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Named after a nearby highway that was once the only route to the bay area of Tampa, Old Memorial Golf Club opened for play in November 1997, and it's well-conceived clubhouse was completed the following February. The vision for the development of a world-class golf course, with facilities to match, was taking shape. Along with a mixture of subtle and bold contours, Old Memorial's primary design feature is its bunkering. Large and beautifully sculpted, the bunkers have sand faces with long grass fingers that give them the appearance of a series of smaller bunkers. Unlike water hazards, bunkers are often just a quarter or half-shot penalty and recovery is always possible. Smyers' bunkers are dramatic, sweeping hollows of sand that intimidate, deceive, direct play and frame the course's landing areas and greens. Often, they make holes look more difficult than they really are. As one architecture editor wrote, "Not since MacKenzie or Tillinghast has a golf course architect used bunkering to make such bold statements, express such flair, instill such fear."
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