About a month ago, I told you about the wonderful links course at the Longboat Key Club Islandside course. Well, I just got the opportunity to play their Harbourside layout – three nines of Ron Garl designed island golf.

They offer the Red Hawk, White Egret and the Blue Heron nines to allow a steady flow of championship golf at this 27-hole facility. Located about three miles north of the actual resort on Gulf of Mexico Drive, Harbourside is where most of the members play their golf. Secluded among the many trees these three layouts are less open than the Islandside links style course. Ron Garl did a brilliant job taking some areas and making them into shell and sand covered waste sections of the course that are playable yet still easy to maintain. Ron created some sand dunes on a few holes, most notably the killer 5^th (known as the Blue Devil) on the Blue Heron nine.

We played from the tips the day of my visit and this hole is a 605 yard Par 5 dogleg right with a wide canal all down the right side. There are sand dunes guarding a very tight landing area for your second shot (I don’t know about you, but I generally can not reach a 605 yard Par 5 over water in two shots). You’ll remember this hole.

 

I actually preferred the picturesque #3 Par 3 on the Red Hawk course. The back tee sets up at an off angle to your target line making it a challenge to keep your head down and fire at the green. There is also a pretty 170 yard Par 3 on the Blue nine - #7 that has mangrove trees on the right and straight away behind the green, a wonderful vista of Sarasota Bay. The final hole of our round was the 9^th hole on the Blue course – a strong 522 yard Par 5 that plays along the marina toward the clubhouse – really beautiful. The Blue and Red nines together make up a challenging eighteen holes at 6,743 yards with a 72.7/138 rating/slope from the back tees.

 

Our hosts, Joey Rassett, Director of Golf, and Matt Walters, Director of Club Sales, were both wonderful in making sure that we had a great day at their club. They tell me that the best time of the year to play the Harbourside is in February and March (superb weather on the island during that time). If you would like to walk the course they allow this May – October. To gain access to these island treats you need to be a guest of the Longboat Key Club and Resort or a guest of a member of the club.

 

See their web site for all the info: www.longboatkeyclub.com .