Why Pelican’s “Golden Age” Test Could Decide More Than a Trophy
The ANNIKA Starts Now.
The LPGA’s penultimate stop of the season begins this week at Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Florida: The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican and it’s quietly one of the most revealing setups in women’s golf.
Dates: Nov 13-16 (pro-am and festivities began Wednesday, Nov12th).
Field: elite and deep.
Stakes: form, confidence, and positioning heading into next week’s CME season finale.
The Course: Ross bones, modern teeth
Pelican carries Donald Ross DNA with a modern refit: a Beau Welling renovation restored Golden-Age lines and strategy while tightening the screws on precision. Par 70, roughly 7,000 from the back, with TifEagle Bermuda greens, Latitude 36 fairways, crushed-quartz bunkers, and mowing heights that reward clean strikes and exact spin windows. Translation: if your wedges wander, Pelican will find you out.
Did you know?
Tees (TifGrand) are typically cut to .250", fairways .400", greens .115" during tournament week, numbers that make speed control and spin management non-negotiable.
TifGrand is a specific cultivar of bermudagrass, not a generic term, bred by the University of Georgia’s Tifton program to solve a classic problem on tees and around tree-lined corridors: Bermuda that stays dense in shade and under heavy traffic. It was released around 2009–2010 after a decade of testing.
Storylines to watch (and why they matter)
1) Nelly Korda vs. the field, Part II
Korda returns as defending champion with the blueprint already in her yardage book. Her late-season form meets a course that leans into her strengths: towering iron windows and a putter that can erase hesitation. Don’t just track the birdies, watch her approach dispersion into the short par-4s and the pace she chooses on down-grain putts. If she’s landing approach shots pin-high right, the field’s in real trouble.
2) The pro-am that plays like primetime
WNBA icon Caitlin Clark returned for the pro-am on Wednesday with live Golf Channel coverage and that matters beyond celebrity pop. Women’s golf is owning the crossover moment, welcoming fans who’ll stick around for Thursday through Sunday. Eyes lead to sponsors, and sponsors lead to schedule and purse stability. That’s a win for everyone inside the ropes.
3) A hot-button exemption
Kai Trump, a top junior committed to Miami, received a sponsor exemption. You’ve seen the takes; keep it golf-first: the LPGA has always balanced competition with growth, and bringing new audiences to the rope line is part of the modern playbook. The microscope is real and how she handles decision-making under pressure and lag putting on fast Bermuda will tell us more than the discourse.
4) The calendar squeeze
This week is the penultimate event before the CME Group Tour Championship in Naples. Expect players hovering around qualification marks to play aggressively into Pelican’s risk-reward seams, especially the par-5 14th and short par-4s where angle trumps distance. Momentum from Pelican has been a real thing into CME.
How Pelican tests you (and what you can steal for your next round)
Angles > Ego on the short fours
Many par-4s look drive-tempting; Pelican punishes the wrong side of the fairway with Ross-style green pads that shed shots to runoffs. Pros will lay back to favored angles more often than highlight reels suggest.
Copy it: pick a yardage that opens the most green, not the most adrenaline.
Bermuda truth serum
TifEagle at tournament heights is a read-and-speed exam. Players will aim for capture speed (just barely dropping pace) on downgrain putts and take the grain on the high side into account when chipping.
Copy it: read with your feet, then confirm with your eyes; match launch and landing on chips to the grain, not the flag.
Spin budgeting
With Latitude 36 fairways and firming conditions, expect top players to flight wedges down and “budget” spin so the first bounce releases, especially on front pins.
Copy it: one more club, one less backswing; chase your number, not the flagstick.
Mini viewer’s guide
When: Thu-Sun, Nov 13-16
Where to watch: LPGA broadcast/streaming windows published this week. Pencil in afternoon coverage on opening days.
Purse: Listed by multiple outlets at $3.25M; some reports cite updated distributions, either way, the money and points are meaningful with CME on deck.
One hole to circle
No. 14, Par 5 - Scores swing here. Set up a wedge in with a positional tee ball and you can go on a late-round run. Miss the angle and a birdie hole turns into a stress test. (Look for field averages to nudge under par; contenders will be net-3.7 or better over four days.)
The vibe check
Between Korda’s defense, Clark’s crossover star power, and the swirl around a high-profile exemption, The ANNIKA feels bigger than a typical pre-finale. It’s a week where the sport shows its present competitive edge and its future audience at the same time which is exactly what a healthy tour needs.
NDG Takeaway
Precision beats hero-ball on Golden-Age-inspired courses, which is perfect homework before your next weekend match. Build a pre-shot routine that locks in angle, strike, and speed: pick the side of the fairway that opens the green, flight it to your number, and commit on Bermuda. That’s No Dirt Golf in a nutshell: clean contact, clean decisions, clean results.