46 - Sunday, June 17, 1990 - INNISBROOK SEEMS a busy place when you get there, but out on the course two golfers find themselves alone with the elemeats. North Shore News photo submitted Tampa is full of surprises INNISBROOK RESORT CA TERS TO GOLFERS TAMPA — Flying in to this part of Florida is an eye- opener. A fellow passenger was expecting a small, regional airport, push-up steps for the aircraft and a school bus to the terminal. Wrong. The airport here with its automatic, Seattle-style people- movers and spacious layout makes Vancouver International look rather backward. Numerous in- ternational carriers serve Tampa, including Air Canada with seweral flights a day from Toronto and Montreal, plus good connections to Vancouver. The Tampa area is booming, al- though property prices down ‘much of the Gulf of Mexico coast are cheap by Vancouver stand- ards. Here you can buy a three- bedroom house for $70,060. Cars with Canadian plates are common, particularly at golf resorts like Innisbrook at Tarpon Springs just east of here. I played golf with a retired farmer from the Prairies and a businessman from Toronto, the latter here at a conference. This is big business at In- nisbrook, which has 1,000 suites, cavernous conference rooms and a fleet of shuttle trams to move guests around. In fact a first reac- tion is that this place is an in- dustry rather than a golf resort. But it soon becomes apparent that Innisbrook is a series of villages rather than a big town. All three golf courses, for exam- ple, have their own clubhcuses with restaurant and bar. At the Copperhead pro shop, I had the place to myself when I checked in, and we went round the beautiful Copperhead course in just over four hours. There are three nines at Cop- perhead, which is ranked number one in Florida and in the U.S. top 100. Tough I expected it to be, but a surprise was the rolling hills and tall pines. Somehow this didn't seem like the Florida 1 had seen before or had ever imagined. There are fakes, but nothing like the water hazards on the Island course we played the next day. The Island has some lovely holes, such as the [0th with its long carry over a lake and then a jong way uphill to a sloping green. Naturally there is a golf school here, and packages including golf clinics as well as accommodation and meals. Lurking outside on the travel talk David Wishart eee main highway are at least three golf stores, and, if all else fails, two gun shops. There are 18 tennis courts, six swimming pools, places to work out and wooded paths for jogg- ing. Fresh breakfast is just a stroll away at the ‘3th green of the Island course, where grapefruit hang ripe in the morning sun. Suites have well-equipped kitch- ens with large fridges and daily maid service. On the downside there are charges for collect and toll-free phone calls, and only sleuths and Canadians will find the pay phones. But the system is at least effi- cient. Call for a shuttle tram and it’s there in a moment. Golf times are easy to arrange for resort guests anc restaurants are genu- inely accommodating. At the Vintage I got a corner table, prime spot for someone dining solo, and the waiter did not blink when I declined coffee be- fore dessert, a barbarous Ameri- can habit, preferring to digest my crab bisque and delicious lamb chops with a lingering perusal of the dessert menu. And what a menu: creme brulee, sherry trifle, fresh straw- berries and cream, and more. I had cherries jubilee flamed at the table, then accepted a glass of Corton-Charlemagne from a fellow golfer at the next table. He was a Toronto businessman, and he could not get over the wine list. He pointed out a 1974 Mon- davi which is hard to acquire at any price, and rare 1982 Burgun- dies offered for less money than he could buy them + a top New York wine store. We repaired to the lounge where a lively group was playing, then picked up a shuttle tram for a nightcap at the Islands (seafood) restaurant and bar. The third res- taurant does Western and Cajun food. At the Islands lounge the wine waiters were being run off their feet by a dozer golfers from Ireland who were on their 27th bottle of champagne and still go- ing strong. The next morning they were on the course, and giving good custom to the beverage buggy. In surprising Tainpa, there’s an eye-opener for everyone. Innisbrook packages, including room and golf, range from U.S. $85 to $190 a day. THE GREAT ESCAPE A beautiful iskand hideaway with spectacular col- ored sunrises, sealions on the reefs, bald eagles soaring overmead and the surf at your front doorstep. Outback are miles of country roads for strolling. Bring your camera and enjoy nature at its best afinn of the Sea, so near and yet so far away. Package includes 4 days, 3 nights, 1 dinner & 3 orea ktasts. 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