If you are looking for a destination resort in South Florida that provides just about everything you’d want in one big tropical package, the JW Marriott Turnberry Resort & Spa in Aventura more that fits the bill. Its pair of fabulous golf courses and a bevy of splendid practice facilities at the adjacent Turnberry Isle Country Club will keep players more than entertained.
The courses — called Soffer and Miller — are only part of the expansive amenity package at the resort which also lists the Ame Spa and Wellness Collective and the exhilarating Tidal Cove Waterpark that entice visitors from far and wide, including those not staying on site.
Our stay centered around golf, and we played both the courses on back to back days with the sun as a constant companion. First we tackled the Soffer Course, which is considered the toughest of the two tracks and usually gets premium billing; I posted a good score there — especially given its myriad challenges and its continued demand for forced carries and near-perfect iron play.
See a recap of that round and the Soffer Course as a whole here.
On the following day, we teed it up on the Miller, which is listed as the true “member” course and the more approachable option at Turnberry Isle CC. The Miller is a shot-maker’s layout that offers various elevation changes with strategically placed water hazards and bunkers.
Miller Course demands your respect
Carded at a par of 70 and at just 6,417 yards from the back tees, the Miller was originally designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr. in the early 1970s. Both courses were improved and enhanced as a part of the remodeling project that was led by Raymond Floyd in 2007, and the changes Floyd made to the Miller produced a track that more than holds its own against its longer, more ballyhooed sister course on the property.
The location of Turnberry Isle CC provides a cityscape background on each hole, along with natural beauty that you can’t find at most other courses. The tall buildings that surround the property also impact play, producing swirling winds that can be tough to judge on most days.
Water abounds, which you’d expect for a Florida course, but the Miller Course is not pancake-flat thanks to contoured fairways framed by mature Ficus, banyan and olive trees
On a scorecard, the Miller Course looks easier due to its shorter yardage but most golfers don’t realize it has six par-3s. It plays much more difficult than golfers think, as a result of holes three to seven, which are known as The Gauntlet.”
Each of those quintet of holes play around Lake Julius, named after three-time major champion Julius Boros, who served as Turnberry Isle Country Club’s first director of golf. Not only are the holes on this stretch narrow, but the proximity of the lake also intensifies each drive and puts a premium on approach shots.
That series is considered by many golfers to be the best five-hole stretch in South Florida. If there is any wind — and it’s always breezy here — playing those five holes in 5-over-par should be considered a real win. The real monster of the five is the Par 5 fifth, which plays at 577 yards with water on the right throughout and the wind always in your face.
If you survive that challenge the 226-yard par-3 sixth awaits. It’s all carry over the lake to the putting surface, which is on a peninsula and moves from left to right — making the back right hole location one of the most difficult to attack anywhere.
Come out of that stretch intact and there are some gettable holes on the rest of the Miller Course. The par 5 ninth is just 497 yards from the back and can be reached in two if you find the fairway that narrows at the landing area. The 10th (a 360-yard par 4) and the 11th (a par 3 that plays at 246 yards) play in the shadow of the water park, in the far western corner of the property. On the latter, two bunkers guard the right side catch anything that’s hit in that direction.
Par is a good score at No. 12, a short par 4 that heads back into the wind, with strategically placed fairway bunkers in play to keep golfers honest off the tee.
The final of the Miller Course’s six-pack of one-shotters is the 163-yard 17th. It’s all carry off the tee with no real bailout area and the green is surrounded by bunkers on three sides with water catching anything short.
The many wooden bridges that carry carts across hazards create aesthetic beauty rather than distraction. The mildly undulating and at times tiered greens on the Miller Course are usually well protected by sand bunkers, and wooden walls often define the complexes that are oft played across water hazards. Mounding around the putting surfaces creates collection areas that can put pressure on the short game and make recoveries quite challenging.
The vegetation throughout the course is lush and lively, iguanas are plentiful (but not so much as on the Soffer Course) and the waterfowl can be friendly.
A golf course does not have to be overly long to hold a golfer’s interest. The Miller Course is often thought less of because of the challenge and playability of the better-known Soffer Course, but for the resort golfer, the Miller is every bit as great — and, in some regards, even better and still has some amazing holes.
If you’re on the hunt for a fun and pleasant round of golf, the Miller Course provides that in spades. The challenge here bucks the normal convention as the toughest stretch of golf is near the beginning and then the course becomes more scoreable.
The result is a round that’ll offer the golfer some birdie opportunities as long as he or she can keep the ball in the fairway off the tee.
If you’re on the hunt for a fun and pleasant round of golf, the Miller Course provides that in spades. The challenge here bucks the normal convention as the toughest stretch of golf is near the beginning and then the course becomes more scoreable.
The result is a round that’ll offer the golfer some birdie opportunities as long as he or she can keep the ball in the fairway off the tee.
The JW Marriott Turnberry Resort & Spa feels like an oasis away from civilization on 300 tropical acres between Miami and Fort Lauderdale. just 12 miles north of Miami and a less than 10-minute walk from the popular Aventura Mall. Pulling into this resort feels like you’ve landed on a lush and opulent tropical island.
The resort also has four restaurants highlighted by Bourbon Steak by Micheal Mina and Corsair Kitchen & Bar; the Cascata Pool for adults only; a handful of intimate bars with private nooks and crannies; and guest rooms and suites that are among the most spacious and elegant in all of South Florida.