Lely Resort — Mustang

The Mustang at Lely Resort is Lee Trevino's only course design in Southwest Florida, opened in 1996, and it carries the playing philosophy that defined his career: challenge accomplished golfers without humiliating higher-handicaps. The Mustang delivers that through generous fairway widths combined with well-positioned hazards that create different levels of risk depending on which tee box you pick. Trevino's own game favoured shotmaking and creativity over brute force, and the routing reflects that sensibility throughout.

Twelve lakes integrate into the routing, but Trevino positioned them as lateral boundaries rather than forced carries on most holes. Water becomes a visual constant without dominating the strategy. Stay in the centre of the fairway and you'll rarely meet water on your second shot; chase distance by cutting corners and the lakes sit precisely where ambition exceeds execution. The central tension here is that the safe play is always available, and the aggressive play offers tangible rewards if you have the skill to execute.

At 7,230 yards from the tips with a slope of 141 and a course rating of 75.3, the Mustang is the longest course in the mid-range tier and a serious test from the back, comparable in difficulty to several premium courses in the destination. The forward tees, however, bring it into a range recreational golfers can enjoy without losing a sleeve of balls per nine. That scalability is Trevino's design achievement here. The course plays fundamentally differently depending on tee selection, which makes it one of the better choices in Naples for groups with varied handicaps travelling together.

Conditioning at Lely is consistent across both courses, and the Mustang benefits from the same maintenance standards that keep Flamingo Island tournament-ready. Greens run true, bunkers are well-maintained, and fairways give clean lies through peak season. The shared clubhouse and practice facilities between the two courses keep the operation efficient and pace moving. The range gives you a proper warm-up, and the putting green previews the speeds you'll meet on the course. Service feels well-managed without reaching for resort-level polish, which is appropriate for a public-access operation at this price point.