| Photo courtesy of World Golf Village Associates |
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The King & The Bear's 448-yard, par-four ninth is
both a beauty and a beast.
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If your Florida golf vacation includes a stop at the World Golf Hall of Fame, be sure to schedule time to play The King & The Bear, the better of the two golf courses that, along with the Hall, hotels, retail shops and restaurants, comprise the World Golf Village.
The King & The Bear is exactly what its name implies, a collaboration — the first and only such design partnership — between golf titans Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus. The fruit of their alliance, which opened in November 2001, is a true championship layout that measures 7,279 yards from the tips.
Despite being saddled mainly with flat Florida geography, Arnie’s and Jack’s design teams created a smattering of modest but nonetheless welcome elevation changes. On the other hand, water is a clear and present danger, influencing play on no less than 16 holes.
What really stands out, however, is the quality of holes of every type: short par fours, like the fourth, with deftly deployed greenside sand; long par fours like the killer ninth, with a lake unnervingly running down the entire right side; one-shotters such as the 137-yard 11th, with water, sand and an often unmanageable Humpty-Dumpty green; and a couple of muscular par fives, including the thrilling, 529-yard seventh, which bends relentlessly around a lake, temping you to bite off more than you can actually chew.
Even the guys who designed the course succumbed to its powers; they tied for 11th as a team when their layout hosted the Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf tournament shortly after opening.
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