Graeme McDowell’s returned to Orlando from Malaysia to begin his Masters preparations at a golf private golf course that has remained relatively unknown for 100 years.
McDowell intends spending much of this coming week at the Mountain Lake resort course located about an hour’s drive south of his palatial Lake Nona abode.
It means McDowell skipping this week’s Shell Houston Open where organisers have for the past few years enticed the likes of McDowell, Rory McIlroy and Phil Mickelson by setting up the Redstone host course as close to what they will find at Augusta as they can.
Graeme McDowell to prepare for the Masters at Mountain Lake in Florida. (Photo – www.mountainlake.comm)
Mountain Lake was designed in 1916 by legendary US-born course designer Seth Raynor and is listed on the US National Register.
It’s also ranked No. 16 by Golfweek magazine on the ‘Best Residential Golf Course’ and No. 8 by Golf Digest as the ‘Most Fun Private Course.”
And despite being two years shy of its centenary, the unpretentious private club community laid out close to one of only a few mountains in Florida has, to use an overused American phase, largely flown under the radar.
“Mountain Lake is a great old Seth Raynor course where there is very Augusta-like greens and where I practiced last year before heading to the Masters,” said McDowell.
“It’s a great old style golf course and I’ve been in touch with the guys down there and they’re going to have the greens running nice and quick and I’m going to down there for a couple of days to work on my putting and chipping.
“It’s just that Lake Nona is struggling with its greens right now so I won’t be undertaking much short work there.
“But then there is a chipping area down the back of Lake Nona practice range area and the guys there have also assured they with have the area slicked up.
“So I will be having no shortage of practice sessions before heading up to Augusta on Sunday evening.”
McDowell will be making his seventh Masters appearance since 2005 and his sixth in succession.
However the former US Open winner has enjoyed a love/hate relationship with Augusta National with his achievements reading – Missed Cut (2005), T17th (2009), Missed Cut (2010 & 2011), T12th (2012) and Missed Cut last year.
But while McDowell remains in the Sunshine State three fellow Irish in McIlroy, Padraig Harrington and Darren Clarke will tee up in the Lone Star State.
Clarke was out on the Redstone course Sunday and having jetted-in from a week’s holiday with his wife on the Bahamas.
He will then travel to Augusta where he will celebrate his 500th European Tour event.
For Harrington it is his ‘Last Chance Saloon’ to continue an unbroken 14 straight years competing at Augusta National.
