No sponsor's exemption needed: Follow the PGA Tour's Florida Swing to PGA National, Doral, Innisbrook and Bay Hill

With the PGA Tour amid its spring swing through Florida, you can start planning that golf vacation to some of its destinations, such as the Blue Monster at Doral in Miami and the Copperhead at Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club near Tampa.

The PGA Tour really begins to ramp it up each spring when they roll into Florida for the annual four-week "Florida Swing" leading up to the Masters in April.

But not only is this the time of year when the eyes of the sports world really begin to follow golf, it's also the most publicly accessible stretch of schedule the PGA Tour plays all year long.

Nowhere else will you find four public golf courses right in a row - all in the same state on the PGA Tour.

You could feasibly play all four golf courses in one trip, hitting both stops in South Florida, Doral Golf Resort & Spa and PGA National Resort & Spa, then hitting both Tampa's Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club and Orlando's Bay Hill Club & Lodge.

Not only are these venerable Florida golf courses open to the public, they're some of America's best resorts to tee it up - not to mention some of the favorite courses the pros tee it up at all year.

So no need for a sponsor's exemption to play on the Florida Swing. Your pass is right here.

Once the tour van has pulled out of town, your golf group can pull right in and enjoy near Tour-quality conditions. And March and April are a fine time - probably the best - to play golf in Florida.

Here's a look at following the path of the pros - where you won't need a sponsor's exemption to create your own Florida Swing:

PGA National's Champion course

One of Florida's most impressive golf resorts, PGA National Resort & Spa in Palm Beach Gardens boasts five championship golf courses, anchored by the Jack Nicklaus-designed Champion Course, host of the Honda Classic won by Y.E. Yang earlier this month. Holes 15 thru 17 make up the "Bear Trap," one of the toughest stretches of holes the PGA Tour will see all season.

As for the other golf courses at PGA National, diversity is the calling card, though each pays homage to the game's roots (caddies and forecaddies are even available). The Palmer Course is a links-style design in the essence of Scotland, while the Haig Course, in tribute to Walter Hagen's call to "stop and smell the roses" on the golf course, puts roses at each 150-yard marker. The Squire, on the other hand, is a thinking-man's tribute to the styles of the legendary Gene Sarazen.

The Blue Monster at Doral

For Tiger Woods, the Blue Monster at Doral Golf Resort & Spa in Miami is simply "a golf course that fits my eye," which perhaps explains why he's never finished outside the Top 10 in any event at this perennial PGA Tour stop.

For the rest of us, the Blue Monster may not be so kind, and the bermuda rough usually grows thick and deep, plus the daunting 18th hole's water hazard left of the fairway and green is likely to claim at least one of our balls here.

But there are four other choices at Doral beyond this sinister beast, whose greens have never been more lightening quick after its recent renovation. Once you've braved this south Florida resort's Alpha Male, check out Greg Norman's Great White course, which was also overhauled in 2005 to include better-than-ever landscaping on top of its signature "coquina" crushed shells.

Also, if you're not planning on hitting Doral until May, you'll have the opportunity to check out the Jim McLean Signature Course, currently closed for renovations, overseen by resident teaching pro Jim McLean.

The Copperhead Course at Innisbrook

A mainstay on the PGA Tour's Florida Swing, the Copperhead at Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club has been called by Paul Azinger, "The best course we play on tour."

Curtis Strange once said he could play the course every day for the rest of his life. "It has that much character," Strange acknowledged.

And Stewart Cink even said its layout was good enough "it could host a U.S. Open."

Perhaps Florida's golf course with the most "street cred" among the best golfers in the world, the Copperhead will certainly test your mettle as you meander through the deep pines. But it's just one of four championship courses at this Tampa-area golf resort.

Innisbrook's Island Course, which was recently renovated, is a mighty good runner-up to the Copperhead. It plays over 7,300 yards and hosts the NCAA Championships and U.S. Open Qualifiers, so don't expect a cupcake resort course.

The North Course and South Course, on the other hand, are well shorter, though they still pose plenty of threats in the form of water hazards (both have water on over half their holes) and waste bunkering.

Bay Hill Club & Lodge in Orlando

Any die-hard fan of the "King" has to make the trek to Arnold Palmer's winter abode, Bay Hill Club & Lodge in Orlando, at least once.

The course, which is only accessible to members and guests staying at the lodge, has become a staple on the PGA Tour and nowadays hosts some of the best fields at the Arnold Palmer Invitational hosted by Mastercard; due in part to Palmer's involvement and also because so many PGA Tour players, including Woods himself, call the Orlando area home.

Just remember to hang onto your hat when you fist-pump your way across the green after drilling a putt on the 18th, ala Tiger's 2008 climactic finish.

Any opinions expressed above are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of the management. The information in this story was accurate at the time of publication. All contact information, directions and prices should be confirmed directly with the golf course or resort before making reservations and/or travel plans.