Florida golf courses - Forget the rest stops, golfers love the I-75 `trail`
Released on = April 30, 2007, 9:54 am
Press Release Author = GolfPublisher Syndications
Industry = Media
Press Release Summary = Forget the rest stops, play golf along Florida\'s I-75 \'trail.\' Florida golf course features at FloridaGolfGuide.com
Press Release Body = By Tim McDonald, National Golf Editor, Golf Publisher Syndications
Driving through Florida on Interstate-75? There are great golf courses along the way, from Suwannee Country Club in Live Oak and Southern Oaks in Lake City, all the way south to Saddlebrook and the TPC near Tampa, and Tiburon in Naples.
(April 25, 2007) - Before nearly every exit on Interstate-75, which starts just west of Miami and stretches all the way to Canada, you\'ll see those little official signs showing nearby gas, food and lodging.
That\'s great if you\'re tired, hungry or low on unleaded, but what if you want to play golf? Wouldn\'t it be great if they included golf courses you could play without getting too far away from the fast lane?
For those golfers hell-bent for a little winter golf in Florida, here are your roadside, golf course signs for courses close to I-75 that we recommend.
We\'re assuming you\'re traveling north to south. Mile markers are approximate.
. Mile 450: You\'ve only been in Florida now a few minutes. You haven\'t even seen a palm tree yet. Not much golf in these parts of rural, north-central Florida, but the Suwannee Country Club outside of Live Oak is a nice, little nine-holer that has some elevation changes you might not expect.
. Mile 420: Southern Oaks Golf Club in Lake City is a happy, active place where on any given day you might see owner Ron Brooks out on the course, operating a backhoe or one of those big, industrial mowers. Or you might see him stop during a round, get down on his knees, and yank out a clump of goose grass.
\"I\'m just an old country boy who\'s worked hard all my life,\" Brooks said recently.
That puts him in good stead with the hard-working people of Lake City, a hard-scrabble town between Jacksonville and Tallahassee where most people hunt or fish when they aren\'t working the 9-to-5. The greens are probably the best in the area. The course still has problems with drainage, especially during heavy rains.
Also: Quail Heights Country Club.
. Mile 390: Ironwood Golf Club, 10 minutes off I-75, is a good municipal course in Gainesville, a short, but facile layout that, unlike other development-driven courses in the area, is a pleasant walk in the park - or more specifically, the woods, since there are all sorts of critters ambling around.
It\'s what a muni should be - a cheap course with an interesting layout that caters to anyone who wants to play the game of golf without all the expensive bells and whistles.
Also: Meadowbrook and Turkey Creek Golf and Country Club (formerly Plantation Oaks).
For more details visit - : http://www.floridagolfguide.com/features/florida-golf-courses-i-75-trail-5096.htm
April 27, 2007 Any opinions expressed above are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of the management.