Astor Creek Country Club (Port St Lucie, FL)

Astor Creek is an intelligent design that uses width and deception to challenge golfers. The random transition areas are a unique hazard and give the course a quasi desert feel. In a state where sand and water are the overwhelming hazards of choice, it’s refreshing to see a different approach.

Astor Creek was designed by Arthur Hills’ protégé Chris Wilczynski in 2023. Sustainability is the crux of his design philosophy. If one can mix fun with beauty and strategy, then the urge to golf will increase. Chris achieved this by making the course super wide. How enjoyable is it to always be able to find your ball?! (Isn’t this what everyone raves about at The Park) The sight lines and green axis’ are the key to getting the proper angle. With nearly half the greens tilting from front to back, being on the correct side of the fairway is key to working the ball to specific hole locations.

(The very first green introduces one to the front to back motif Wilczynski incorporated into the design. Note how its two tiered with the lower level in the rear.)

(The 566/520 yard par five eighth doglegs slightly right with a transition area poking in from the right for the second shot. The green is a hodgepodge of several pinning areas. The flag in picture is all the way in the back with the terrain sloping away past the putting surface.)

(The beautiful 414/365 yard par four tenth has an elevated approach area where just the front is viewed from the fairway. Look at all that green grass! This is a course unlike most Florida tracks.)

Several times during our round my playing partners and I would scratch our heads because the flag would be blue but it looked like it should’ve been red. This is a result of the wonderful green complexes. Feeder slopes and hidden ground all make local knowledge a huge advantage. It was no surprise that the low round and winner of all the money was the member who arranged our tee times.

(The random transition areas create just enough tension to give the wide fairways some extra strategy. Here my second shot has plenty of room to get around or over the palm trees but what trajectory or shape do I want to play? There’s plenty of options and intrigue at Astor Creek.)

(The 385/360 yard par four eighteenth has water on the left but has a wide fairway with only this bunker interrupting a continuous sight to the green. It was amazing how many guys in our group hit it in here, including myself. It’s a good birdie opportunity to finish the round.)

Everyone enjoyed Astor Creek even though we were playing in 35mph wind. If your definition of a good course is one that you want another go around soon after finishing then this place meets that criteria. The course is in excellent condition and the guest rate at $85 is very reasonable. A few guys in our Ryder Cup group are members here so I anticipate playing it again in the near future. I give Astor Creek a 5 (good)(worth driving an hour to play).

(This was one of the windiest days I’ve golfed in. On three of par fives we had a hurting wind with the 518 sixteenth dead into it. Dr-3wd-3wd-3hy just to reach the front edge! On the flip side, the 137 fifteenth was straight down wind and not a single person could keep it from going long. All in all my 86 was pretty good. We played the blue/grey combo at 6,015.)

Blog 494

Crandon Golf at Key Biscayne (Key Biscayne, FL)

Few municipal golf courses possess as grand a location as Crandon Park in Key Biscayne does. Situated across the bay from Miami, the course enjoys a tropical atmosphere full of wildlife. It plays over inland saltwater lakes, through mangroves, and alongside Biscayne Bay. The Champions Tour called it home from 1987-2004 when it held the Royal Caribbean Classic. Both Lee Trevino and Gary Player won here.

Robert Von Hagge and Bruce Devlin designed Crandon in 1972. The runway tees are some of the longest you’ll see, specifically the 104 yard par four second tee box and the 159 yard par five eighteenth tee box. It has an unusual routing compiled of five par fives, five par threes, and eight par fours. The bunkering is extensive with capes and bays covering almost every opening to a green while tall, abrupt mounding frames several putting surfaces.

(The 188/168/160 yard par three third plays over a saltwater lake with sand guarding front, left, and right. The beautiful setting is only enhanced when looking back to the tee from the green…

…it is not unusual to see birds of multiple variety wading through the water. A pin located on the left is partially blind from the tee.)

(The short 136/135/122 yard volcano par three eighth plays to a table top green with fall offs all around. Anything left will roll into the hazard. Note how the mangroves on the left are slowly chocking the hole and impeding what is a one of a kind pitch shot. I’m very impressed that Von Hagge and Devlin designed it.)

The par threes are the standout holes here. They’re beautifully intertwined with the inland lakes and are imbued with the qualities that make this a special place. The par fours are long and difficult with five of the eight playing over 390 yards from the regular tees. The par fives are the scoring holes. They enjoy the most interesting drives with angled shots over mangroves and/or water hazards to find position “A”.

(Crandon mingles with the inland lakes in various ways. Here at the 370/369/360 yard par four ninth, one is driving over the water with the mangroves pinching in, making this a tougher than need be tee shot.)

(One of the best holes on the course is the 554/530/489 yard par five tenth. This cape hole tempts players into taking a line that is foolhardy. An aggressive tee shot that is successful makes this reachable in two.)

(Arguably the best par three, the twelth is 179/175/158 yards to an angled green hard against the water. With bunkers and mounding behind, there is little room for error. The putting surface slopes towards the water and to the rear so a tight draw will funnel back to the left.)

What prevents Crandon from being in the upper echelon of municipal golf is its conditioning. At best it’s average with soft soil and less than desirable drainage. While the greens are fine, the fairways are thin with bare spots in multiple places. The course is very difficult so expect a 5+ hour round on the weekend. It’s also a shame that the mangroves that border the course block out the incredible views of the Miami skyline. Holes 1,7,8,9,10,11,17,18 would all improve instantly and push this into a rare experience. As is, it’s still one of Miami’s best courses and is easily a 5 (good)(worth driving an hour to play).

(The 550/511/481 yard par five eighteenth is straightaway with the mangrove to the right and saltwater lake to the left. A good drive brings the green into reach but note all the sand traps that await any ball not hit perfectly…

…a few peekaboo spots reveal the awesome view that the thick mangroves hide.)

(I played the white tees at 6,424 yards. I treated it as a practice round as I prepared for the South Florida Ryder Cup tournament. It wasn’t a particularly good day with 6 fairways and only 3 greens hit. I actually was in more sand traps (7). I up n downed 3 times including a bogey save. Cost was $200. Look at the course and slope ratings from all the tees! Nasty!)

Blog 493

Independence Golf Club (Midlothian, VA)

Finally my first blog of a new year is not in Florida! Independence Golf Club is located twenty minutes outside Richmond in the suburb of Midlothian. Tom Fazio designed it in 2001 with a George Lester upgrade in 2014 with renovated bunkers, re-grassed fairways, and newly converted Champion Bermuda greens. It was used to co-host the 2024 US Mid-Amateur Championship.

Independence is a classic looking golf course with clean lines and beautifully manicured grounds. The scalloped bunkers artfully protect the putting surfaces, usually along the front on a particular side while the other side has fall offs that scurry the ball away. This style gives a distinct advantage to those who can elevate the ball and make it stop quickly. For those who lack such talent, short grass around the greens still allows a playable and enjoyable round.

(The 605/585/550 yard par five fourth doglegs slightly left. The long hitter can shave a few yards cutting the corner but the rest of us will probably shy to the right, making this monster play even longer.)

(This photo shows just how far out of play they placed the cart paths. It adds quite a bit to the experience and makes the course look even better. I couldn’t help but notice plenty of walkers on this brisk high 40 degree day.)

(The 200/175/160 yard par three ninth is a simple shot over a shallow valley to pedestal green. Not too demanding, a well struck ball will be a reasonable birdie opportunity.)

The front nine is more difficult with several long par fours starting the round. If you can stave off any big numbers then the eighth and ninth will bleed into the back nine where Fazio lightens up and gives the player some birdie chances. A sequence of short par fours and a short par five are there for the taking. During the Mid-Am, the leaders were able to gain ground in 10-14 stretch while those who struggled didn’t make it to the matchplay portion. The final three holes are solid although not visually spectacular. It should be noted that this is Fazio’s only public course in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

(The 350/340/310 yard par four tenth doglegs left with water in the elbow. A nicely positioned ball leaves an aggressive angle to the green.)

(The 520/475/440 yard par five thirteenth is a good birdie opportunity during normal play but turns into a beast at state and national events when it changes to a par four. The par five eighth is also designed in this manner. Such flexibility has allowed Independence to host multiple state opens and qualifiers.)

(The uphill 230/180/145 yard par three fourteenth has a two tier green. Knowing where the flag is located is half the battle. Short grass abounds left and short of the putting surface.)

(I thought the 460/435/415 yard par four sixteenth was the hardest hole on the course. It doglegs right with this bunker guarding the inside corner. It’s a long second shot to a green that sheds balls into the trees. The bunker short left is a better miss.)

Independence is considered Richmond’s premier golf course and it’s presented as such. The courses is in fantastic shape and has very quick greens. The $140 price tag was more than I was expecting but I can’t argue with the near perfect conditions it was kept in. It’s well worth the fee and seeking out if you’re in the area. I give it a 6 (very good)(worth driving 1-2 hours to play). The more Tom Fazio courses I play, the more I find myself liking his work.

(The final hole is a 465/385/350 yard uphill par four. The green sits away from the southern plantation colored clubhouse. During the summer, they have concerts for the locals.)

(I played the white tees at 6,230 yards. As you can tell by the pictures, there’s a lot of room for a miss from the tee. Being able to advance the ball when I hit poor drives meant bogey was still in play with a decent pitch. The highlight of the round was hitting every par three in regulation. Blog 492.)