George McNeill didn’t have to travel far to begin the next chapter of his career. In February, the Naples-born, Fort Myers-based golfer made his PGA Tour Champions debut at the Chubb Classic at Tiburón Golf Club in Naples, competing in front of friends, family and the community where he learned the game.
Turning 50 last year made him eligible for the senior circuit, marking the latest phase of a career that spans nearly three decades at the highest level. During his early years grinding on mini-tours after graduating from Florida State University, George’s Southwest Florida network proved essential. “I would call the pros and say, ‘Hey, I’m in town between tournaments, do you mind if I come practice or play?’” he recalls. “They’d always say, ‘Come on out.’”
Years spent playing across Southwest Florida meant constant time on the grainy Bermuda grass that dominates warm-weather tour stops. The experience, he says, gave him an edge on courses like TPC Summerlin in Las Vegas and Grand Reserve Country Club in Puerto Rico, where he earned his two PGA Tour victories in 2007 and 2012, respectively. “When I see Bermuda, it feels natural,” he says. “It’s what I grew up on.” Success comes down to preparation, he insists, and that has meant playing again and again across Southwest Florida’s dense network of courses.
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Photography by Brian Tietz
where george mcneil pga tour champion plays fiddlesticks
Here, George is pictured at Fiddlesticks Country Club, one of five local clubs where he’s a member.
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Photography by Dan Cutrona
where george mcneil pga tour champion plays calusa pines
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Courtesy Naples, Marco Island, Everglades CVB
where george mcneil pga tour champion plays golf tiburon golf
In February, the Fort Myers-based golfer debuted on the Champions Tour at the Chubb Classic at Tiburón Golf Club.
George belongs to five regional clubs, each with a different personality. “I can have some variety when I practice and play,” he says. At Verandah Golf Club in Fort Myers, he rotates between the Jack Nicklaus-designed Whispering Oak course and Bob Cupp’sOld Orange, which winds through oak hammocks and wetlands along the Orange River. The two courses stretch beyond 7,000 yards, with open fairways that allow players to swing freely off the tee and often leave mid-irons. The putting surfaces are large with subtle contours, offering enough movement to reward a well-placed shot. “But not so much that it feels gimmicky,” he adds.
When asked which local clubs most closely mirror the conditions he faces week to week, he points to Fort Myers’ Cypress Lake Golf Club and Fiddlesticks Country Club. “Both of the clubs’ courses have firm, fast greens most of the year,” he adds. They’re also long enough for George to regularly hit his driver—he notably drives it more than 300 yards. Some of the holes require long-iron approaches, one of the strongest parts of his game.
For work with the flatstick, Cypress Lake’s large, well-sloped practice green allows him to workshop breaking putts. “It’s always in pristine shape, so you can work on your stroke,” he adds. At Fiddlesticks, he likes the short game area, where two greens are ringed with bunkers, offering ample space to practice 20- to 60-yard wedge shots, chips and pitches that can make or break a competitive round.
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Photography by Brian Tietz
where george mcneil pga tour champion plays fiddlesticks
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Photography by Dan Cutrona
where george mcneil pga tour champion plays calusa pines
Calusa Pines Golf Club is home to one of his favorite courses in Florida. “It requires lots of imagination when trying to get your shot close to the hole—that type of thinking is required on tour,” George says.
George also recommends the pitching-and-chipping area at Gulf Harbour Yacht & Country Club in Fort Myers. While not as stout a test as others in the region, George praises its maintenance, especially the fairways, which remain firm, even and consistent. “The golf course is always in fantastic shape,” he says.
Among the region’s most distinctive golf enclaves, Calusa Pines Golf Club is set deep in the pine flatwoods of eastern Collier County. George says the private club is home to one of the best courses in Florida. Designed by architects Michael Hurdzan and Dana Fry, the course rises and falls across dramatic ridgelines, with nearly 70 feet of elevation change, making it the highest point in Collier County. It also has small, undulating green complexes that reward precise approach shots and deft touch around the greens. “It requires lots of imagination when trying to get your shot close to the hole,” he says. “That type of thinking is what is required when playing tour golf.” The club’s double-sided driving range reinforces his preparation and allows him to practice in different wind directions, using the same Titleist Pro V1 balls he plays in competition.
When the Chubb Classic arrived at Tiburón Golf Club in February, the venue wasn’t part of his regular rotation, but it was close enough to prepare on his own terms. In the days leading up to the tournament, George logged three rounds to reacquaint himself with the layout. Compared to many of the courses he plays, Tiburón is narrower, and its coquina shell waste areas add a distinct layer of difficulty. The hazards are best avoided, but they present a good test of skill if you end up there, he says.
After Friday’s opening round, George was tied for 23rd, but he understood how Tiburón needed to be played that weekend. By the end of the tournament, he had climbed 18 spots, finishing tied for fifth, near the top of the leaderboard in a field of longtime tour winners and major champions.
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Photography by Brian Tietz
where george mcneil pga tour champion plays fiddlesticks
At Fiddlesticks Country Club in Fort Myers, George sharpens his long game. The two-time PGA Tour winner is known for his power off the tee, with drives that exceed 300 yards.
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Photography by Brian Tietz
where george mcneil pga tour champion plays
A top-five finish is always a strong start, and George’s Champions debut suggests he’s right at home in this next phase. The feeling extends off the course in his Gulf Coast home, where he fills his days with championship-caliber golf and backwater fishing trips. “Everything I like to do is right here,” he says.