“The team stayed for seven months. They trained in the morning, then come back here and played golf in the afternoon,’’ said Farrell. Saddlebrook provided a ‘gold-medal’ training experience, as the women’s team claimed the gold. Due to Covid, hockey players are back at Saddlebrook.More than 600 young hockey players from 50 U.S. Premier Hockey League teams have created a bubble and filled empty rooms at the resort from January through February. They held practices and games at the nearby Tampa Bay Lightning training center. “Of the 540 rooms in our rental pool, they take up 470,’’ said Farrell. “We’re very fortunate because a lot of other (resorts), from a room perspective, are dying on the vine.’’ Saddlebrook also includes a Preparatory Teaching Academy is on the premises. It has highschool age students from 20 countries starting at the age of 13. Classes are limited to 12 students with 30 instructors on staff. A unique aspect in the design of the resort requires guests park their cars upon arrival and are transported via shuttles to their rooms and around the resort. During the PGA Tour’s shutdown in March, April and May of 2020, Sungjae Im stayed at the resort and practiced daily. Golf academy students benefitted from having a PGA Tour pro on the grounds and he seemed to enjoy working with the junior golfers. The par-70 Saddlebrook Course, has a stunning 429-yard finishing hole but its trademark is the cypress trees, some of which have grown to nearly 100 feet in height. The par-71 Palmer Course has generous driving areas with lots of humps and bumps to add to the challenge. The greens are firm, fast and undulating with a rare par-3 as its finishing hole. Both courses
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