Ron Garl

Hollywood, SC

The Links at Stono Ferry in Hollywood sits about 30 minutes from downtown Charleston on land shaped by the Stono River, its salt marshes and the Intracoastal Waterway. Florida architect Ron Garl laid out the course in 1989, and its opening was delayed by Hurricane Hugo. The property carries real history: the Battle of Stono Ferry was fought here on June 20, 1779, and a Revolutionary War redoubt moved during construction now sits beside the 12th fairway, where a cannon points toward the old ferry landing. Holes 12, 13 and 14 cross the battlefield ground. Stono Ferry was named South Carolina Golf Course of the Year in 2011 and is semi-private, selling memberships alongside daily-fee public play.

Lexington, SC

Golden Hills Golf & Country Club is located in Lexington, South Carolina, near Columbia, and combines an eighteen hole golf course with country club amenities including tennis courts and a pool. The course was designed by architect Ron Garl and is set on rolling topography with trees and lakes worked into the routing. The course plays to 6,455 yards from the longest tees with a slope rating of 133, offering a mix of holes shaped by the property's natural water features and elevation changes. Golden Hills operates on a semi-private basis, allowing public tee times alongside its membership program. The clubhouse includes a bar and grill and banquet space, and a practice area with a driving range, chipping green, and putting green is available to golfers.

Tampa, FL

Westchase Golf Club is a public, daily-fee course in the Westchase community of Tampa, Florida. It was designed by architect Lloyd Clifton and opened in 1992 as the centerpiece of the roughly 2,000-acre Westchase development. The par-72 course measures about 6,699 yards from the back tees and winds through natural wetlands using wooden bridges and bulkheads to cross water areas, with a signature par-3 third hole played entirely over water. Four sets of tees accommodate a range of playing abilities, and a GPS yardage system is installed in carts across the course. The clubhouse overlooks the ninth and eighteenth greens and includes a grill serving food and drinks before and after rounds. Westchase is open seven days a week, with hours extending from early morning until dusk, and the club offers multi-round passes for regular players in addition to standard daily tee times.

Orlando, FL

Eagle Creek Golf Club is a public course in the Lake Nona area of Orlando, Florida, close to Orlando International Airport. It was designed by architects Ron Garl and Howard Swan and opened for play in 2004 as part of the Eagle Creek residential development. The par-73 layout stretches to nearly 7,200 yards from the tips across five sets of tees, with more than sixty bunkers and wooden bulkheads lining several of the water hazards, giving it a look inspired by British and Scottish links rather than the typical Florida resort course. Eagle Creek was among the first courses in Florida to plant Mini-Verde bermudagrass on its greens. The property includes a two-story clubhouse built in a New England manor style, a restaurant, and locker rooms, and it hosts outings, weddings and a golf academy alongside daily public play.

Florence, SC

The Traces Golf Club is located on Southborough Road in Florence, South Carolina, about a mile off Interstate 20. It operates as a semi-private club open to daily-fee play. The facility was built in 1999 and designed by Ron Garl. It offers 27 holes arranged in three nine-hole segments called Woodlands, Meadows and Creekside, which can be combined in pairs for an 18-hole round, each playing to a par of 72 from the regular combinations. The terrain includes rolling hills with sand and water hazards and large undulating bermuda greens. The clubhouse includes a pro shop, bar and grill, and the club also hosts outings and events. Fairways and greens are bermuda grass, and the course plays year round given the region's mild climate.

Fort Myers, FL

Eastwood Golf Course is a municipal course owned and operated by the City of Fort Myers, built on more than 150 acres that once served as the city's well field. It opened in 1977 and sits about fifteen minutes from Southwest Florida International Airport. The course was designed by Robert Von Hagge and Bruce Devlin, who routed it through pine woods and wetlands without any adjacent housing, giving the round a more natural feel than many Florida courses. The layout carries 87 bunkers and water in play on ten of the eighteen holes, playing to a par of 72 from multiple tee markers up to roughly 7,300 yards. Eastwood is open to the public daily, with a driving range, practice green, pro shop, and an on-site restaurant. It has long been a value option in the Fort Myers area.

Viera, FL

Duran Golf Club sits in Viera on Florida's Space Coast, on land that was once a cattle ranch and sod farm owned by the Duda family. The course opened in 2005 and was built with over a million cubic yards of earth moved to create rolling terrain more typical of a links course than the flat Florida landscape around it. Architect Lewis "Chip" Powell designed the layout with wide, open fairways, mounded greens, and about fifteen ponds and lakes that come into play on most holes. Because the property had almost no trees before construction, several thousand palms, oaks, and cypresses were planted to shape the holes. Bunkering is deliberately kept minimal. Duran is a daily fee public course with five sets of tees ranging from around 5,300 to over 7,100 yards, a clubhouse with dining, and a practice facility that includes a nine-hole short course. Ocean breezes off the Atlantic are a regular factor for approach shots.

Point Clear, AL

The Lakewood Club at the Grand Hotel Golf Resort & Spa in Point Clear, Alabama, is a 36-hole resort facility made up of the Dogwood and Azalea courses and a member site of the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail. Golf at Lakewood dates to 1944, and the Dogwood course, designed by Perry Maxwell, opened in 1947. The Retirement Systems of Alabama bought the Grand Hotel and its courses in 1999, making Lakewood the ninth site on the Trail, and later renovated both. The property sits along Mobile Bay and has hosted the USGA Senior Women's Amateur Championship in 1974, 1986 and 2021.

Sapphire, NC

Sapphire National Golf Club lies in the Sapphire Valley and Cashiers Plateau area of the Blue Ridge Mountains in western North Carolina, and is the only golf course open to the public without a hotel stay in that part of the state. Architect Ron Garl designed the course to work with the mountainous terrain and a waterfall on the property. The layout moves through steep elevation changes, with a par-4 13th hole running beside a waterfall and a par-3 15th hole built around an island green. Bunkers, creeks and blind shots appear throughout, and the front nine carries more par 3s than the back. Sapphire National opened in 1982 and plays to a par of 70 across 18 holes, with several sets of tees to suit different distances. The course operates seasonally from March into winter, with bentgrass tees, fairways and greens.

Orlando, FL

Ron Garl design at the Orlando World Center Marriott, one of the largest resort hotels in the world. A classic Florida parkland layout with excellent resort amenities.

Haines City, FL

Ron Garl design at Grenelefe Resort in Haines City, south of Orlando. The West Course is the most acclaimed of the three layouts at this classic Florida resort.

Lake Mary, FL

Timacuan Golf Club is an 18-hole semi-private course in Lake Mary, Florida, designed by Ron Garl and opened in 1987, with a later renovation by Bobby Weed in the late 1990s. The par-72 course plays to about 6,915 to 7,047 yards from the tips, winding through lakes, wooded areas, and a residential community north of Orlando. The front nine has a links-style character with deep pot bunkers, while the back nine is tree-lined with pine trees in a more wooded setting. Fall 2013 renovations added ultradwarf bermudagrass greens and updated tee boxes and the clubhouse.

Bradenton, FL

Popular semi-private Ron Garl design in Bradenton, conveniently located near I-75. Well-conditioned fairways with natural Florida landscaping.

Durham, NC

The Crossings Golf Club in Durham, a few minutes from RDU Airport, is a Ron Garl design that opened in 1997. The par-71 course has an island green on the 12th and Garl's jagged-edged bunkers. It takes public play, with four sets of tees, Bermuda greens and a driving range.

Goodlettsville, TN

Twelve Stones Crossing Golf Club is a Ron Garl design in Goodlettsville, Tennessee, a popular public course north of Nashville. The 6,700-yard, par-72 layout features rolling terrain, mature trees, and strategic water hazards that create a challenging but enjoyable round.