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MESA, Arizona – In the 11th annual Golfweek's Best Courses, the editors of Golfweek magazine named Longbow Golf Club to its list of "2009 Golfweek's Best Resort Courses."
"We are thrilled and honored to receive recognition from Golfweek," said Jay Larscheid, General Manager. "I think we all knew that Longbow would garner accolades such as this, and it's truly gratifying to have agreement from one of the golf world's most influential publications. We've simply stayed focused on our pledge to our guests to provide the highest standards in terms of service and playing conditions. It's obvious that this formula has paid off."
Longbow was ranked 89 out of 100, which, at first glance may seem a bit dubious. However, when one considers the caliber of golf clubs placed further up the list – Pebble Beach, Pinehurst, Whistling Straits, to name a few – it's clear that Longbow has earned a place among golf's elite resort courses.
Longbow Business Park and Golf Club is a 330-acre, mixed-use development, being developed by Daedalus Real Estate Advisors, that incorporates office, light industrial, retail and hotel uses surrounded by desert vegetation and a main street transportation design and features the award-winning Longbow Golf Club. Daedalus is a Phoenix-based commercial real estate services company that provides investment, development and communications consulting to corporate real estate clients. To learn more about Longbow Golf Club or to book a tee time call 480.807.5400 or visit www.longbowgolf.com.
Longbow Golf Club is professionally managed by OB Sports Golf Management, a diversified, golf-oriented company with a long history of success. OB Sports currently manages 31 premier golf courses and country clubs throughout the United States. Known for its comprehensive and personalized services since 1972, OB Sports has become widely acclaimed as the leader in boutique-style golf course management. For more information about OB Sports Golf Management visit www.obsports.com.
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – When people think of Walt Disney World mainstays, Epcot and Mickey come to mind.
Most don't know that Disney's Magnolia Golf Course also ranks among the resort's original attractions. As it turns out, Magnolia has played host to the PGA Tour Children's Miracle Network Classic for 40 years.
And you thought golf in Orlando lacked a sense of history.
It's not just journeymen who have won here. Jack Nicklaus claimed the first three events. Tiger Woods won in 1996 and 1999. In fact, Disney remains one of only two non-major events, along with Doral, at which both legends have won at least twice.
While the success of the event is tied to the fact that the pros love to bring their families here, Magnolia – which hosts the tournament along with Disney's Palm Golf Course – also happens to be a great facility.
At more than 7,500 yards from the professional tees, Magnolia easily measures as the longest of the four Disney golf courses, though it plays much shorter for resort guests. It was lengthened through the years to keep up with long-hitting pros, but the Joe Lee design has retained most of its original characteristics.
Wide fairways give long hitters an advantage, but 107 bunkers and water on 12 holes present plenty of bite. In 2008, bunkers were deepened to make them more penal. Trees are also a factor as the golf course is named after 1,500 magnolias sprinkled across the landscape.
The unfriendly side of Disney
Though Magnolia has some friendly driving corridors, several holes challenge even the world's most proficient ball strikers. The par-4 fifth, for example, rates as Magnolia's toughest hole. One of nine doglegs on the golf course, it requires an accurate tee shot. Trees guard the entire right side, and two fairway bunkers protect the corner. The green is one of the trickiest on the golf course, and it drops severely on the left. A par here will feel like a birdie.
Magnolia's signature hole, the par-3 sixth, features a Mickey Mouse-shaped bunker that protects the front of the green. It's not a terribly difficult one-shotter, but anything short of carrying the Mickey bunker lands in the water or deep in one of Mickey's ears - neither of which leads to par.
The longest hole in the Disney golf portfolio, the par-5 eighth, places a premium on placement. If you've hit it well off the tee or not, the important second shot gets your ball in position for the approach. Three bunkers protect the layup area, with more that guard an undulating green.
No. 8 teams with the long, par-4 ninth to give Magnolia a seriously unkind finish to the outward half.
Knee-knocking finishing stretch
As impressive as the front nine ends, the back nine is perhaps better, and it owns a championship history to boot.
No. 16 starts in relatively simple fashion, but the second shot over water grabs your attention. At more than 400 yards, it requires a mid- to long-iron approach, and the long green places an even greater importance on distance control.
No. 17 offers another tough, par-4 test, known as the hole on which Kevin Streelman clinched his title in the 2009 Kodak Challenge. In the season-long contest, PGA Tour players used their best scores on 18 of 30 designated holes. Needing a birdie to clinch the inaugural title, Streelman calmly stuck his approach shot during the second round of the tournament. The kick-in birdie earned the Duke graduate $1 million in prize money.
Even if you're not playing for big money, the 17th hole demands your attention. A tee shot over water is necessary at this severe dogleg. And while many doglegs let you bail out to the safe side, doing so here leaves a long approach to a green that's protected by water.
At the straightaway, par-4 18th, the difficulty continues. If you get your tee shot in the middle of the fairway, a tough approach remains, with a lake along the right and three big bunkers that protect the front and left portion of the green.
With more than a dozen CMN Classics decided by a single stroke, this tough par 4 has produced some well-earned pars -- and in Lucas Glover's case, an unlikely birdie.
During the final round of the 2005 event, Glover found the front bunker with his approach. Now regarded as one of the greatest shots in tournament history, Glover holed the bunker shot en route to his first PGA Tour win.
More important, he proved that if you're going to have success on Magnolia's finishing stretch, it's best to have a little luck on your side.
The beautifully manicured links of Disney's Magnolia Golf Course are named for the more than 1,500 fragrant Magnolias trees that make this course truly magnificent. The course design masterfully uses the area's natural features to enhance the beauty of the lush, rolling greens and sparkling water hazards—all for a course deserving of its excellent 4½ star-rating by Golf Digest.
Disney's Magnolia Golf Course features wide fairways dotted with 107 bunkers. It represents a paradise for serious golfers, as well as a thrilling challenge for players at all levels. Step onto the first tee and into the shoes of champions. You'll find yourself powering your way down sweeping fairways at this, the home to the final rounds of the Children's Miracle Network Hospitals Classic.
The Verdict: Experience the longest running PGA TOUR event in Central Florida as 128 world-class golfers, 4 magical days and heart-pounding tradition come together on Disney's Palm and Magnolia Golf Courses. 2011 will mark the 41st year of this PGA TOUR event at Walt Disney World Resort, the final event of the year for PGA TOUR players.
WHERE YOU'LL PLAY
Four rounds
WHERE YOU'LL PLAY
Four rounds
WHERE YOU'LL PLAY
Four rounds
Course Opened:
1971
Course Type/Style:
Resort/Parkland
Number of Tee Boxes:
5 sets
Total Number of Sand Bunkers:
107
Number of Water Hazards:
10 of 18 holes
Most Challenging Hole:
No. 5
Most Memorable Hole:
No. 17
Sinature Hole:
No. 6
– The challenging signature hole, the par-3 with the Mickey Mouse-shaped bunker in front of the green, is nearly 200 yards from an elevated tee, over water to a shallow, elevated green.
Acreage of Course:
110 acres
Average Size of Greens:
6,850 sq. ft.
Primary Grasses
Fairways:
Bermudagrass
Rough:
Bermudagrass
Greens:
Bermudagrass
Months Open:
January – December
High Season:
January – April
Aerification:
Overseeding:
Rounds per year:
55,000
Green Fees:
Low: $69 High: $125
Walking Options:
Mandatory Cart
Nearest airport:
Orlando International Airport
Director of Golf:
Mark Dukes, PGA
Superintendent:
Scott Welder, GCSAA
Scott Welder is the first, and only, golf course superintendent at Walt Disney World Golf Resort, having begun his career at the course in 1971 when the facility was built.
Golf Digest 
rating
What do you need to know about TPC-Myrtle Beach, beyond the need to bring your 'A' game? Here are five tidbits that might enhance your enjoyment of the South Strand layout.
Hit it high – Generally speaking, the greens at TPC are elevated and well bunkered, so you aren't going to have much success trying to run the ball up. Make sure you iron game is sharp and be prepared to fly numerous bunkers on your way to the green.
Tournament Tested – TPC is one of Myrtle Beach golf's biggest challenges and it has the resume to prove it. The course has hosted the PGA Senior Tour Championship, the finals of the Golf.com World Amateur Handicap Championship, and every spring it hosts the General Hackler Invitational, one of the nation's best collegiate tournaments. Take the time to check out the clubhouse memorabilia.
One of a Kind – In recent years Myrtle Beach golf courses have collected honors like a kid receiving candy on Halloween, but TPC is the only course in the area to earn 5-stars in Golf Digest's prestigious "Best Places to Play" guide and one of fewer than 25 layouts in the nation to earn the distinction.
Yes, that is Dustin Johnson – Rising PGA Tour star Dustin Johnson calls TPC-Myrtle Beach home. In addition to practicing and playing at TPC, the three-time winner on tour has been known to hang around the clubhouse. Don't be shocked if you see him, but he's just one of the guys in Murrells Inlet.
That's a wild turkey, not a drink – TPC-Myrtle Beach is built on 369 acres, much of it wetlands, which means the course has plenty of breathing room and there is ample wildlife. Wild turkey roost in the swamp to the left of ninth tee and there are an abundance of deer, alligators and fox, among many other animals. Enjoy the scenery.
By Chris King on May 4, 2010
The TPC-Myrtle Beach is one of the Grand Strand's bluebloods.
It enjoys the benefit of a premium brand, superior design (the team of Lanny Wadkins and Tom Fazio is tough to beat), and it's the home course of Dustin Johnson, a three-time winner on the PGA Tour. Throw in a bevy of national honors, and it's not hard to see why the facility is so highly regarded.
Identifying the three best holes on a course that has hosted what was then the Senior PGA Tour Championship and gets a regular workout from Johnson is a challenging task, because the candidates are plentiful. We asked course owner Chip Smith to identify the best of the best at TPC-Myrtle Beach and he complied, with an assist from Johnson.
The three best holes at TPC are:
No. 5, 158-yard, Par 3: Despite being TPC's shortest hole, the fifth is one of its most challenging, particularly from the tips where the tee shot requires a long forced carry over water. The green is wider than it is deep, so your margin for error is limited. A bunker in the right front looms for players not playing from the tips, as does a bunker in back of the green.
"There is almost a false front on the front of the green," Smith said. "It's a tough little shot because the green is narrow. The right side of the green is always better than short because of the lake."
No. 17, 193-yard, par 3: The words island green and TPC have almost become synonymous because of the famed 17th at Sawgrass, and No. 17 at TPC-Myrtle Beach is a reasonable approximation. The primary differences? The 17th in Myrtle Beach is a peninsula green surrounded by water on "only" three sides and it's approximately 50 yards longer. The 17th is TPC-Myrtle Beach's signature hole and with an almost constant wind, it represents a significant challenge. "Because of the distance, I think it's a little tougher than 17 at Sawgrass," Smith says. "Now I've never stood on 17 at Sawgrass on Sunday with $1.4 million on the line either (laugh)."
No. 18, 538-yard, par 5: The 18th, with a creek running along the right side of the fairway and a large lake on the left, is Johnson's choice as the course's best. It's a classic risk-reward hole. Players that can snuggle up to the creek before it runs out to the lake can get home in two, but there is considerable risk. Half of the green is exposed to water and with the rough surrounding it shaved, it's not an easy green to hold. One person who doesn't have to worry about length is Johnson. What does one of the PGA Tour's longest hitters use to reach the green on his second shot? "Depending on which way the wind is blowing, anywhere from a 5 or 6 iron to a 3-wood," he said. For the mere mortals among us, an iron on the second shot when attempting to reach the 18th green is out of the question!
