On a beautiful morning several weeks back, "The Z Man" and I drove west across the great peninsula

known as Florida . . . . .  we were of course on our way to the links. After some solid nourishment

at Panera Bread, we headed towards our destination, Old Corkscrew Golf Club. We finally arrived

after getting lost in the wilderness just  off interstate 75.Old Corkscrew, a Jack Nicklaus Signature

design opened in February 2007 in the city of Estero, a suburb of Fort Myers located in southwest

Florida. The land was originally slated to be a golf course called "The Retreat", but the developer

(Bonita Bay) decided to bail on the project. Once the land was available, Jack Nicklaus seized the

opportunity. Jack had seen the property and thought it was a nice piece of land to craft something

special. Special it is indeed . . . the 275 acre site rolls through dense mature Florida pines, and scrub

Palmetto are abundant throughout.

The club is not a resort, nor is it a residential community, located a handful of miles from

civilization (in west Guam it seems), it is pure golf  . . .  stretching 7393 from the tips with a rating

and slope of 77.6/153 . . .  it is all you want and then some. The place started racking up accolades

soon after opening, most notable are: 2008 Florida course of the year(National Golf Club Owners

assoc.), and 2008 Golf Digest top 10 best new course. The club is semi-private, which means there

 are members, but is also available for public play.

The 221 yd par3 - second hole

Many of the holes remind me of Jack's private compound in Jupiter,Florida: The Bears Club.

A majority of the holes have a secluded feel, mixed in with a few that are more open.The opening

hole is classic Jack . . . draw your tee shot away from the fairway bunkers on the right, then fade

a mid iron approach to an elevated and severly undulated green. That seems to be Jack's recent

 trend with his new layouts . . . no matter how good a ball striker you are, your work has just

begun when you reach his severly sloped greens.The par3 second is picturesque (photo above),

The short par4 fourth, the risk reward (over a marsh) par5 eleventh and the 445 yard uphill

par4 fourteenth (highest elevation on the course), were the highlights for me.

If You can't seem to work your contacts to get on Jack's private nirvana in Jupiter, take

a ride across the Sunshine State, (you won't see Bear's Club members Michael Jordan,

Luke Donald or Ernie Els at Old Corkscrew), but you will experience a course that is

nearly identical in beauty and design concepts, and is atleast it's equal . . . the staff at

Old Corkscrew is exceptional.

To check out the club click on the link below:

http://www.oldcorkscrew.com/layout9.asp?id=229&page=7865