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Introduction and LPGA International

The 175-yard 4th (right) and the 356-yard 5th on the Blue Course at Sugar Mill

Since the turn of the century, Daytona has had a fascination for speed. In 1902, industrialist upstart Ransom Olds, father of the Oldsmobile, is alleged to have challenged his friend Alexander Winton to a car race on the wide, hard-packed sand of Ormond Beach just north of Daytona Beach Shores. It ended in a tie, but the race captured the public's imagination, and the news spread quickly that Daytona was the place to be if you were into fast cars.

Other rich, young men came to Daytona to enjoy the good life and to chase the land speed record which seemed to rise with every passing week. As chronicled in the newspapers and newsreels of the day, they roared up and down the beach, stretching the limits of speed in their souped up roadsters, christened names like "The Bullet," "The Pirate," and "Bluebird V."

Those early, informal challenges along the shore marked the birth of stock car racing, now a hugely popular sport and a multi-billion dollar industry. The monument to that industry is the Daytona International Speedway, a leviathan of a stadium that dominates the landscape out by the airport near I-95. Here, thousands of spectators come not only to watch the Daytona 500, the most prestigious stock race in the world, but motor cycle, sports car and go-kart races.

Tired of watching the real thing, visitors can enjoy on the Speedway grounds Daytona USA, an interactive motor sports display that gives them the sensation of being in the race car right next to Dale Jarrett and Richard Petty. Not to be outdone by the NASCAR crowd, motorcyclists also have their day in the Daytona sun with two big weekends including Biketoberfest.

Greater Daytona consists of seven small cities including Port Orange, Holly Hill, Ormond Beach, Ormond-by-the-Sea, Daytona Beach Shores and Ponce Inlet. The Daytona Beach area lies on a narrow peninsula separated from the mainland by the Halifax River (Intracoastal Waterway). The 23-mile beach strip is densely populated with hotels and motels, eateries and the typical seashore breed of establishments like tee shirt shops. However, unlike other seaside destinations, such as Ocean City, Md., Daytona Beach has virtually no super high rises.

With the exception of Port Orange, the growth between the ocean and I-95 (a distance of about 15 miles), has leveled off. But dramatic expansion continues along the interstate corridor, where you get the impression of unlimited wilderness acreage west of the interstate. Here, residential golf course communities are popping up like wild flowers in spring. Like many parts of Florida, the area is a hit with northerners, particularly New Yorkers who settle here in their retirement years.

While Daytona widely appeals to the tee shirt and beer crowd, who like to drive on the beach (cars are welcome, but stay in your lane), the area has something for the non-speeders as well -- a large convention center for the coat, tie and laptop crowd; The Casements (Rockefeller's home) for Americana lovers; regular music festivals including the biennial Florida International Festival; great fishing; and a half dozen parks and wildlife refuges. Then there is the beach, a big hit with families with young children.

As for golf, greater Daytona offers some 20 public-access courses. A majority are in the golf course/residential communities and have that cloned, prefab look and feel. Many golfers will enjoy these, but if your time in Daytona is limited, savor the best daily-fee courses in the area. They include The Legends Course at LPGA International, Grand Haven at Palm Coast and Sugar Mill in New Smyrna Beach.

Situated on a former pine tree farm just off exit 88 on I-95 about a half hour from Daytona Beach Shores is LPGA International, a golf facility that features two excellently conditioned courses, The Legends Course and The Champions Course. Though it has LPGA in the title, the facility is neither owned nor operated by the LPGA, whose headquarters is about a mile away on the same site.

Buena Vista Hospitality has a joint partnership with the city of Daytona Beach, Consolidated Tomoka and the LPGA to manage LPGA International. Consolidated Tomoka, a local development company which is developing the site with upscale homes, also plans to build a hotel and resort on the property not far from the permanent golf clubhouse, which is scheduled to be completed in 2000.

Opened in 1995, Champions is designed by Rees Jones and features his signature high mounding along a few fairways. Site of an LPGA tournament in the spring, Champions is flat and treeless, with a few lakes and modest sized greens which are receptive to both high-pitched and bump-and-run approaches. Homes line a few holes along the edges of the course, but on most of the course they are out of sight. With virtually no forced carries and only a few marshes, Champions appeals to the casual player, though accomplished golfers will enjoy this one from the back at about 7100 yards.

Opened in October 1998, The Legends, designed by Arthur Hills, is a terrific golf course that winds through tall pines and over and around environmental areas and ponds. The mix of short and long, straight and doglegged, and flat and elevated holes is laid out in a rhythm that is never boring. More difficult for its occasional forced carries, the course should appeal to the low handicappers. Casual golfers will welcome the generous landing areas on most holes, however.

For tee times, call 904-274-LPGA (5742).

[Grand Haven and Sugar Mill]

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Alan B. Nichols is a professional golf-travel writer residing in Bethesda, MD.
He is the featured golf-travel writer for GolfLink. Alan appreciates your
comments on his features and the courses he has written about. 
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