Place Archive

Tampa

Tampa’s metropolitan area includes Palm Harbor, home to the Innisbrook Resort and its Copperhead Course, a venue for PGA Tour events since 1992. Nearby, Tarpon Springs maintains its sponge diving heritage through shops like the Sponge Diver Supply storefront on the historic Sponge Docks, reflecting the region’s Greek immigrant maritime traditions.

14 photos

Innisbrook Golf Resort 1 set 9 photos

UPS cargo plane at Tampa International Airport with baggage carts on the apron — UPS operates its Worldwide Services fleet using Boeing 757 and 767 freighters, part of the airline's dedicated air cargo network that moves packages between regional hubs overnight. Tampa International Airport's cargo apron sits apart from the passenger terminals, where ground crews load and unload freight using motorized dollies and containerized cargo carts like those staged nearby. The airport, which opened at its current site in 1971, handles both commercial passenger traffic and dedicated freight operations from carriers including UPS, FedEx, and Amazon Air.

Amazon Prime Air cargo plane at Tampa International Airport being serviced on the apron — Amazon Prime Air is the company's dedicated air cargo operation, launched in 2016 to move packages between regional hubs and sortation centers. The airline operates a leased fleet of Boeing 767 and 737 freighters, flown under contract by carriers including Atlas Air, ABX Air, and Sun Country. Tampa International Airport serves as one of dozens of airports nationwide where Prime Air aircraft load and unload cargo before continuing to Amazon's ground distribution network. Ground handling for these operations typically includes ramp crews, cargo loaders, and support vehicles positioned around the aircraft during turnaround.

SkyConnect tram at Tampa International Airport in Tampa, Florida, on an elevated guideway. — SkyConnect is Tampa International Airport's automated people mover, linking the main terminal to the airport's rental car center and economy parking garages. The system opened in 2018, replacing a shuttle bus fleet that had handled the same route since the rental car center's construction. Two cars run on an elevated guideway suspended above the terminal's curbside roadways, completing the roughly quarter-mile trip in about two minutes. It operates continuously during airport hours, moving passengers without a posted schedule since trains arrive every few minutes.

Bronze snake sculpture coiled around a tree stump marks the entrance to Copperhead Golf Course at Innisbrook Resort in Palm — The Snake Pit sculpture marks the entrance to the Copperhead Course at Innisbrook Resort in Palm Harbor, Florida. It refers to holes 16 through 18, a stretch nicknamed "the Snake Pit" for its difficulty during tournament play. Copperhead has hosted the PGA Tour's Valspar Championship annually since 2000, and the closing holes are known for producing late-round swings in the leaderboard.

Water hazard bordered by cypress trees with Spanish moss at Innisbrook Resort golf course, Palm Harbor, Florida. — Innisbrook Resort in Palm Harbor sits on roughly 900 acres of rolling terrain, unusual for a Florida golf property, which the resort's course designer Larry Packard used to shape fairways around existing stands of cypress and pine rather than flattening the land. The ponds and wetland margins that thread through the property are original to the site, left in place as natural drainage for the courses when they opened in 1970. Spanish moss, a bromeliad rather than a true moss, grows naturally on the bald cypress trees found throughout the resort's grounds. Innisbrook's Copperhead Course has hosted the PGA Tour's Valspar Championship since 2000.

Waterway with palmettos and live oaks draped in Spanish moss at Innisbrook Resort in Palm Harbor, Florida. — Innisbrook Resort sits on roughly 900 acres in Palm Harbor, built around four golf courses, including the Copperhead Course that hosts the PGA Tour's Valspar Championship. Water features like this one thread through the property, doubling as drainage and irrigation infrastructure for the courses while also serving as hazards in play. Live oaks draped in Spanish moss and native cabbage palms line much of the resort's undeveloped acreage, a deliberate holdover from the land's original central Florida hammock terrain before the courses were laid out in the 1970s.

Mature live oaks with Spanish moss line a paved drive at Innisbrook Resort in Palm Harbor, Florida. — Innisbrook Resort in Palm Harbor opened in 1970, built around a golf-course community roughly 30 miles northwest of Tampa. Architect Lawrence Packard laid out the original courses, and the resort's Copperhead Course has hosted the PGA Tour's Valspar Championship since 2000. Live oaks and Spanish moss line much of the property's roadways, a common feature of Gulf Coast Florida landscapes that predates the resort's development. The grounds cover more than 900 acres, mixing wooded areas with fairways and lodging built for golf travelers.

Golf green with sand bunker and flag marker on the Copperhead Course at Innisbrook Resort in Palm Harbor, Florida. — Innisbrook Resort's Copperhead Course opened in 1970, designed by Larry Packard on rolling terrain unusual for Florida golf. The course has hosted the PGA Tour's Valspar Championship since 2000, with its par-4 16th and par-3 17th forming part of the closing stretch nicknamed the "Snake Pit." Copperhead measures over 7,300 yards from the championship tees and remains the resort's signature layout among its four courses.

Directional signage at Innisbrook Resort in Palm Harbor, Florida, listing amenities including golf, tennis, and dining facilities — Innisbrook Resort's wayfinding signs guide visitors to its network of clubhouses and amenities, each tied to one of the property's four golf courses. The Island Clubhouse serves golfers at the Island course and houses the Turnberry Pub, along with the resort's Golf Institute and tennis center. The Osprey Clubhouse handles guest registration and includes the Market Salamander Grille, while the Copperhead Clubhouse is home to Packard's Steakhouse, named for golf course architect Larry Packard, who redesigned Innisbrook's courses in the 1970s. The Copperhead Course has hosted the PGA Tour's Valspar Championship since 2000. A separate sign points toward the resort's real estate sales office, and the Lochness Monster Pool, one of Innisbrook's recreational features, is marked among the listed destinations.

Stone arch bridge crossing a water hazard on the Copperhead Course at Innisbrook Resort in Palm Harbor, Florida. — The Copperhead Course at Innisbrook Resort was designed by Larry Packard and opened in 1970. It's one of four championship courses on the property and has long served as the host site for the PGA Tour's Valspar Championship, known in earlier years under sponsor names including the Tampa Bay Classic and the Chrysler Championship. Stone footbridges and water hazards weave through the layout, which is known among tour players for its demanding closing stretch, nicknamed the "Snake Pit."

Golf course water hazard with wooden bridge, manicured fairways, and tall pine trees at Innisbrook Resort. — The Copperhead Course at Innisbrook Resort in Palm Harbor, Florida, opened in 1970 and was designed by Lawrence Packard and Bill Bartholomew, with later revisions by architect Robert Cupp. Its pine-lined fairways and elevation changes are unusual for Florida golf courses, which typically play flat. The course has hosted the PGA Tour's Valspar Championship annually since 2000, and its par-4 16th and 17th holes, part of a stretch nicknamed the "Snake Pit," are considered among the tour's most demanding closing sequences.

Tampa skyline and a downtown highway interchange at sunset with palm trees in the foreground — Downtown Tampa's skyline is anchored by Bank of America Plaza, completed in 1986 and rising 42 stories to 577 feet, still the city's tallest building. Nearby, Rivergate Tower — nicknamed the Beer Can Building for its cylindrical crown — was finished in 1988 and stands 30 stories along the Hillsborough River. The elevated roadway in the foreground feeds into the Lee Roy Selmon Expressway, which opened in 1976 and in 2006 added Florida's first reversible express lanes. Those lanes carry commuters between downtown, South Tampa, and Interstate 4, one of the region's busiest connections.

Sponge Diver Supply storefront on the Tarpon Springs Sponge Docks with sponges and merchandise display. — Sponge Diver Supply sits along Dodecanese Boulevard at the Tarpon Springs Sponge Docks, a commercial waterfront built up by Greek immigrant divers who arrived in the early 1900s to harvest natural sea sponges from the Gulf of Mexico. The shop sells natural sponges alongside apparel and souvenirs tied to the trade. Tarpon Springs still bills itself as the sponge capital of the world, and the docks remain a working harbor for the dwindling fleet of Greek-owned sponge boats that continue to dive the Gulf beds each season.

Innisbrook Resort entrance topiary in Palm Harbor, Florida, beside a pond and golf course landscaping. — Innisbrook Resort's hedge-carved sign greets golfers near the entrance to its Copperhead Course in Palm Harbor, Florida. The Copperhead Course has hosted the PGA Tour's Valspar Championship since 2000, drawing players to its tree-lined fairways each spring. Innisbrook's grounds sit on roughly 900 acres of what was once cattle ranchland before development began in the early 1970s.

Minneapolis Photographer