The late-fall Chicago weather can offer up some great days for golf, but also some huge bummers. On one fine day in late October, ‘Ol Bill and I got a chance to play a beauty of a round at one of the finest clubs in Chicago’s North Shore. We had all the amazing autumn colors and textures and wore our favorite quarter zip pullovers. The next day it was like 35° and raining, and that was that. No better time than now to escape to warmer climes for a quick round or two. Might as well make it count and hit up the Innisbrook Copperhead course.
I Went To Florida… Mysterious Florida
My parents moved down to central Florida a couple of years ago, so I’ve got a winter golf HQ pretty much whenever I want it. (In non-‘rona times of course.) It’s fun. I’d actually never been to Florida before they moved there. I know, I know, how can you be a golf nerd and not want to go there? Beaches! Island greens! 8,000,000 courses! Well, that trip just never worked out.
At this point, I needed to see what I would want to go play. Naturally, my first visit had us heading to Streamsong. Loved it. In later trips, I played a couple other local Tampa area courses, but honestly, they were average at best. The ones I found were pretty much community amenities, built around subdivisions to give the owners something to do and give swamp and rainwater somewhere to go. But that’s on me. At the time I just wanted to rip it and didn’t do the research I normally do. I know there’s some really good tracks down there.
Mom and Pop live really close to the Innisbrook Resort. Innisbrook’s home to four courses designed by Lawrence Packard and the centerpiece is the Copperhead, home to the PGA Tour’s Valspar Championship. The place was packed with a full tee sheet and an overworked starter. I’ll even have to give a shout out to Bobby Barnes, the Director of Golf. This place is normally only open for resort guests and members, so Bobby worked his magic and found a spot for a random tourist like me anyway. That’s awesome service, and something that will have me wanting to take my business there again in the future.
Let’s Go Play Innisbrook Copperhead
The Innisbrook Copperhead course actually felt really familiar to me. I’ve played a handful of Packard’s Midwest designs (Palatine Hills & Turnberry here in Illinois, and Spring Meadow CC in Michigan) and had generally liked them. He built solid but maybe unspectacular courses that were very playable to all handicaps. Packard seemed to be most active in between the period where folks like Robert Trent Jones dominated and the more modern ’90s – 2000s golf boom. The style is pretty distinctive…
The day turned out to be quite an adventure. I whipped out my 15 year old Snake Eyes 600c irons that I’d stored in my Ma’s garage and fired a lovely 52-38 (started on the back.) Sigh. Let’s take a look at the course and a couple highlights.
The Front Nine
The first hole at Copperhead is a beauty. You first have to bomb it over a foursome of retirees and then race to hit your ball before they find theirs. It’s a sloping, gettable par five for good golfers, or an easy tap in double for a Hero like me.
The second and third are much flatter. Hole two slides gently to the left and provides an easy hole out from 40 yards. Nice. Three forces you to test your nerves against a big lake. Is it even worth it to hit past? Or are you better off with the mid iron into the green?
Hole five would be my favorite. It’s a long par five over a big hill. My shot of the day was the driving iron I ripped right up by the green.
One of my favorite things about the course was the wildlife. It’s always cool to see the birds down there. I saw a ton of blue jays, cormorants, great blue herons, anhingas, snowy egrets, and more. Not sure if that’s no big deal for Florida, but I like it!
The front nine ends with a couple strong par fours with a long and difficult par three mixed in. It’s a tough test. I was in a good groove at that point (mostly due to the cart lady delivering a fabulous Transfusion) and finished with some really good vibes.
Side note – I’m a Midwestern boy through and through, and I’m not sure I love playing off that weird bermuda grass turf. So… the ball disappears in the rough, but it’s really light grass, but also super thick, and don’t expect to make good contact, but also you might nuke it sometimes. It’s a mystery.
Making the Turn
The back nine starts with two pretty straightforward holes. A par four and a tight par five. One of the coolest holes on the property will be the short par four twelfth. Target golf for sure, but it’s also one of the first where you have to navigate some swamps.
Fifteen’s a long par three but also features a noticeable drop. Probably good stadium seating for the tournament.
Next up is the famed “Snake Pit” that scares the pros like… they looked face-to-face with a copperhead… Sixteen’s a tough one with the water challenging your tee shot. Seventeen might be the most average hole on the course, and finally you play the rising par four eighteenth to wrap up your day.
Final Thoughts – Innisbrook Copperhead
In the end, the Innisbrook Copperhead course really impressed. It’s an old school track, and definitely PGA worthy. I found it fun and playable, once I figured out how to swing a golf club. I’m warming up to Florida! In addition to hanging out with family, it’s always good to find some great seafood and one of my favorite things on the planet – key lime pie. Way better than raking leaves back in Chicago, huh?
