johndixs

At least for April, due to an older ( Safer at Home ) by the Florida Governor effective midnight 4/2/20, resulting in Closure of allFlorida golf courses for April ( and perhaps longer?? )
Too bad as the course and staff are first class and it is a fun place to play.
The one star re amenities is temporary as they were in the process of shutting down due to Gov. De Santis’ order. Ordinarily their facilities are fine. Ran into a number of folks from further south in Florida ( where courses had been closed earlier by county direction ) and they all really liked the Palm Cove layout and conditions.

It had been awhile since my last visit, and I must say that the overall conditions at Champions have improved demonstrably. Tees, greens, traps and fairways are all in good condition. The clubhouse showed signs of refreshment, especially in the grill room area. Staff both inside and out were attentive, knowledgeable and had things on schedule. This course design was done by Tom Fabio Sr at about the same time as Lost Lake. Champions has an advantage in scenery as most of the back nine is away from the housing. One of these days ( years?? ) Champions management will replace the rutty, rough crushed coral cart paths with simple paved paths-at least one would hope.

But, the design is really fun and the folks running it are doing a terrific job, so its worth a visit.

I probably speak for many locals with scores in the 80’s, who consider Palm Cove a fun golfing experience. The course offers varied shot challenges, tee choices to suit both the better, and the “ not so better “ players, is kept in good condition and has a helpful, friendly staff. When I suggest going to Palm Cove to friends, they typically light up and say Yes.

Staff, greens and fairways were excellent. The traps were another matter. They were consistent, at least in that the ones my partner and I encountered were all the same: perhaps 1/2 inch of dry fluffy sand over a really firm, compacted base of hard sand. Thus, if you didn’t really get the club going down very steeply, the bottom of the club would glance off the underlying hard surface and your ball was off to the races.