GirlGolfGuru

Tom Fazio might be the greatest course designer of all time. He is my personal favorite and I am on a quest to play each of his courses. Overall this course is stunningly beautiful and ranks as one of my favorites. Seamlessly blending into the surrounding pine forest, Fazio courses never look manufactured or 'plopped' down. Yet this little gem has a neglected air that worries me.

This course is a real anomaly. Not part of a resort or club, it was built in the middle of nowhere, with no lodging nearby and has no membership. it's a public course, open to all. it is very inexpensive, which may be part of the problem. Despite its peaceful beauty, close inspection reveals out of shape greens, tee boxes in very poor shape and fairways fairly beat up.

There is a very small 'cafe' to grab a quick bite and an adequate pro shop if you need to grab something, but no club house to speak of. Bring your own towel if you want a quick shower in the one shower room after your round. Very pretty practice areas abound.

The course has five tees, although the furthest back has tee boxes so out of shape as to be unusable. There are no combo cards made ready and so my husband (9 handicap) played his own combo black/green, depending on the look of the box. I play the orange, which were really too easy (114) and stuck so far foward as to make the landing areas awkward and hazards not really in play. (I hate when the most forward tees are an afterthought.) I should have played a white/orange combo and if the course were part of a club, I'm sure there would be combo carefully thought out to give proper stroke indexes & etc.

But as it is, the course seems a bit of a duffers paradise.
Very lax dress codes and lots of 'public' players shouting and cursing on the course. Music blasting from carts blazing around.

And still the holes are a treat. Only three par 5s and no too long, the course is effeminately playable even for the higher handicaps.

Hardly any water hazards, but guarded, tiered greens. Although the greens were not in top shape, having recently been aerated, you could see the nice variety in elevations, with enough contour to make things interesting.

Look out for the signature long waste areas running down the left side and the occasional middle of the fairway tree. The 14th has a double green and lucky you when play is to the easier left side green!

Not to missed for Fazio fans and perhaps midweek better than weekends to avoid some of the more 'public' public. But even on a busy sunday we played in four hours and the ranger was around often to keep things moving.

A Fazio gem. I know it's private, but the pro at your club might be able to get you on and it's well worth the effort. Another way to play (if you're an Indian River local and belong to another local club) is the 'off season'' Invitational pay and plays.

The West course is John's Island jewel. Unlike the North and South courses, which are on the barrier island and wind around the property, there are no homes visible from anywhere on the West Course.

On the main land, on the sand ridge that runs along route US1 and includes Red Stick, Bent Pine, Hawks Nest and Sand Ridge, these courses benefit from more natural undulation and slightly higher elevations which provide more chance of catching ocean breezes.

The West course is gorgeous. Period. Challenging but playable. The course 'works' from all the tees.

Starting with three pretty straight forward par 4's that get you warmed up for the next sequence of four holes that run par 3, par 5, par 3 par 5... A nice sequence to play long holes followed by pretty accuracy tests!

You then settle into the heart of the course, five par 4's. All different, one breaks right, one left, one elevated green and the lovely 11th elevated tee.
(Treat yourself to the view from the top tee box, which is a high point on the course and has a stunning 360 degree view of the area.)

The play on the final 7 holes, goes - par 3, 4, 5, 3, 5, 4.
It's a roller coaster of pretty views. There's water around, but more for aesthetics than to get you in trouble. The trouble comes from the perfectly placed sand; Bunkers and his signature large, but clean waste areas. Stretches of these have mature palms growing straight out of the white sand and so have the exotic look of Egypt.

If you get a chance to play, come early and use the wonderful practice facilities. Try to resist pocketing the Pro V1 practice balls!