17 of 70: Heritage Ridge Golf Club, Hobe Sound, FL





Heritage Ridge is one of Tom Fazio's early course designs dating back to 1981. The course is rather short by today's standards and, for that very reason, doesn't qualify as a championship golf course. It is, however, more difficult than many of the championship courses we have played to date and the slope rating does make that pretty clear. From the back tees it plays at 6014 yards and boasts a slope rating of 129. Many holes offer quite a challenge due to difficult water hazards, wetlands,numerous waste bunkers and green-side sand traps. The bermuda greens are undulated and fast and the breaks often imperceptible to the naked eye. As most courses we have played in Florida, it is also routed around a housing development.





First par 3, playing 175 yards from the blue today

   For the most part I was pleased with my game at Heritage Ridge. I had a rough beginning with a triple on the first hole and a difficult last hole where I found the water for the first time and posted another triple bogey. The par threes were not friendly and I didn't par a single one of them. I scored well on most par fives and some of the par fours. I particularly enjoyed the "signature hole" 8th which is a par five where you have to play over water hazards three times before reaching the green in regulation. I had three perfect shots to the green but managed to miss the par putt by an inch or two. It was still a satisfying moment. Thanks to that water ball on 18, I finished with an even 90. Such is life on a golf course.



Ibis convention

 Brenda's golf game has not yet recovered from the cold spell that hit Florida early in the New Year and she is still hoping for a return to form for our last game of this trip, this coming Thursday. We did have a gorgeous day and also enjoyed our side trip to Port Salerno where we visited the Fish House Gallery and some artists studios before having supper on the terrace of the local marina. As we say in French, "nous avons fait d'une pierre deux coups". The English, being more concrete, translates as "we killed two birds with one stone". Personnaly, I prefer the French version since given the choice, I would rather shoot birdies on the golf course.