SouthWood Golf Club’s course, the third in a quartet of St. Joe golf courses in northwest Florida, is a product of the Fred Couples and Golf Course Architect Gene Bates award-winning design team. Once again Fred & Gene have created a spectacular signature golf course. Southwood is a true compliment to the three other St. Joe courses in the area: Camp Creek Golf Club in Watercolor, Shark's Tooth Golf Club and the Origins Golf Course.
SouthWood Golf Club is situated in an area of great natural beauty, close to Tallahassee, among the gently rolling hills of Florida’s Leon County.
The SouthWood golf course is a pristine land of lush green grass, gently rolling terrain and wide open pastures populated with some of the most spectacular, old-growth moss-draped live oaks you’ll ever see.
SouthWood is a semiprivate course designed, not only for professional tournament play, but also to accommodate golfers of every level of skill. It’s a course where families can come together to enjoy the ancient game. Each hole features six sets of tees - from the 7,172 yard "Boom Boom" tees (a Couples signature) to the "Wee" tees set for women, children, and beginners at 2,696 yards.
The "Wee" tees (unique in my experience) can also be played as a stand-alone, “course within a course.” Seventeen of the 18 holes can be played as a fun par 3 layout, giving all golfers a rare opportunity to sharpen that ever-important short game.
Play starts with a 547-yard par 5. The tee shot is uphill to a generous landing area to the right. From there, the fairway rolls gently to the left – an easy second shot that leaves a open chip to the green. Even I managed to par this one.
The 4th is a huge par 5 of more than 620 yards. If you’re a long hitter, you’ll really enjoy this one. The tee shot is not so tough – the landing area is generous but there’s danger left and right. An oak forest guards the left side of the fairway and wetlands protect the right. Three accurate shots will put you in with a chance of a bird; miss any one of the three and you’re looking at double bogey at best.
The 14th is an up-hill, dog-leg right. The tee shot must skirt a tree surrounded by huge fairway bunkers. If you can stay left, you’ll have a clear shot to the green. A shot to what looks like the center of the fairway will leave a difficult shot either to the right of, or over the tree. If you’re too long, and slightly right, those fairway bunkers will gather you in. Three more bunkers guard the front left of the green. The hole is beauty in every sense of the word, see the image above.
Finally, the road home, perhaps the most beautiful of SouthWood’s 18 holes, is a 424-yard par 4 that plays down-hill all the way. The tee shot should easily find the generous landing area; the left-center of the fairway will leave you with a mid-iron iron shot to the green. Even with a perfectly placed tee shot, though, the approach is never easy. The green is closely guarded to the right by a series of bunkers and to the left by a large oak tree. In fact, there are more bunkers on this hole than on any other, making the 18th at SouthWood something of a classic.
SouthWood's amenities include: a driving range, private teaching area, large practice greens, a pro shop and bag storage. The carts are equipped with a state-of-the-art GPS system on board. The Low Country Style Clubhouse opened in September 2003.
SouthWood Golf Club was voted one of GOLF Magazine’s “Top Ten You Can Play” for 2003, Golf Digest’s “Best New” for 2004, Travel +Leisure Golf’s Top Ten Florida Courses since the turn of the Millennium, Tallahassee Magazine’s Best of Tallahassee 2007. Golf For Women Top 50 Courses for Women – 2007 and was recently selected as a home of the Florida State University Men's and Women's Golf Teams.
Contact Info:
SouthWood Golf Club, 3750 Grove Park Drive, Tallahassee, FL 32311
Phone: 850-942-GOLF (4653) Fax:850-671-6162 St. Joe Golf Website
Directions:
From Capital Circle SW (Tallahassee Regional Airport):
Head Southeast on Capital Circle/US-319. Continue for approximately 8 miles. Take a right on Merchants Row Boulevard at the State Office Complex at SouthWood. At the stop sign, follow the green signs directing to the "Golf Course" by taking a left on Four Oaks Boulevard then a right on Mulberry Park Blvd. When the road ends, turn left on Grove Park Drive and follow it to the clubhouse on the left at 3750 Grove Park Drive.
Heading South on 319:
Cross through intersection at Apalachee Parkway/US-27. Continue for approximately 1-1/2 miles. Take a left on Merchants Row Boulevard at the State Office Complex at SouthWood. At the stop sign, follow the green signs directing to the "Golf Course" by taking a left on Four Oaks Boulevard then a right on Mulberry Park Blvd. When the road ends, turn left on Grove Park Drive and follow it to the clubhouse on the left at 3750 Grove Park Drive.
Airlines & Car Rentals:
The closest major airport serving The SouthWood Golf Club is the Tallahassee Municipal Airport located about five miles from Tallahassee in Northwest Florida. Look for the best airline and car rental deals with these two aggregators, which provide travelers with an up-to-date search tool to compare prices on airfares and car rentals of all ratings.For more and up-to-date information about what’s going on in golf in Florida and other areas such as Golf in Palm Springs or Golf in Palm Desert or for the latest in what's going on in Golf Travel, the latest and most attractive Golf Travel Specials and Packages, please Subscribe to my weekly Newsletter. Also, you can check for more information about Florida Golf Travel Opportunities.
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