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Golfersongolf.com by Rory Spears, Editor & Director of Content, Follow Rory on Facebook, Linkedin, & Twitter @GogBlogGuy On Calusa Pines 11th hole.

The one day of 70 degree weather is gone for now, but those days hopefully will return on a regular basis before too long. Today is cool and windy in Chicago, but much nicer at today’s Great Golf Destination Calusa Pines Golf Club in Naples Florida.

Chicago area native Gary Chensoff found himself spending a lot of time in Southern Florida back in the 1990’s. During that time he came to realize that the area really didn’t have a top of the line golf club. One that you would make time to play, and one that you as a member would want to bring your guests to play. As a result Calusa Pines came to be.

The 18th green and clubhouse at Calusa Pines.

Calusa Pines is about pure golf on a piece of property that feels natural to enjoy the game. There would not be any waterfalls, statues, fountains, and big patches of flowers. When the course was designed, the concept of playing the course with one sleeve of balls or less was taken to heart.

Par is good score on Calusa’s 18 holes, and it’s considered that the following statements are appropriate at Calusa Pines. “It’s hard to get lucky at Calusa” and “the course will expose a golfers weakness.” Very true, yes indeed.

The Par 4, 1st hole gets golfers off the first tee and into the flow of the golf course.

While Calusa Pines is in Naples, it does not back up to the gulf. Your won’t hear the surf in the background, but there are views that make it feel like Florida, and or Pinehurst North Carolina in a few places.

Calusa does not feel like a normal Florida golf course. There are not big water ponds on every hole, there no canals dividing you away from the homes, because there are no canals and no homes around every hole either. Calusa Pines is about golf period. There is no swimming pool, no tennis courts and country club style events. While the club is not a health club, the course was designed with the concept of walking in mind. Most rounds you will have a caddie, and you will get your exercise.

The Par 3, 155 yard 3rd hole.

There was some serious thought given to the course’s design. Florida can have a wide range of weather conditions.

The winds change directions and speeds, so the par threes and the par fives are all played in different directions. A golfer can reach two of the par fives on any given day, with two well struck shots and maybe a little help from the wind.

The design concept was to have variety so all the holes would all be “memorable”, as a result when members are asked their favorite hole, almost every hole gets mentioned.

The Par 4, 15th hole at Calusa Pines, has a dunes style look.

The fairway width is pretty generous, while the green complexes offer different challenges for the golfer. There some holes where one does need to fly it into the green, others were you can run it up if you wish. Should you miss green you will be given a variety of options on how to play the next shot. Options, a golfers friend and the sign of a great golf course.

Another objective was to make the golf course playable for the members, but to still make the course a challenge every day. The course was designed with enough challenge in a “normal way”, so it never had to be tricked up to play difficult. It’s said that if the USGA wanted to host a U.S. Open there, it could be done with only three weeks notice so some rough could be grown in.

The par 3, 16th hole is 185 yards from the tips. It’s not a full island green, but calls for a precise tee shot.

Calusa Pines is about golf and a golf experience, from the time you deliver your clubs to bag stand, to the time you head home for the day with a great experience having been enjoyed during your visit.

The course architects Michael Hurdzan and Dana Fry call the 300 acre site where Calusa sits, to be some of the best natural surrounding vegetation area found in south Florida. As a result, the Hurdzan and Fry refer to Calusa Pines as a “dream job”, that has turned into a lifelong love on their part.

What Calusa Pines offers as a golf course isn’t lost on some of the professionals who played there. Paul Azinger calls Calusa Pines his favorite course in Florida, and Rocco Mediate will tell you the same thing. Anthony Kim says they are best greens he has ever putted on, and Johnny Miller says the greens are in his top 10 toughest greens he has ever putted on.

Calusa Pines has six sets of tee’s and the yardage ranges from 5,348 up front,to 7,203 all the way back. Calusa Pines is not your normal Florida golf course, so if an invitation to play, comes your way. Don’t pass it up, it’s one course that real golfers will enjoy.