Village Golf Club (Royal Palm Beach, FL)

Village has a cool vibe to it. It’s a solid course, but the added texture from the cypress trees, the blooming flowers, and the cactus make the round more enjoyable than it otherwise would be. It reminds me of Jacaranda which coincidentally is designed by the same architect, Mark Mahannah.  This has me wondering if the floral and fauna enhancements are part of his philosophy. Jan Bel Jan, who I wrote about in my last blog, stated that the overall beauty of a course is one way to entice new members into joining a club. It’s possible Mahannah had that same opinion. 

Village is what I’d call a Florida parkland course. It has a lot of trees and requires accurate tee shots to narrow fairways. Water is present throughout the round, although it’s more the product of the terrain than an architectural feature. The locals have a bigger fear than visitors since they know all the places not to hit it. The cypress trees are the real stars. These beautiful trees highlight every shot that needs to challenge them. They also give it a different feel from other Florida courses. 

(The 421/400 yard par four fourth has a lake in the driving zone that makes players think twice before bombing away. The approach is to an open green with mounding on the sides.) 

(The 375/348 yard par four fifth has a single bunker guarding it. Note the slope on the left. Missing it on that side is more problematic then finding yourself in the trap.) 

(The 379/365 yard par four seventh defines the parkland experience Village gives golfers. Shaping the ball is a prerequisite to getting at pins located in the corners. The trees aren’t very tall but the ball sits down lower in Bermuda rough and is difficult to elevate.) 

There are three things that I like about Village Golf Club. First, the course is in great shape. The greens are quick, and downhill putts can be quite scary. Good putters have a real advantage. Second, the landscaping is very nice. Most of the tee boxes have a shade tree which in this climate is a huge bonus. The trees have this flower that give off a beautiful aroma, and I really enjoyed the scent. I kept asking what it was, but I never got an answer. Third, the practice facility is awesome. The driving range was okay, but the short game green with the bunkers and slopes had me working for forty five minutes after the round. It was this practice time that helped me play as good as I did on my trip. 

(The 510/483 yard par five ninth hole plays between two giant cypress trees on either side of the fairway. Most will advance it past these trees, but the longer hitter will be challenged to hit it high enough to reach the green in two.) 

(The 194/161 yard par three fourteenth is a defining moment in every round at Village. Any pin position on the right is a dangerous shot. This is one of the few times where water is used to impact the emotion and strategy of the round. Three is a good score.) 

Pace of play was an issue when I played it. It attracts a lot of senior players, and I’m guessing that since it’s not close to the highway, it has a core group of guys that probably play here daily. They overrun the place and it’s like their own club. In fact, we started on the twelth hole, which I’ve never seen except in a shotgun, and the starter talked to us like we should have known this. (They are installing new irrigation lines, so the starting hole changes, and you play that hole twice since one hole is being updated.) Obviously we knew nothing about this, but the same people are here, and I think they assume everyone knows the procedure. It is not new to have a core group of guys at a course, but Village is a tough place. Like I stated already, it’s narrow so the older players who’s handicaps are rising with age, are getting the snot beat out of them. 

(The short 367/346 yard par four sixteenth has an undefended green that provides the best chance for a birdie. The water is well short and mainly prevents the long hitter from pulling driver.) 

From the back tees, this is a really tough course. They place sectionals here and the course rating is actually over par. (72.7)  Even the next tee up (blue) is very challenging with long par fours. This is one of the few times where the white tees (5945) with its sub six thousand yards was the perfect choice. With all the trees, the course plays soft. There’s too many small and shorter trees here. I think if they trimmed it out, it’d be a much better course. It reminded me of Jacaranda, but it’s not quite as good. I give Village Golf Club a 4 (above average)(worth driving 30-45 minutes to play).

(The 567/545 yard par five eighteenth hole is lined by these beautiful flowering trees. Into the wind, it takes three solid shots to reach in regulation.)

Boca Lago Country Club (Boca Raton, FL)

Boca Lago is a private course that is kept in meticulous shape. The greens are very quick with good internal contouring that places a premium on hitting the correct spots. The fairways are perfect. At other places it’s tight and sparse but here they’re like carpet. In my six years of coming to Florida, this may be the best conditioned course I’ve seen. 

Boca Lago was designed by Devlin and Von Hagge in 1975, and later renovated in 2014 by female architect Jan Bel Jan. Jan’s involvement intrigues me. This is the first time I’ve seen her work, and that has led to me listening to her interviews, seeing what she considers the purpose of golf, and her philosophy on architecture. 

(The 551/512 yard par five South third has water all down the left and bisecting the hole midway. It takes three well played shots to snag a birdie. Pin position is key especially with a back flag where a ridge makes it a tiny target…
…the putting surface nearly goes to the water edge. The player needs to be cautious going too far or it’ll find the hazard. It’s a excellent hole!) 

Jan Bel Jan is credited with the Scoring Tee System. Data proved that courses were playing too long for both men and women. Her theory was gender verbiage tees were limiting men from moving up due to their pride. She reckon if courses installed better tees for ladies, the women would move up and men would actually play from the former red tee boxes. This system proved to be huge boon for courses, especially private ones which saw the satisfaction rate of their members skyrocket. 

(The 382/351 yard par four South fourth hole has an unnerving shot over water where anything short or right will find the hazard. Bailing left leaves a shot over the sand or out of it. Both are not for the feint of heart.) 

Jan Bel Jan’s philosophy is a practical one that combines playability with aesthetics. She wants golfers, and in particular women, to enjoy the game and bond with it. She talks about making the land better, and she wants it to be so appealing that it entices non golfers to take up the game. Less strokes + less time = more fun. It doesn’t get much better than that right?! 

(The 541/495 yard par five South ninth is a gambling hole that is reachable in two shots. Water is all down the right side, but notice how the fairway is quite wide 80-100 back while the water pinches in the closer one gets to the green. The long hitter must strike his ball well to avoid it if he wants an eagle putt.)

Boca Lago is a renovation of another architects work, but the playability of the course is evident. Short grass surrounds everything and the high handicap can putt from most anywhere. The course was initially designed by Devlin and Von Hagge and many of their telltale signs are here. The ninety degree dogleg pops up several times. (I’m hoping this feature is more a result of the housing and less to do with their philosophy) The par fives all have water in play, and the tiger golfer who has the power to reach them in two better be cognizant of where the cut ins are located. The par threes are average, working mainly as connector holes that keep the rout flowing. It’s pretty much everything you expect from this duo except it’s more user friendly due to Jan’s reno. 

(The 550/509 yard par five East first hole features twin trees that influence shot shape in the layup…
…the green is completely fronted by water but plenty of room exists to the left for less gifted players. The long hitter is looking at a very daunting shot to reach this in two.) 

Boca Lago has three nines, South East and West. Twenty-seven holes give the members enough variety and keeps the pace of play moving along. Overall, it’s your typical Florida course, but the conditioning makes it a treat to play. For this reason I’m bumping it up one. Boca Lago is a 5 for me (good)(worth driving an hour to play). As for Jan Bel Jan, she’s renovating many of the courses in Florida, giving the members at other clubs more teeing options, and hopefully more enjoyment. 

Links of Boynton Beach (Boynton Beach, Florida)

Devlin and Von Hagge are my least favorite architects, and Boynton Beach is a prime example of what I dislike about them. Their fairway mounding disrupts the flow and visual appeal, often times causing confusion as to where the hole is going and what hazards lie beyond. They dogleg at awkward yardages and difficult angles. The strategy off the tee differs on every hole, so while an inside line is best on one, an outside line is best on another. There’s no real philosophy to their architecture. 

(The 358 yard par four sixth doglegs to the right. The inside corner leaves a semi blind shot but the outside  corner requires a carry over the water.) 

Boynton Beach is owned by the city. They have an eighteen hole course and a nine hole executive course. The championship course plays along the perimeter. A couple canals define the boundary and come into play on a few holes, notably the first where it’s next to the tee box. A few holes on the boundary line dogleg at 90 degrees, a Devlin /Von Hagge trait that I find annoying. The eleventh is the biggest offender. It’s a silly par five where the big hitter can go over the corner with no reprisal and have a shot at the green while the shorter hitter must strike it solidly enough to get past the tree line. 

(The 433 yard par four third turns left after getting past the trees…
…this is very typical green at Boynton Beach. The putting surface slopes back to front with most of the difficult recoveries coming from the sides. Short is almost always the proper leave.) 

Boynton Beach best feature is its conditioning, specifically the greens which were rolling very fast. This made all the chips and pitches tough to gauge when coming from the side. The slopes and humps often times took the ball well past. This was my low round of the week (77) and the wind was consistently blowing 10-12 mph. Most of my shots were on the green or just short. From the front, one can save par much easier. 

(The 395 yard par four fifth doglegs right with the left bunker a good aiming point…
…the approach is to one of the few greens bunkered in front. An extra club ensures the carry but being long is no bargain either.)

(The 317 yard par four eighth has this minuscule green along the water’s edge. Note the mounding behind the green. Being on them, or worse over them, meant a treacherous putt towards the hazard. I saw many balls find the hazard here. This however was my only birdie.) 

Interestingly, I had played PGA National the day prior, and holes 15 and 17 are bookend par threes that make up the “Bear Trap”. Well Boynton Beach has its own version and the two par threes here on fifteenth and seventeenth are quite difficult. Any good round must get through this stretch in fine standing. (The sixteenth is another 90 degree dogleg that plays very long. The landing area was not well defined.) 

(The 181 yard par three fifteenth is a daunting hole. Right is the immediate bailout but I saw a few chips from there actually roll into the hazard. It played into the wind which only added to its length and difficulty.)

(The 178 yard par three seventeenth was similar to fifteen except the water was to the right…

…taking on any front or right pin risks finding the hazard with an errant shot. I won the pin shot here from 15’ which proves how elusive the hole was playing.) 

Being a municipal course, Boynton Beach has a decent price point. In the winter time, it becomes part of the rota of munis that are affordable, especially for vacationing northerners. Architecturally, I like Delray and Park Ridge better. Nonetheless, I have to give it a little credit especially with its condition which seems to be one criteria most golfers deem important. I give Links of Boynton Beach a 4 (above average)(worth driving 30-45 minutes to play). 

Palm Beach National Golf and Country Club (Lake Worth, FL)

Palm Beach National is a next generation golf experience. We’re talking TopGolf fun here with music pumping from the clubhouse; fun, goofy targets in the driving range; a tiki bar and food truck serving up goodies at the turn; and a cart girl who hustles rum shots. The golf course almost takes a back seat to the atmosphere but thankfully this Joe Lee design shrugs off any misconception of being anything other than old school. 

(The island green 165/141 yard par three third hole has a beach bunker guarding the left and rough protecting the right. The putting surface is elevated and is tricky to hit with the swirling wind.) 

Palm Beach National strikes me as a low key, low budget design where Joe Lee dug out some ponds, built up his greens, and bunkered the front sides. There is a lot of room off the tee to drive the ball, and very seldom is water in play. It’s a very playable golf course, and after playing some of his tougher designs, makes me respect his work even more. This is a place that actually grows the game and is fun. There are a couple holes that have flair and give it visual appeal, but a high handicap can get it around with one ball.

(The 505/465 yard par five seventh is well bunkered but the player who gets his second shot on the right side will have a clear path for his third. Note the three trees in background. I thought they were the coolest things. They’re linear with small branches. I never found out what they were.) 

(The 179/155 yard par three eighth is a classic Joe Lee hole. He clearly feels getting the ball airborne is the key element of golf.) 

The only flaw is the holes either go straight or dogleg to the right. There are no doglegs to the left. I was told Joe Lee lived on this golf course, so it’s possible that he faded the ball, and this was his home track. For the majority of golfers, fade holes work out good because they’re slicers. It might be another reason why Palm Beach National is so popular. 

(The 379/340 yard par four ninth doglegs right but if one hits it down the left, then this palm tree interferes with the approach shot.) 

(For Clevelanders, how great would it be to have Barrio’s catering all the Metroparks courses?! Kudos to Palm Beach National for out of the box thinking.) 

During the post round discussion, it was mentioned that many of the holes looked alike. My friends also felt that they hit the same shots over and over. I concur with both statements. The compact property just doesn’t have enough physical characteristics to differentiate the holes from one another. This makes all the water holes the highlights of the round. 3,15,18 are all really good holes. The eighteenth is such a fun ending hole that most golfers leave with a good impression that brings them back. 

(The 390/356 yard par four fifteenth doglegs right with the water guarding the inside…
…the approach shot is hit to a green that allows a low runner. The putting surface extends further back so the bunker on the left guards the rear portion.)

Palm Beach National has all the tenets that I believe are the key to success. It has a good price point, a solid design, and a lively atmosphere. As I get older, I find myself attracted to places like this. Golf is becoming more about the time I spend with my friends, and less about my score. That said, I reckon I could get under my handicap five out of ten times. I give Palm Beach National a 5 (good)(worth driving an hour to play).

(The 358/311 yard par four eighteenth has so much room to left and short of the bunker that’s it’s foolish to squeeze it into the neck of the fairway short of the green…
…

…most of the green is set diagonally behind the trap. It’s important to get a good yardage for a full shot. As the crow flies, the hole plays shorter so the long hitter has a chance to get it very close. It’s a terrific ending hole especially for matchplay!) 

(It never gets old seeing these guys!! This one is basking in the sun on the branch. He’s about 4’ long.)

PGA National - Champions (Palm Beach Gardens, FL)

PGA National Champions hosts the Honda Classic every year in early February, and is one of the most difficult non major courses the tour plays. It is the quintessential Florida course comprised of sand, water, and wind. Originally designed by Tom and George Fazio in 1981, Jack Nicklaus did a complete overhaul in 2014, and the course is now considered his design. 

(The 172/161 yard par three seventeenth is the last leg of the Bear Trap. Shaped like an artist’s palette, the green is a wide target with a very little narrow pinning position on the front left. Everything about the shot screams center of the green as trouble lurks everywhere. Par is a most welcome score.) 

The Champions was always destined to be a tournament course. Two years after opening, it held the 1983 Ryder Cup won by the Americans 14.5-13.5. Seve Ballesteros hit a 245 yard three wood out of the bunker on 18 to secure par and get a half point for the Euros. It’s considered one of the best shots he ever hit. Then in 1987, the PGA Championship was staged  with Larry Nelson winning with a -1 total. He beat Lanny Wadkins in a playoff. Both men missed the green on the first extra hole, and only Nelson was able to salvage par. In 2007, the Honda Classic made PGA National its permanent home. After years of struggling to get a quality field, the move here has enticed the best players. The winning score is typically in the single digits, and has reinforced the course’s reputation as being tough. 

(The 171/138 yard par three fifth has plenty of short grass to bail out if one is uncomfortable with the shot. Pin position is determines whether to be aggressive or not.) 

Like most tour courses, the Champions is a pretty straight forward test. It’s difficulty stems from a stern set of greens that are very slick. If one is not careful, a putt can get away pretty quickly. Anything over twenty five feet poses a threat of three putting, especially if it’s downhill. The biggest challenge however is the one not seen…wind. It dictates everything. The ability to decipher direction and strength is of the utmost importance. With the preponderance of water and sand, mishits are abruptly punished. It’s possible to hit the ball well and still make double bogey. That’s the rub here. 

(Tee shots such as this one are a common theme. Understanding your ball flight and desired line is key.) 

Most golf aficionados point out the lack of any substantial architectural features and the abundance of water and sand along with the flat terrain as a negative, but as an example of aerial golf, PGA National is spot on. The holes bend as oppose to dogleg, so ball flight and driving lines need to be precise to land in the fairway. The slick greens are very difficult to approach from the rough. Specific pin positions demand a high spinning shot to access them. On the par four fourth, the back right pin was backdropped by a ten foot swale. A couple guys in our group had no chance to stop it. The par five sixth had a bilevel green where the right is higher than the left. It was a difficult shot to stop it on that level, so one must decide either risk being aggressive or hit to lower left and take the chance of two putting up the slope. 

(The 404/360 yard par four ninth plays slightly uphill to this angled green hidden behind the bunkers. The right side of fairway opens up the approach shot.) 

(Water hazards are more than just ball eating penalty areas at PGA National…
…they are hazardous in every sense of the word. Most gators are pulled from the ponds and taken to the sanctuary, but they always seem to find their way back.) 

Most casual golf fans know PGA National for its famed finish called the “Bear Trap”. It’s holes 15-16-17 where two par threes bookend a tough par four. (I don’t know why 18 isn’t included. It’s one of the best holes on the course and is a fantastic finish) Both par threes play over water and generally at the same yardage. During the tournament, the player who keeps his emotions in check and hits quality shots is the one who wins. Getting too aggressive can lead to disaster. 

(The 179/153 yard par three fifteenth has a generous green but a pin cut in the back right goads the player into hitting a shot that shouldn’t be attempted.) 

(The 434/391 yard par four sixteenth plays straightaway before angling right to a green across the water. The fairway narrows the further one hits it off the tee, and keeping it on the right shortens the approach. A conservative tee shot will leave a long approach to well bunkered green.) 

PGA National has its negatives but it has nothing to do with the golf course. The complex has five courses, a spa, and a hotel, but not very good signage. We had to ask where the clubhouse was. Once we found it, they had a valet service, which if one chooses not to do, translates into walking a quarter mile from the self parking lot. Finally, I wanted a logo ball but was told I had to buy an entire sleeve. I asked if they could just break up the sleeve and they said they couldn’t. Perplexing. 

(This view looking back to the tee on the 464/420 yard par four fourteenth. Note the narrow opening and the shoulder of the bunker. Tough shot to get close.) 

The final hole is a terrific par five. On tv, it comes across as a cape style hole, but it’s really a reverse “s” where the long hitter must carry the corner to have a shot at going for it in two. If one is playing as a three  shotter, then it’s not that difficult unless the pin is against water on the right. Otherwise, there’s plenty of fairway to lay up for short iron approach. 

(The tee shot on the 556/527 yard par five eighteenth is to a generous landing area. Of course the pros are taking it over the left trap 305 yards away…

…(yes the rain came pouring down when I took this pic.) the front right is hard against the water. The rear is pretty open as is the front. Note that it’s all carry to reach it two.) 

In the six years I’ve been coming to south Florida, PGA National is the finest course I’ve played on the Atlantic side. While there are homes here, there’s no awkward doglegs or goofy looking mounds. It’s a clean design with a classic profile. The course is in great shape and the greens roll at 12 on the stimpmeter. I enjoyed my round very much but value wise it’s a bit overpriced. I think it’s a good $100-125 course, not the $185 that they charge. If you can get this at the rate I think is fair, then take advantage and play a truly PGA Tour level golf course. I give PGA National Champions a 6 (very good)(worth driving 2 hours to play). 

(The pros expect the best and PGA National offers a terrific practice range and facility.)