Going for Golf

Shingle Creek

After a round at Rosen Shingle Creek, there is a distinct possibility that you will immediately want to play it again. It is one of those kind of courses.

The layout features undulating fairways and interconnecting waterways bordered by the natural backdrop of dense oaks and pines along historic Shingle Creek.

The complex is named after the creek which, in the early 1800s, attracted settlers who were drawn by its abundance of game and fishing. These early inhabitants logged native cypress trees and floated them downstream to the mill, where many were made into shingles for the homes of the ever-expanding population. Accommodation at Shingle Creek now is a resort of 1,500 spacious and luxuriously fitted rooms, with nine dining choices.

This quality is reflected on a golf course that has 95 bunkers and water in play on 16 of the holes. The bunkers are not, however, high-lipped, often allowing the use of fairway woods and long-irons, while the putting surfaces are true and speedy.

The first hole at Shingle Creek provides a foretaste of what lies ahead. There is water all along the left and trees lining the right side of the fairway. Three bunkers guard the green. Mounds and bunkers mark the landing zones on many holes, while the ninth is particularly memorable, with a sharp dogleg left and an approach over water.