Strawberry Fields

Located an hour’s drive east of downtown St Petersburg, the 18-hole parkland layout at the Strawberry Fields Golf Resort is a Jari Rasinkangas design occupying 180 acres of a residential development which first opened for business in 2015 with nine holes in play.

Rasinkangas is a Finnish architect working with GolfArk, who designed the 9-hole Tirin Golf course and also renovated the 18-hole layout at Laukaa Peurunkagolf and the 36-hole complex at Oulun Golf in Finland.

The course extends to 6,474 metres from the back tees, playing to a par of 72, with holes arranged as two returning nines. Water features at a couple of holes on the front nine before five of the last six holes on the back nine bring aquatic challenge into proceedings.

Highlights include the shortest of the par threes at the 167-metre 5th; the right doglegging par five 6th (with two ponds protecting the right of the fairway); the left veering short par four 12th; and the tough par four 18th with a lake to the right of the home green.