Earlier this year I got the chance to play Wilderness Country Club in Naples, Florida. My friend Aimee works there and she wanted to show off the golf course. Our mutual friend David Kleinman joined us and we had a great day. The weather was perfect and I thoroughly enjoyed the layout. It was fun learning more about their membership, too.
After playing the course, I asked Aimee if they allowed walking at Wilderness CC. They do and I immediately wanted to play it again! As you may know, I like to walk golf courses and count steps/miles for the front/back/total. If you haven’t seen these, check out a recent blog post I wrote about my round at Royal Portrush Golf Club in Northern Ireland. Aimee loved the idea and we booked a tee time. Aimee also likes to take pictures, so it gave her an excuse to snap a few for the club’s website and social media.
I love winter in SW Florida. The weather was perfect, not a cloud in the sky and the temperature was around 75 degrees. I guess that’s why they call this paradise! Before heading to Wilderness CC, we stopped by Tiburón Golf Club to grab my clubs. I like to get to the course about an hour before my tee time. That gives me time to stretch, hit some balls, putt/chip, etc. My tee time was 12:08 pm. As the Joker likes to say, “And here we go.”
We got to Wilderness early. In preparation for this round, I wanted to work on my short game. I haven’t felt comfortable around the greens lately and I can’t get off the tee to save my life. I am a wreck, to be honest. Bernard, help. Dan, help. I. Need. HELP!
I digress. When Aimee arrived, she printed off a copy of their new membership brochure. As I said, Aimee is a photographer, and when I played the course last year, she took a few photos of me during my round. They turned out great and she decided to use one of those in the brochure design. After getting caught up – she got married since the last time I had seen her – we headed to the first tee.
Aimee walked a few holes with me, which was fun. Always enjoy spending time with her and hearing more about what she has going on. When I played here last year I hit my drive right on the first hole. Guess where it went today? FORE RIGHT! I made double bogey on the first… Followed that up with another double and made it a turkey on the third. I was +6 through 3 holes. That is about where I stopped keeping score. The point of this round was to track steps/miles for my round.
The golf course is in great shape right now. Better than it was last year, that’s for sure. The fairways were lush and the greens were perfect. It took me 6,544 steps/2.93 miles to walk the front. This course is really easy to walk. There are only a few long walks between greens/tees – like 17 green to 18 green – but I love it they allow walking. The back took me 7,141 steps/3.16 miles. The walk from 17 green to 18 tee was legit. Funny story… A few members let me play through on 11. I spotted them walking to 18. They were so nice… They offered me a ride to the next tee! In total, I walked 13,685 steps/6.09 miles.
I use my Fitbit to track steps/miles and I hit my daily steps goal on hole No. 10. The walk was spoiled with poor play, but I love the layout. Tip of the cap to Aimee for inviting me to come play and for spending time with me on the front 9. She had a party to get ready for, so she left early, but she said she snapped some good photos of me along the way. Can’t wait to see them.
If you get the chance to play Wilderness Country Club, do. The golf course has character and the layout is unforgettable. Aimee, let’s do it again soon!
