Country Club of Orange Park near Jacksonville is filled with memorable holes and golf balls that end up all wet
ORANGE PARK, Fla. -- The Country Club of Orange Park works hard to accommodate golfers of all abilities. The 7,048-yard course gives you a lot of length options, with six brightly colored tee boxes drifting down to 4,692 yards.
And throughout your round, the Country Club of Orange Park gives you plenty of opportunities to send your ball into the drink, with water on 14 holes, including water or marsh carries on the latter part of several holes.
The semi-private course just south of Jacksonville has a nice tempo, with some easy holes followed by tougher ones. It does start with a bit of a challenge, a 50-yard marsh carry about 120 yards from the green, so you have to do some arithmetic right from the start to leave yourself a comfortable second-shot distance.
The second hole is an open par 5 that again poses a challenge at the green, in this case with ponds on either side of a turf-covered run-up to the green.
One of several memorable holes is the par-4 13th, which has a tree smack dab in the middle of the fairway. Aiming to the right of the magnolia is longer and safer. Option B, steering left, almost certainly means a punch shot to the green from under the tree's branches. You'll want to play that hole twice, once on each side, to see which suits you better.
The course wraps up with a trio of gorgeous holes, all par 4s. The route to 16 and 17 includes a ride over a long, wooden boardwalk through a forest. When you emerge, you'll notice the two holes are by themselves. You can't see houses or the rest of the course, just trees. It's a little oasis on the course.
Seventeen is an interesting hole where dry land zigzags next to water on the left and trees close in on the right. It's a short hole, so you might want to leave the driver out of the equation.
The 18th hole can make or break you. It bends left around trees and water and the right side is pocked with bunkers. For your second shot, a couple of bunkers and a pond stand between you and the possibility of par. Still your nerves and plop that shot on the large green.
The Country Club of Orange Park also has a golf academy and a swanky clubhouse with a warm, inviting grill and a well-appointed pro shop.
May 12, 2011
Lisa Allen, Contributor
Lisa Allen is a golf, travel and business writer based in Beaufort, S.C. She has edited newspapers, magazines and books in Michigan, Indiana and South Carolina. Follow her on Twitter @LAllenSC.