The merits of fine golf courses will always be debated, and
I recently read a comparison
between Arthur Hills and Hal Sutton's TPC Treviso Bay in Naples and Jack Nicklaus' Old Corkscrew in Estero. But that debate
was about which course was tougher. Although it has been a while since I played
Old Corkscrew, I haven’t forgotten how tough it is, and it has been my favorite
course to play in the Fort Myers area, despite the stiff test it presents for a
hacker of my caliber (14 handicap) playing from the blue tees (6617 yards).
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| Treviso Bay landscape |
In the two rounds I have played from the blues at Old
Corkscrew (both over two years ago), I averaged 101. In the four rounds I have
played at Old Corkscrew from the white tees, the most recent in August of 2013,
I averaged 97. After playing TPC Treviso Bay this past Sunday (July 13, 2014), and yes, she ate
my lunch, I may have to reconsider.
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| Between 11 & 12- We are suckers for a wooden bridge |
You see, in addition to a terrific test of
golf without the dilution, distraction, and detraction of condos, single or
multi-family homes, which both courses provide, Treviso’s layout and
landscaping offer aesthetic pleasures that surpass Old Corkscrew’s offerings.
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| In-progress club house from 9th tee |
And here’s what’s really fascinating: Treviso Bay currently
boasts a mere fraction of the allure and beauty it will hold once the clubhouse
has been completed. From a number of perspectives, particularly from the 8th
and 9th greens, the great gray structure of the clubhouse in
progress looms with promise of pleasantries to come.
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| Putting on No. 8 |
As Steph (my life partner
and camera woman) said multiple times as we traversed the terrain, “This is
already something, but I can’t wait until they finish the project,” or words to
that effect. I, too, anticipate the views to and from the completed castle of a
clubhouse.
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| View from No. 8 tee box |
Yeah, yeah, but what about the golf? Perhaps you think I am leaning
toward Treviso Bay instead of my beloved Old Corkscrew because Treviso is
easier. Well let me clarify that before going any further. I shot 104 at
Treviso from the championship tees (6792 yards, the equivalent of Old Corkscrew’s
blue tees), and the worst I shot at Old Corkscrew was 103.
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| No. 7 view |
Basically, Treviso
Bay is longer from the equivalent tees, and has far more liquid with which to
contend! As you probably know, games that are apparently solid on dry land can turn
to jello when there’s wetness in play.
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| Chris teeing off on No. 3 |
Aside from the sheer beauty of the entire venue, which
captures your attention from the entrance to the community, through the practice
area and the course itself, each hole at Treviso gave me the sense that it was
an entity onto itself. It was unlike some tracks where you get to a particular hole,
and you have the sense that you played the same hole a few holes ago.
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| Tee box view of No.1 |
Upon receiving the royal treatment upon arrival at the bag drop
and in the pro shop, Chris, Steph and I were immediately inspired as we rounded
the corner and came upon Hole No.1. Verdant, Lush fairway with bunkers left and
right, made me happy to be a short knocker on this 380-yard par-4.
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| Nice tee ball on No.1 |
Encased in a
cocoon of trees, it presented a vista that coaxed from me one of the few good
tee shots I delivered that afternoon. I stroked the driver about a measly 230
yards down the middle, hit a 6-iron to about 12 feet, and lipped out the birdie
putt to card the smoothest and only four I had on the par-4 holes that
afternoon.
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| Don't wanna be left on No. 9 with water all down the left side |
There is much shame in this admission, but in fact, I was 22 over on the
other nine par-4 holes! True, I was playing pretty horribly, but I have played
horribly before and managed to scratch out a decent score…for a 14-handicapper
that is. I suppose the presence of all that agua might have influenced the
quality of my game…if it wasn’t the 18 I had already played in The Hideaway’s
Sunday Morning Quota/Skins Game.
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| No. 14- 185-yard par-3 over water |
The wet stuff has a way of exerting undue influence if you
aren’t confident with your swing, and Treviso has plenty of wet stuff. As for confidence? It hasn’t been over abundant in
my golf swing the past couple of weeks, so the
combination was diabolical.
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| Chris beached on No. 14 |
Fortunately, golf is one of two things I am
told you don’t have to do well to enjoy, and the beauty of golf at Treviso definitely
mitigated the frustration of my poor play, and I enjoyed it enough to want to go back. In fact, my golf buddy Chris Capps (who is
far better than I and shot an 86) quipped, “If it wasn’t so pretty, I’d have
shot myself.”
For example, take No.5, the short, 325-yard par-4 that I
tripled after hitting in the water twice.
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| View from No. 5 tee- only 325 yards |
Did that triple hurt? You’re bleeping
right it did. But when you take in the rolling mounds, the bunkers punctuating
the fairway and accenting the perfectly manicured green, you can surely revel
in where you are even if you are stewing in shame because you cannot play a
reasonable facsimile of the game called golf.
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| On the tee on the par-5 fourth |
Oh, and by the way, that triple I
mentioned? It followed a quadruple on the 566-yard, par-5 fourth, another
lovely hole that made me pay the price for, uh, drinking in its beauty.
I did have my moments at Treviso, few as they were, and
oddly enough they came primarily on the three longest of the four par-3 three
holes.
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| Can you see that pin 216 yards away? |
After going plus-13 on holes two-through-six, including a double-bogey
on the 167-yard par-3 third, I notched just my second par of the day on the
216-yard par-3 seventh. I’m sure it was purely coincidence, but that happened
to be the only hole since I yanked my tee shot in the drink on the par-5 second
that didn’t have H2O in play.
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| Don't wanna miss right on No. 17 |
My only other pars came on No.14 and No.17, par-3s of 185
and 182 yards respectively. Maybe I can claim that I was just getting warmed up
as we neared the finish, as I played the final five holes just three over. That
was positively shooting lights out for me the way things had gone over the
previous 13!
Among those finishing holes was the brute of a 462-yard par-4 16th,
and the picturesque, boomerang-shaped, 530-yard par-5 18th with
water from tee to green along the right side.
I really could go on ad nauseam, because in writing about
Treviso Bay, we get to relive the experience, and it was one worth reliving. But
rather than “listen” to me drone on about the merits of Treviso Bay, you might
prefer to take a gander at Steph’s photographic perspective (click here for additional photos). You can draw your own conclusions. If you have the good
fortune to get out there, I suspect you will find the above confirmed.
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| Ever seen cooler cart staff than Luke & Josh |
We would be remiss if we didn’t thank Wes Miller of ICON
Management and Mark Wilhelmi and J. D. Murray, Director of Golf and Head Pro
respectively at Treviso Bay for the opportunity to experience one of the
loveliest Arthur Hill tracks in Southwest Florida…and there are quite a few. Too
bad it isn’t so more often, but at Treviso Bay courtesy cascaded downhill and
the cart staff was every bit as pleasant to deal with as the folks in the shop!
Way to go ICON! Nice work Lennar! We're out!
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| T. A. & Steph |
“The ups and downs of a game of golf top any Disney
rollercoaster I’ve ever ridden!” (T. A.)
