Pros:
(2.712 Rating) The most heavily wooded course I've ever played as of this review (108 courses)
- RAW BEAUTY - Bay far the most redeeming quality of Whispering Pines is its natural beauty. Wonderful terrain changes for a Florida course this far south. Fully wooded with vibrant vegetation and superb natural fauna. I spotted a Pileated Woodpecker on the back 9. (Woody the Woodpecker for those that know the old cartoon)
- CHALLENGING - Despite the short length, this course is tough. League postings at the community board showed not one of the 25 course regulars with a sub-par handicap. Advanced players will probably struggle to crack par. Having a good mid range recovery game will be key to shoot low.
- SHOT SHAPING - Your discs will need to work some magic. There is typically only one angle of attack on every hole. You will have to release at the right speed and angle, and make sure the ending curves correctly to avoid the thousands of trees in play. Good luck.
- ELEVATION FOR FLORIDA - Great elevation changes for a south Florida course. There's probably more elevation here than at the nearby Floral and Quarry courses combined. A nice 25 foot up shot on (12) followed by a nice down shot. However, several regions of the country would consider this course flat. No more than 30 foot of change on any one hole.
- CHILL AREAS - The entire course is entirely secluded and has an overall Zen feel. There are a few tee areas with seating and there's shade at all of the tees as well.
- SPACING - Well spaced out holes with no chance of running one into another fairway. The drawback however is that a few of the holes have longer walks between basket and next tee.
Cons:
This course is beyond heavily wooded. Note, the DGCR photos only represent about half of the current course layout. It's been partially redesigned and is even more constricting than the photos represent.
- DESIGN - I'm not sure of the design constraints, (For example, not being allowed to cut trees down) but as it sits, I would say several holes are poorly executed and are flawed holes. It's almost as if the baskets and tees randomly fell from the sky and you have to figure out how to get from point A to point B. Several holes have their widest lane at around 4 feet. A few holes don't have a discernible angle to the basket. A couple wider holes, with 6 and 8 foot lanes, have a tree left in the middle of the lane, way down fairway. I like to refer to this type of hole as the "Middle Finger." Hole (10) "Three Middle Fingers" looks seemingly awesome from tee. It's a straight 350 foot hole along a 15 foot high ridge with a 12 foot wide lane. Scores of trees, left, right and top form a tunnel. In addition, there are three 4 inch diameter trees mid fairway, making four 3 foot gaps in the 12 foot lane. The random statistics to make this gap, and that's if you keep it low while staying in the 12 foot wide lane, is 44%. If you fail to hit the lottery on your shot, you will be greatly punished. Your upshot will have to get back on top of the ridge but it's almost entirely blocked off from the fairway lining trees. Hole (11) is another poorly designed hole called "The Beast." From tee it looks like a 400 foot poke and hope shot. But there is a lane there. It just makes 4 solid turns and is 6 to 8 feet wide. After (11), I actually began to like a bunch of holes.
- FORGIVENESS - One of least forgiving layouts I've ever played. I may have scored a few birdies here, but I still hit a tree on every freaking hole.
- OVERGROWTH - I played in early March and the overgrowth was already coming back with a vengeance. If you play here during the summer peak overgrowth, it's probably because you hate fun.
- NAVIGATION - Passable, but I've experienced much better on other similar type courses. To start. printing or downloading the map to your phone is a must, and I repeatedly checked mine. There are a bunch of directional ques along the layout, but it's not enough for this wooded course. I got lost for a few minutes between (10) and (11) as the map is a little bit off. The tee is farther south, or that is if down on the map is south. There's no north arrow on the map.
- SKILL LEVEL FRIENDLY - Way too difficult for beginners and many recreational players. I could also see higher skill lever players also not liking this course if they don't like heavily wooded technical courses. Floral Park, farther south, will draw a much wider swath of skill levels.
- CHARACTER - Probably about average as a whole but lacking in some aspects. The teeing experience was not the greatest. Although shaded, the tees themselves are rubber mats. Several were lumpy and uneven. Hole number and distance were on the mats and it appears some were beginning to fade. In addition, there are other things lacking, like no extra tees or extra basket placements and no practice basket. There was a little bit of seating, but there could have been a few more benches.
- UNIQUENESS - 18 very technical wooded shots. Just about every shot has to be played from just one angle. There is no water along the course to force a line. Not that there's a need for another hazard. No par 5 or dogleg holes either. There is however a bit of elevation, as mentioned above in the PRO comments.
Other Thoughts:
Whispering Pines needs a serious redesign, as the land it graces is stunning. The course feels like a polar opposite to nearby Floral Park. I applaud the locals who brave to play this course day in and day out. I'm sure by now all these players are precision masters.