Going for Golf

Tiburon

Greg Norman is the undisputed King of Naples when it comes to golf, having been a high-profile figure in the area’s expansion over the last 20 years. The Shark Shootout might not feature highly on the PGA Tour schedule, but Naples has hosted the friendly, end-of-season birdie fest at Tiburon every year since 1989. The private club nestles next to the Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort, Naples, which officially hosts the 54-hole tournament, featuring 12 pairs playing a greensomes and scramble format.

The Gold Course is not the toughest tour venue an ordinary club golfer may be lucky to play. Even off my uneven 18 handicap, playing off the back tees at 6,523 yards was not too much of a physical challenge. With virtually no rough to speak of, the Gold sets up as a typical American resort course. Set amid the pine trees, the dangers are at the business end as long as you stay out of the large coquina waste bunkers, which are liberally sprinkled around the course.

The greens are, on the whole, quite large, incorporating some big slopes. Coupled with the Bermuda grass, getting on the wrong side of the hole can leave you racking up the big numbers.The 451-yard 18th could be at Sawgrass or Pebble Beach (minus the Pacific Ocean of course) – or virtually every closing hole on a typical PGA Tour venue – water all down the left, and a narrow landing area to hit.

The Black, while almost identical in terrain and natural features, is tighter than the Gold and rated tougher on the USGA’s slope system.

Tiburon is also the southern home of the Rick Smith Golf Academy – who is recognised as one of the top teachers in the world. Director of instruction Trevor Gliwski concentrates his teaching on a couple of fundamentals that unite all the world’s best players – namely that the club-head is square at impact, and not how it got there. One short session sorted out my driving and I have never hit the ball so well off the tee as I did during my week here.

To play Tiburon you need to stay at the Ritz-Carlton. Another course which requires you to stay at the hotel is Naples Grande Golf Club, set a few miles away from the Naples Grande Beach Resort overlooking a prime piece of the town’s beach – complete with its own mangrove estuary, Clam Pass, which can be explored by kayak by the more adventurous.