PGA Professional: Jay Overton, Host PGA Professional, Innisbrook Resort & Golf Club, Palm Harbor, Fla.

By Jay Overton, PGA 

Day 1
Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club has a reputation for being one of the most desirable golf destinations in Florida.

With four courses, all designed by the renowned golf-course architect Lawrence Packard, resort guests have playing options ranging from more forgiving layouts to the Copperhead Course, which annually hosts the PGA Tour event which, beginning in March, 2009 will be known as the Transitions Championship. Resort guests are able to play all of the four courses at no surcharge.

With its tour-proven reputation as a great test of golf, Innisbrook specializes in hosting larger groups of traveling golfers (from 8 to 80 guests), making it a great pick for any larger group, be it men or women, young or old. Innisbrook is also the perfect setting for a group meeting that has a golf component, with 65,000 square feet of newly renovated meeting space, including three ballrooms, two executive boardrooms and adjacent breakout rooms.

For those planning to visit Innisbrook, the golf staff pulls out all of the stops, assigning a service manager to oversee transportation, rooming, the scheduling of tee times and meals at any of Innisbrook’s four restaurants, coordinating entertainment and nightlife, departure on the final day and much more. Once the group is ready to golf, a tournament coordinator will track the group’s activities, and a staff of PGA Professionals will meet, greet and take care of all of the golfers’ needs, ensuring an unsurpassed experience for all visitors. From arranging a late checkout to organizing a special tournament, the staff at Innisbrook has it covered.

Along with the reputation of its courses and the quality of service provided by the staff, Innisbrook has accommodations to match, including over 600 condo units ranging from one-bedroom suites to 2-bedroom deluxe condos, spread throughout 28 lodges. Each condo includes a spacious living room and separate bedroom, as well as a built-in bar, fully equipped kitchen and private balcony or patio.

Those ready to jump headfirst into golf may want to start on the shorter courses at Innisbrook, the Highlands North and South Courses. Don’t let the length fool you – at 6,325 yards from the back tees, the Highlands North is known for its daunting par threes, tight fairways, an abundance of trees and well-bunkered greens, all of which place a premium on accuracy from tee to green. The course’s 11 water hazards further emphasize the importance of correct club selection and shotmaking ability.

The links-style Highlands South uses rolling terrain and extensive fairway bunkering. Breezes off of the Gulf of Mexico, waste bunkers and ten water hazards all add to the links feel of the course. The Highlands Courses, as well as the Island and Copperhead Courses, all feature Packard’s trademark double-dogleg par five holes, a distinguishing touch the designer put on all of his Innisbrook layouts.

After your round, head over to the Turnberry Pub, where you can enjoy a casual post-round tipple and burger either inside or on the Garden Patio overlooking the Island Course. And if you are still trying to get more golf in, there is also a window snack bar that is accessible from the course that is open daily for breakfast and lunch.

Day 2
It’s going to be an action-packed day, so no need to rush out for the morning meal – the Innisbrook staff would be happy to provide you with breakfast in your suite. The eclectic room-service breakfast menu includes choices from the specialty Banana Nut French Toast with fresh strawberries and bananas to your specialty: building a breakfast sandwich to your own rigorous standards, on a choice of toast, bagel or croissant.

If it is more golf you are after, perhaps you want to brush up on your game before your next test. The Innisbrook Golf Institute has been helping golfers improve their games for 30 years and has several expert PGA Professional instructors. In addition to the all-grass tees on the practice range, the 10-acre facility features state-of-the-art clubfitting capabilities and a full range of high-tech analysis tools for the full swing, putting and ball flight. Even more impressive than the technology at Innisbrook Golf Institute is the teaching staff, led by PGA Host Professional Jay Overton, a former PGA Tour competitor and the Senior PGA Professional Player of the Year in 2001 and 2002, and PGA Director of Instruction Lew Smither III. These dedicated teachers are available for private instruction, while several of the resort’s packages include participation in Institute’s daily clinics.

Afterwards, head over to the Island Course which, after a recently completed $2 million renovation, measures 7,310 yards from the tips and features tough water hazards and narrow fairways. The four courses at Innisbrook cover over 900 acres of rolling terrain, but on the Island Course the elevation reaches a height of 75 feet above sea level on the 11th tee. The Island’s first six holes are bordered by Lake Innisbrook and lateral water hazards that demand accuracy off the tee and for approach shots. The middle six holes feature rolling hills dominated by cypress and pine trees. The finishing hole is both breathtakingly beautiful and deviously difficult. Copperhead may the best known course at Innisbrook but if you ask the members, the Island Course is their favorite.

You can always play one of the resort’s courses again, but if you’ve had enough golf for one day, take a dip. Innisbrook is only minutes away from some of the Tampa Bay area’s best beaches, but if you are as worn out by Lawrence Packard’s golf courses as many people are, the resort has six great swimming pools on the property. The largest, the Loch Ness Monster Pool, is located in the center of the resort amid a three-acre fun park for children of all ages. Loch Ness has two sand beach areas, a 15-foot waterfall, two winding water slides, a separate plunge pool with bubbling jets and fountains, a grill for casual poolside dining, water volleyball, sunbathing areas and a monster-sized spa that seats up to 36 people.

The Innisbrook Resort will also soon be opening a spa that will include 12 treatment rooms with private outdoor terraces, couples treatment rooms and an outdoor courtyard with a fire pit. For your daily workouts they have also opened a new fitness center, which overlooks the 12th and 13th holes of the Copperhead, which is available to guests.

After whiling away your afternoon, it is time for a meal at Packard’s Steakhouse, the premier restaurant of all of Innisbrook’s eateries. Named after the designer of the resort’s four courses, Packard’s has exquisite selections ranging from starters like the bacon-wrapped shrimp stuffed with basil or the kona-crusted lollipop lamb chop to main courses such as the specialty Kansas City prime sirloin with porcini mushroom seasoning or the veal scaloppini vermicelli.

Day 3
Innisbrook’s most famous course is surely Copperhead, a fierce test that receives heaps of praise from PGA Tour competitors and amateur golfers alike. U.S. Ryder Cup Captain Paul Azinger calls Copperhead “The best course we play on TOUR.” Today it’s your turn. Reminiscent of a Carolina layout with its dramatic elevation changes and fairways lined by hardwoods and pines, at 7,340 yards this layout will test even the biggest hitters, while the greens can be treacherous to those who do not hit their approach shots below the hole.

For the fishing enthusiasts, Lake Innisbrook is the place to find largemouth bass (some as large as 10 lbs), as well as catfish and bluegills. If you are more of a saltwater angler, the resort will be happy to arrange a charter trip to the Gulf of Mexico where redfish, snook, tarpon, grouper and snapper are among the many species that will test your skills.

If you are more into sightseeing, head into Tampa to experience the city’s unique ambiance. One of the primary tourist attractions in Tampa is Ybor City, the historic district. Cuban expatriate Don Vicente Martinez Ybor brought his cigar manufacturing business to Tampa in the late nineteenth century, and soon the area had more than 200 such enterprises, employing over 12,000 people and boasting the title of “Cigar Capital of the World.” Today Ybor City is recognized as a National Historic Landmark, and visitors and locals alike walk its streets, where the cigar factories of yesterday are today’s cafes, restaurants, bars, art galleries and shops.

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