Sara Bay - Florida - USA

After numerous (9) rounds at this traditional yet casual and welcoming club over this winter ( courtesy of good friends), i finally feel familiar enough with the course to fairly evaluate it.

First, it was originally finished in 1926 by Donald Ross as the centerpiece of a new neighborhood called Whitfield Estates, just north of the present day Sarasota- Bradenton Airport and a stones throw from the eastern edge of Sarasota Bay. It was actually called Whitfield Estates CC in its early days. Golfwise, it’s historical significance is that Bobby Jones honed his game there in the winter months while supposedly selling homesites around the new course. He even played Walter Hagen in a 36 hole match, first 18 at Sara Bay and the second 18 in California at Hagen’s home club.

Presently, the course features a collection of greens that were renovated about 5 years ago to capture the original Ross contours.

So upon looking out at the property from the practice greens, what you see is a fairly typical lush and well-conditioned Florida layout. It is only after a number of rounds that you realize the brilliant green contours will ( as well as the fact that they were kept at an average stump of 11.5 this year) make it exceptionally challenging to play to one’s handicap.

With few exceptions, the greens feature the Ross signature turtle-back design, often with a variety of ridges that feed imprecise shots off into collection areas that almost guarantee a bogey ( or worse).

So while i came to appreciate the subtle difficulties of the course , I’m not going to recap all 18 holes, just highlight my favorites and point out the few ‘flaws’.

As far as par 3’s, my favorite would to #8, a 165 ( white) to 195 ( blue) that plays East-west to a devilish green with water not really visible but lurking on three-sides ( short, long, and right). The inclination is to err on the left half of the green, but a miss left is a certain bogey.

Of the four par-5’s, I’d have to count #7 as the most difficult as only a really long hitter can attempt to reach in 2 with a stream 70 yards short of the green on the 523 ( white) 584 ( blue) hole. Add to that well-placed bunkers that don’t line the fairway but sit within it, making one choose different angles of attack for both tee and second shot..

Two of the other par 5’s ( #9 and #17) invite one to go for the green in two as they are just shy of 500 yards, but again, even succeeding in that endeavor does not guarantee a birdie as the greens defend both holes very well.

If there is one weakness, it is that the holes tend to go exclusively out from the clubhouse (west to east) , or back toward it (east to west). Three exceptions are the magnificent short par-4 #5 ( which heads SE before turning back east) and #6 which goes South-North. Also, the par 3 16th plays toward the SW. All four of the par 5’s play back to the clubhouse so an easterly wind turns them into your best chances for birdie on Sara Bay.

So if you ever get the chance, make it to Sara Bay to experience what makes ‘ Donald Ross’ greens so unique and challenging.

I played Sara Bay twice before the most recent work by Kris Spence and came away feeling empty both times. The previous restoration/renovation efforts seemed to fall in to the "every Ross green is a turtle's back" school of laziness. In fact, prior to the work I put Sara Bay as the worst (actual) Donald Ross course I played up to that point.

Armed with both data and a desire to actually do the job Kris Spence restored nuance and sophistication to the course. Sara Bay is now in the upper echelon of my experience.

As with most flat site Ross courses (Fort Myers CC another notable example) drainage canals/waterways feature in some of the quirkier moments and the first real blood pumping tee shot happens on the short two-shot fifth hole. Your level of aggression will dictate the selection of any number of shots and lines off the tee.

The same feature figures on the dueling one-shot third and eighth holes, especially pernicious on the right side of eight where the omnipresent wind can and will toy with the carelessly trajected shot.

The three-shot holes traverse the outer boundaries of the property effectively and the ninth and back-to-back seventeenth and eighteenth form a great appoggiatura to a round with ample opportunity to walk away having gained (or lost) a shot or two to old man Par. The uphill approach to nine is well-guarded and always satisfying to execute.

The remaining two-shot holes form a core challenge to the approach game, as one would expect from anything designed personally by Donald Ross. Spence's work especially highlights precise approach requirements on the similar length first and tenth, the long second, the drive-and-pitch sixth, and the wooded twelfth and fourteenth.

Sara Bay now passes both my "walk in the park" and "greater than the sum of the parts" test flawlessly. Little could be improved upon, especially as the previous bunker restoration is slowly removed and replaced with a more thoughtful, and accurate, representation of Donald Ross under Kris Spence's steady guidance.

Sara Bay was originally called Whitfield Estates Country Club. It was developed by a friend of Bobby Jones, named Perry Adair, who brought in Donald Ross for the course design. Bobby Jones worked as the real estate sales manager for three winters 1925-1927. It was here that the “Match of the Century”, between Bobby Jones and Walter Hagen commenced. The format was 36 at Whitfield Estates and another 36 at Pasadena Golf Club, Hagen’s home club. It was not much of a match as Hagen won soundly 12 and 11. As with most Ross designs, there are lots of table tops greens and they do not hold especially well (or at least in the dry season)

The first hole is welcoming. A what you see is what you get par 4, straight ahead with a fairway bunker right. The 2nd is wee bit tougher, longer with a fairway bunker left and another greenside. The green tilts back to front. Three through six provide good birdie opptys. The 3rd is a slight dogleg left. Favor right of center off the tee. This is a multi-tiered green with a bunker front right. The 4th is the shortest. A neat little par three over a creek to a green that tilts back to front and is protected by right and left front bunkers. The dogleg left 5th is a birdiehole, but DO NOT HIT DRIVER. You must carry the creek twice, off the drive and on your approach. To be safe leave yourself a 125 yard shot to the green. The 6th is straight forward, favor the left off the tee to avoid the right fairway bunkers. The green is protected by 3 bunkers, right, left and front. However, the center bunker is about 10 yards short of the tabletop green. The 7this the longest hole and the number one handicap hole. That I don’t see. Yes, there are 6 fairway bunkers right and 3 left, but it is a 3 shot hole. Yes, one must carry a creek about 70 yards short of the green that has green-side bunkers front right and left, but three average shots have you putting for par. The 8th is a mid to long par 3 with a creek near the green. If the flag is right of center the tree on the right provides a bunker in the sky affect. The 9th is an interesting par 5. Dogleg right and definitely reachable, but there are some decision points along the way. Th right hand bunker is a drive eater. If you are a big hitter you can fly it or favor the left. A creek cuts across the fairway about 110-130 yards out. If you are laying up plan accordingly, but in most cases don’t be a wimp. The elevated green is protected by a greenside bunker right and three on the left.

The back starts off almost identically as the first and second, they are within 5 yards of each other and run parallel. The 12th is a relatively straight par 4 with a creek about 80-110 yards in front o f the green. The 13th is a long slightly uphill par 3 with a very narrow green and a bunker right. Difficult to hold this green. The 14th is a good birdie oppty, straight away, fairway bunkers right and the classic bunkers left, middle and right. The 15th is a long par 4 and the number two handicap hole. The omnipresent creek is about 120-140 yards out, greenside bunkers right and left front to another green that does not hold very well. The 16th is 194 yards and is ranked the easiest hole on the course. The 17th is a bombs away par five. Fairway bunkers left and a gaggle of bunkers on the right side in front of the green. Defintie birdie oppty. The finishing hole is also a par five. Favor the left off the tee to avoid the right fairway bunkers. Warning, warning, you cannot see the creek on your next shot. It looks like clean sailing fairway all the way to the green. It is not. Just about anything inside of 110 yards will end up in the %$&*^% creek. Layup.

My expectations were probably too high. The designed felt like production golf, as opposed to making the most of the piece of property. I encourage you to spend time in the clubhouse. There are some really neat artifacts, awards, articles and trophies on display. Glad I went, don’t need to go back

In 2018, Sara Bay hired Kris Spence to restore their course. His work here is at least the equal of his past successes at Roaring Gap and Sedgefield.

Previous changes had eliminated much of the original design and rendered Sara Bay’s greens so heavily contoured that hole locations were severely limited. Spence not only improved the greens (while still retaining challenging contouring) but also improved the bunkering. His best work came on the four par 5s. Bunkers confronting every tee shot require strategic decisions as well as on each second shot, an area where architects often fall asleep.

Though Donald Ross is the original architect, Spence also channeled some Alister Mackenzie. Two bunkers on # 11 appear to be greenside but are, in fact, well short of the putting surface. It's not all Spence's work however. An interesting pot bunker on #5 came at the suggestion of member Gary Cole.

With this work complete, Sara Bay is now ready to move from “Gem” to a spot among Florida’s top courses. I liked it better than Sawgrass, Burnt Pine or Dye’s Valley and thought it comparable to North Palm Beach, Timuquana, Pine Tree, Indian Creek and Country Club of Orlando, placing it easily among top 50 in the state on this site.

I am really happy Sara Bay is now featured on this website. I've had the pleasure of playing Sara Bay many times over the past year. I fell in love with it, the day I first played and it has since never disappointed me.If you have the opportunity to play Sara Bay, do not forget to take a look inside the clubhouse. It presents the club's rich history, including the match between Bobby Jones and Walter Hagen. Bobby Jones called Sara Bay ("Whitfield Estates" before 1964) as one of the best courses in America.The course lies on relatively flat land, less than a mile away from Sarasota Bay. A stream winds itself through the property which possesses many old trees. Donald Ross designed a true masterpiece. His par 72 layout makes for a lot of diversity. Par threes vary from 152 - 224 yards. While three of the par fives are reachable even by shorter hitters, the seventh hole stretches to 588 yards, often playing into the wind.Sara Bay is not a typical Florida golf course and only features water on one tee shot. However, tee shots are very interesting with well placed bunkers. It is important to have a clear shot into the greens. The greens are probably the most fun greens I have ever played. All of them are severely crowned, and many seemingly alright approach shots will roll off the green. Positioning is key, as it is hard to hold the green from certain spots. Sara Bay is a hidden gem overlooked by almost any ranking. In my opinion Sara Bay is way better than the nearby Ritz Carlton Members Club, and IMO also better than Innisbrook Copperhead. Is it anyone's taste? No it is not. But I can not recommend you to play Sara Bay highly enough when given the opportunity.