

Originally, there were no fairway bunkers on the 1st, but they were added before the first U.S. Open in 1958.

The 7th has drastic changes. First, the green was moved back about 40 yards and to the right, with its right edge hugging a creek. There are also two bunkers left, placing a premium on a strong approach shot.

The lengthening of the hole also means more decisions to be made off the tee. Now at roughly 440 yards, players can no longer hit a wood or long iron off the tee and have a shot iron or wedge into the green. Any shots on the left side of the fairway will be on an uneven lie, with the ball wanting to go toward the water on approach.

Any tee shot to the right, though it will leave an easier approach shot, it could find trouble with the creek or trees.

The course will also play more than 300 yards longer than it did in 2007, coming it at nearly 7,500 yards.

The golf world got a preview of what the new Southern Hills is when it hosted the 2021 Senior PGA Championship last May. Even after a brutal two-week cold spell in February that resulted in the club having to re-turf plenty of grass because of winter kill, the tournament was a success, and the course stood out.

Yet its biggest test awaits with the return of Southern Hills eighth men’s major championship. It’s on that stage the world will see Hanse’s full renovation and restoration.

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Watch: Streamsong surprisingly different than anything else in Florida

Red, Blue or Black? When it comes to Streamsong in Florida, why choose?

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BOWLING GREEN, Fla. – What’s my favorite course at Streamsong? Red, Blue or Black?

Golfers at the popular resort, which turns 10 this year, are constantly reviewing that very question about the three courses that all rank among the top 20 resort courses in the United States. My stock answer: The next one. And I’ll defend that simplified response on the basis that I’ll gladly take a day at any of the three courses built by Gil Hanse, Tom Doak or the team of Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw.

There are noticeable differences between the layouts, but they are so tightly packed in the Golfweek’s Best rankings as to inevitably invite debate – that’s a big part of the fun. Ask me which you should play, and I’ll tell you to sample all three and get back to me.

Until you get that chance to visit the first time, or whether you’re a Streamsong veteran wanting to return, check out this video for a taste of golf that is different than anything else in the Sunshine State.

Golf architecture: The ‘Great Hazard’ undergoes a renaissance, with modern designers rethinking, restoring classical cross bunkers

Modern designers are restoring and often rethinking Great Hazards, those giant cross bunkers with oversized impact on strategy.

One of early American golf architecture’s most dramatic design features is being reinvigorated for the modern game.

Inner-circle Hall of Fame architect A.W. Tillinghast pioneered the “Great Hazard,” a massive expanse of wasteland usually set in the middle of a par 5. He often coupled this with a smaller but still gnarly bunker complex at the front of the green. In combination, this system demands a series of great shots, whether the player is going for the green in two, three or even four strokes.

The smallest imprecision off the tee forces the player to recalculate the odds all along the way. Four shots, including a punch-out and back-to-back layups, may be required to hopscotch up to the green. The overconfident player who mismanages the percentages could be in for a huge number.

But over the past century, players and equipment have evolved to the point that many of the original Great Hazards no longer threaten the tactical headlocks their creator intended. Longer hitters simply blast over the wasteland to set up an approach with a lofted club over the greenside bunker complex.

That’s why architect Gil Hanse, who has restored about a half-dozen Tillinghast designs in New York and New Jersey, made major changes to No. 17 on Baltusrol Golf Club’s Lower Course. Hanse moved the network of fairway-interrupting bunkers and tall-grass islands downrange some 40 yards,  with the leftmost portion potentially gobbling drives and the rightmost path offering the most aggressive line to the green. Either way, it’s a big carry out of or over the hazard.

“When you have big hazards, they ask big questions,” Hanse said. “They ask you to make big decisions. In this day and age, accomplished golfers were able to drive it into the (Great Hazard). That’s why the shift occurred. If you get out of position, now the positioning of the hazard is you have to hit a monumentally good shot to get over.”

Indeed, be anywhere but perfect and you’re blocked out and hitting sideways, setting up a third shot with a long iron or wood, uphill to a raised, multi-tiered green with intimidating bunkers in front and left. Throw in three bunkers that protect the second layup area, and it makes a hole the pros might not often birdie when the PGA Championship returns to Baltusrol in 2029.

Hanse said the original hazard at Baltusrol had become smaller over time. He used Tillinghast’s plans and photos from the early years to reestablish the scale and dimensions of the original work, but he moved it to the new, more strategically demanding position.

The Great Hazard on. No. 17 on Baltusrol’s Lower Course (Courtesy of Baltusrol/Evan Schiller)

“Moving the Great Hazard exemplified Gil Hanse’s statement of a ‘sympathetic restoration,’ ” said Baltusrol club president Matt Wirths, who worked closely with Hanse on the exacting details of the project. “It restored a signature design element of a Tillinghast course, but in a way that recognizes the changes that have taken place since the original hole was built.”

And it’s not just Baltusrol. Great Hazard holes are being rediscovered, reinvented and stiffened at courses around the country.

A month after a fire burned down the clubhouse, USGA announces eight future events to be held at Oakland Hills, including four majors

The USGA will host eight events at Oakland Hills over the next 29 years.

A month after a devastating fire burned down the famed clubhouse at Oakland Hills Country Club, the United States Golf Association had some good news about a long-term strategic partnership with the club in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.

The USGA announced on Tuesday that Oakland Hills would host eight of its championships over the next 29 years, including four major championships announced in January: the U.S. Women’s Open in 2031 and 2042 and the U.S. Open in 2034 and 2051. The additional events: 2024 U.S. Junior Amateur, 2029 U.S. Women’s Amateur, 2038 U.S. Girls Junior Amateur and the 2047: U.S. Amateur.

“This is a significant and meaningful day for all of us at Oakland Hills,” said Rick Palmer, club president. “The commitment of two U.S. Opens as well as four top amateur championships is a testament to the fabulous work of everyone at Oakland Hills. With a total of eight USGA championships coming to our club starting in 2024, we can’t wait to add to our storied history. We look forward to continuing our championship golf tradition at Oakland Hills and our long-standing relationship with the USGA.”

Oakland Hills has hosted 11 USGA championships in its history, including six U.S. Opens. The event’s return in 2034 will celebrate the club’s 110-year history with the USGA. Oakland Hills will become the fifth club to have hosted a U.S. Open, U.S. Women’s Open, U.S. Amateur and U.S. Women’s Amateur, while Pebble Beach will do the same in 2023.

“We could not be happier to bring six additional championships to such an iconic venue as Oakland Hills,” said John Bodenhamer, USGA chief championships officer. “Since its first U.S. Open in 1924, Oakland Hills has provided a supreme test for the game’s very best, and it will continue to do so for professionals and amateurs alike in the coming years.”

In September of 2020 the USGA named Pinehurst as an anchor site for future championships, and did the same at last summer’s U.S. Amateur when it announced Oakmont as a second anchor site and unveiled a stout lineup of future championships across Pennsylvania. The 2034 U.S. Open was originally announced to be held at Oakmont, but will now be held at Oakland Hills.

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Which golf course is best at Streamsong in Florida: Red, Blue or Black?

Streamsong celebrates its 10th anniversary with three highly ranked courses in Florida, but how do you choose the best of the lot?

The question comes all the time from players who have frequented top golf resorts in the U.S. and want to verify their opinions, as well as from golfers who have never played a certain top destination but dream of a trip.

“Which course at the resort is your favorite?”

Normally there’s a simple response, based on the evaluation of Golfweek’s Best Resort Courses list.

Going to Kiawah Island Golf Resort in South Carolina? There are several courses available, but you must experience the Ocean Course. Destination Kohler in Wisconsin? Sure, Blackwolf Run offers two strong layouts, but Whistling Straits is the clear favorite among the resort’s four full-size tracks. Pinehurst in North Carolina? As much admiration as the recently renovated No. 4 has received among an impressive roster that includes four of the top 200 resort courses in the U.S., Donald Ross’s No. 2 is a classic masterpiece and repeat U.S. Open site that clearly shines brightest among the resort’s offerings in the rankings. Pebble Beach Golf Links is part of a larger California resort that stuns, but the classic seaside track is a can’t-miss for golfers.

But the answer to which is best isn’t always so cut-and-dried.

Which is your favorite of the five 18-hole courses at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort in Oregon? There’s plenty of debate around the fireplace outside McKee’s Pub, and all five courses rank in the top 11 on the 2022 Golfweek’s Best Resort Courses list. There really isn’t a wrong answer when all the options are that strong.

How about the best of the two current courses at Sand Valley in Wisconsin? The resort is operated by Michael and Chris Keiser, sons of Bandon Dunes founder Mike Keiser, and as at Bandon Dunes the Golfweek’s Best list doesn’t necessarily establish a definitive winner between the eponymous Sand Valley layout and the resort’s Mammoth Dunes, both top-15 resort courses. Grab an Adirondack chair behind the clubhouse and let the “Which is better?” discussions begin.

Streamsong Red and Blue are intertwined. (Courtesy of Streamsong)

It’s the same story at Streamsong in Bowling Green, Florida, home to three courses ranked inside the top 20 on the 2022 Golfweek’s Best Resort Courses List. Red? Blue? Black? “If you had to play just one,” I am frequently asked, “which would it be?”

My stock answer: The next one. And I’ll defend that simplified response on the basis that I’ll gladly take a day at any of the three courses built by Gil Hanse, Tom Doak or the team of Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw. There are noticeable differences between the layouts, but they are so tightly packed in the Golfweek’s Best rankings as to inevitably invite debate – that’s a big part of the fun. Ask me which you should play, and I’ll tell you to sample all three and get back to me.

Bandon Dunes, Sand Valley and Streamsong combine to include 10 of the top 20 resort courses in the country. Apologies in advance for my dalliance into cliché, but asking to choose the best layout at any of them is like being asked which of your kids is your favorite. Only in this case, golfers often are more than willing to loudly announce their personal preferences.

Me? Not so much. Returning to Streamsong as a case study, there’s nuance to be considered. And the skill of the golfer. Putting prowess. The wind on any given day. Dozens of considerations, many of which change in time and with repeat rounds. Feel free to pick a favorite, but don’t be surprised to change your mind on another visit.

The Lodge at Streamsong in Florida (Courtesy of Streamsong)

Streamsong celebrates its 10th anniversary this year, inviting reinspection of its leap into the course rankings. Much has changed since the two original courses, the Red and the Blue, opened in 2012 on a former phosphate mining site that offered plenty of sand and a raw, rollicking landscape unlike anything else in Florida. A luxurious 228-room hotel and spa opened in 2014, auxiliary sports such as shooting and bass fishing were introduced, and most importantly the Black course came online in 2017.

The resort and courses continue to evolve, recently with the introduction of new putting surfaces on the Red and Blue and with new restaurant themes and names that include the rebranding of the Black course’s Bone Valley Tavern into a seafood restaurant – the staff might suggest the salt and pepper fritto misto, and you can’t go wrong with the lobster mac and cheese.

Despite the changes, the focus remains on the golf, perhaps more sharply than ever.

The three layouts share many similarities: strikingly open vistas and easy walks with few trees in play, mostly firm and bouncy turf, beautiful bunkers that appear as simple sand scrapes and great mixes of memorable holes routed in natural fashions upon what in actuality are completely unnatural sites left over from mining operations. A common refrain is that Streamsong, full of jagged dunes and rugged boundaries in middle-of-nowhere inner Florida, feels like playing golf on the surface of the moon – in the case of these three courses, that is a compliment.

But there are differences.