Fun for the whole family can be found at Florida’s golf resorts.
By Karen Misuraca
Junior clinics and golf camps, junior-sized rental clubs, discounted greens fees for youngsters, stay-and-play packages—add all of that to beautiful beaches, a zillion swimming pools and dependably sunny weather, and you have a recipe for good times for all ages.
On Florida’s southeast coast near Ft. Lauderdale, the Westin Diplomat Resort & Spa makes it easy for parents to start kids off in golf—if they can be dragged away from snorkeling and water sports at Hollywood Beach, the waterfalls in the glass-floored swimming pool and roller-blading on the seaside boardwalk.
Free hotel shuttles transport golfers, tennis players and spagoers to the Westin’s sister resort about a mile away, The Diplomat Country Club and Spa, where children are VIPs at the Manny Zerman School of Golf. A former top amateur and pro tour player, Manny Zerman is director of instruction, and focuses on the fundamentals of the game as well as the rules and etiquette of golf. Nine-week golf camps, June through August, fill up fast with children ages 6 to 17, and clinics for kids are scheduled throughout the year. “Teaching kids is our primary focus,” Zerman says. “We know how to make it fun for them, whether it’s a onetime lesson or three days of practice, instruction and play.”
On the sea-breezy Joe Lee-designed Diplomat golf course, between the Intracoastal Waterway and the Atlantic Ocean, thousands of coconut and Royal palms and decades-old banyans border the fairways. Young players love to use the GPS distance finder and shoot for the island green. And, when they find out that they can order snacks and lunch to be delivered right to their golf carts, they get hooked on the game.
Of the 998 water-view rooms at the Westin, the club-level rooms have advantages for families–including a 10,000-square-foot lounge, complimentary continental breakfasts, and evening refreshments and snacks. Non-golfing children ages 3 to 12 are happy at the Westin Kids Club, where supervised swimming, snorkeling, crafts and tennis are available all day. With the Westin Family Package, the Kids Club and all meals for children are free of charge.
The more sports-oriented the family, the happier they are at Saddlebrook Resort, 30 minutes north of Tampa International Airport. The sprawling Sports Village complex is comprised of basketball courts, sand and grass volleyball courts, 45 tennis courts, two fitness centers and a half-million gallon “superpool” with volleyball nets, basketball hoops and training lanes. Two golf courses, one of which was designed by Arnold Palmer, and comprehensive teaching programs at the Arnold Palmer Golf Academy make this an unbeatable golf vacation destination.
Located smack in the middle of the resort, the first tees of both golf courses lead the way to fairways meandering alongside lagoons and dense groves of cypress, pines and palms. A whopping 70 practice stations are lined up at the golf academy, plus 10 target greens and the Scoring Zone Super Green short game area designed by Palmer.
According to Jerry Couzynse, director of golf, “A good way to get children interested in the game is for a father and son or mother and daughter to sign up for our Play with a Pro package, which gives you two hours of instruction on the game and two hours with an instructor on the course.”
Tiger Woods wannabes who are age 12 and older can sign up for the popular five-day Junior Golf Camp at Saddlebrook, offered year round, which includes all-day instruction, meals, lodging and social activities. Sharing the teaching venues and golf courses with resort guests are students from the on-site Saddlebrook Prep School, a unique, small facility specializing in academics, golf and tennis, for grades three through 12.
There are deluxe guest rooms at Saddlebrook and the suites have living rooms and fully equipped kitchens. And for children 4 to 12 who are not yet ready for the sport, the S’Kids Club offers supervised fun, from biking and swimming to indoor play.
For families craving the wild beaches and the lowkey, non-commercial feel of Florida’s Gulf Coast islands, South Seas Island Resort on Captiva Island fits the bill with 2.5 miles of white sand beaches, the absence of high-rises and fast food chains, and one of the prettiest nine-hole golf courses in the Southeast. Accessed by a scenic 35-mile drive from Southwest Florida International Airport at Ft. Myers, Captiva is awash with tropical flora, in particular, mangroves that have been painstakingly restored since Hurricane Charley and now provide verdant habitat for hundreds of bird species such as tundra swans, herons, storks, egrets and migrating roseate spoonbills. Vacationers head to the beach, the sailing school, the kids and teen clubs, and 11 swimming pools in the plantation-style resort primarily on foot, by bike and golf cart.
Redesigned during the resort’s $140-million renovation, the par-27, nine-hole Captiva Island Golf Club winds along the gulf, with stunning ocean views from nearly every hole. Just across the bridge on Sanibel Island, The Dunes Golf and Tennis Club offers practice venues and some excitement on the course when the occasional alligator is seen in the swampy lakes alongside the fairways—golfers are advised to bring a camera and binoculars for wildlife viewing.
Families find a wide variety of accommodations at South Seas Island Resort, from hotel rooms and cottages to one-two- and three-bedroom West Indies-style villas with stocked kitchens.
Of the 81 holes of golf on five courses at Walt Disney World in Orlando, the Oak Trail Golf Course is a good choice for beginners. The nine-hole, walkable course plays about 3,000 yards, with some holes long enough to challenge experienced players. For ages 17 and younger, the greens fee is $20, the replay rate on the same day for all players is half off, and it’s free to rent junior clubs.
In June and July, Walt Disney World Junior Golf Camps for eight- to 15-year-old girls and boys at the Oak Trail, Palm and Magnolia courses are conducted by a friendly PGA teaching staff that emphasizes not only the basics of the swing, but also rules, safety and etiquette. Kids get to play with the pros on Oak Trail, and they receive achievement certificates at the end.
The Oak Trail course is in the Magic Kingdom area of Disney World, near Disney’s Polynesian Resort. Families are VIPs at the Polynesian, in rooms with two queens and sofabeds, and in oneand two-bedroom suites that sleep five to nine people. The location is perfect for golf as well as easy transport to the theme parks, water parks and Downtown Disney by monorail, bus and water taxi.
A good time will be had be all—dad, mom, grandma, grandpa, for the little kids and the teenagers—when the family plays golf together on vacation. The memories and the love of the game can last a lifetime.
GET READY FOR GOLF
Jerry Couzynse, director of golf at Saddlebrook Resort—home of the Arnold Palmer Golf Academy—offers advice for golf fitness.
GET ON THE BALL
To increase strength in your arms and hands, carry a tennis ball with you and squeeze it as often as you can, making sure to alternate hands. When your arms are stronger, you will be able to improve your swing speed and hit the ball farther.
DON’T LOOK
When practicing your putting, don’t look up until you hear the ball drop into the cup. The most common mistake among poor putters is lifting their heads during the stroke.
BASEBALL DRILL
To experience the feel of releasing the ball, use this drill: With the proper grip, hold the club directly in front of you at shoulder height, similar to a baseball player swinging a bat. From this position, swing the club back and forth. You will feel your forearms rotating over each other. Starting the drill at shoulder height, lower the club slowly to hitting position. You will notice how easy it is to create the feeling of the proper release. With repetition, you will be able to produce straighter golf shots on the course.
HANDS AND ARMS SET-UP DRILL
This will allow you to feel a maximum wrist cock, uncock and recock through the back and forward swing. Establish your address position, without swinging the arms, turn your thumbs away from the target allowing the forearms to roll, establishing a 90-degree angle with club shaft and target forearm. From here, swing arms to a completed backswing. Return to impact by dropping arms and uncocking wrists at hip level. Swing arms to finish position, recocking the wrists and keeping arms in front of your chest.
GOLF FASHION
Color is Key
FROM CAMILO VILLEGAS in his fluorescent pink hats and robin’s egg blue pants to Sergio Garcia, dressed in canary yellow at the 2007 British Open, PGA European Tour players are leading the parade of bright colors and body-hugging styles in golf apparel. Vivid blocks of color are showing up on Phil Mickelson’s Callaway Golf shirts, and the famous Tiger Woods continues to wow the crowds in his nontraditional, collarless T-shirts.
High-tech synthetic fabrics are part of the formula for 21st-century fashion on the fairways. Sporting black or orange shoulder stripes, the Ventilator Mock from Snake Eyes is engineered to wick moisture away from the body with Dry-18 fabric.
Forming a molecular bond with the fabric, nanotechnology is creating microfibers that are wrinkle, stain and odor resistant, quick-drying and breathable. Golf wear designed by Aussie pro Greg Norman is manufactured with patented, lightweight PlayDry fabric. The collars don’t curl, golfers are shielded from the damaging rays of the sun and the shirts come in show-stopping shades of key lime and sunspot orange.
Norman’s Safari Polo in PlayDry for female golfers is also getting attention on the course in blue-green parakeet with lime-colored, contoured side panels, especially when it’s worn with the matching skort. Young female golfers are following the bright color trend in Bogner’s Amanda golf vest in waterproof orange polyester, fashioned snug at the waist and hips. Nike’s lightweight Sphere Thermal vest for women also promises warmth and style during rounds of golf on cold and blustery days.
Not to be outdone by its male counterpart, the LPGA Pro Shop offers vibrant raspberry-colored polos by Izod, and for layering up during cooler or damp weather, bright red Desert Dry long-sleeved mesh tops by Antigua.
TIPS FOR PARENTS OF YOUNG GOLFERS
The director of golf at Saddlebrook Resort near Tampa, Jerry Couzynse, says, “Remember that kids have short attention spans and get bored easily. It’s best to play with them on the putting greens and the chipping practice areas at first, so they have fun and experience some success right off the bat.”
Manny Zerman, director of instruction at Manny Zerman School of Golf near Ft. Lauderdale, agrees. “My most important advice for parents is to make sure that their kids have fun during their lessons, and… the children should continue with the other sports they like to play, whether it’s baseball, soccer, tennis or whatever. All sports will help develop hand-eye coordination, patience and focus, and that makes it easier to learn the game of golf.
“My teaching pros and I plan our clinics and lessons to be non-intimidating and different each time, so that rather than withdrawing and being overwhelmed, kids look forward to every session. We integrate games and we group children not only by age, but by experience, so that they relate to each other on an equal basis.”
[ YOUR GUIDE TO FLORIDA FAMILY GOLF ]
Westin Diplomat Resort & Spa
954-602-6000 www.diplomatresort.com
Diplomat Golf Club and Spa
954-883-4444 www.diplomatresort.com
Saddlebrook Resort
813-973-1111 www.saddlebrook.com
Arnold Palmer Golf Academy at Saddlebrook
800-729-8383
South Seas Island Resort
866-565-5089 www.southseas.com
Captiva Island Golf Club
239-472-5111
The Dunes Golf and Tennis Club
239-472-2535 www.dunesgolfsanibel.com
Oak Trail Golf Course
407-938-4653 www.disneyworld.com
Walt Disney World Junior Golf Camps
407-939-2272 www.disneyworld.com
Disney World’s Polynesian Resort
407-939-6244; www.disneyworld.com
