 SADDLEBROOK RESORT Palmer Course (813-907-4566)
Florida Golf Course Review
Saddlebrook in Wesley Chapel is a full service luxury resort specializing in golf and tennis packages with accommodations and amenities that earn the property the industry's
highest awards year after year. Included on property are two beautiful 18-hole championship golf courses, a golf preparatory school with outstanding, comprehensive practice
facilities, 45 tennis courts with excellent instructional programs, 540 guest rooms and suites, over 95,000 square feet of flexible meeting/conference space, a new sports village
with fitness center, wellness center plus full service spa, a great variety of dining facilities, spectacular tropically landscaped pool area with hot tubs, and recreational opportunities
that includes a 5 acre challenge site. For more info on this world class resort, visit their website by clicking here.
The Golf courses are on property - within walking distance from any of the rooms and suites. Both are serviced by one clubhouse, which includes a pro shop stocked with golf
attire, accessories and clubs. The poolside bar & grill is across the way, Dempsey's Steak House is next door and TD's Sports Bar - serving great breakfast buffets and lunch daily
. Each golf course has a putting green situated on the way to the first hole. The 16 acre practice center is about a three minute ride on golf cart. Besides the prep school, lessons of
various kinds are offered to juniors and adults at Saddlebrook Golf Academy.
PALMER COURSE
The Palmer Course has 4 sets of tees that play to distances and slopes measuring 6273 yards/136 slope, 5820 yards/133 slope, 5160 yards/121 slope, and 4875 with a slope of
119 for ladies playing from the red tee areas. The course meanders through the resort/residential community, and is well marked with 100, 150 & 200 yard blocks on the fairways
and cart paths, plus 150 stakes that double as directional devices on all par fours and fives. Sprinkler heads are measured to the center of the green, and pin placement info is
available on each scorecard, which also provides helpful diagrams of each hole. Each cart is equipped with rear covers to protect clubs during inclement weather.
The putting surfaces are a hazard in themselves, especially if approaches wander too far past the hole. Most greens are tiered and undulating, with slopes often in a back to front
direction. The Tif-eagle greens provide some of the best playing and most true rolling surfaces in golf - but the trick here is to read the break correctly while staying below the hole
on the quick rolling short grass. Downhill putts can be quite treacherous.
The Palmer Course has 3 sets of tees that play to distances and slopes measuring 6641 yards/138 slope, 6044 yards/130 slope and 5187 with a slope of 124 for ladies playing
from the red tee areas. The course meanders through the resort/residential community, and is well marked with 100, 150 & 200 yard blocks on the fairways and cart paths, plus
150 stakes that double as directional devices on all par fours and fives. Sprinkler heads are measured to the center of the green, and pin placement info is available on each
scorecard, which also provides helpful diagrams of each hole. Each cart is equipped with ice chests and rear covers to protect clubs during inclement weather.
The initial hole is a tough opener - a tree lined 423 yard par four with a pond short off the tee and another to the left from 180 to 100 yards away from the undulating green. The front
side is replete with doglegs, which favor a right to left shot shape that will benefit right hand draws off the tee. The back side plays more straight away, with a mix of tight and open
driving holes - and with a couple of left to right doglegs. Mounding frames the fairways on many holes, with penal sand traps sculpted into the man-made hills. Players will be able
to use every club in the bag, and will have to pull of a great variety of shots to perform well here.
There is an abundance of native wildlife on both courses, and though the layouts meander through the resort and residential community, golfers will experience a feeling of
serenity, with the age old forests and water lands always nearby. A stay at this resort is highly recommended. Both courses are also open for public play. For more information, visit
our page fro the Palmer Course, with direct link to their website by clicking here.
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