lshaefer

My visits in the Fort Myers area are intermittent and not always planned well in advance, so I have come to appreciate the people and amenities at Twin Isles Country Club. I have played at least a dozen others from Naples to Bradenton, including many that ask almost twice the prevailing greens fees at Twin Isles. The course is fair, open and reasonably varied, and I have found the conditions of the fairways and greens to be consistently good-to-superb.

For me, the crucial advantage at Twin Isles is the friendliness of the staff and members. As someone who generally plays as a single and a drop-in to complete a foursome, I have experienced more than my fair share of cold-shoulder attitudes towards the "snow birds" (even though I probably do not qualify as such). at other clubs in the area. That's never been an issue at Twin Lakes, even when paired up with members of very long standing. The pro, Steve, seems to make a concerted effort to make even occasional visitors like myself feel relaxed and comfortable during the round.

Twin Isles is a nice place. It's good, maybe a great value for the price asked. Drop by sometime and see for yourself. Just not all at once, and preferably not on those days when I happen to be in town!

Twin Isles is my go-to option when I am in the Fort Myers area. The staff are unfailingly courteous and helpful, and I have yet to encounter the brusque treatment meted out to "day trippers" at so many semi-private clubs around SW Florida.

The chance to warm up from real grass tees as long as it takes is a big plus for me, and the course lay-out gives me more than enough variety and challenge, even from the white tees.

Not having played Twin Isles in the scorching part of the year, I have to imagine that the scarcity of shade on the course might be an issue for some sun-averse folks in those months, but the comfort stations are thoughtfully located, so you're never too far from more ice and water.

Bird enthusiasts will certainly enjoy the constant activity of osprey, herons and, at certain times of the year, even a goodly number of sandhill cranes.

All in all, Twin Isles is a good value and a great fit for my game.

The course layout rewards accuracy over distance. Water hazards are relatively few in number, but positioned so as to force some hard decisions for most intermediate golfers. The hilly terrain means that many shots will be played with the ball above or below foot level. Winds from the west will affect many tee-shots, since the tee boxes are often placed on crests. Greens were firm, but collar and approach areas on many holes were a bit soggy, complicating the choice of short irons. Several holes offered excellent vistas of the surrounding mountainsides.

The Bobcat course seems to reward shot accuracy over length. Many of the par-4 holes feature relatively narrow fairways with specific landing-areas and heavy penalties for straying too far left or right. The big hitters in our foursome went through the fairway on several dogleg holes. The bunker sand is very gritty, with many small rocks and seashells, making it especially difficult to escape from the deep ones that are used to defend quite a few greens. The course had a slightly dry appearance (due to lack of recent rain), which added to the roll of the ball both on the fairway and on the greens, but also made it nearly impossible for the ball to avoid water on several banked portions of the course. The greens were typically generous in size, and more undulating than tiered.

Sabal Trace offers a good variety of hole lay-outs that will provide opportunities for just about every club in the bag. Fairway water and bunkers come into consideration on just a few holes, and then only for shorter tee shots. Course conditions are generally good, except in the most used landing areas, where many unrepaired divots can easily provide a bad lie.

The course presents a good variety of opportunities to test and refine your iron play, especially the shorter irons and wedges. Play from the fairway is rarely very challenging, but many of the greens are well defended with bunkers, and best approached from specific locations.

Water is a serious consideration only on a few holes, and then only for the long hitters. There are a few forced carries, but nothing that demands either great length or high accuracy.

The greens were in fairly good shape, but seemed slow and maybe a bit shaggy, but that may have been caused by rain the preceding overnight. Pin placements were moderate to easy on the majority of holes.

Pace of play was initially a bit slow, and there were several bottlenecks where a series of par-3's led to a par-4 tee, but the round still required just a bit over 3 hours to complete, which is about right for an executive-length course.

The clubhouse amenities were basic but adequate, and the service was brisk and cordial.