A new 18-hole golf course, designed by Chris Wilczynski, has opened for play at the Esplanade at Azario Lakewood Ranch community in Florida.

The course is to be a resident-only private venue with 18 holes laid out on rolling ground. It can be played from 3,500 to over 7,000 yards and features wide fairways, strategic bunkering, and five holes that can be played along and through mature oaks and pines.

“It was an honour to partner with Taylor Morrison again to create another state-of-the-art golf course that reflects their vision of the Esplanade brand and will provide Azario residents and the Lakewood Ranch community with an exceptional golf experience,” said Wilczynski. “Our goal was to create a course that’s visually dynamic and fun for players of all abilities. I’m excited for people to experience it.”

The twelfth hole, ‘Enclave’, plays to a raised green surrounded by several deep bunkers and native vegetation. The seventeenth, ‘Big Oak’, requires a bold tee shot across a lake to a multi-tiered 9,000-square-foot green, adjacent to the largest native oak on the property.

To add a dimension to the previously flat land, Wilczynski and his team dug several large lakes and used the soil from the excavation to construct the golf course, residential lots and roads.

“The extensive earthmoving and detailed landscape that we created for each hole brings a dramatic transformation to the property not found elsewhere,” said Wilczynski.

Read more: Chris Wilczynski spoke with GCA about the project following his appointment in 2018.

“Esplanade at Azario Lakewood Ranch is an exciting new addition to Lakewood Ranch, a highly desired location for new housing in Manatee County,” said Joseph Fontana, division president of Taylor Morrison Sarasota. “We were excited to work with Chris again to build a golf course that residents will enjoy for many years to come. Chris understands the vision of our Esplanade brand and helped us develop a golf course that complements its signature lifestyle.”