I accepted the offer for a golf lesson at Innisbrook, a Salamander Golf & Spa Resort in Palm Harbor, Fla., with some reluctance. I don't golf, and with limited free time during my hosted visit, which was designed to show off the resort's refreshed and rebranded Salamander Spa, I thought I'd rather ride my bike through the 900-acre property, go for a swim in one of the resort's pools or sit on my balcony overlooking the Copperhead Course and watch the squirrels play on the oak tree.
Never did I imagine that within an hour of instruction with head golf pro Jordan Lazenby I'd be smacking balls off the tee. That thwack … so satisfying! Suddenly I was making mental plans to hit the driving range near my house in Orlando and to register my daughter for an after-school youth golf program.
I recalled a conversation I'd had with Dawn Mercer, Innisbrook's director of golf instruction for 28 years, the day before. She talked about how golf is leisure and shouldn't be taken so seriously. She reminded me that handicaps allow you to play with anyone regardless of skill; and about the pleasure of walking a course, meeting new people and how golf and travel go together. "There are a lot of experiences people are missing by not golfing," she said. Suddenly a new world had been opened up to me, and perhaps my family, too.
My tribe of three includes a 7-year-old, and we do everything together. We explore by bike, we swim in pools and the ocean, we play board games that require strategy and we love to sit around a blazing fire and tell stories. Now, it seems, we can probably golf, too. At Innisbrook, we can do it all.
I can picture us returning and taking a group lesson. Maybe my daughter will attend a week of golf camp this summer; Innisbrook offers intensive golf and tennis camps for kids. In the afternoons, we can swim at the sprawling Loch Ness Monster pool (in the shape of Nessie), eat snow cones and order food and drinks from poolside. Or we can take the courtesy shuttle to nearby Honeymoon Island State Park to play in the sand, swim in the Gulf of Mexico and catch a spectacular sunset. Or maybe we'll just ride our bikes through the lush grounds, flying down the hills, ringing our bells and laughing.
An Executive Suite at the 600-room Innisbrook, a Salamander Golf & Spa Resort in Palm Harbor, Fla.
Something for everyone
Innisbrook is one of four Salamander Hotels & Resorts in Florida owned by Sheila C. Johnson, who invested in a $25 million renovation beginning in 2008. Located 20 miles north of Tampa Airport, the 600 guestrooms and suites comprise studio, one- and two-bedroom options in 28 three-story lodges scattered throughout the property.
With 72 holes of championship golf courses, four restaurants, the Innisbrook Golf Academy, 11 tennis courts, the full-service Salamander Spa, fitness center, six heated swimming pools, bike rentals and a nature preserve, there is something for everyone. See www.innisbrookgolfresort.com.