Plantation Preserve Golf Course and Club (Plantation, FL)

Plantation Preserve is the best von Hagge, Smelek, Baril course I’ve seen to date. It does everything that they list on their website that a good course should do. Tee boxes rotate and slide along hazards to open different angles and distances to fairway. Native vegetation adds beauty and definition to holes while occupying ground that doesn’t need maintained. Bunkers provide direction and dictate shot shapes and angles that assist the golfer in playing the hole. 

(Island green ninth with the magnificent clubhouse in the background.) 

(The bunkering is etched into the mounding. They’re nicely edged, and a ball in the middle has a reasonable chance to be hit onto the green.) 

Plantation Preserve is well balanced. Five holes dogleg left, five right, and four straight. It doesn’t favor one type of ball flight. One is constantly trying to gauge the wind and figure out how best to attack the hole. 

(The dual fairway fourteenth plays anywhere from 435-377 yards. A straightaway drive leaves a lengthy approach while the player who carries it over the water has a short iron in hand.) 

The par threes all possess visual beauty and demand well struck shots. VHSB held nothing back in making these holes pivotal points during the round. At the January Ryder Cup, my foursome birdied three of the four as our match seesawed back and forth until we halved. 

(The 166 yard second has a bunker guarding front center. As the pin rotates around the green, this bunker demands a specific shot to get close to the hole.)

(The beach bunker works very well at the 177 yard par three fifth.)

(Twelve plays beside the marsh with a bulkhead green angled to the right. At 167 yards, the only critique could be the similar lengths of the short holes.)

Plantation Preserve really impressed me. It caught my attention right away. It was greener than anything I’ve seen in Florida, and it had a “Wow” factor to it. The VHSB philosophy with the native vegetation set it apart and gave it a distinct look. 

There were a few holes that were nonchalant or that i shrugged off, but overall, many of them were strong and required strategy and execution. I give Plantation Preserve a 6 (very good)(worth a two hour drive). Its proximity to Fort Lauderdale airport is a huge plus in its favor too. The Drive, Pitch, and Putt championship is also held here. 

Westchester Country Club (Boynton Beach, Florida)

Westchester Country Club is the first blog of the 2018 season. It’s the second time South Florida has kicked off the year as the weather is fantastic in January and plenty of great course to choose. 

Westchester is a Karl Litton design. It’s a sprawling piece of property with 27 holes. Like most Florida courses, it’s the cornerstone of a residential community. A cart is a must as the holes hopscotch over streets to the next tee box. 

Westchester does a good job at being an entertaining, enjoyable golf experience. Litton did a nice job at incorporating doglegs that play around hazards and property lines. Bunkering pushes play more towards the middle so the homes are less in play. Not much of a big deal considering most are just average players. 

(This short par four demands either perfectly placed draw or a well struck mid iron to the center of the fairway...

...a good layup still leaves a dicey approach. The mound guarding the right side of the green makes bailing out a quick bogey.) 

Karl Litton is an interesting architect. He became a senior design associate with Von Hagge and Devlin before going out on his own. I would say his ability to shoehorn the course into blocks of parcels is his biggest talent. There were many obtuse doglegs where a long hitter could really chop off yardage. The greens were the biggest challenge. Litton has a lot of slope them so being long or pin high can leave some demanding putts. 

All in all, Westchester was a nice golf course. It’s the type of place that’s going to be in existence for a long time. I give it a 4 (above average)(worth 30-45 min drive). The January Ryder Cup typically involves a round here. 27 holes is a big plus.