October 2021 Ohio Golf Journal

Fort Lauderdale Area Has Plenty of Options for Daily Fee Golfers Deer Creek Golf Club Deer Creek Golf Club is an upscale public golf facility with an 18-hole championship course designed by Toledo-native Arthur Hills. Known for its rolling landscape and the consistently fast putting surfaces, the course opened in 1971 and has hosted many prestigious professional and amateur golf tournaments Colony West Since opening in 1971, ColonyWest has been one of the most popular public access golf facilities in South Florida. Originally designed by Devlin and Von Hagge, the Championship Course opened for the Jackie Gleason Classic, now the Honda Classic, as a monstrous 7,553-yard, par-72 track. Shortly after that first PGA Tour event, Jack Nicklaus and the Tournament Committee decided the course was too difficult for even tour pros. In all, 52 of the 137 bunkers were removed, the course was shortened, the nines were flipped and it was shrunk to a par 70, at 6,648-yards. In 2018, Colony West underwent another renovation to all 18 greens, and greenside bunkers. The Clubhouse was replaced with a Fairfield Inn and Suites, scheduled to open this fall. An old cart barn became an 11,000-square-foot state-of-the- art clubhouse with banquet and meeting facilities for 250 people. A new restaurant, The View at Colony West, is open to the public. The pro shop has all of your favorite logoed apparel, as well as, everything you need for a great round of golf. By Dave Theoret With cooler weather about to descend on Ohio, Golfaholics may want to consider heading to Florida’s Southeastern coast. Fort Lauderdale has 24 miles of white sandy beaches with sparkling turquoise water, palm trees gently swaying in the ocean breezes and a plethora of wonderful public golf courses. What follows are some of our favorites. Deer Creek also has one of the best practice facilities in the area with a full-length driving range, putting green, sand traps, and chipping areas.