Daytona Beach
 By
David R. Holland,
Senior Writer
DAYTONA BEACH, FL -- Forget for a moment why you came here -- the coastal,
world-class golf, the beaches, the 80-degree December days.
You are atop Ponce de Leon Inlet Lighthouse, the tallest (on its original
foundation) guardian of the coast in Florida,
and the Space Shuttle Endeavour just blasted off from Cape Canaveral.
It’s an awesome sight. The twilight reflects a brilliant fiery
glow at lift off. Then the vapor trail is illuminated by the setting
sun and suddenly booster separation appears as two twinkles of light
falling toward the sea.
Your eyes also gaze upon that immense stretch of Atlantic Ocean
beach, where historic races were staged last century by the rich
and famous. John D. Rockefeller came here for golf and fast cars.
Charles Lindbergh landed a plane on the beach in front of the historic
121-year-old Plaza Resort & Spa.
Vacationers have been visiting the Daytona Beach area for more than
a century, enjoying the warm beach experience, concerts, boardwalk amusements
and speed. The first land speed record here was a mere highway crawl
of 57 miles per hour in 1902.
Louis Chevrolet and Henry Ford discovered Daytona Beach as a perfect
place for testing on the gentle slope and hard-packed sand that was
500 yards wide at low tide. But after Sir Malcolm Campbell drove his
airplane-engine powered Bluebird at 276 miles per hour in 1935, pioneers
in the sport wondered just how safe the sand was and racing on the beach
ultimately ceased.
Stock car racers of the South competed on an oval track along the beach
near Ponce Inlet and the crowds kept growing. Finally, in 1959, Daytona
International Speedway opened.
Today, the Daytona Beach Golf scene entertains more than eight million
visitors each year and more and more are coming for Florida coastal golf.
Here’s a capsule look at some of the links opportunities:
The Golf Courses:
LPGA International’s Champions, Legends Courses
The home of the LPGA Tour presents challenging, affordable and memorable
golf -- city residents can play for as low as $25 at twilight.
The newer Legends Course, designed by Arthur Hills, opened in October
1998, and guides the golfer through testing, target golf, surrounded
by tall, dense pines, magnolias and century-old oaks. On this 6,984-yard,
par 72, you must be precise on Nos. 10 and 18 -- both are protected
in front by dense, heavily-vegetated wetlands. The par-3 beauties at
3 and 7 both require forced carries, as do tee shots on seven total
holes from the back tees.
The Champions Course, designed by Rees
Jones, opened in July 1994, and is much more forgiving. At 7,088
yards from the back tees, this course does present problems if you get
an uneven lie on the strategic mounding, or stray one into the marshy
areas or numerous lakes.
It’s a links-style design that has hosted The Titleholders Championship,
presented by Mercury, one of the LPGA Tour's top events. It’s
dedicated to such great champions as Kathy Whitworth, Patty Berg,
Louise Suggs and Babe Zaharias.
 Perhaps
the most difficult hole to play for the ladies is No. 13, a 478-yard,
par 5, featuring a water carry for the men, but a straightaway,
bunkered fairway and water protecting the green from the red tees.
“This is a strong par-five test with water and bunkers right,
which encourages you to play left for the first two shots,” said
Michelle McGann, a 7-time winner on the LPGA Tour. “A ramped entry
to the green allows a bump-and-run approach, avoiding deep bunkers on
both sides of the green. If you miss your approach right, you might
find the lake.”
Champions was the first golf course in history designed for professional
women golfers. Golf for Women rated it No. 1 among "America's
Best Women-Friendly Golf Courses." The LPGA moved its headquarters
here in 1989 from Houston.
LPGA International Champions and Legends Courses
300 Champions Dr
Daytona Beach, FL 32124
Telephone: 904-274-5742. Internet: www.lpgainternational.com.
Green Fees: $65 public, Florida resident, $50. City of Daytona
Beach, $40. Twilight after 2 p.m. $30. ProLink GPS System.
 Halifax
Plantation
Just off the Old Dixie Highway, 2.6 miles from the Atlantic Ocean
and surrounded by Bulow Estate Park and Tomoka State Park, the
travel golfer will find cooling shade under the canopy of 100-year-old
oaks and a dandy traditional golf course. Donald Ross just might
cross your mind numerous times.
The rolling terrain of
Halifax Plantation Golf Club is not only scenic, it’s very
playable. It’s a nice change of pace -- just hit the ball in play
and you will like your score at the end of the day.
Designed by golf course architect, Bill Amick, the semi-private
7,128-yard , par-72 is tree-lined, has puttable contoured greens
and a choice of five elevated tees. Old-style features include
fairway bunkers that appear greenside, but in fact, they are 40
yards in front.
 The
course is located near the ruins of historic Bulow Plantation. “It’s
such an old and historical location I think it was imperative they
built an old-style golf course,” said Joe Rogers of Little
Rock, AR. “Even as you turn into the property, the canopy of
trees remind you of an old plantation. I love this golf course.
It’s very playable and a breath of fresh air from some of the
really grueling courses that are being built today.”
Halifax Plantation Golf Club
3400 Halifax Club House Drive
Ormond Beach, FL 32174
Telephone: 904-676-9600 or 800-839-4044. Green Fees:
Prime season, $40. Off season, $25. Golf Carts $12 per person. Internet:
www.halifaxplantation.com.
Ocean Hammock Golf Club
Ocean Hammock
in Palm Coast was the first oceanfront golf course built in Florida
since Seminole in 1929 and was recently named 10th best on Golf
Digest’s Best New Upscale Courses list.
Jack
Nicklaus’ 7,201-yard, par-72 beauty is a stern test of golf.
Pay attention or face a humiliating high number on your scorecard. Play
smart golf and you will be rewarded.
“I was amazed at just how tough the golf course was,” said
Larry Burgess of Dallas. “Perhaps the beauty of the place takes
your mind off the game, but I kept having a hard time concentrating.
I’d get ready for a tee shot and I’d hear the pounding surf.
Then I’d look at the GPS and see this waste area to the right of
the fairway and water to the left and I’d forget to finish my swing
favoring the right side. The waste area then would penalize me another
stroke.
“The one thing I’d do is take a mower to the sawpalmettos
bordering the fairways on the ocean holes. You just can’t really
see the ocean. You know it is there, but you need a step ladder to get
the view on the ocean holes. But I know that border is there because
of environmental restrictions and I don’t like it, but I understand
it,” Burgess said. “But put all that aside, this is an outstanding
golf course even if there was no ocean at all.”
Dubbed the “Pebble Beach of the East”, Nicklaus says only
time will tell whether Ocean Hammock measures up. He says there’s
no place like the Monterey Peninsula, but he thinks visitors to Ocean
Hammock won’t forget the golf experience either.
Perhaps the 10 water holes inland will also stay in your memory -- they
could be more creative than the six holes that border the Atlantic. The
interior fairways are routed through oaks, pines and scrubby dunes, but
the fairways are typically wide Nicklaus designs. Prior to construction
the terrain was flat, but the dirt and sand used to dig out the lakes
was used to put undulations in the fairways.
Two of the seaside par 4s are monsters. The ninth is a 468-yarder
and the 18th measures 466, part of the “Bear Claw” that includes
15 through 18. The 15th is another long par-4 at 450 yards going uphill.
The 16th is a risk-reward tee shot just daring you to cut off more water
than you can and measures 399. The 17th is a 174-yard par 3 that is
fronted by water and a huge sand trap.
Nicklaus would like the tract to be a tournament site one day. It
definitely would look spectacular on TV with views high above the course
on those tall cranes.
Ocean Hammock Golf Club
200 Hammock Dunes Parkway
P.O. Box 354489
Palm Coast, FL 32137
Telephone: 888-515-4579 or 386-446-5584. Green Fees:
$175. Internet: www.oceanhammock.com. E-mail: oceanhammock@navi-gator.com.
Awards: One of the "Top 10 New Courses You Can Play"
by Golf Magazine. One of the "Best New Courses" by
Golf Digest. Named a "Modern Classic" by Links
Magazine.
Area Golf Course Listings: http://www.golfdaytonabeach.com.
Where to Stay:
Hilton Daytona Beach Oceanfront
2637 South Atlantic
Daytona Beach, FL 32118-5643
Telephone: 386-767-7350. Internet: http://www.hilton.com/en/hi/hotels/directions.jhtml?ctyhocn=DABHIHF
The Hilton Daytona Beach Oceanfront Resort is located directly on
the Atlantic Ocean on the quiet, south end of the East Coast's most
famous beach. It is eight miles southeast of Daytona International Airport
and two miles north of the A-1-A. The hotel is ideally located near
many local attractions including Historic Street.
Plaza Resort & Spa
600 N. Atlantic Avenue
Daytona Beach, FL
Telephone: 904-255-4471 or 800-767-4471.
Internet: www.plazaresortandspa.com.
Where to Dine:
You can’t go wrong with the seafood or steaks at the Chart House
at 1100 Marina Point Drive in Daytona Beach. Telephone 904-255-9022.
Email them at daytonabeach@char-house.com. Internet: www.chart-house.com/locations/daybeach/index.htm.
For a fun, loud dining experience with huge Italian portions try Buca
Di Beppo -- where the Pope dines in Daytona Beach. Check out their web
site at www.bucadibeppo.com. Address is 2514 W. International Speedway,
telephone 386-253-6523.
If it’s dinner with the pinky fingered extended you like, try
LaCrepe en Haut in Ormond Beach at 142 East Granada Blvd. in Fountain
Square. This is elegant gourmet dining but with a mixture of southern
hospitality. Telephone: 904-673-1999.
Sights to Behold:
The Ponce de Leon Inlet Lighthouse has a brick foundation 12-feet
deep and 45-feet wide and soars to 175 feet, one of the tallest
brick lighthouses in the nation. Built in 1887, the tower is 32
feet in diameter at the base and tapers to 12 1/2 feet at the
top. The brick walls are eight-feet thick at the bottom and 1
1/2-feet thick at the top. One and a quarter million bricks were
used to build the lighthouse, and the work took more than four
years to complete. www.ponceinlet.org.
For NASCAR fans, a trip here wouldn’t be complete without a visit
to Daytona USA. a one-of-kind interactive motorsports attraction, which
features a variety of hands-on activities featuring both advanced technology
and historical elements. (www.daytonausa.com)
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