Sara Bay - Florida - USA

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.