"The truth has no defense against a fool determined to believe a lie."- Mark Twain

#877 Plantation on Crystal River- Lagoons 9

In 1981 the first hole of the championship course was shortened and the first tee of the Lagoons short course was created. The course superintendent, Glen Oberlander is credited with the design which now includes 3 par 4's (#6-8). It is a fun loop with the rustic, thread the needle, 120 yd Par 3 a real hoot. You have about a 15 yard opening from the tee to find the green.

With the craze now of short courses around the world, Crystal River GC was ahead of the crowd. Lagoons conditioning and greens aren't as good as the other course but it is always great to have an option for more golf after your 18. If I were in charge I would make it complementary for all 18 hole greens fee paying players, hoping they would come back in the clubhouse for another round of drinks. White rated.

#876 Plantation on Crystal River GC

Crystal River GC, formerly Paradise CC, was designed in 1958 by Mark Mahannah and is located in Crystal River, FL. Some have probably heard of this region because of the winter migration of Manatee's up the Crystal river. The golf course is very flat but with a nice assortment of doglegs, ponds, and some of the best greens I have played at a public course in Florida it is well worth the trip. The greens were not only very healthy but so firm that most of the time you didn't leave a ball mark. I found the B9 more challenging with 11-14 a strong stretch of holes, #13 is a good risk/reward hole that I wished I had been more aggressive and not layed up on. My favorite hole was the serpentine par 5 #16 that temps you to take on the pond fronting the green with your second approach shot. It is followed by the best par 3 at #17. I found #2, #6, and #7 interesting on the F9. Overall the par 5's are the stongest group of holes here.

The way the course manages their rakes in the bunkers was a first for me. They insert a PVC pipe down in the ground at the edge of the bunker and you just drop it down the capped top and it is vertical with only the rake end protruding. The staff is very professional and friendly. The director of golf shared with me the history of the course which I found very interesting, that Tommy Bolt once lived on the 10th hole and was part of the pro staff which included Gay Brewer, Doug Ford, Bob Goalby, among others. The orginal golf course lots in the 50's were priced under 5k and the promo stated "Thou shall dwell in Paradise" thus Paradise CC. The management hit a homerun with me with their priority of superb greens and outgoing staff to earn a GOLD rating. Call 352-795-7211 for golf and lodging.

#875 Cranes Roost at The Plantation GC

Cranes Roost is at the same complex in Leesburg, FL as Otter Creek, which I played 3 months ago. I was hopeful that the courses would be in better condition by now but Otter Creek has been closed and the greens here were pretty ragged. If I owned a golf course my first priority would be to have playable greens. Cranes Roost is a 1996 Clifton Group design and the better of the two here but until they can assure me of greens and fairways without any bare spots I will not return. This has the potential of a Gold rating but under the current conditions it only deserves a White.

"Learning never exhausts the mind."- Leonardo da Vinci

My Golf Game- Al Uhryniak, The Villages

Once again my score is high
Hitting my ball far and wide
I'm never going to shoot my age
This causes my little brain to rage
The shop says clubs, that's what you need
clearly with those you will succeed
And even though the price is high
I do commit for I'm not shy
Then off I go for another round
Confident of my turnaround
But then the ball still can't be found
My change of clubs has run aground
There is just one conclusion here
And obvious to any of my peers
It's something directly from the devil
The problem is clearly my skill level

"Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up."- Thomas Edison