Lely Resort — Flamingo Island

Flamingo Island at Lely Resort is Robert Trent Jones Sr.'s 1989 design, built with his longtime associate Roger Rulewich. Jones's signature is clear: large greens, dramatic bunkering, and water hazards that create visual spectacle while providing genuine strategic options. Water comes into play on twelve of the eighteen holes, a number that sounds intimidating but functions more as a routing feature than a relentless penalty. The hazards define the edges of play rather than bisecting fairways, giving you clear visual information about where to aim and what to avoid.

The island-fairway concept that gives the course its name shows up on several holes where the playing corridor is flanked by water on both sides. Those holes narrow the margin off the tee but reward accuracy with straightforward approaches to unobstructed greens. The course's slope of 135 is moderate for its 7,171-yard length, reflecting hazards that are numerous but generally avoidable if you pick the correct tee box and play within yourself. From the forward tees, much of the water becomes peripheral rather than central to the strategy, which is a hallmark of Jones's public-access work.

Champion Ultra Dwarf Bermuda greens give you smooth, fast, and consistent surfaces all season. They're large by Naples standards, which is again characteristic of Jones's public-access work; he understood that larger targets make a course more enjoyable for the average golfer without reducing the challenge for accomplished players, because the additional size creates more pin positions and more subtle breaks. A pin tucked behind a bunker on one of these large greens needs the same precision as hitting a smaller green at its centre, and the variety of placements keeps the course fresh across multiple rounds.

The routing has the flowing quality that distinguishes Jones's Florida work from his more muscular northern designs. Holes transition smoothly, the lakes and waterways provide visual continuity, and the tropical landscaping frames each hole without constricting it. The course feels expansive despite the surrounding residential development, and conditioning holds up through the heavy traffic of peak season.