The first time architect Bobby Weed surveyed the property at the Tournament Players Club Tampa Bay in Lutz, Fla., he chose a horse to be his all-terrain vehicle. The decision was quite appropriate. The landscape was racetrack flat and open, not exactly the elements that lend themselves to creating an intriguing or challenging test of golf.

But all of the horses on the Champions Tour love the place. Thoroughbreds like Jack Nicklaus, Hale Irwin, Tom Weiskopf and Ray Floyd extol the virtues of this 6,898-yard, par-71 layout with its traditional features and natural hazards -- which demand accuracy and finesse more than power.

It would seem that Weed, with assistance from player consultant Chi Chi Rodriguez, must have turned the property upside-down and inside out to create something that would make such an impression on players not easily impressed. On the contrary, Weed applied simple horse sense.

He took an already open piece of property and made it more open, removing 50 percent of the trees. The fairways have subtle movement rather than dramatic mounds and weave through lakes and natural wetlands - 19 in all - and around strategic bunkers that number 81. The greens are large (averaging 6,400 square feet) and undulating, and most are open in the front, offering golfers the option of hitting run-up approach shots.

Essentially, he worked with what he had. It also had to fit in with the ponds and wetlands, which Weed managed to do to such a degree that the TPC Tampa Bay is fully certified in the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program for golf courses. Of course, golf balls also need a habitat, and although 15 holes have water, some of the hazards aren't in direct line of play.

Combine the water with the well-placed bunkers and the golf course offers plenty of risk-and-reward options without many forced carries.

Of particular menace is the par 4 15th hole, 452 yards with a combination of lagoon and wetlands protecting the entire left side. The green is nestled alongside the lagoon with a picturesque backdrop of trees. Bunkers guard both sides of the green, adding another degree of difficulty to the hole and demanding that the long-iron second shot be precise.

GCSAA Class A Course Superintendent, Jason M. Kubel won a GCSAA/Golf Digest Environment Leader In Gold Award the last three years; 2005 chapter award, 2006 chapter award, 2007 merit award.

In 2005 the Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am was rated as the No. 1 even on the Champions Tour.