Legacy Golf Course

Patio, billboards aim to keep Okland memory alive

One of the memorials will offer a place of private solace. The other is part of a public campaign.

Yet both projects serve a similar purpose: to keep Okland’s spirit and her story alive.
The 27-year-old died at a local hospital April 8 after being shot in a West Des Moines model townhouse. More than two months later, police have yet to make an arrest in the case. But authorities — and Okland’s wide circle of friends and family — are convinced that someone, somewhere knows something.

“We’re trying to keep this in the public eye,” said Greg Will ey, a Polk County Crime Stoppers board member. “The attention has died down a little, and that’s not a good thing. We want to keep people thinking about this so when they hear something that doesn’t sound quite right, it clicks for them, and they make the call.”

The case is a topic of daily conversation at Legacy Golf Club, where Okland worked part-time, and the eye-catching red-and-yellow billboards sponsored by Crime Stoppers will remain active through September.

At the golf course, construction workers labored toward a different kind of closure. The patio they’re installing will overlook the course’s sprawling fairways and serve as a gathering place for the many employees and club members still mourning Okland, said Trevis Manni ng, general manager.

Okland joined the Legacy staff while a student at Iowa State University, and continued to pick up shifts at the club after pursuing a career in real estate.

“We wanted something permanent for Ashley,” Manning said. “She was more than a friend — she was family. Ashley left a big hole, and there are a lot of people here still missing her every day.

Arnold Palmer-designed Legacy Golf Club is simply fun - Golf in ...

BRADENTON, Fla. – Do your homework before playing Legacy Golf Club .

It's a fine golf course, especially if you drive the ball straight. The greens aren't too demanding, and it's in great shape, except for one minor detail: It's hard to figure out where your next shot is supposed to be going.

The Legacy opened in 1997 and was designed by Arnold Palmer and managed by Troon Golf, and it offers a fair and enjoyable round.

It's a course that is close to the beaches on the Gulf of Mexico and play runs at a leisurely pace, but it can get very confusing, which brings homework into the equation or a few bucks for a course book.

There are no illustrations of the holes on the scorecard, and that's not a major problem, except that most courses, especially upscale courses such as The Legacy, usually have at least a diagram at the tee boxes giving an indication as to where to aim your shots.

The second hole, a short par 4, leaves you with no idea where to aim your second shot or even where the green might be. There are no indicators, and there are few yardage markers on the fairways throughout the course.

Since the carts offer no GPS system, it's a guessing game, which is too bad, because The Legacy deserves to be in anyone's must-see list for a golf trip to southwest Florida.

"We try to make it tough for everyone," said Legacy superintendent Jimmy Alibozek. "We do it, especially if the members ask for it. If we have a big event, we can make it as tough as possible."

Legacy Golf Club may not be the easiest golf course to maneuver around, but Alibozek said that anyone who wants to play will find the course in excellent shape. Indeed, during a typical, Florida sun-soaked day with no rain in the forecast, the course was in excellent shape with few brown spots on the greens and steady and consistent rolls on each hole.

The course is narrow but with few trees and not too much water, an errant tee shot here and there isn't going to ruin a round. The problem is knowing where the hazards are. On the first hole, there is water behind the green on the right off the 454-yard par 4. It is a hidden hazard and tough to negotiate for a first-timer at the course.

The second hole is also tricky, with a dogleg left off the tee and water down the left side and a bunker on the right. It's a long par 5, and there are bunkers surrounding the green, but, again, it takes local knowledge to know where to hit the drive if you have any fantasy about going for the green in two.

Secrets of the Great Golf Course Architects, The Creation of the WORLD'S GREATEST GOLF COURSES in the Words and Images of History's Master Designers

Eyewitness Travel Top 10 Las Vegas

Frommers Arizona & the Grand Canyon 2011

Frommer's Arizona 2007

Golf course management