By Tim McDonald
I normally wouldn't bother to write about a nine-hole golf course with nothing but par-3s, but the Captiva course at the South Seas Island Resort is a rare exception.
It's a little gem of an island course, the only golf course on the lovely, twin islands of Sanibel and Captiva that reminds you constantly you are actually on an island.
It was raised from the sand dunes at the very tip of Captiva from a design by Chip Powell, who's done a number of highly regarded courses in Florida and elsewhere.
It's an open, breezy layout with wide, wide, wide views of the Gulf of Mexico from nearly every point on the course.
With the open interior and palm trees, it looks like something Fletcher Christian might have landed on aboard the Bounty.
You aren't allowed to stray off the cart paths here – if you're lazy enough to ride in a cart and not walk – so the course looks like either a beautiful painting or photo. The green conditions are pretty much close to perfect.
It's a great place to work on your short game in the midst of beautiful island scenery.
The resort also has an association with the Dunes Golf Club, a regulation, 18-holer about 25 minutes away.
