April 2025 – I’ve visited Innisbrook numerous times over the years and have played the Copperhead, North and Island courses here. My most recent trip was just this April, playing Island. I played Copperhead in 2018 and the North course in ’08 or ’09. In reverse chronological order then, North was nothing more than an average-ish Florida house-lined course that has aged like a former porn star, Copperhead was nice but not to my expectations for a tour course and hence not even in my top 200, and the Island was extremely disappointing.
The Innisbrook Resort, originally named The Golfview Inn and Club, opened in 1970. And it looks it. Want to break out your Fonzie jacket and put some Wild Cherry on your boom box? Head back in time to the Innisbrook Resort. While the resort has undergone multiple renovations and expansions since then, the accommodations and amenities still scream Richard Nixon and Jimmy Carter. You could tolerate this if the rates were still like the 70’s but we played the Island course in April 2025 and it was a valet’s tip under $300. With a $250 stay in a crappy dated room! I hear Copperhead is now $440 without a stay! Also when I played Copperhead in 2018, the conditions were nice but the Island’s were horrible in 2025. I have read even the Copperhead course now is getting low conditioning grades and the Island was getting much better grades if you look back to reviews from about 10 years ago so maybe lately the conditions are just deteriorating throughout. North wasn’t even good 20 years ago, so there’s that.
I played the Island the same week we played Cabot Citrus Farms and between that resort an hour north of here and Streamsong about an hour southeast, Innisbrook should rethink their pricing strategy, reimagine the courses or sell to some big Florida residential developer. I’m guessing that Cabot will make a big play for the Valspar and once there is no PGA tournament course here, it will be bye-bye Innisbrook.
The resort features clubhouses at the Copperhead course, the Island and the main clubhouse (lobby/front desk) serves the North and South courses. Packard’s (named after the designer) is a steakhouse located in the Copperhead clubhouse. We had reservations but my buddy Don thought so little of it when he was there last that we cancelled our reservations and just bellied up to the bar at the main clubhouse for dinner. Another friend just had a girls’ trip there and she said the same thing (along with similar comments I just made above about the courses). The Island has a “modest” bar and a basement pro-shop right out of a municipal nightmare. So if you’ve made it to this little blog in the remote corner of the internet and are thinking about going to Innisbrook for your golf trip, I have but one word for you. Don’t. OK that’s two words but contracted. To the courses.
The Island Course
My buddy Rob really pushed us to try the Island. He said it was more challenging than even Copperhead – which was tough. It was indeed tough (70.6/132 from the whites), but I don’t think it was tougher than Copperhead. What Rob didn’t realize is how bad the conditioning was. He played probably two or three years previous and was surprised when we came back with the conditions report. For instance, take a look at the first from above, from the website right and the Google Earth picture left.
So that is one. A lot of water but more intimidating from the aerial view than it was in reality.
One is a 337-yard hard doglegging right. I was just off the fairway left which gave me a clear approach. As you see water is not that intimidating. I had my one and only par of the day here.
This is two, a short par five. Note the patchy spots. While I don’t want to sound hypocritical as I usually say courses shouldn’t cut down as many trees than what’s currently trendy, I think the Island could use a good tree removal program which would help the conditioning and make the course more manageable.
The water feature on three is just parsley. It’s meaningless to how you play the hole. You should even be able to clear the pond right if you have a half decent drive.
Muni conditioning here. This is the 157-yard par three 4th. Would just miss the par putt here after a good chip with the Lovett.
I missed five and this is six. T-I-G-H-T! 370 yards. Bogey.
The green on seven. 510 yards and the number one handicap. Lots of water around the green. Here you see my par putt. I would miss.
$295 for this shit?!? Uphill 154-yard par three 8th.
Nine is just a dumb hole. I was in the rough right with a decent drive that just faded a hair too much. My only sensible play would be hitting it backwards. Trees block my path to the green unless I hit a high fade – like I have that in my bag! The landing area on the other side of the pond is useless with tight trees and water so fuck it, tried to take it over the trees but clipped the top and back into the water and then backwards from my drop, ball in my pocket and an angry chug of Miller Lite. Again, opening up the corridor a little here would bring the bunker into play right instead of it being useless there behind trees..
The redeeming quality at Innisbrook are the elevation changes. With better conditioning the uphill 390-yard par four 10th would make a nice hole. Dress up the pond edges with railroad ties for visuals. Maybe a cross bunker? Maybe new grass and lose the trees on the right.
Skipped 11 – long par four and took a triple. Here is 12 (short par four 319 yards). Like 11, house-lined. This is what you would expect from Florida golf though not after dropping three Franklins. Took a bogey.
Thirteen. 156 yards. Here is a take on a Redan. But a bad take. Blow it out. Push up the green a bit. The one place where trees wouldn’t be bad, there are none. Look in the foreground at the tee conditions! I know I am pretty harsh but if you charge a premium price you should have a premium product.
My approach on 14. 399 yards. Took a bogey. Houses all along the right here.
By this point, pitchers not pictures were the priority. Loaded up with booze (at least there was a friendly cart girl) and skipped 15 (473, par five and 8 handicap), 16 (416, par four and 2 handicap), and 17 (158 yards, par three, 16 handicap). Took bogeys on all. This is 18 from the tee and approach. Okay, I think this shows the potential here. I would probably remove the trees along the water and set railroad ties all along the edge and put a waste bunker where the trees are. Still a tight drive but you’re more comfortable taking an aggressive line and challenging the water. With some TLC this might be worth the price of admission but I think it would be a tall order to modernize the accommodations, courses, et al. Once they lose the Valspar, they will need to figure something out or they will be a casualty of the next golf bust.
Copperhead course
I’m gonna try to review the holes but this was over seven years ago and I don’t remember much. I do know that Copperhead was the 500th course I played on my way to 1,000. I played with my buddy Rob, Elliott and Scott. I was playing better then and was actually disappointed with a 90. Now I am thrilled if I get a 90. Anyway, here we go.
Looking back at the pictures from Copperhead, I see I played it almost the identical time of the year as I just played the Island (April 14 versus April 11 at Island). I think this is the first from just off the fairway. One is a brutal opener – 521 yards from the whites. Five handicap. As you can see, Copperhead is tree-lined. Conditioning from the pix and my memory was much, much better than the Island. I bogeyed.
Based on time, card layout and GPS, this is #2. 359 yards and while the 11th handicap, the dogleg is pretty severe.
As I would par the 386-yard par four 3rd, I’m guessing we’re looking at my drive. Unlike my absolute pan of the 9th at the Island, from this pic, this is a well designed golf hole. Drive as close as possible to pond. Clear view of the hole and bunkers. Trouble in the way of greenside bunkers right in clear view.
I skipped the 4th and this is the 526-yard, par-five 5th hole and the number one handicap. Again, unlike the Island course, this is an aesthetic hole with sound strategic fairway bunkers forcing you to think about your tee shot.
This is looking back toward the tee on the 5th.
This looks like seven so I must’ve skipped six (406-yard par four, three handicap and a par) and this is a 345 yard par four and only the 13th handicap and I doubled.
Eight is a par three and this is nine. 378 yards and a dogleg. Again, the trees here are pulled back to make the bunker protecting the dogleg a strategic thought off the tee. So much better than the Island from a design viewpoint not to mention conditioning when I was there.
Here is my approach on nine.
As I took this a full half hour after my previous shot, I must’ve skipped 10 and this is my approach on 11. Ten is a 378-yard par four (bogey) and eleven is a 514-yard par five and yet another bogey.
My approach on 11 maybe?
From the tee box on 12. 343 yards and another bogey. I’m guessing the below shot is from the 12th just off the front left of the green.
Again from a simple timing viewpoint, I must’ve skipped the par three 13th (148, 18th handicap and a fucking double) and the 14th (532-yard par five, #2 handicap and a PAR). This is 15 and a 172-yard par three and bogey.
The last three holes are called the snake pit. This is a very sunburned me entering the snake pit where I would go bogey-double-par for a 90 total.
The 16th is a very cool hole with water all along the right and a few trees to keep you from pounding the corner.
Skipped 17 and as you can see 18 is a narrow drive and 376 yards. As noted I would par but this is a tough hole for those like me who play a decent enough fade that would usually need more room left off the tee to start. Again, from memory and these pix, the Copperhead course was a good not awesome tournament course. If the cost was right and the conditioning the same as when I played, it would be a $200 course. But as is and $440 – no way.
Golf Scrapbook 