Venice (located just south of Sarasota on the Gulf Coast) has a superb golf layout that has only been opened since 2003. The Venetian Golf and River Club sports a terrific Chip Powell-designed course that is enjoyable to play due to its fairness in design and the outstanding condition of its fairways and greens.

Each hole is framed nicely with wispy grasses, palms and oaks. Strategic placement of attention-grabbing bunkers and some water keeps you thinking. But the real challenges here are the undulating, multi-tiered putting surfaces. You’ll need all your skill to score well on these greens. They putt smooth and true – you just have to figure out the many angles and speed to get the ball in the hole. This is good reason to play the Venetian more than once as you fill up your memory bank with important flat stick calculations.

General Manager Dan Callender and Head Golf Professional Chris Souchak filled me in on a few holes before I played the course. The first hole out of the gate is also the number one most difficult, so be sure to hit some warm up balls before going to the tee. It is a splendid 428-yard Par-4 dogleg right, that dares you to cut the corner over the water. I’d suggest playing to the large fairway to the left and then attack the pin from there. The third hole is a beautiful little par 3 over water, tall grasses and sand to an angled green. Pay attention to the pin position since the distance can vary quite a bit.

The Venetian G&RC is a semi-private club and has members, but the public is always welcome to play. To book a tee time just give them a call at 941-483-4811.

See their web site at: www.venetiangolfandriverclub.com