It's a beautiful day at Bobcat Trail. You'll most likely hear this a few times when you visit Bobcat Trail for a round of golf, but they really mean it. "The Cat" is one of Sarasota County's best clubs as signified by their 4 1/2-star rating in Golf Digest's "Best Places to Play." Laid out by PGA Champion, Bob Tway, and architect Lee Singletary, the course will really make you think as there are risk-reward decisions to make all over the lot. The club has also undergone a renovation of the entire complex including brand new Champion Bermuda greens, renovated and enlarged clubhouse (with flat screen TVs), bunker renovation and new Precedent Golf Cars with GPS. Once again, it's a beautiful day at Bobcat Trail.

There are very few semi-private clubs in the Sarasota area as challenging as River Club. The club is in Bradenton, convenient for visitors to both Tampa and Sarasota. Architect Ron Garl incorporated extensive mounding with rolling fairways, undulating greens, and numerous grass and pot bunkers. Although water comes into play on 16 holes, the front side is actually fairly open off the tee. However, the back meanders through dense woodlands so you'd better be hitting it straight by the turn.

Open since late summer 2006, River Strand is a 27-hole championship golf course by the Arthur Hills/Steve Forrest and Associates design team. Hills is one architect who lives up to the adage of creating a course that is challenging for the scratch player and fun for the high handicapper. He's done it again here with a course that fits harmoniously with the environment as holes winds through tributaries and tidal areas of the Manatee River. The facility also features a great practice facility and a first-class clubhouse is planned in the near future.

Long Marsh's gently rolling fairways meander through 300 acres of natural Florida scrub, its fairways and greens invitingly framed by native pines, oaks and palms. Now a 27-hole facility, each hole has its own distinctive character, set amid natural bunkers, lakes and marshes that are havens for wildlife. This Ted McAnlis-designed course opened in February of 1999 and is enjoyable for golfers of all levels. Four sets of tee boxes provide course distances ranging from 7120 yard to 5257 yards.

The terrific Arthur Hills layout has been receiving astounding reviews and is regarded by many as the best golf course in the area. The layout plays through a landscape highlighted by mature, wooded, wetland preserves. Its unique setting provided Hills the opportunity to create a collection of strategic risk/reward holes. Stoneybrook at Heritage Harbour is a definite "must play" for anyone playing in and around Sarasota or Tampa. Stoneybrook is located in Bradenton, just north of Sarasota.

Travelers will find this Scottish links-style course conveniently located on the outskirts of Sarasota. The course is in one of the area's most natural settings amid preserved wetlands and 11 lakes. There are no homes on site, just an abundance of wildlife and nature and 18 challenging holes. Designed by one of the area's best architects, Ted McAnlis, the course plays much longer than its 6757 yards and provides just enough water for it to be factor. The par-5 #13 is their 504-yard signature hole - a monstrous, daunting dogleg over water.