Heritage Isles Golf Course is a championship design layout that proves a true test for the advanced golfer. From the Gold back tees, our par-72 course plays at 6,976 yards, and the par 3’s are possibly the most challenging in Tampa, says Rick Bradshaw General Manager and two times PGA Section Teacher of the Year. Designed for golfers of all skill levels, our five sets of tees; Blue-6,236 yards, and White-5,615 yards, make Heritage Isles a very fair, challenging, and fun golf experience. From the forward Red tees the course measures 4,832 yards, very manageable for golfers with a shorter, straighter drive.
Regardless of your length off the tee or ability level, your short game will play an important role in scoring while playing Heritage Isles. Manage your approach shots well and our large, well-maintained greens will reward those players who putt well.
The first tee will give you a really good feeling for what you’re going to see here starting with a dogleg left par 4. This isn’t target golf, and there are generous landing areas ahead of you on all the holes, but if you miss those landing areas from the tees, there’s a chance you’ll end up in the wetlands or water hazards. Water comes into play here on almost every hole so manage your shots well and you’ll score low.
Both the front and the back nine’s have challenging par 5’s that will bring you back to play here time and time again. They can be reached in two for the powerful player, but there are also a number of deep bunkers to avoid.
Along the left-hand side of the par-4 No. 1 (346 yards from the back tees and 284 yards from the forward tees), you’ll see lots of cypress groves and wetlands. There’s also a pond area on the right. Homes will never be built on No. 1 because of protected natural areas.
According to Jed Azinger, the par-4 No. 3 (430 yards from the back tees, 307 from the forward) “is one of the top five holes I’ve ever worked on.” The fairway here swings back toward the clubhouse and provides golfers with a beautiful view. But don’t be mesmerized by the scenery. This is a slight dogleg left around a grandfather oak tree that could prove an obstacle if your ball leans left. It’s that oak tree that Azinger really loves on this hole. “We could have had it removed; we had permission to do so. But we wanted to keep it because it’s 100 years old,” he said.
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Besides watching out for that giant oak, players also need to be careful about the wetlands that guard the entire right front of the green.
Right from the beginning of the course, you’ll also have to watch out for the par-3s, some of the most demanding holes on the course, particularly from the back tees because of their length. The shortest and perhaps the easiest of them is No. 5 (199 yards from the back tees and 130 from the forward). All the rest are more than 200 yards from the tips.
The No. 7 hole is the signature hole of the Heritage Isles course. It’s a double dogleg par-5 that is 558 yards from the back tees and 405 yards from the forward. You’ll need to make a long carry over wetlands right off the tee. As you travel along the fairway you have to avoid the environmentally sensitive wetlands along both sides. No hunting for your ball if you run off course. There’s a dog-right off the tee and then a dog-left on your way to the green. It’s definitely a risk-reward hole. The professionals’ strategy would be to hit your drive to the right side of the fairway and then try to hit the risk shot to the green over the dogleg left. You’ll have a carry over palmetto and brush to hit it in two.
For those with less courage, it’s possible to lay up on the right-hand side to avoid the out-of-bounds shot.
No. 9 (312 yards from the back tees and 303 yards from the forward) is another of Jed Azinger’s favorites. “It’s a par-4, dogleg left,” he said, “that really catches your eyes as you drive into the course. It’s a well-bunkered hole with water down the left-hand side. You have to go over a bridge to reach the forward tees. It’s actually a semi-island hole.”
Although you’ll find less danger from wetlands on the back nine, the layout is very similar on the back of the course. The signature hole there is one of those huge par-3s, No. 16 (249 yards from the back tees and 129 from the forward). There are wetlands to the right and water on your left as you take your tee shot. You also have to carry over a large, deep bunker on the right side of the green. For shorter hitters, there is room in front of the green to lay up.
The 18th hole, a par-4 that is 399 yards from the back tees and 275 from the forward, is a sharp dogleg right with wetlands on the left side and a lake on the right. This is another fairway that offers the chance to try to cut the dogleg. You can hit across the lake to a landing area in a second fairway. Or you can lay up on the left-hand side in the first fairway and use a middle iron to get to the green.
After your round be sure to visit our clubhouse and have a drink or something to eat while you discuss your strategy for the next time you visit Heritage Isles!
Here are our distances with ratings and slopes:
6,976 yards (74.3/137)
6,236 yards from the back tees (70.4/133)
5,615 yards (69.2/117)
4,832 yards (67.6/119)
Click Here or call 813-907-7447 to book a tee time!
