GOLF
Game On!
Meet up for friendly competition at Heron Creek Golf & Country Club. BY FRANCIS X. GALLAGHER
Double or Nothing: Hole 9 – Marsh PHOTO: © FRANCIS X. GALLAGHER
HERON CREEK GOLF & COUNTRY CLUB 5301 Heron Creek Blvd. North Port, FL 34287 tel 941 240 5100 heroncreekgcc.com
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f North Port, Florida, sounds familiar, it is likely due to the disappearance and murder of Gabby Petito last year. Brian Laundrie, her fiancé, ended his days not far into the Carlton Reserve, part of Myakka River State Park. The park is a mecca for hiking, kayaking and spotting animals like alligators and birds. Heron Creek Golf & Country Club lies south of the park in a residential community. With Heron Creek’s three nine-hole courses — Oak, Marsh and Creek — players can easily switch up the combinations to make distinctly different 18-hole layouts. Ohio native Arthur Hills, who died last year at age 91, designed Heron Creek. Designing more than 200 courses, many in Florida, Ohio and Michigan, Hills believed in risk and reward holes. I looked forward to playing with a good friend, George Hofmann, and his son, Cole. George and I together ran the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Red & White Ball in Philadelphia, raising millions of dollars for LLS through the generosity of our airline and hotel friends at Global Traveler. Like many during the pandemic, George relocated to Florida’s West Coast, settling in Cape Coral to enjoy the weather and outdoor activities. Heron Creek proved the perfect location to meet, with me coming from Sarasota and George from Cape Coral.
globaltravelerusa.com MARCH 2022
HOLE 1 – OAK 515 yards, par 5 It was a cold day with a chance of light rain, which we saw in the early part of the game, making for a nasty start on a long and difficult par 5. Arthur Hills would have laughed to see us in action. On this dogleg left, an elongated pond runs along much of the fairway’s left side. George duffed a shot short, while Cole hit a fantastic drive center. My ball looked as if it would skip into the thick line of trees on the right, but it rolled nicely to land right of the cart path, about even with Cole and in a good position for my second shot. With my 3-wood I sent the ball sailing but farther right than anticipated. The hole has lots of moguls and feels a little Scottish in design. I continued favoring the right side, which meant I did not land on the green in regulation but putted out for a bogey. Cole joined me with the same score, and George took a “snowman” 8. A lackluster start to a cold, wet day.
