Course designer Ted McAnlis must have wanted to see how Mother Nature would have designed a golf course. So he created The Preserve Golf Club with the most minimal of interruption to its natural environment. It was like placing holes in the Bradenton wetlands, and everything else imaginable was left as is. And the result was quite surreal. This is the closest a golf vacation could get to an authentic and untouched Florida environment.

The course is all 7,000 yards of pristine wetlands terrain from the longest tees, playing for a par of 72. As is characteristic of a Florida golf vacation destination, water is an ever present feature. On this particular course, there are a total of 52 lakes, and 9 holes of the 18 has water making direct interference, so to speak. On the rest, water is still present, but a lot easier to handle. On top of that is a lush growth of native vegetation including tall pines, old oaks and an abundance of natural wildlife define this course’s being a nature ‘preserve’. These make up the excellent, fun-challenge that is The Preserve Golf Club.

If there is anything that makes one realize that this is not at all purely organic, it could be the 11 little bridges strewn all over the course. But that is not saying they are unwanted and out of place. On the contrary, these bridges are a most perfect accessory to the nature-themed golf course. To say the least, The Preserve Golf Club is a superb combination of human genius and earth’s bounty. This one is for those golf trips that bring golfers to an encounter with nature.

It should not be surprising if a Tom Fazio creation is stunning. The layout is consistently beautiful, carved out of Mother Nature’s own hands, and so excellently challenging it always has to go to the books. The Bayou Club in Largo, Fl., is one perfect example. Its stunning quality is the type that takes a golfer through a myriad of emotions that leaves him gaping – in amazement that a golf vacation destination could be so beautiful, and gaping in shock while thinking of the best way to conquer each hole perfectly, neatly.

The Bayou Club features 7,085 yards of golf, 18 holes of the championship-quality holes spread on a vast natural bayou environment. It is surrounded by oaks, pines, and natural wildlife. A first look at the golf course instantly gives an assuring feeling to the golfer of having made the right decision: this is indeed the best place to spend a golf vacation in. The opening hole will reassure him even further. A very challenging 464-yard par 4 welcomes the golfer’s round, deemed to be the most difficult hole in the course. But the challenge level is not on a decrescendo mode. The claim of the 1^st one being the most difficult is hardly accurate, the succeeding ones seem to be as demanding.

The most notable feature of The Bayou Club are the back-to-back par 5’s on the front and back-to-back par 3s on the back nine. This is only complimented by the presence of water on 16 of the 18 holes, and the round finishes with the most unforgettable Final Four hole-series. This course is so scenic, so superb, so stunning, it gives golfers their most unforgettable golf trips. And there is nothing surprising about that last bit.

If ‘Florida Golf’ were to be an entry in a pictionary, the Bardmoor Golf and Tennis Club would stand a perfect definition. It has all the elements of classic, signature Floridan golfing experience. If one is on the lookout for an authentic Florida golf vacation, this should top the list of choices.

The original design in 1974 and the most recent renovation by Gary Koch brought this course to a new high, whilst maintaining all its classic qualities and the Florida goodness that generations of golfers and countless champions have enjoyed over the years. The Bardmoor Golf and Tennis Club is best described as “challenging for the pros, but enjoyable for all”. There is something about the generous landing areas and many water hazards that make the golf vacation destination as picturesque as it is challenging. And the bottomline of it all is fun. It is generally playable and enjoyable for all players.

Champions the likes of Arnold Palmer, Payne Stewart, Fred Couples, and Tom Kite have tested the greens on this course. Countless others have too, as it is the host of the annual PGA/LPGA JC Penney Classic. Bardmoor Golf and Tennis Club measures 7,012 yards from the longest tees, and plays for a par of 72. Its world class amenities that includes an award winning golf shop and state-of-the-art practice facilities could only do so much as make it better, ranking it among the State’s best. This paints an even more appealing picture for truly fun, authentic and memorable Florida golf trips.

The North Course of the Lake Jovita Golf and Country Club, along with its sibling South Course, slightly deviate from the norm in Florida golfing. While others are flatter, with only the slightest of elevation changes, this golf vacation destination in Dade, Florida, goes a little more contemporary with rather dramatic elevation and a lot of movement on the greens.

This Kurt Sandness creation opened in 2002 on 253 whooping acres of Florida goodness. Though the North Course of the Lake Jovita Golf and Country Club is a more contemporary design by Florida golf standards, this course still holds some of the best features that make Florida an ideal golf vacation spot. It has the signature wetlands and a good helping of lakes, ponds, valleys, hills, and native Florida vegetation that all contribute to the natural hazards of the course. They also accentuate the impeccably maintained golf facility.

All the goodness in layout and scenery of the North Course of the Lake Jovita Golf and Country Club is complemented by the world class amenities in the club. There’s the top-ranking Pro Shop (listed by Golf Business World as among America’s Top 100), the 15-acre putting green, and another practice facility made specifically for private lessons. That being said, maybe this golf course is not exactly being “deviant”. It simply upped the ante of Florida golf trips, with a layout so dynamic, and a surrounding facility that does not overshadow, but rather, highlight what already makes the Sunshine State the best, most ideal golf haven in America.