By Tim McDonald

It's usually fun coming up with "top-five" or "top-10" lists. Not so with scenic, Florida golf courses.

It's almost impossible to pick the five most scenic courses in Florida, because the state's terrain is as varied as it is beautiful, and that reflects the courses themselves.

So, in no particular order, here are five of the most scenic golf courses in the state. For today, I mean. This could change tomorrow.

--The Links at Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort: All of the four courses at this Northwest Florida resort show off the Gulf of Mexico and/or Choctawatchee Bay, but The Links show off more of the bay than any course here. Look for a blog and video on the course and resort coming soon.

-- Old Corkscrew, Estero. This comparatively new course sits alone in a setting that could have come from an old-time Florida post card. Graceful wading birds stalk their breakfasts in the marshes, and the fairways are surrounded by cypress, palmetto and palm.

-- The Rookery at Marco Island. Precariously perched on the edge of the 10,000 islands, you have wide views of the southwest part of the state. The layout is beautiful and low-key with wild, native grasses like Fakahatchee, fountain grass, "dune daisies" and firecracker weed.

-- Islandside course, Longboat Key Club, Longboat Key. This is a short course and not the most challenging, but I always love playing here, with the palm and banyan trees framing the holes, and pink and white oleanders blooming along the fairways and canals.

-- Lost Key Golf Club, Perdido Key: The course sits on a narrow, barrier island with sand dunes as white as the clouds over blue water, and the layout boasts a wild, barrier island feel. The designers went out of their way to rout the course through natural wetlands.