TIBURÓN GOLF CLUB, in Naples, Florida is not, as the title suggests, schizophrenic.  This Troon-managed facility is doing quite nicely at offering a great product to all kinds of golfers.

It's a Resort Course.

As part of the Ritz Carlton resort, Tiburón offers resort guests two world class, Greg Norman designed golf courses.  So folks vacationing in South Florida's premier golf destination can enjoy the kind of golf normally afforded only to members of exclusive clubs.

It's a Private Club.

Troon has come up with an ingenious way to offer a quality, private club experience to its members by reserving play on one of its two courses for members each day.  The course that's available to members reverses each day, so members have access to both courses, while still having the luxury of playing a great course that's not backed up with heavy play.

It's a Public Course.

Local golfers or visitors to Naples also have access to Tiburón, without having to stay at the Ritz Carlton or being members of the club.  Public golf is available each day on the course not designated as Private that day.  The only restriction is that golfers teeing off before noon must use caddies.  So, with caddy fees and green fees, it's not necessarily a cheap round of golf, but the value is there.  

Both The Gold Course and The Black Course are beautifully designed and wonderfully maintained by Director of Agronomy, Jeff Cathey and his excellent team.  And Troon's management, as always, is excellent.  So whether one plays as a guest at the resort, a member or as a regular visitor the experience that Tiburón Golf Club offers is exceptional.

While I didn't arrive at Tiburón as a golfer, my experience as a Troon photographer and the resulting photo shoot were as good as it gets.  Ricky Potts, the new Marketing Director, went out of his way to get me up to speed on the layout when I arrived and then stepped aside to let me free-range it (my favorite way of working) for the next few days.  The Ritz Carlton, as one would expect, was wonderful, as well.  

One issue that often comes up during a photo shoot is my wish for solitude at dawn.  This wish isn't just because I'm a card-carrying recluse, but more because maintenance crews driving all over a hole where I'm set up to capture the sunrise can be more than a little troublesome.  But Jeff Cathey's team could not have been more accommodating, staying away from my dawn locations until I was ready to move on.  The result was a collection of the best pre-dawn thru sunrise images I've ever captured.