World Golf Village — Slammer & Squire

Slammer and Squire is the World Golf Village course Bobby Weed built with consulting input from Sam Snead and Gene Sarazen, and it opened in 1998. The names matter. Snead, "The Slammer," won 82 PGA Tour events and possessed what many consider the most natural swing in the game's history. Sarazen, "The Squire," invented the modern sand wedge and won all four major championships in an era when doing so required ocean liners. Their shared philosophy comes through in the design: golf should be engaging, playable, and enjoyable for the player who hits the ball reasonably well.

From 6,939 yards with a rating of 73.8 and a slope of 135, Slammer and Squire is slightly shorter and slightly less demanding than its neighbour King and Bear. The distinction is intentional. Where King and Bear delivers championship length and the combined ambitions of Palmer and Nicklaus, Slammer and Squire rewards good shots without excessively punishing marginal ones. Fairways are fair. Greens are receptive. Hazards are visible and avoidable for the player who plans ahead.

Weed's routing moves through the World Golf Village property with a natural feel that belies the site's development origins. Pine trees frame the corridors, lakes and wetlands provide the primary hazards, and the course maintains a consistent rhythm that carries the round forward without monotony. The par 3s are particularly well-built, each presenting a different challenge in distance, wind exposure, and green shape. They are the holes that linger after the round.

Greens carry enough contour to test putting without producing the frustration that slower players associate with heavily sloped surfaces. Pin positions rotate through zones that change the character of approach shots, but internal slopes are gradual enough that a well-struck putt from 20 feet has a reasonable chance regardless of the day's setup.

Walking is permitted at certain times, and the flat Florida terrain presents no obstacle. The course shares practice facilities with King and Bear, and the proximity makes them a natural pairing for a full day at World Golf Village.

A tribute to two legends, built with the kind of playability that honours their philosophy. Pair it with King and Bear for a full World Golf Village day.