Golf Scrapbook Blog (The Other Ones)

January 2025 – I’m really cheating by doing two course/area reviews in one post as these two clubs do not share the same city, the same designer, nor are located within the same resort, etc. The primary reason they’re bunched is I played both back-to-back to kick off the 2025 golf season and they are in the Tampa-St. Pete area together. Actually both are also old school designs (by some pretty elite old school designers) that wend through old school neighborhoods.

I also have written up the Tampa area throughout the blog (Concession and Black Diamond) so while I wouldn’t usually do a post on just Palma Ceia or St. Pete’s alone, I can review both courses, talk up the St. Pete/Clearwater side of the Tampa Bay area here which I’ve not yet done and add my photos.

Palma Ceia is the Muggsy Bogues of golf courses. Good despite its diminutive stature! It’s a shade under 6,300-yard championship course (having hosted the first and additional LPGA tour events and the annual amateur Gasparilla Open) on 82 acres of land. 82 acres! With a pool, tennis courts, and a monster clubhouse that gave off Oakland Hills vibes (pre-fire though I hear it will retain its classic style and reopen in 2026). You’re only like 5 minutes to downtown or the airport in South Tampa. You’re in an old school neighborhood but only the exterior holes are house-lined. I know 6,300 max yards is not PGA caliber and a pro may eat it up, but the course actually retains trees as a buffer between holes, making it tight and defending par with tight corridors. I talk elsewhere at my dislike for some great old parkland courses that cut down all their trees to be super trendy. Here, the trees help defend par and give the course a different vibe.

Like I said above, the clubhouse gave off Oakland Hills vibes. It features an awesome men’s grill, full fitness facility, great two-story locker, and outside you have a nice little halfway house that features frozen transfusions – though we didn’t partake as it was a bit chilly when we played. You can kind of sneak a peak at it with the photo at the top or as you see I put the two side-by-side. We got on through Thousand Greens and our host Charles was awesome and added to the overall vibe. While my golf game reverted to shit after a decent round the day before, the course was in great shape and green complexes were tough with penal sand all around. Tom Bendelow was the original designer but Donald Ross is credited for the nearly complete redo and additional holes. It claims to be the oldest private club in Tampa and who am I to argue.

If you’re coming to Tampa and need to stay in/or close to downtown or the airport, this is super convenient and a really nice track if you’re not looking to tick off top 100 courses or drive to Innisbrook or even further to Cabot Citrus Farms (playing in April but played the Pine Barrens course back when it was World Woods) or Streamsong. While it’s not at the same level as the Concession or Old Memorial in the area, it is a fun play and your pro could probably get you on – or Charles and others are keen to host through Thousand Greens.

I will try and review some of the holes below, but I was very remiss in pulling out the camera and shooting the holes. And as I am trying my damndest to forget my score, I won’t go into any discussion on my shitty round.

Before I get into the St. Pete CC review and St. Pete/Clearwater discussion, and as these were my first plays of 2025, I’ve begun to build out my playlist for 2025 toward my goal of 1,000 courses played. While in my Dupont CC review of 2024 and preview of ’25 I noted I hadn’t planned much, but between that time and January I have put together a few play plans that – if they come to fruition – will feature some nice top 100 plays, some great best of state courses and even a world’s best course in previous rankings in Royal County Down. As I am fully retired this year, I am able to plan mid-week trips which makes getting on the privates much easier.

Coming up later this month I am booked at Boca Rio, which has some serious cred amongst design nerds and has been previously ranked in Golf Digest’s Best in Florida. Booked through Thousand Greens. My buddy John recently joined the Admiral’s Club in Jupiter and will play there that same trip. As noted, I will play both new Cabot Citrus Farms clubs in April and my buddy will work Old Memorial through Epic. Planning to go up with some buddies to the northern Mass/southern New Hampshire area to hit some Bacon and Beer fest (cue Homer Simpson saying mmm bacon, mmm beer) and will try and get on Essex County (though it has a sub-15% acceptance rate on Thousand Greens). Gonna take a Rust Belt trip to see some buddies in OH and MI and play two high acceptance rate gems in OH (Canterbury and Inverness which my cousin’s friend also has a national membership), CC of Detroit (friend is a member) and Essex in Canada (where the host is offering a play event through June).

We’re booked at Royal County Down, Portrush and Ardsglass for our Northern Ireland trip in September and our annual trip has us in Indiana for the French Lick courses and have already reached out to Victoria National. Plus I have some make-up dates scheduled for Baltusrol Upper and Hollywood in NJ. I’m sure I’ll have some other rounds play out and in all, think 2025 will be an up year in number, quality and top 100 courses checked off. Now if only my game would cooperate.

To St. Petersburg Country Club and the St. Pete/Clearwater area. First the area. I discuss elsewhere four great areas in and around Tampa to schedule a golf trip: Tampa and slightly north, way north to the Cabots/Black Diamond, Bradenton/Sarasota, and a separate trip to Streamsong. Nowhere do I discuss the St. Pete/Clearwater area. OK the lines blur between what is Tampa and what is St. Pete but for arguments sake, let’s call it the peninsula north to Tarpon Springs and south to the Skyway Bridge.

A fun thing to do in Clearwater is catch an outdoor concert at the Bayshore (everything down these parts is named Bayshore) Coachman’s Park. There are some great restaurants my buddies have gone to. But there are food trucks inside which are a great place to grab your eats. We parked three blocks away and went right at showtime to Loverboy and Styx and had zero traffic in or out. Of course it was sub-50 degrees so don’t think just because you’re in Florida that it will be warm. Damn! Styx was great though.

All that being said and for the Phillies fans out there, this is a great area to catch a Spring Training game in Clearwater and enjoy some really good – though not top in state nor Top 100 great – golf courses. It also really pays to have private connections because what I’ve played of the publics (which is limited) is meh. Of course, I do discuss Innisbrook in reviewing Tampa and it does fall within this definition of the area so that is a good start if you’re going the public route.

Using that definition above here is how I rank the golf courses in the area with the peninsula courses highlighted . Of course, you can always take a little drive down to The Concession or over to Old Memorial during any St. Pete trip but let’s stay on the peninsula.

1. Black Diamond Ranch: Quarry Course
2. The Concession Golf Club
3. Longboat Key Club: Harbourside Blue Heron & Red Hawk
4. Innisbrook Resort & Golf Club: Copperhead Course (public)
5. World Woods Golf Club: Pine Barrens Course
6. Pelican Golf Club (private)
7. TPC Of Tampa Bay
8. Pasadena Yacht & Country Club (private)
9. Palma Ceia Country Club
10. Belleair Country Club: East Course (private)
11. Belleair Country Club: West Course (private)
12. St. Petersburg Country Club (private)
13. Feather Sound Country Club (private)
14. The Eagles: Forest Course
15. University Park Country Club
16. Innisbrook Resort & Golf Club: North Course (public)
17. Mangrove Bay Golf Course (public)
18. The Eagles: Lakes Course

I don’t put the Streamsong courses on the area list but if I did they would be above Black Diamond and Concession except Black. As you see there is mostly privates on the list that I’ve played in the area. If you’re doing the Phils Spring Training thing then by all means head up to Innisbrook. Copperhead is a good but pricey course in that group. Wanting to stay close by, then Pelican is a total remake and a nice course that hosts an annual LPGA event. The Belleairs are both nice too. All private but you can get on (Pelican may be tough). If you’re limited to publics, then travel to Innisbrook or if that’s too pricey, the closest in courses are a couple of nine-holers and a sub 6,000 from the tips course across the peninsula.

Or if you’re not hankering for a Phils game, St. Pete’s is a cool area and St. Pete’s CC and Pasadena are nice privates you can almost certainly get on with a modicum of work from your pro or an app.

The downtown St. Pete’s area is a neat little downtown and a great hang if you want to go to a Rays game, once they get back into the Trop (theoretically that won’t be until 2026). The Lure is a great seafood place. Doc Ford’s is on the bay and is a nice outdoor tiki-like bar – a pretty long walk from downtown St. Pete though. My buddy who I stay with is all the way down at the base of the Skyway bridge (his place took on about 4″ of water and he’s been renting since Helene). Down there, the Deck (right at the entrance to Isla del Sol Yacht and Country Club) is a cool place to watch games and down to almost Fort de Soto is Tony & Nello’s Southern Italian Cuisine & Grille for Italian of course. For golf, Pasadena is down that way and across the other side but still in lower St. Pete’s is the St. Pete’s Country Club.

St. Pete’s CC is like Palma Ceia in that it wends through an old neighborhood. The course just celebrated its 100th birthday so while the oldish houses surrounding you on both sides for every hole takes points away (and the fact we played it in sub 50-degree weather) it’s a fun course with a nice clubhouse. There is a great outdoor bar at the pool but this was of course closed during our trip. If you’re downtown and not wanting to travel to golf, it’s worth it to get on which shouldn’t cause you too much grief. I played decent and just about got through an entire round without losing a ball but dropped one into the drink on one of the last few holes. Grr.

The course was designed by Herbert Strong who’s no slouch. I’ve played his Ponte Vedra Ocean course last year and Saucon’s Old Course & Linwood are his as well. Also, Canterbury which I hope to play this year is also a Herbert Strong course.

In all, I give St. Pete’s/Clearwater high marks as a golf trip with a side of spring baseball (Phils or the myriad other spring training games in the area), a concert at Coachman’s, a Rays game once they’re back, and some nice outdoor fun. Plus some golf in January or February when most of us are snowed or frozen out (though warning you may get the occasional sub-50 degree morning tee off like we did).

Palma Ceia

Kind of tough to see the hole numbers on the above but I like it as it shows how jammed in the course is to the surrounding area.

This is the first hole from my l-o-n-g approach shot. We played the back, blue tees. Par-four 383 yards. One of the neat things about Pebble Beach’s otherwise non-descript first hole is how close you are to the hustle and bustle surrounding the tee. Here you feel your back swing will take out the caddie master and a few members putting on the practice putting green. I’m almost not kidding.

Two coming back toward the clubhouse. My approach shot? Nope this is my punch out result. I did get on and close but missed the par putt. Greens and fairways were in better shape than this photo suggests. Just 321 yards from the blues.

Only two par fives on the course and three is one of them. To the left is the driving(?) range. It’s actually just a chip shot area and the “practicers” are all hitting to the left rough on three which was exactly where my buddy Mike’s shot went and the practice balls were dropping like hail all around us. 527 yards and number one handicap.

Looking back to the green and tee on the 139-yard par three fourth. Greens were recently sanded but rolled really true.

Skipped five (322-yard par four) and this is six, dogleg left par-4, 387 yards. Play is a nice draw. I had a not-so-nice fade and into the pond.

The approach from said pond.

This is seven (401 yards). First shot was in the sixth fairway – you’ll do that a lot at Palma Ceia if you’re spraying the ball. Here’s where my approach landed. The good thing about Palma Ceia is the trees are out of pine straw so easily findable and you can hit the ball.

Skipped eight (nice 165-yard par three). The ninth (431-yards). You see how tight the drive corridors are.

Nine from my incredibly meek drive. God I was sucking.

Ten is 345 yards. My approach. Into the greenside bunker on my approach but an up-and-down (OK not really I missed the putt) five.

Eleven – 415 yards. You see what I am saying about the tight driving corridors.

Skipped 12 (435-yard par four and second handicap) and this is 13 (probably signature hole), par-three 13th. I fucking popped the ball straight up and hit a do-over just off the green left. Yikes!

Skipped 14 (419-yard par four) and this is my approach from 15 (337 yards).

Skipped 16 (352 yards) and 17 (a 173-yard par three) and this is 18 (the second par five at 477 yards. Decent drive to here (but you see where our host Charles’ drive was). I would hit a great second but hook my approach (below) almost into the clubhouse.

Palma Ceia is a nice little course. Love that it has retained its old-school, tree-lined corridors. A nice but not must play if you’re in the Tampa area.

St. Petersburg CC

As you see, the nice thing about SPCC is it does not have any back and forth holes so you’re not playing from other fairways – but you are dealing with a bunch of out-of-bounds areas though the playing corridors are considerably wider than Palma Ceia.

Hit a nice drive on one and would leave my approach just short – nice chip and two putt bogey. One from the whites (which ironically enough measure the same exact yardage as Palma Ceia) is 375 yards and the #5 handicap.

Two is a 512-yard par five. For slicers the play is just right of the tree but the pond is a pretty easy clear. I sliced it pretty bad on that line and still cleared the pond by a pretty good margin.

Still two from my craptacular third shot which I would hit really well but put in the greenside bunker and ultimately take another bogey.

Three is a pretty severe dogleg left. 361 yards with a pond at the green (seen below).

Four is a 171-yard par three. As you see weather starting to get nicer! Another bogey but kept dry and a dry ball is a happy ball.

Five is an intimidating looking drive for slicers which I did but left it in the trees for a punch out bogey. Again a dry ball is a happy ball. Just 328 yards and the second easiest hole on the golf course.

Six from my approach, number one handicap and surprise, surprise another bogey.

Seven. Par three. 164 yards. I know I kept it dry but did fuck up enough for my first double.

Eight, short, 319 yards. Bogey.

Nine is an intimidating drive from the whites. I know I kept it dry and another bogey for a perfectly cromulent 47 on the front.

The half-way shack was right at the tee on ten and I was much more interested in getting a bloody AND screwy for the back than I was in shooting the hole. Another bogey. This is 11. 380 yards and the number 4 handicap. And yet another bogey.

Twelve is also 380 yards and the #6 handicap. As you see right is death. Avoided and another bogey.

Skipped 13 (and yet another 380-yard par four and yet another bogey) and here’s the par-three 14th (155 yards and another dry bogey).

I was very focused on my game (okay on my drinks) and missed 15 (388 yards, par four, #2 handicap and another bogey), missed 16 (465 yards, par five and you know the drill, another dry bogey) and here’s 17 par three and just 139 yards and a PAR! I missed 18 and finally dunked my first ball of the day. A seven to finish with a 45 on the back. In all, I liked SPCC much more than I thought I would. It definitely winds around a neighborhood of older homes with homes on almost every hole but they are far enough away to not bug you.