Going for Golf

Lely Resort Golf & Country Club

Lely Resort makes an ideal place to base yourself in the Naples area with the best two publicly accessible courses. First-class on-course accommodation is available in the extremely comfortable Greenlinks Golf Resort condos which line the fairways of the impressive Flamingo Island course, and have all mod cons.

The Flamingo was designed by Robert Trent Jones Senior no less. Gene Sarazen, who won our Open at Sandwich in 1932, lives in Naples and says simply: “The Lely Flamingo Island Club is the best in Naples,” so who am I to argue? The signature hole is the par-three fifth – a shallow and undulating green surrounded by water – and the final three holes are regarded as the best closing stretch in South West Florida.

The second Lely course is Lee Trevino’s Mustang. Well you won’t need wild horses to drag you back. A testing track amid the Florida pines – especially when the wind gets up and whips around 12 lakes criss-crossing the course as it did during my stay.