If you’re seeking out a luxury independent golf experience, look no further than the Salamander Collection.
With PGA National Resort and Innisbrook – both in Florida – and iconic Half Moon in Jamaica, the management/ownership firm launched two decades ago by Sheila Johnson boasts 171 total golf holes, many of which get plenty of air time when the PGA Tour makes its Florida swing in March.
The 77-year-old Johnson, who also co-founded BET en route to becoming the first black female billionaire, incorporates her core values of honesty, authenticity, respect and passion into her collection of unique hotels and resort properties that also include non-golf locations located in Virginia, Washington, D.C., South Carolina and Colorado (but plenty of great golf nearby with an easy Salamander hook-up).
“Our philosophy about hospitality is that everyone should feel welcome – and that goes across all generations, skin color, you name it,” says Matt Owen, Salamander’s vice president of communications. “We’re modeled around the word approachability, meaning we want people to feel comfortable from the moment they walk in, whether it’s in horse country or golf country. We want everyone to feel like they’ve just been welcomed home.”
PGA National Resort is a legendary golf destination and one of only three golf public facilities to ever host a Ryder Cup, PGA Championship and PGA Tour event. The resort features 81 holes of golf as well as a state-of-the-art facility that features 12 newly constructed pickleball courts, along with 16 tennis courts. The resort’s Champion Course has hosted the PGA Tour’s Cognizant Classic since 2007.
The Jack Nicklaus signature design features the iconic “Bear Trap” (holes 15-17) – billed as one of the most dramatic closing stretches in professional golf.
“We try to offer maximum flexibility at PGA National, so there is a very extensive spa, outdoor patio type of options for dining, a great pool – things that will attract both families and golfers,” Owen says. “We know we’re a golf resort first and foremost in our DNA, but there are plenty of people that choose to hang out or vacation at PGA National that don’t play golf. And that’s the beauty of the property – it does appeal to a lot of different vacation and/or group types.”
Meanwhile, Innisbrook is situated on 900 acres located 30 minutes from Tampa International Airport. The resort in Palm Harbor, Florida, features 72 holes of championship golf, 11 tennis courts, six heated swimming pool complexes and a nature preserve. For more than 30 years, Innisbrook has hosted the PGA Tour’s Valspar Championship at its famed Copperhead Course.
Much like PGA National, it is famed for the “Snake Pit,” the closing three-hole stretch which is consistently ranked among the most difficult on the PGA Tour.
In addition to its four courses, Innisbrook is noted for its low-rise accommodation lodges which were designed to stay below the height of the surrounding trees and blend into their natural environment. All of these 300-plus spacious, condo-style units were remodeled in 2021.
“Copperhead is an unusual Florida track,” Owen says. “It’s not flat and it’s not really surrounded by a ton of water, like many Florida courses are. Some of the PGA Tour players like to play it because it’s the most similar course they play leading up to the Masters. It does have tight fairways and fast greens, and undulating topography.”
Owen says it’s hard to measure the vast impact the two resorts receive from TV coverage during the yearly Tour events.
“It’s incalculable,” Owen says of the publicity surrounding the tournaments. “During those weeks we really do our best to tell the story of both properties over social media. And during those weeks the courses are impeccable for all travelers to see on TV.”
If you’re heading to the islands, Jamaica’s highest-rated property and one of the Caribbean’s most storied destinations will reopen its highly-acclaimed Eclipse at Half Moon Resort on April 2, marking a significant milestone in the country’s post-Hurricane Melissa recovery.
Managed by Salamander Collection and located just 10 minutes from Sangster International Airport in Jamaica’s tourism capital, Half Moon sits along a two-mile stretch of pristine coastline.
Highlighting Half Moon’s long-standing sporting tradition, the resort’s Robert Trent Jones Sr.-designed golf course will also reopen for play in early April.
“People who come to Half Moon are looking for a more traditional vacation experience versus what a lot of our competition in Jamaica is – which is that all-inclusive experience,” Owen says. “We can provide meal plans if you like, but lots of our guests choose to allocate their vacation and treat it like a more traditional vacation experience. And while Half Moon is not considered a true golf resort like Innisbrook and PGA National, we still have some serious golfers who will come and play.
“It’s a big moment for Jamaica because Half Moon is considered really the most iconic resort in Jamaica,” added Owen. “It has so much history so we’re all excited for a return to normalcy.”
Owen comes back to that word “approachability” that sets the tone for all of Salamander’s properties.
“We really take that to heart and that all goes back to Sheila Johnson,” Owen says. “That’s what we teach our teams every day in our orientation and hopefully it shines through from a service perspective as well.
“In our space, which is kind of luxury/independent, people are looking for more authentic experiences,” he added. “Well, what does that mean? It really means that your places don’t have a corporate identity. It may sound contradictory to talk about ourselves in that capacity because we are a brand in essence, but we treat each individual property as its own storytelling platform.”