Game On!

Meet up for friendly competition at Heron Creek Golf & Country Club.

- FRANCIS X. GALLAGHER

If North Port, Florida, sounds familiar, it is likely due to the disappearance and murder of Gabby Petito last year. Brian Laundrie, her fiancé, ended his days not far into the Carlton Reserve, part of Myakka River State Park. The park is a mecca for hiking, kayaking, and spotting animals like alligators and birds. Heron Creek Golf & Country Club lies south of the park in a residential community.

With Heron Creek’s three nine-hole courses — Oak, Marsh, and Creek — players can easily switch up the combinations to make distinctly different 18-hole layouts. Ohio native Arthur Hills, who died last year at age 91, designed Heron Creek. Designing more than 200 courses, many in Florida, Ohio, and Michigan, Hills believed in risk and reward holes. I looked forward to playing with a good friend, George Hofmann, and his son, Cole. George and I together ran the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Red & White Ball in Philadelphia, raising millions of dollars for LLS through the generosity of our airline and hotel friends at Global Traveler.

Like many during the pandemic, George relocated to Florida’s West Coast, settling in Cape Coral to enjoy the weather and outdoor activities. Heron Creek proved the perfect location to meet, with me coming from Sarasota and George from Cape Coral.

HOLE 1 – OAK 515 yards, par 5