A Somber Day at the Soffer Course

The massive, curving hotel behind the driving range at Turnberry Isle CC, if you’re standing in the right spot, creates a reverberating echo that dances across the walls and throughout the massive practice area. It was empty at the range, the sun stifling and sharp, save for a couple who, while quiet, seemingly picked up clubs for the first time that morning. Turnberry, as I would come to find out, has a lot of interesting quirks; man-made water falls, large stone walking bridges and winding cart bridges over water, pro tees over a treacherous rock path. Not just historical and challenging, but extremely beautiful, and as always, I was eager to learn more. I had spent twenty minutes before my range session talking to the starter, Rich, about the course's history and layout. Turnberry is a gigantic property that sits in a basin of water not even 2000 feet from the ocean, and half that distance from Aventura Mall, one of the largest and top-rated malls in the country; Turnberry makes it look tiny. The mall, Turnberry, and everything you can see for miles around was once swamp, the same brackish water, plants and animals that make up the Everglades, and once covered the entire state of Florida. Decades ago, Don Soffer bought that swamp, built that mall, built Turnberry, and the physical and metaphorical foundation of absolutely everything in the surrounding area. There are two courses at Turnberry, the Miller Course, and the Soffer Course, and on July 20, we played the Soffer Course. On the 18th tee, a construction crew was set up building a large, grey cement box; it looked almost like a substantial above ground drain cover. I didn’t think much of it as we drove past the construction and to the moved-up tee box. Just a few minutes later, after talking again with Rich once we completed our rounds, did I realize the importance of what we were witnessing.

Turnberry, as I said, is massive, not just in physical size but in scope; Don Soffer is credited with not just having the original resort-inspired vision for Aventura, but for actually putting the pieces in place to execute. Turnberry, as the first part of that plan, set the bar for this pocket of South Florida. The Soffer Course plays at 7,000 yards from the tips, a length you feel on every hole with thin landing zones, water hugging the fairway from both sides, and a 240 yard par 3. Its grand design includes winding doglegs and impressive bunkering, the layout fighting the numerous apartments in the skyline with 10 palm trees for every building you can see. Not just a tough course, but a creative course, one that fits the Florida landscape but also the grandeur of the vision for Turnberry and the surrounding area. 

We teed off at high noon, on the dot. The course was basically empty, and in an almost miraculous manner, we were all able to enjoy our first time playing here uninterrupted by anyone except the cart lady. I kept thinking to myself how present I felt in this round, how cognizant I was of the course and the time we spent there. Many times, I find myself feeling as if the round is speeding by, over by the time I finally feel settled in. Of course, there are the dreaded rounds that drag on for hours and hours, stifled by slow players and stupidity. This round felt unique. I knew I had been there for hours, I was aware of the time, but I didn’t feel it passing. I can only hope to have that feeling on the course again soon. It was bliss.

When we pulled away from the 18th green, we all were just really taken aback by the beauty and challenge of this course, all of us having a great time no matter what we scored. Birdies, hole outs, everyone had something special that day, and we came off the green hoping for more. We went to go say hello to Rich, who was still in the starter shed where I had spoken to him 5 hours earlier, although it felt like a couple of minutes. We all spoke at length about the blown away we were by the course’s beauty and layout. Rich asked us if we saw the mausoleum. I thought we had missed out on another bit of rich local history surrounding this course. I asked him where it was built, only for him to tell me they were building it on the 18th as we spoke, the construction we went by while finishing our round. Don Soffer, the man we have to thank for this place’s very existence, had passed away in the early hours of that morning, just a few hours before our tee time, and his final resting place was being constructed right by the tee box of 18.

It was an interesting feeling hearing that right after we finished our round. At least for me, it put into perspective the fleeting feeling of time passing by, of being unable to be present, of getting angry at my swing instead of enjoying the time on the course, if only for a while. It made me even more grateful to be there when we stepped back out for a third 9, which I played from the tips, each hole a challenge I really never faced before; I never play from that far back. Yet, I played better from those tees than I did 1000 yards closer. All because I didn’t care what I was shooting or how I was playing in the slightest. I was just really, really happy to be there. Thanks, Mr. Soffer.