Teeing Off in Paradise at Vinoy Resort and Golf Club | 18 Holes with Jimmy Hanlin

Teeing Off in Paradise at Vinoy Resort and Golf Club | 18 Holes with Jimmy Hanlin

[Music] welcome to Blasters 18 holes i’m PJ Golf professional Jimmy Hanland and I’m LPJ tour player Natalie Gulvis today we are in Clear Water St petersburg and we are at the Venoi Club can’t wait to play this golf course Nat and we’re going to go check out the Venoy Hotel right after can’t wait to see it kicking off our day here at Venoi Golf Club what a gorgeous place right here hole number one tough starting hole you got to keep it in play find the club you can hit straight it’s not a long hole of course I’m going to hit driver because the crew and I might have enjoyed St pete Clearwater a little too much last night and I need the biggest face possible to get it out there in the fairway stay right there cut a little baby right there in the fairway hole number two here at Venoi Club is a par three and all the trouble is right there in front of you the big bunker that guards this green avoid that and you’ll be successful on hole two be enough club be enough get up baby get [Music] up hole three at Venoi is a beautiful golf hole similar to what we’ve seen to this point so far you got to find a club you can get into the fairway you’re going to have a short shot into this green but it’s small and again protected by a bunker oh yeah get close that was solid right there oh yeah come get it hole number four is the longest par4 on this golf course take it up the left side be careful with the bunker that’s a little bit short of the green it’s deceiving you actually need a little bit more club to carry that one but you can still make birdie here that’s right had it oh that bunker gate no it didn’t good shot the fifth hole is a par4 where you can absolutely unleash your driver because it is wide as can be [Music] drive of the day presented to you by Cincinnati Camp hole number six is the hardest hole that you’ve seen so far it’s a really challenging par4 it’s a little bit on the longer side but there’s trouble up the left and right side so you got to pay attention start to finish good shot good shot hole number seven is the first par five that we come to today and it’s very reachable for the long hitters you want to keep that T- ball down the left side you’re almost going to have to play with those trees over there to avoid the bunkers then you should have an open shot into the screen that’s right where I want to hit it that missed the trees that’s perfect hole number eight is a long par three but you can make birdie here be careful of the back pin and the left pin because if you miss the green it’s going to be a tough up and down besides that you can definitely make birdie here all right we made our way through the front nine we’re on hole number nine alley and uh this golf course to me this club to me just fits in St petersburg perfectly just it just spits out St petersburg to me i think this is an incredible country club you could tell from the minute we drove over the little bridge and you see that spectacular clubhouse you know you’re at a really really nice club before we even saw the golf course I mean I don’t know if you went in the men’s locker room but the women’s locker room is beautiful it’s got mixed metals everywhere and it is this feels like a very very um exclusive and just high-end country club and we’re going to make our way over to the hotel too which is you know fits right in with this property and it seems to be the same way right i know just pulling in you could just tell how nice it was so uh par four here long into the sun water but you know what this golf course to this point has been very playable right you got to kind of hit it in play but you’re not hitting real long irons in i’ve really enjoyed the first hole same and the golf course is very playable like you said uh big fairways accessible greens it’s not too long it’s a golf course you can make a lot of birdies on which makes it fun i think that makes it fun if you’re a member of a club where you can make a lot of birdies and really it’s it’s nice to play hard golf courses but sometimes it’s nice to just have a golf course that you can make a lot of birdies on speaking of we’re going to make some birdies good ball good balance good swing good good and good [Music] good swing nice [Music] all right Nat this is a pretty shot i love this wow wow wow this is gorgeous i love shots like this yep this gets you excited yeah it does it really does is I know it’s challenging but I love absolutely love shots like this turn it yeah that looks right right in the middle of the green huh i get to chip it from the front perfect okay I’m going to shoot this one just in case it doesn’t little swing lesson provide us a little bit of entertainment wow middle of the green middle of the green i wimped out that was a really good swing it was good it was solid i just wimped out all right Nat knock it in yeah I got lucky not this not going in the water so you hit a good shot wrong club bad caddy giddy up oh good putt good putt oh man i rolled good i feel like par’s a good score in this hole it rolled like a Forever Green oo forever’s like one of their best franchises here in Tampa i mean Forever Lawn i just saw the forever lawn they did at the Boys and Girls Club when we had the LPGA event it’s so beautiful it’s amazing even after the years of them you know kids playing on it and stuff it still looks perfect oh that’s awesome oh that could be a good line hold it oh good i told you like a forever line green very very nice chicken very nice dinner let’s go i’m getting fired up for the back nine now it’s the first time I ever beat her on a hole thank more Blasters 18 holes after the break welcome back to Blasters 18 holes we’re here at Venoy Club in St petersburg Florida and it is gorgeous starting off the back nine here is a hole you need to pay attention to the par4 tent has a lot of trouble off the tea gets easier for your second shot but your T-shot you need to pick a target that keeps you out of those bunkers [Music] stay there sit pin high get back there hole 11 long long par4 wide open fairway grab your driver hit it as hard as you can humanly hit [Music] it there we go got to be able to find this fairway for sure maybe not hole 12 gorgeous par4 i feel like I’ve been saying that all day you got to find the fairway out here avoid the bunkers i’ve pulled it over here to the left got a ball above my feet lie but the good thing is this pin is back left i can aim it at that fountain draw it right in all right i give you a little golf tip here ball above my feet i got to take more club because I have to choke so far down on this to get level also I’m going to aim this out at that fountain knowing that I should at least pull this at least 10 to 15 yards i don’t need to take a big golf swing here just stay on balance oh yeah that was exactly where I wanted to start it turn a little [Music] more hole number 13 is a par three it’s a bold green so the left side is not good if you go anywhere on that left side and it is going to roll into the hazard you have to keep it on the right side of this green and really just make part in this hole get up what you said not to do hole number 14 what you’ve noticed so far is the greens are much trickier on this back nine and this hole is no exception hit to center of the green even center back because the other parts of this green slope away from you little punchy oh good shot hole 15’s another great short par four find something off the te that can get you in the fairway if you want to hit driver you could probably knock it up there somewhere near the green to flip it on natalie’s got me two down with four to play well that’s what I’m here oh pump right there right now as we make our way through this golf course it’s a great mixture of like short par fours and some wide fairways now we get to a par five it’s a little longer got water everywhere it’s a pretty cool mixture of holes definitely the front nine we were talking about that it’s very accessible you can make a lot of birdies the back nine not quite as accessible not um really any holes that you cannot pay attention yeah I would agree 100% and now that we’re getting down to the round end of the round you got to figure out your day in St pete and what you’re going to do so you’re going to lose focus so I think we should make a bet right that I mean that’s what I’m going to go do i’m staying at that JW Marriott courtesy of our friends down in Clear Water and yeah I’m going to go paddle board all right little bet take the jacket off i’ll hold it yeah i mean next place we’re going to is Pinehurst which Pinehurst Pebble and Augusta my three favorite places to shop and Pebble to shop at so one item from Pinehurst number two all right deal xl xl just so you know no I don’t I don’t wear XL talking about me oh that you’re only an XL yeah come on my Stitch i love Stitch oh it looks good i love my Stitch bag i love the travel bag ultimate garment bag got a metal that was That was a little more focused than usual i mean Pinehurst i love Pinehurst [Music] oh good swing Jimmy oh my gosh i think but the only challenge logo coming across because you love Pinehurst as much as I do all right that is a tough layup shot too huh jeez just going to ignore you [Music] good shot and your little chatter i don’t hear you i don’t hear you i don’t hear you i don’t see you you’re not there [Music] that works let’s go all comes down to this all comes down to the old short iron shot fyi before you hit that how cool are these houses here these houses are awesome i mean you can just tell the people that are probably members here living in St pete wow oh no I think I choked it where’d it go sit oh you’re just off the green yeah but I mean it’s a 140 yards [Music] man i might get one in there close come on honey uh-oh oh wow jimmy’s got a chance jimmy’s got a chance very nice shot very nice shot very very very nice shot beat her bets ever ever oh he took a bad bounce that took a terrible it hit that blemish yep there not many blemishes out here but you got it i’m going to show you how nicely I’m going to give you this as I make my birdie putt don’t forget that by the way gosh in our in our future matches very confident with that putter very confident chicken dinner oh it broke right too much you got to be kidding it’s okay and like you said since you badmouththed me I’m going to make you put that get out of here this is like easy peasy lemon squeeze let’s go god I have my chance right there are you kidding me you did you And you know what oh boy i had it do not do that welcome back to Blasters 18 holes we’re just outside of St pete Clearwater number 17 is a short par three again this green is tricky short right it’s going to roll back into the water long or midshot to the left it’s going to go into the hazard you have to be specific with your iron selection here otherwise you’re going to lose a ball all right finishing up the round here Ned and this golf course is fun i mean the water going down the middle with the you know all these spots you got to hit i mean I really this has been a very enjoyable round of golf it has i hear everything you’re saying but all I’m thinking about is our bet right so we just have the last par five and thankfully there’s another par five that I can try and redeem myself on all right so let’s uh let’s keep this bet going let’s do it [Music] that’s fine he might kill our camera guy it’s fine it’s perfect that’d be on him look at those two nice targets out there for you a tower and the clubhouse [Music] i think it stayed up [Music] oh my good shot Matt hit a little too good oh I pulled it got to hit that good too sit that’s not good against Nat not good uhoh little long he’s working good today oh man i don’t know nice couple ties on the par fives two birdies to end that’s good how about you birdieing two pars today yeah that was nice that was nice and no blood at Pinehurst no blood at Pinehurst we spent that time at Pinehurst just for you cuz you got to buy stuff for the whole crew all right we got we got to go see St peach i know i’m excited to see the hotel yep all right long day round’s over but break even for me that’s good there’s no break even for you you You lost the bet you have to clean the engine of my new G Wagon and you know what’s great is I got some products we got all the Blasters products oh great i have a few more actually in the RV and I want my car protected and perfectly shied so just like it should be all right i got it i got it i got it welcome to the 19th hole presented you by Lipton Hard I iced tea and uh I had my Lip and Heart iced teas on the golf course today so now we have the signature drink here at the Venoy Hotel it’s called the 1925 because this hotel opened on New Year’s Eve 1925 so that’s where you get all your little sparkles and your little I mean it’s not just a little sparkles the entire drink sparkles when are we done so we can drink we’ve ever had and there’s there is flowers fresh picked flowers and it’s made out tequila as soon as I saw it I’m like Natt is going to love this i love it i we got to get talking so that we can actually taste this so first of all we sit here on the veranda at Venoi and it is absolutely breathtaking i think the coolest thing that I saw as soon as we walked into this place was just how busy and stuff’s going on behind right like this is just it’s just great that like we got a triathlon we’ve got weddings you know just people hanging out on the beach looking at the beautiful boats it’s just a happening place absolutely it seems like everywhere is happening in Clear Water in St petersburg everywhere we’ve been there is so much going on so much fun energy obviously this is really cool for me to get to see triathlon and you know everybody um you know a whole community really even supporting something like this but everything about this area um includes fun golf sports like active lifestyle a good time and it just brings all this amazing energy to this area so I think we’ve been doing this show for a long time right i think that the Venoi Golf Course and the hotel fit St petersburg as well as any place that we’ve ever been to fits into a city it’s just it just feels like you know we were talking earlier it’s like southern hospitality you know but high-end just just everything’s just it just fits the the feeling in St peters i think you’ve been drinking a lot of these sparkly drinks i mean you love it here i always have loved it here but this today was a really really cool combination and to your point exactly right like there’s the Venoi and the golf course and the fact that if you stay here you get an opportunity to play such a great golf club um and then it’s like right by the main street like downtown beach area right here so cool and it’s got a lot going on you will not not find nothing to do here no for sure and you know what i think the golf course number one we talked about some today we’ll talk about it real quickly now it’s just it was very it’s just playable right it’s just a fun golf course i mean you and I were hitting our drivers out there you got a lot of little room to hit it on a lot of holes you we weren’t having to hit four irons into par fours we could hit some shorter irons in par fives kind of riskreward reachable definitely it it just it was fun it was nonstressful which is what I like in golf it was fun the front nine you can make a lot of birdies on the back nine got a little bit tougher with the green complexes and but finishing off with a par five that you can reach into um I really really like this golf course and I like like you said it’s a golf course where you’re not going there to get beat up on it’s you’re going to be able to make birdies and you it is very generous off the tea yeah for sure for sure and then again we come over here to the hotel afterwards you have your choice you can just chill you know just relax and do nothing cuz they have you have the ability to do that here and it’s as relaxing as could be or there’s just a ton of things like you talked about that we you could do right yeah right here on the water you can see it behind us you’re going paddle boarding for sure i cannot I cannot wait to drink the sparkly drink and then to go to the beach beach and paddle board i love it yeah and it’s so easy and just even just the views right the boats these yachts here and everything it’s just that’s a cool feeling too it’s just a kind of a hip good feeling here and it’s we’ve had a great time so absolutely we have we have to thank our friends uh we didn’t get to see Steve today steve from visit St pete Clearwater they are great right they just I hope you guys bring us back forever we’ll just keep coming every time you bring us back we love it here it’s just And there’s so much golf it’s like you can’t even get it in a time there’s so much to do yeah it really is there’s so much to do here it’s it’s really fun and and uh you know just thanks to everybody here at the Venoi and at the golf course too they just treated us amazing people were so friendly here and it it was just really good and uh thank you for coming to Florida that was of course you got to stay on the road though we got a lot more golf to do i know we do have a lot of lot of golf to play and um I always love this area we have a tournament here right like we have an LPGA event here the Anukica event is in the fall so there is doesn’t matter what time of year here the weather is you know pretty much most of the time 99% of the time pretty spectacular so this is a place that you want to go i love it and we have to thank you also for watching us this week on Blasters 18 holes

On this episode of 18 Holes with Jimmy Hanlin:
Jimmy and former LPGA tour player Natalie Gulbis (@nataliegulbis9635) explore the stunning Vinoy Club in St. Petersburg, Florida. The course offers a mix of challenging and accessible holes, with beautiful views and a relaxing atmosphere. After their round, they visit the historic Vinoy Hotel, enjoying its amenities and the vibrant local scene.