Plantation Golf & Country Club, The Bobcat

Guest (cart included), played on Sunday, December 2019 at 12:00 PM

Plantation Golf & Country Club in Venice, Florida is not only a great place to play golf – with two 18-hole Ron Garl-designed championship golf courses – it’s also a great place to call home. As one of southwest Florida’s premier country club communities, PGCC sits on more than 1,300 acres, with residences that include maintenance-free villas, patio homes, condominiums and single-family homes. All homes have golf course, lake or natural views. The styles of homes are a pleasing mix of classic, contemporary Florida designs in pastel shades that blend seamlessly into the community’s natural setting.

PGCC is a private club owned by Concert Golf, owner of more than 20 properties nationwide, from the Midwest to the Atlantic Coast. Since purchasing PGCC in February of 2019, Concert Golf has invested over a million dollars into improvements and intends to spending another million in 2020. Members have not nor will be assessed. As a member of one Concert Golf club you become a member at all of them, giving you the privilege of playing a round of golf, tennis, swim or dine at another concert Golf property during your travels. It’s a benefit that’s hard to beat.

For many Plantation residents, golf is the main attraction with 36 holes of Ron Garl Golf providing an amazing experience. The Bobcat Course opened in 1982 and is considered by many to be one of the finest 18-hole courses around. Every fall since 1988, PGCC has been honored to host the LPGA Tour Qualifying School Stage Two. Annika Sorenstam, Michelle McCann, Georgia Hall, Mel Reid, Nelly Korda, and Hannah Greene have all qualified here. More earth was moved here to create the rolling hills on the Bobcat Course than any other course in Florida and to this day it is one of the best maintained and conditioned courses in this part of the state. There are seven sets of tees that can be played anywhere from 6,813 to 4,551 yards. The course rating is 74 and the slope is 140 from the Back tees.

For me, the most memorable hole is number 5, a long dogleg right and the course’s #1 handicap hole for men. Members refer to Number 5 as “Big Foot” because of the large foot-shaped bunker at the corner of the dogleg. Find Big Foot off the tee and you’ve pretty much taken par out of play; the same can be said if you hit it through the fairway and find the water. Your approach shot plays to a large, well undulated green protected front left by a long, narrow bunker. A new wood retaining wall frames the entire left side of the putting green and adds to the overall beauty of the hole.