We've launched the new forums! Read more here

Fort Myers area course recommendations (especially for a beginner)

E

etm001

New member
Joined
Dec 13, 2010
Messages
6
Reaction score
0
Handicap
36
Hello,

I'll be visiting Fort Myers this December and am looking for course recommendations. (I searched the forums, and this is the most helpful thread I found.)

  • I'll be staying in Fort Myers proper, and don't mind driving upwards of 45 minutes.
  • I'm a beginner golfer.
  • Not looking to break the bank - upwards of $65 is OK, but I can go as high as $100 for a more special experience.

Here are some courses that I've discovered (some of which are included in the above mentioned thread):

  • Old Corkscrew
  • Naples Grande Beach Resort
  • Raptor Bay
  • Lely Resort - Mustang course

Any and all recommendations or thoughts are welcome.

Thanks!
 
I played Valencia in Naples and wasn't too impressed. They did rebuild the greens after I left, though. It has a really nice practice area.

Eagle Lakes in Naples is really nice. It's in the middle of a dead housing development, but the course is in great shape.

The ones that you listed are supposed to be great.
 
etm001 said:
Hello,

I'll be visiting Fort Myers this December and am looking for course recommendations. (I searched the forums, and this is the most helpful thread I found.)

  • I'll be staying in Fort Myers proper, and don't mind driving upwards of 45 minutes.
  • I'm a beginner golfer.
  • Not looking to break the bank - upwards of $65 is OK, but I can go as high as $100 for a more special experience.

Here are some courses that I've discovered (some of which are included in the above mentioned thread):

  • Old Corkscrew
  • Naples Grande Beach Resort
  • Raptor Bay
  • Lely Resort - Mustang course

Any and all recommendations or thoughts are welcome.

Thanks!
Click to expand...
That link you dug up is a good resource. My home club of River Hall is very reasonable in the Winter and it's fair for all skill levels. I can give you information on just about any course if you are looking for specifics.

Old Corkscrew is a Nicklaus course and pricey (200). It's extremely hard and tight as well. Great course, but you may quite after playing it if you are a beginner.
Naples Grande is a great old track and always in great shape.
Raptor Bay is exceptional and should stay in your price range. It's a Raymond Floyd design and doesn't have one bunker, but tons of coquina shell.
Lely Rseort has two excellent private courses with the Mustang and Flamingo.

This time of year is season, so your price is a minimum, it gets expensive to play this time of year.

Some other courses to consider in the area:
Westminster is a nice hidden gem, that is reasonable and isn't overly difficult.
Legends
Stoneybrook
Magnolia Landing - lots of water, but very pretty
Pelican Preserve

These are less expensive but not in great shape so I'd stay away from: San Carlos Park CC, Copperhead, Mirror Lakes and El Rio to name a few.

If you have anything specific, just drop me a line.
 
If you decide to play Raptor Bay please PM me I have been wanting to get out there. I'll toss in another good course for a beginner, Arrowhead, it's off Immokalee rd and not far south of Fort Myers...exit 111 off 75 if I remember right.

etm001 said:
Hello,

I'll be visiting Fort Myers this December and am looking for course recommendations. (I searched the forums, and this is the most helpful thread I found.)

  • I'll be staying in Fort Myers proper, and don't mind driving upwards of 45 minutes.
  • I'm a beginner golfer.
  • Not looking to break the bank - upwards of $65 is OK, but I can go as high as $100 for a more special experience.

Here are some courses that I've discovered (some of which are included in the above mentioned thread):

  • Old Corkscrew
  • Naples Grande Beach Resort
  • Raptor Bay
  • Lely Resort - Mustang course

Any and all recommendations or thoughts are welcome.

Thanks!
Click to expand...
 
Hi,

Thanks to everyone who replied, especially you biggsy - those suggestions are really helpful. In a couple of weeks I'll update this thread with the courses I played and my experience, so as to help any one else in the future who may be visiting the area.
 
I was a little to quick in my original reply! I forgot to ask about driving range recommendations. I'll be staying in the neighborhood of San Carlos @ Gladiolus, so something close would be nice, but I'm OK driving a little bit. The ideal facility would offer:

--Grass driving area
--Putting green
--Bunker and/or chipping area
--Reasonably priced buckets or a pre-paid option (i.e., 20 buckets for a discounted, price, etc.)

Admittedly, I'm spoiled by my home facility (the Harmon Golf Center in Rockland, MA, for anyone in the Boston area); I can make do hitting from mats and forgo a bunker/chipping area.

Thanks again!
 
etm001 said:
I was a little to quick in my original reply! I forgot to ask about driving range recommendations. I'll be staying in the neighborhood of San Carlos @ Gladiolus, so something close would be nice, but I'm OK driving a little bit. The ideal facility would offer:

--Grass driving area
--Putting green
--Bunker and/or chipping area
--Reasonably priced buckets or a pre-paid option (i.e., 20 buckets for a discounted, price, etc.)

Admittedly, I'm spoiled by my home facility (the Harmon Golf Center in Rockland, MA, for anyone in the Boston area); I can make do hitting from mats and forgo a bunker/chipping area.

Thanks again!
Click to expand...
Two options for driving ranges.

1. Golf World at the corner of Daniels and 6 Mile Cypress. About 10 minutes from your location. They used to be a decent facility, but time and lack of funding have taken their toll. They have 20 or so mats and used to have a grass area. Last time I was there, the grass driving area still wasn't open. The mats are in good shape and some are covered. The balls are beat up and it's good just to groove your swing. I wouldn't judge your distance too much. Although, the net at the end of the range is a lot of fun to try and drive over. I probably put a couple of buckets back there myself. They were still working on the practice green, trap and chipping area. It hasn't been usable for years. They used to have a decent golf shop, now they don't.

Google Map Aerial Location

2. Golf Coast Driving Range in Estero. This might be 12-15 minutes from you. I haven't been there for about a year. I drive by there a couple of times a month and they are open. When I was there, the balls were decent. You could practice chipping and putting but it wasn't very good. The price here is going to be a little higher, but you can hit on grass and mats when I was there last.

Google Map Aerial View

Most if not all of the golf courses I recommended have ranges and nice practice facilities. I used to get to my rounds a couple of hours early to utilize the facilities. If you are going to work on short game, putting, chipping I would do that and get some good practice time in.

Unfortunately all of the real nice ranges, there used to be 3, closed down in the last 3-5 years. You'll get some good practice in at these facilities. As far as discounts and prices, I don't know. The Google links I provided have phone numbers you could call to get that info.

Hope this helps.
 
I definitely need to remember these courses for next year, I am likely going to Florida Gulf Coast after my 2nd year at Indian River State College here in Vero, where my two brothers are, so gonna need to know the courses to play when I'm over there! The area is really nice over there, but havent had much of a chance to see the golf courses yet, but once baseball season starts for the school (younger bro is a freshman pitcher on the baseball team) Ill be able to see whats what.
 
you could try shell point, its close but can get a little crowded if your not careful, nice course. also up the road search for river Hall, its in a community but nice course very playable.
 
You may want to try Eastwood also, that is where I play when I go to Fort Myers, and I believe another course is the Fort Myers Country club.
 
Hi,

Thanks again biggsy for the helpful information. I visited both driving ranges today and here are my impressions:

Golf World

--Overall, the facility is a bit worn down and rough around the edges.
--As biggsy noted, that mats are in good shape.
--About 6 bays are covered.
--The grass driving was not pleasant to hit from. It was thin, patchy grass (if you could call it grass) with a sandy dirt base.
--Pricing: 100 balls/$11, 75 balls/$8, 50 balls/$5.
--It seems that the range has been renamed to Daniel's Driving Range.

Golf Coast Driving Range

--Rough around the edges too.
--All grass hitting, no mats, no bays (well, there were a couple of old, beat up mats).
--Grass is of similar quality as Golf World.
--100 balls/$10

I would pick Golf Coast over Golf World for grass hitting (not that it was so great). Overall, hitting from the mats at Golf World was a little more enjoyable for me.
 
Hello,

I had the opportunity to play Magnolia Landing, Lely Mustang, and Naples Grande (in that order). Here are my impressions:

Magnolia Landing

Magnolia Landing is a planned development community, one that felt like a ghost town; there are tracts of houses here and there, but also many empty streets with undeveloped plots. As for the course:

  • Overall the course was well maintained and in good shape.
  • More than a few greens were dry and brown - understandable given that it is the dry season in Florida, as well the general drought-like conditions the area is under.
  • The course was challenging and I would not recommend it for a beginning golfer.
  • The fairways were narrow, almost every hole had a water hazard, and the out-of-bounds areas tended to have dense and deep brush - not much of a chance of finding your ball if you hook or slice it.
  • The course was odd in that the distance between some of the greens and the next tee was often quite a hike.
  • The staff was friendly and the club house large and well appointed. The bar/restaurant is open if you want a snack or drink.
  • The driving range was OK - you hit your balls out into a small lake that has floating buoys with markers on them. (I don't care for this personally). The tee areas were a bit beat up - a little closer to hitting from sand/dirt than grass.
  • Yardage guides were available.

Overall, for $50 (before 12PM; included cart) the course was a good value and definitely worth playing for an intermediate or better player.

Lely - Mustang Course

Like Magnolia Landing, this course is also surrounded by a planned development community. Unlike Magnolia Landing, the housing tracts are fully developed and populated. As for the course:

  • The greens and fairways were well maintained and in good shape.
  • The course was much more approachable for a beginning golfer.
  • The fairways tended to be wide and forgiving. You stood a very good chance of finding your ball if you hooked or sliced it - usually the ball would land in someone's back yard.
  • There were a reasonable number of water hazards, but nothing like Magnolia Landing, and they didn't feel as imposing.
  • The club house and amenities were nothing special.
  • The driving range was similar to Magnolia Landing - you hit balls out into a lake. The tee areas were pretty beat up.
  • The staff was not very friendly, and it felt like a "golf factory" - getting the maximum number of people through the course as quickly as possible. I can understand the challenges the course staff had in terms of keeping things moving on a busy day, but the vibe was very off putting.

The one neat thing - something I had never seen before - was that every cart was equipped with a GPS system that showed your position on the course and relative yardage from your location. A map of each hole was also displayed, (although I didn't find the graphical representation of the holes terribly reflective of reality.) The system also let you do things like request a ranger, report a lost club, order food as you approached the ninth hole, and keep your score. In the end, the pro of this system is that it allows the course staff to track everyone's pace and keep things moving along; the con is that the system can let the staff be too hyper vigilant and aggressive in moving things along.

For $100 (including cart), I would not necessarily recommend this course - it's a nice course, but I think you can definitely get more bang-for-your-buck elsewhere.

Naples Grande

This course is not surrounded by a planned development community. As for the course:

  • The greens and fairways were absolutely immaculate. Despite the dry season, the tee boxes, fairways, and greens were lush and emerald green.
  • The course is approachable for a beginner. The fairways tended to be relatively wide.
  • There weren't too many water hazards; the ones that were present didn't get in your way unless you let them.
  • The course has the largest bunker I had ever seen - a practical desert of a bunker - shallow, but long and very wide. (I landed in it. :)
  • The club house - if you can call it that - was very small. The locker room was well appointed with amenities, and there is a small bar/restaurant.
  • The staff was very friendly.
  • The driving range was in great shape - the tee areas were actual grass, not beat up sand/dirt as with Lely and Magnolia Landing.

If you can't tell, Naples Grande was far and away my favorite. For $100 (including cart) it was a bit pricey, but it was a beautiful course. It's great for a beginner, but also has enough of a challenge for a more experienced player, depending on which tee box you hit from and how aggressive you want to be with your shot.

Miscellaneous

My only other thought:

Pro tip: South Floridians find anything below 60F "cold". When I played Naples Grande, the morning temperatures were in the low to mid 40s, and it was about 56F when I started playing the course. Coming from Boston, this was not terribly cold for me (I wore a light sweater and pants), but it seemed to scare away other golfers. (It also happened to be fairly windy that day too). I guess I can understand that - if you live in Florida, why golf when it is 56F when it will be 70F just a few days later? But for me it was great, as I had the course mostly to myself. :)

Hope this helps anyone golfing in Fort Myers in the future!
 
I agree with your review of the The Mustang course. I got to play there last October for free :smile-big: so i might have enjoyed it more than you haha. The GPS in the carts was pretty nice to have.
 
What range did you use at lely? I play there twice a week in the summer and have always used the range directly behind the clubhouse, no water there. Were you at the champions course perhaps?

Sent from my ADR6300 using Tapatalk
 
SW FLA said:
What range did you use at lely? I play there twice a week in the summer and have always used the range directly behind the clubhouse, no water there. Were you at the champions course perhaps?

Sent from my ADR6300 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Thanks for catching this - I mistyped in my follow-up posting; you do not hit into water from the Lely driving range.
 
No prob dude, I was really confused! You were spot-on with people assessment, depending on who is working the proshop it can feel like a cattle drive.

Sent from my ADR6300 using Tapatalk
 
Anything courses closer to Punta Gorda for the week after Christmas worth bringing the clubs down for?
 
Howzat said:
Anything courses closer to Punta Gorda for the week after Christmas worth bringing the clubs down for?
Click to expand...

Magnolia Landing
Heron Creek
Riverwood

Great thing about Punta Gorda is you're not far from going south to Ft. Myers or north to the Venice area.
 
Appreciate the help SW!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top