Golf is a game of history. So every golfer should know that long
before shepherds were knocking featheries around Scottish linksland, Ponce de
Leon arrived in Florida with soldiers, pigs, a priest and new irons. He promptly
knocked three balls into the water surrounding the TPC Sawgrass’ 17th green,
flung his clubs into a thicket of pines and resumed searching for the Fountain
of Youth. “It’ll be easier than finding my swing,” he said.
We’re kidding, of course. Any historian can tell you there’s no
way Ponce got a tee time on such short notice at the TPC, a must-play on one of
the richest golf coasts in the New World. Make that two of the richest, giving
Florida a unique geographical dilemma. East or west—which is the better side for
a spring golf fling?
Golf isn’t the only factor, of course. As de Leon could have
attested, there’s a lot more to Florida than sand traps—and he didn’t even live
to see attractions like Walt Disney World, Kennedy Space Center and Jackie
Gleason’s Mausoleum that draw 80 million tourists a year to the state.
The inscription on Gleason’s gravesite is his trademark, “And Away
We Go.” But to where? Florida has 1,197 miles of coastline, 1,000 golf courses
and a half dozen distinct cultures.
Before our road trip, a word or two about Orlando: Never mind.
Nothing against central Florida as a golf destination; you could drive to many
fine resorts without putting more than 20 miles on your rental car. But if you
really want to experience the variety that is Florida, you need to go
coastal.
Whether you head toward the Atlantic Ocean or the Gulf of Mexico
is a matter of taste. For an idea of the differences, consider who lives where.
The east coast’s residents include Jack Nicklaus, Greg Norman, Nick Price and
once he’s through with his $40 million fixer-upper, Tiger Woods. The west has
John Huston.
To put it another way, are you more into substance, like the
varying, natural landscape? Or are you into style, like one of the world’s most
amazing topographical features? We’re speaking, of course, of Donald Trump’s
hair.
