Ohio Golf Journal 2018 Winter Travel Issue

Nestled deep into 900 wooded acres of rolling hills on Florida’s Gulf Coast, Innisbrook Resort, a Salamander property, is certainly one of the state’s best. It has every amenity a guest could want, plus it’s served up with relaxing hospitality. Salamander operates three top-end resorts in Florida including, Reunion Resort in Orlando, the Henderson in Destin and Hammock Dunes near St Augustine. The resort prides itself on the service provided by the staff and requires a certain profile, when hiring new team members. “We can teach them how to do a job, but we can’t grow them a personality.” The sprawling property features 72 holes of champion- ship golf, 550 spacious guest suites and rooms, plus four restaurants. The Copperhead, a Top-100 course in America, annually hosts the PGA Tour’s Valspar Championship. The Island Course, along with the North and South Courses offer the option to play a different great course every day. All four were designed by the late Larry Packard, a Chicago native, who spent 40 years tinkering with the courses, much like Donald Ross did with Pinehurst. He continuously refined the Copperhead to make it his masterpiece. The course recently underwent a six-month restorative enhance- ment including, re-grassing all fairways and roughs, rebuilding each green, as well as, reshaping the bunkers to stay true to Packard’s masterful design. Fifteen new forward tees were added to enhance INNISBROOK RESORT is One of the Best ON FLORIDA’S GULF COAST By: Wayne Mills Ohio Golf Journal