Well Above Par

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.