On the face of it, there’s an irony. The PGA Tour and the LPGA Tour have joined hands to bring back mixed-team golf after a gap of 24 years, but the course that will play host to the event is designed by an outcast. The Grant Thornton Invitational, to be played from December 8-10, is a mainstream golf event. But it has a LIV Golf connection.

Though the connection is not the LIV golfers playing in the event, but more related to the venue. Sixteen PGA Tour golfers and as many LPGA Tour pros have paired up for the event that will be played at the Tiburon Golf Club, at the Greg Norman-designed courses, The Gold and The Black. 

The Greg Norman-designed courses offer beauty and intrigue

Norman, a Hall of Fame inductee, had a decorated career, someone who spent 331 weeks as the World No. 1 back in the 1980s and ‘90s. The courses designed by him are award-winning as well. Located in Naples, Florida, the Tiburon Golf Club offers a picturesque view. The luxurious Ritz-Carlton beach hotel, just a few miles away, overlooks the golf club, but the venue is famous for its two courses; Gold and Black.

Norman designed both of the courses. The Gold Course was inaugurated in 1998. Its younger sibling, the Black Course, became operational three years later. The Gold Course is longer, playing at 7,382 yards and the Black Course is 6,949 yards long. Both are 18-hole, par-72 courses, with five sets of tee.

When the golfers are not playing golf, they can check in at Tiburon’s Mediterranean-style clubhouse. The 27,000-square-foot clubhouse has three dining rooms, lounge areas, and members’ locker rooms. If someone wants to go shopping, there’s a golf shop available at the clubhouse as well.

It is widely believed that these are the two best golf courses in Florida. The most intriguing feature of the courses is the way Norman increased the degree of difficulty for the players by bringing on water hazards and adding difficult sod-wall bunkers. And LIV Golf’s CEO sure didn’t stop there, as he wanted to trick things up more for the golfers!

More Information about Grand Thornton Invitational’s Black and Gold Courses

As per his design, the critical areas of rough were converted into coquina shell waste bunkers. Turf bunkers add to the Gold Course’s special characteristics. But the real beauty of the place is that the two courses offer different challenges to the golfers. The courses revel in their spectacular conditioning.

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The Gold Course runs through an array of pine and palm trees, and a few wetlands. The stunning landscape complements the pristinely green fairways. The greens are large and the bunkers are sprawling and severe. Fairways are a bit rolling but wide. On 13 holes, the players get to negotiate with water. The course’s features make playing golf here a special experience.

The Black Course is a little trickier and recovery shots can come into play more. This is due to the fact that it has more water hazards, while the fairways are flanked by huge bunkers. The PGA Tour’s Grand Thornton Invitational is just a  few days apart, and it would sure be an interesting sight to witness LPGA stars and PGA Tour stars tee it up together!

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