Shark's Tooth

You’ll find Shark’s Tooth Golf Club 20 miles to the north of Panama City – virtually next door to Camp Creek – along the shores of Lake Powell, Florida’s largest Coastal Dune Lake. It will come as no surprise that the Great White Shark, Greg Norman, designed the course, which opened for play in 2002.

Coastal Dune Lakes are not only shallow, but also they are rare and quite unique as their freshwater content lies incredibly close to salty seawater. Developments that abut these environments naturally require sensitivity and Shark’s Tooth was awarded Silver Signature Sanctuary Status by Audubon International. The list of environmental accomplishments required to comply and subsequently receive this award are as long as your arm and it’s an honour that Shark's Tooth share with only a few other Floridian golf courses.

With five holes routed along the shores of Lake Powell, fairways flanked by oaks and pines and wooden bridges crossing protected wetlands, Shark’s Tooth is quite unique. “The site allowed us to use a number of loblolly pines and oaks to frame holes, and, on a number of holes, sand ridges were retained as definition,” said Norman. “These sand ridges add lot of character to the golf course, a characteristic that is often missing on Florida courses. The entire site gives you the feel of a retreat.”

The 7,209-yard Shark’s Tooth is part of an 800-acre residential community and the routing makes excellent use of delightful rolling ground, which is ideal for golf but unusual for Florida, especially as the location of the golf course is so close to the Gulf Coast. “This site, as much or more than any other we have had to work with, allows us to follow my long-standing mandate of taking a 'minimalist' approach to the design.” Norman commented. “With the natural undulation of this property, we moved very little earth, which is always an environmental benefit.”