Review: The Landings Golf Club of Clearwater

And that is the only time I, anyone, or anyplace other than the official website will refer to it by its full name.

I'd like to tell you that we're in for an exciting time here, and that The Landings is a high-quality, fun, and challenging golf course. But it isn't, and we're not in for an exciting time. I'm not even sure I can be funny about how bad it is. It's not even a good enough course to get to bad. Well, we can try anyway, maybe inspiration will strike.

If you're smart, you may suspect that The Landings has that name for a reason, and you're right! It's located right next to the Clearwater Airport. If you're now thinking that Floridian golf didn't need any help being flat and that the land next to a Florida airport must be some of the flattest land in the world, well, you're right again! I'm really not doing a good job of convincing you that reading this will be worth your time, am I? Well, before I do any more damage, let's get to business. Oh, don't worry, I won't take up two weeks of your time with this. One week, and I'll only hit the most noteworthy holes (ie., the least boring ones).

The second hole is a medium length par 4, weighing in at just over 400 yards. But because this is an executive course with a par of 63, and an overall length of less than 4,500 yards, this is the longest hole on the course. And it's interesting for more than that reason too! This is one of the two holes that plays directly against the airport. You can slice a drive right onto a runway! Sadly, I didn't do that, so I was deprived of the opportunity to say that I hit a golf ball onto an airport. The greenside bunker vaguely favors a shot from the right, so you're better off hitting close to the OB line, and I can't believe I just implied that there was some sort of strategy at this course.

The second hole. The airport is on the right.

The third hole is a shortish par 3, and isn't really that interesting, but you can see the runway in the picture, so here you go. It's not in play, really, but it's providing scenic interest!

It's like Pebble Beach here.

The fourth hole is a fairly short par 4, and it also plays along the runway. So if you didn't slice one over there on the second, you've got another opportunity here. The second shot is fairly tough, I suppose, a pitch to a well-bunkered green.

The fourth hole. More runway right.

Literally the most difficult shot in the universe.

The ninth hole is a short par 4, with a pond sort of in play on the left. If you lay up with a long iron, it's not a problem, but if you use a driver, it is something extra to think about. Since I started on 10, this was my last hole of the day.

The ninth hole

The eleventh hole is the longest hole on the back nine, and considering this was the first actual drive I hit during the round (the tenth hole is a 130 yard par 3), it's not the easiest tee shot in the world. The OB left is a concern. The green is very wide open though, so as long as you get your drive in play, you shouldn't have too much to worry about.

The eleventh hole, with OB left.

Hit a good drive, and it's a definite birdie opportunity. Not much trouble around the eleventh green.

The thirteenth hole is, and I use this phrase lightly, probably the best hole on the course. It's another short par 4, just over 310 yards, so probably just out of reach with the driver unless you're really long. The road to the left isn't really in play, but that group of trees just to the right of the fairway definitely is. If you want the best angle into the green, you'll have to at the very least get near them, if not challenge them directly. You don't want to leave yourself an awkward half-shot over the greenside bunker. Again, this isn't anything earth-shattering, just a hole with a basic amount of interest. That makes for a good hole here.

The thirteenth hole

You don't want to approach this green from too far left.

The fifteenth hole is a par 3 that's only 94 yards. I know it's an executive course, but still, you don't often come across holes this short. Plus, you can see the landing strip behind the green, and I don't know, I was alright with this hole. The green wasn't dead flat, and sometimes it's nice to hit little wedges off of the tee. It's okay in my book.

The fifteenth hole. A tiny little par 3.

The sixteenth hole is a long par 3 at 217 yards. I kind of like the way the fairway on this par 3 moves, so that's why I'm including it. After a round of basically runways, even a little bit of elevation change is noticeable.

The sixteenth hole.

Hey, I said it wasn't much, but it felt like it. It's Florida, what do you expect?

The eighteenth hole is a very, very short par 4, playing just over 250 yards. If you can hit your driver any sort of reasonable distance, you're almost certainly thinking eagle on this hole. And that's fair enough, but just consider the two bunkers flanking the green, they do provide a bit of challenge. This is definitely a birdie hole, but at least it's not completely brainless.

Well now, how much fun was that? No, I won't try to pump this course up as anything other than an extremely basic executive course that probably isn't worth the money. This was $18, Clearwater Country Club was $25, I believe, and you get an actual golf course for that extra $7. Not a great one, but far more interesting than this. Wentworth was $35, and even though I wasn't a fan of the back nine, that course is easily twice the course this was. So my advice, pay a little more, go somewhere better, unless you're operating on no sleep and just want somewhere to play. This course isn't worth your time otherwise.