Few regions offer the golfing choices and quality available along the Gulfshore. You could play for years here and never cover enough ground to thoroughly analyze the impeccable workmanship of architects like Tom Fazio, Rees Jones and Arthur Hills, or of PGA Tour legends like Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Greg Norman and Raymond Floyd.

I've covered golf for newspapers and magazines for years. So I knew that Southwest Florida boasts one of the top holes-per-capita rankings, according to the National Golf Foundation. Still, the sheer numbers practically overwhelmed me when I accepted the challenge of choosing the best 18.

"It's amazing down here-the competition is just incredible," says Brad Doren, head professional at Palmira Golf Club in Bonita Springs. Doren previously worked in Sarasota, where he watched golf boom in the '90s. But he says that explosion in players and courses pales in comparison to what has occurred in Naples and Fort Myers. "They build one course down here," Doren says, "and the next guy coming along tries to build one even better."

That translates into a stunning array of challenging holes set amid Southwest Florida's awesome aesthetics. You never know what might loom around the next dogleg or picturesque wetland. There's the one-of-a-kind terror that awaits at Grandézza Golf Club's number 15 in Estero, for example, proving that a short, stylish par four can be every bit as bedeviling as its lengthier cousins. Or wait until you are humbled by the power and accuracy required to tackle number two on the Black Course at Naples' Tiburón Golf Club, a simple, narrow hole that pros bogey more often than not.

To play private courses, you must be a member, which will cost you $25,000 or more. Many golf communities have reciprocal golfing privileges with other private clubs, particularly during summer. A semiprivate course offers tee times to the public, but gives priority to members, who generally pay a few thousand dollars for the privilege. Most resort courses, although they cater to their guests, are open to the public. Check with pro shops or management to find out about tee times and membership costs and to get other information. And remember that this list is just a starting point to finding your favorite 18 of the Gulfshore's great golfing holes.

The list of favorites below, arranged geographically from north to south, is based on my own experience combined with advice from local club pros.

Gateway Golf & Country Club

11360 Championship Drive, Fort Myers. 561-1010. Semiprivate.

Number 10: 394 yards, par four.

It's nearly impossible to pick a favorite hole on a Tom Fazio-designed course, and Gateway is no exception. In his typically subtle manner, Fazio made this slight dogleg right fraught with danger from start to finish. Water runs along the entire right side of the hole, forcing your aim toward a row of four moguls that line the left side of the fairway. There's ample room to drive the ball, but often a funky, side-hill lie in a mogul can be as much of a penalty as being in a hazard. That's especially true when your next shot is to a narrow green with a bunker on the left and a shot-deflecting tree and ball-eating marsh to the right.

The Long Mean at Fiddlesticks Country Club

15391 Fiddlesticks Blvd., Fort Myers. 768-1111. Private.

Number 18: 549 yards, par five.

This is simply a gorgeous dogleg right, outlined by water along the entire left side, which cuts across the fairway in front of an island green. If you bust a drive, you can cut off some yardage and get home in two shots, although you still need to be on the right side of the fairway; and from 220 yards out that green still looks about the size of your shoe. Whatever happens, repeat after me: Your drive must reach the corner of the dogleg. If not, forget about gunning for the green on your second shot, and be careful with your lay-up, too. Those pesky 67-yard wedges into greens surrounded by water can rattle the nerves.

Crown Colony Golf & Country Club

8985 Crown Bridge Way, Fort Myers. 590-9860. Semiprivate.

Number six: 404 yards, par four.

The simplicity of this dead-straight yet fun hole hits you like a three-wood with the head cover off. With water on the right and several bunkers on the left, the obvious play should be to move to the front tee box and bunt a three-wood or less to a small patch of grass in between. No, you must be brave. If you can navigate the 190 yards or so over the picturesque beach bunker next to the lake, you'll get a nice roll and have a short iron approach to a tricky tiered green. Just make sure your drive stops before said water, which winds back across the end of the fairway.

Miromar Lakes Beach & Golf Club

18520 Miromar Lakes Blvd., Estero. 482-7644. Semiprivate.

Number 16: 542 yards, par five.

If you're prone to snap-hooks off the tee, this long, gradual dogleg left will rattle nerves with water down the left side. If you happen to hit the ball straight, beware, too, because a bunker sits in the center of a large fairway. On the right, three other bunkers come into play. That said, there's still plenty of room to land your tee shot, but you better have a plan in mind. Unlike most par-five holes, a smallish green awaits, with two large surrounding sand traps and a pot bunker that grabs anything landing short. An excellent hole that always makes you pay attention.

Estero Country Club at the Vines

19501 Vintage Trace Circle, Fort Myers. 267-7000. Private.

Number five: 196 yards, par three.

All the options are put before you, beginning with a 180-yard carry over water to a 46-yard-deep, two-level island green that appears to run back to front, or away from you. To the left: a set of palm trees and sticky rough that allow about 15 yards of error between the putting surface and the water. To the right: a bunker toward the front, a bunker toward the back, and you better hope a shot in that direction finds the sand. Land between them, and there's scant room between the green and edge of the bulkhead. With an omnipresent wind and the long depth of the green, figuring the right yardage and club makes it tough before you even hit the ball.

The Club at Grandézza

11481 Grande Oak Blvd., Estero. 948-3569. Private.

Number six: 343 yards, par four.

Just parking the golf cart here elicits a feeling that you are about to play something special. Named Devil's Backbone, this could be the best little par four in all of Southwest Florida. A fairway rises to an intimidating plateau, and the green is nowhere in sight. A bleached white path made of sand and crushed shells encircles the landing area. Water gently wraps around the left side, perfectly outlining the hazards of your tee shot. Along the left edge of the fairway runs a spine of railroad ties buried individually, jutting skyward at odd angles and looking like tombstones in search of a graveyard. The approach shot drops from the end of the elevated fairway to a gorgeously framed sunken green. An unforgettable hole.

Wildcat Run Golf & Country Club

20300 Country Club Drive, Estero. 947-6066. Private.

Number 18: 515 yards, par five.

Go ahead and try to fly that bunker on the right side of the fairway with your tee shot. Arnold Palmer put it there so you can cut the corner on this dogleg right and have a whack at the green in two shots. Another bunker and a cypress swamp occupy the entire left side. Once past that danger, you face water in front and to the right of an elevated green, plus an approach shot that must clear a seven-foot rock retaining wall. This one's much like Arnie's aggressive playing style: He has designed the classic risk-versus-reward hole here.

Raptor Bay Golf Club at the Hyatt Regency Coconut Point

23001 Coconut Point Resort Drive, Bonita Springs, 390-4610. Resort course.

Number 18 (Osprey nine): 639 yards, par five.

Length alone makes this hole a treacherous ride, forcing you to try and hit your drive and second shot as far as you can. Position matters most, what with a lake and its unforgiving shoreline bordering the entire left side of the fairway, and a thick stand of trees all the way down the right. For the most part, hit and hope the ball goes straight. The fun truly starts near the green, a slippery three-tiered beast that invites three putts or more. World Golf Hall of Fame member Raymond Floyd did a fine job on this WCI Communities and Hyatt Hotel & Resorts' course, giving guests room to roam off the tees and testing their short games with large, undulating greens.

The Bay Island Course at the Bonita Bay Club

26660 Country Club Dr., Bonita Springs. 498-2626. Private.

Number five: 428 yards, par four.

For most golfers, a right-to-left draw is the toughest tee shot to hit. Which makes this gradual dogleg left even more devilish. A lake stretches along the left side ready to catch anybody trying to cheat around the corner. Aim safe to the right, and a marsh comes into play. A long, narrow, elevated green slopes dramatically right to left toward a shelf with a five-foot drop. Shots hitting too close to the edge can actually spin off the green and fall into the gnarly rough below. High mounds and a grass-and-sand bunker loom on the right for good measure. Perhaps the best par four at one of the region's top clubs.

Palmira Golf Club

28501 Matteotti View, Bonita Springs. 949-4466. Private.

Number eight: 195 yards, par three.

It's rare that a par-three hole ranks as the number-five handicap hole of a course, but one look toward the island green here clarifies everything. It's called Oasis because of the gorgeous peninsula-like design, luring you toward water stretching from the tee box down both sides to a slightly elevated green. A group of palm trees sits majestically in the huge, white-sand bunker that catches shots straying left. The sandy shell path also can help by stopping shots right. Anything long rolls down a grassy bank into the water. Just hit a high, soft shot with, say, a five-wood and try not to leave yourself a putt from above the hole. Otherwise, it's easy!

Imperial Golf Club

1808 Imperial Golf Course Blvd., Naples. 597-8165. Private.

Number nine: 398 yards, par four. (East Course)

Sometimes, you need to go back to basics. Built in the early '70s, Imperial's layout has stood the test of time, particularly this gentle dogleg right that challenges with hazards created by Mother Nature. A thick stand of trees lines the left side, forcing you to chip back into the fairway should you even find your tee ball. Woods are on the right, too, but out-of-bounds lurks just past the pivot point of the dogleg, swallowing up shots trying to fade too much around the corner. There are no fairway bunkers; two sand traps frame a deep, sloping green. Approach shots from the left must carry a water hazard. Nothing fancy. just an impressive old-school test.

The Talon at the Club at TwinEagles

11725 TwinEagles Blvd., Naples. 352-2121. Private.

Number 15: 398 yards, par four.

It becomes apparent immediately after you arrive at the tee box that Jack Nicklaus has given you one target. the huge cypress tree on the left side of a narrow fairway. Hit in that direction, and you won't need to worry about the water and bunkers down the right side, or the two bunkers and gnarly stuff on the left. Nicklaus designs especially test you on par-four holes; and should you stray right, the approach shot will be over water and the wooden bulkhead built into this side of the green. The senior pros of the Champions Tour find this hole one of the hardest every year during the ACE Group Classic.

The Black Course at Tiburón Golf Club

2620 Tiburón Drive, Naples. 594-2040. Resort course.

Number two: 436 yards, par four.

For the most part, technology has erased the psychological barrier of the 400-yard par four. Greg Norman apparently decided fear still needed to be part of the game when he designed this one. Indeed, he leaves nothing to the imagination. It's a dead straight hole lined with tall pine trees until water appears on the right about 40 yards from the green. But that should be the least of your worries. A few yards into the woods on either side usually results in a lost ball or self-admonishment about leaving your chain saw in the garage. Oh, did I mention narrow? How narrow? A bowling alley would feel like six lanes of open road. It's just a tough hole that requires pure, straight power.

Olde Florida Golf Club

9393 Vanderbilt Beach Road, Naples. 353-7667. Private.

Number 15: 430 yards, par four.

Either play strong golf, or take a double-bogey or worse on arguably the hardest hole at one of the most difficult courses in Florida. A slight dogleg left, the fairway is 45 yards at its widest and has an interesting series of three smaller bunkers and one big one that architect Rees Jones built into the mounds along the right side. On the left? Splash! On your long-iron approach, anything left falls off into thick vegetation which even skillful wedge players cannot penetrate. To the right, more bunkers run the entire depth of a two-tiered green that demands near perfection with the distance of your shots.

Kensington Golf & Country Club

2700 Pine Ridge Road, Naples. 649-4440.Private.

Number 18: 424 yards, par four.

Coquina shells define the entire right side and a lake takes up the entire left side of an amazingly strong finishing hole to this Robert Trent Jones Jr. layout. Your tee shot is actually uphill to a crowned landing area of a fairway that smoothly slides right, then back left. Once there, you're looking down toward the flagstick for an approach shot that flirts with water cutting in near the left side of the green. It's a unique use of elevation for a hole on a Florida course.

The Pine Course at Grey Oaks Country Club

2400 Grey Oaks Drive N., Naples. 262-5550. Private.

Number 17: 200 yards, par three.

The adventure begins as you blast a tee shot through a chute that opens to a lake framed on both sides by live oak and pine trees, their Spanish moss swaying in the breeze. It's a 170-yard carry over the water, challenging yet not daunting with today's golf-club technology. Still, trees stand waiting to swat away any shots short left or short right. Bunkers lie behind and front right of the green. Should your shot land short, there are about 15 yards of rough that if you're lucky will keep the ball from rolling back into the water. It's simply the best of a great group of par threes at Grey Oaks.

The White Course at Wyndemere Country Club

700 Wyndemere Way, Naples 263-1700. Private.

Number eight: 404 yards, par four.

From the tee box, you can't see the green. All that lies ahead is extremely generous fairway, giving you a false sense of security as you gaze at a rare sight in Florida-an actual hill. You need to wallop a drive to reach the top of this straightaway hole. But once you're there, the challenge comes into full view. The green opens up beneath you, with out-of-bounds left and water to the right. Adding to the visual appeal is a wall of small boulders stacked near the cart path that follow the contour of the hole down the right rough. The huge, undulating green rolls and banks with the speed of a racetrack. A beautifully basic hole.

The Creek Course at Fiddler's Creek

3470 Club Center Blvd., Naples. 732-7332. Private.

Number two: 207 yards, par three.

From a slightly elevated tee, where you gaze at it from 200-plus yards away, the green doesn't look big enough to hold a tea cup, much less a five-wood. Don't worry: That's just a visual trick architect Arthur Hills likes to play with the angles and slopes of his greens. The narrow surface does run front right to back left and away from you, but there are other problems to solve on this stunning hole. A bunker guards the left front side and wraps all the way around the back. A lateral water hazard sits to the right and catches shots long and left, too. And don't forget to sneak a peek at those white out-of-bounds stakes just to the left of the green.