Palmer at Saddlebrook Golf & Tennis Resort
About
The Palmer Course is one of two championship courses designed by Arnold Palmer at the Saddlebrook Resort just north of Tampa. Although it is seemingly tame at 6,273 yards, it plays much tougher. The golf course features more elevation changes than the resort's other course, the Saddlebrook. The undulating, tree-lined fairways were designed to mimic a hilly New England course but the moss-covered cypresses, palm trees, and marshy swamplands are true to the Florida landscape. The layout features tight fairways framed with contoured mounding and the occasional water hazard but the most formidable challenge comes from the bunkers strategically placed along the undulating greens. The approaches to the tiered greens, which are often sloped from back to front, demand accuracy. Golfers should be prepared to use every club in their bag and employ a variety of different shots.
Tee | Par | Length | Rating | Slope |
---|---|---|---|---|
Blue | 71 | 6273 yards | 72.5 | 136 |
White | 71 | 5820 yards | 69.5 | 133 |
Gold | 71 | 5160 yards | 66.5 | 121 |
Red | 71 | 4875 yards | 65.3 | 119 |
Red (W) | 71 | 4875 yards | 69.8 | 125 |
Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Blue M: 71.5/136 | 441 | 182 | 447 | 508 | 371 | 361 | 142 | 479 | 325 | 3256 | 354 | 496 | 379 | 156 | 408 | 374 | 344 | 368 | 138 | 3017 | 6273 |
White M: 69.5/133 | 388 | 158 | 401 | 471 | 355 | 340 | 124 | 447 | 315 | 2999 | 334 | 460 | 355 | 129 | 395 | 360 | 304 | 355 | 129 | 2821 | 5820 |
Gold M: 66.5/121 W: 71.3/130 | 332 | 111 | 379 | 443 | 296 | 310 | 107 | 387 | 288 | 2653 | 298 | 411 | 331 | 111 | 364 | 303 | 245 | 330 | 114 | 2507 | 5160 |
Red M: 65.3/119 W: 69.8/125 | 328 | 111 | 329 | 443 | 292 | 282 | 90 | 384 | 282 | 2541 | 288 | 401 | 288 | 85 | 342 | 296 | 219 | 316 | 99 | 2334 | 4875 |
Handicap | 5 | 13 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 11 | 17 | 15 | 9 | 10 | 18 | 6 | 16 | 2 | 8 | 14 | 4 | 12 | |||
Par | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 36 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 35 | 71 |
Handicap (W) | 3 | 15 | 5 | 1 | 7 | 13 | 17 | 9 | 11 | 12 | 6 | 10 | 18 | 4 | 8 | 14 | 2 | 16 |
Course Details
Rentals/Services
Practice/Instruction
Policies
Food & Beverage
Snacks, RestaurantAvailable Facilities
Clubhouse, Banquet Facilities, SpaAvailable Activities
Swimming, BilliardsAvailable Sports
FitnessReviews
Reviewer Photos
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Photo submitted by u000005123786 on 09/07/2023
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Photo submitted by u314163860510 on 08/24/2023
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Photo submitted by StuKid on 07/02/2023
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Photo submitted by ImStillaYankee on 05/04/2023
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Photo submitted by ImStillaYankee on 05/04/2023
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Blocks not put out Photo submitted by chezzik on 12/28/2022
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Shredded towels Photo submitted by chezzik on 12/28/2022
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Hole 1 Photo submitted by deadlypinfish on 10/24/2022
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Difficult greens Photo submitted by deadlypinfish on 10/24/2022
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Photo submitted by Jhagler on 11/03/2021
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Photo submitted by Jhagler on 11/03/2021
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Photo submitted by Jhagler on 11/03/2021
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Beautiful Photo submitted by uofmdguy on 01/29/2021
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Little glance at 18. Photo submitted by Thranrod14 on 08/04/2020
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Photo submitted by Thranrod14 on 08/04/2020
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Photo submitted by Thranrod14 on 08/03/2020
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Photo submitted by Thranrod14 on 08/03/2020
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Photo submitted by Thranrod14 on 08/03/2020
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Photo submitted by u5860681 on 07/31/2020
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Photo submitted by u5860681 on 07/31/2020
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Photo submitted by u000006681800 on 07/21/2020
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Photo submitted by u000006681800 on 07/21/2020
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Photo submitted by u000006681800 on 07/21/2020
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Photo submitted by u000006681800 on 07/21/2020
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Photo submitted by u755281599 on 07/01/2020
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Grass in great shape Photo submitted by Rymelan on 03/19/2020
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Photo submitted by Rymelan on 03/19/2020
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Photo submitted by Rymelan on 03/19/2020
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Alligator floating around Photo submitted by Rymelan on 03/19/2020
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Photo submitted by Epicscuds on 01/23/2020
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Not a bad course. Photo submitted by KingOsi on 07/21/2019
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Photo submitted by djones1961 on 11/26/2018
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Palmer Course 18th hole Par 3 Photo submitted by AGCarson on 10/21/2017
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tough course Photo submitted by webbknight on 08/31/2015
Hoped For A Great Day, Didn't Get One
So the day started out tipping a valet guy for the mandatory valet parking. There was no warm up due to the range being literally on the other side of the resort. When I got to the pro shop they were having to search for carts. My tee time was around 8:30. How are you already out of carts that early in the morning? Got to hole 3 and the wait started. Had a foursome in front of us and they were slow. Told the ranger on hole 6 and he went up and spoke to them. Hole 7 was a par 3 and we pulled up as they were on the tee box. They looked at us and hit anyway. Got to hole 10 and they were on the tee box. One of the ladies started yelling at us that they were waiting on a 2 some. I looked down the 425 yard hole and the 2 some was on the green putting out. They hit their drives about 100 yards. We got to the 10th green and noticed that the ladies were standing around a cart. They decided to take a short cut to save a total of 2 seconds. Their cart was buried in mud. As we came to the 11th tee, she yelled out "you happy now?" Two Rangers showed up and they did absolutely nothing. Just as the ranger who spoke with them the first time, did absolutely nothing. We get to hole 14 and caught the 2 some that was in front of the ladies. The 2 some they were waiting on (only because they waited to tee off until they were putting out and walking off the green). That 2 some was also waiting at the 14th tee box. We were just a 2 some as well so at that point we decided to just go ahead and leave. Finally at hole 17 the course opened back up. We found out the issue was a really really slow 2 some. They had backed up 7-8 groups. There was a 4 some directly behind them that was in the fairway waiting for them to putt out and clear the green. With 2 rangers on the course and $100+ green fee, you'd think they'd know how to clear jams and get play moving along again. Instead we played 13-14 holes in 5 hours. We skipped the rest. After the round I ended up driving all over the resort because there was really no signage leading you back to the cart return. I spent 20 minutes winding through the pool area, the other course, back to the 18th hole to try to start over. I then had to walk about 10 minutes to the hotel/valet area with my golf bag in tow. Once I got to the valet area, it took 15 minutes to get my truck back. It's was a very frustrating/terrible day.
The course flat out was not a $100+ green fee course. I'd say it was probably a $40 course. They charge that much because of the Arnold Palmer name. It is a very short course. Really easy to run it through the fairways. Nothing like being punished by the course after a perfect shot. The greens were extremely slow. At one point my playing partner said putt putt was more realistic to the game of golf then these greens. The beverage cart made its rounds quite frequently. That was nice. What wasn't nice was paying $4.50 for a 12oz canned diet coke. That and a 20 oz bottle of water cost $7.75. Add in tip and that's a $10 bill.
I will not be playing this course again, or the other course at this resort. I also would most definitely NOT recommend this course to any of my friends.
Fast!
Teed off at 7:45am and was done by 10:30am. First round I have played in under 3 hrs in a LONG time. Just 2 of us.
Course in good shape overall. Bunkers in good condition. Greens were good not great. Overall good value for the money.
Saddle up to the "brooke"
Enjoy this great layout, either 18 is enjoyable to play! Greens are not easy to putt, but a fun challenge. Easy check in, great starters and cart personal every time I play the course!
Highly recommend enjoying a day at the Daddle!
Palmer Fun
I have played both courses now and
was greatly impressed with EVERYTHING!
Soooo easy to give five star rating for every category
Absolutely PHENOMENAL track! Mint condition!
What a gem! Worth the 50 minute drive from
Westchase area I was visiting in Tampa. Planning on coming back again for sure! Greens were
Incredible. I lost quite a few golf balls, but that’s on me!🙂
Saddlebrook gc
Nice course but could use the water on to turn it green
Playable and nice holes
Play elsewhere
The Palmer course is in terrible shape.
They are letting the front nine to go fallow as we were told they will be tearing it up in April for a new practice range. Good thing as the range is bad as well.
Find another venue.,,.
Terrible Staff
This course is inside a resort that you have to drive over two miles, once you get into the resort, to get to the front of the resort hotel,. You then have to valet your vehicle. You pull up to the front of the hotel entrance drop off your car to a valet, put your golf shoes on in the entrance, and then have to carry your clubs at least 400 yards to the golf shop. You then have to drive your golf cart all through the resort to get to the first tee. This course has a lot of blind tee shots and trouble in front of you. The carts are equipped with much needed gps, especially playing the course the first time. It's impossible to know how far to hit it on some occasions or where to hit it on others. After being told our gps would work once we got to the course, again driving forever through the resort to get to the first tee, our gps wouldn't work. At this point we couldn't drive back to the pro shop because people were stacking up behind us. We call the pro shop, no answer. We called during the whole round, no answer. We finally called the hotel and got a really nice person who actually got a hold of someone in the golf shop, after a long wait on hold, who said they would bring us a new cart. They never did. We called back, having to go through the resort hotel operator again who got us in touch with Raj, the golf manager. He didn't do anything. No apologies, no percentage off our next round, nothing. Nobody but the receptionist for the resort acted like they really cared. The funny thing is, I read where the resort and hotel were closed before, we went. They are open but should be closed for lack of caring and the goofy set up they have to actually get to the golf course once you arrive.
Course is in good shape. Pace of play right at 4 hours. Will definitely play here again