The Twin Passions Of Baseball And Florida Golf Are A Hit At Spring Training

Long before Sun Belt cities like Phoenix and Orlando built multi-million-dollar stadiums and turned baseball's warm-up season into a full-fledged tourist attraction, Babe Ruth knew the real secret to a successful spring-training trip.

When the legendary slugger boarded the "Orange Blossom Special" train headed for the New York Yankees' spring camp in St. Petersburg, Fla., he had a baseball bat in one hand and a golf club in the other.

Not a bad way to spend a month.

Baseball fans consider a trek to spring training a pilgrimage, but throw in the great Florida golf in these locales and you've got the perfect double-play combination. (Provided, of course, that baseball has no work stoppage, lockout or whatever the overpaid millionaires on both sides of the controversy are calling their latest labor debacle.)

Not surprisingly, baseball players and fans today follow in the Bambino's spikemarks. Atlanta Braves pitchers Greg Maddux and John Smoltz boast of playing 45 holes on a Florida golf course after a morning workout at their camp in Kissimmee, Fla. "I encourage it," says manager Bobby Cox. "It's a great way of getting their mind off of problems. It would bother me if they didn't play golf."

If only all bosses could be so visionary.

Make no mistake: Despite all the fun, spring training is big business. Each year from mid-February to the end of March, almost three million fans flock to see games in Florida and Arizona, pumping an estimated $700 million into the local economies. Our thumbnail guide, including maps, course information and baseball box-office phone numbers, will take you through a week of quality florida golf and baseball on either side of the country.

FLORIDA: The Grapefruit League

Aside from threats of "contraction"--eliminating two baseball franchises--20 teams practice in the Sunshine State. Three regions--central Florida (Lakeland to Orlando), west coast (Dunedin to Fort Myers) and east coast (Melbourne to Fort Lauderdale)--allow you to put together your preseason sampler. Here's just one example:

Monday: Abacoa Golf Club (Jupiter) and Cardinals baseball (Jupiter). Less than a half mile from the ballpark, Joe Lee-designed Abacoa is vintage Florida golf, with palm trees and water hazards aplenty, along with oversize, undulating greens. The Cardinals' Roger Dean Stadium is new and nice. Afterward, you can check out Town Center's restaurants and shops.

Tuesday: PGA Golf Club and Mets baseball (Port St. Lucie). The golf course is less than two miles from the Mets' complex, which is just off Interstate 95. There are 36 holes designed by Tom Fazio and 18 by Pete Dye (Fazio's South Course is ranked 21st in Florida by Golf Digest), and there's one of the best practice areas you'll ever see. Thomas J. White Stadium is only as cozy as a concrete block can be, but for $3 you can sit on the lawn outside the right-field fence--the perfect location if you want to sneak away for an emergency nine.

Wednesday: Dodgertown Golf Course, Dodger Pines Country Club and Dodgers baseball (Vero Beach). Just outside the left-field stadium wall is the tame nine-hole Dodgertown Golf Club (the opener is a 452-yard par 5). Base-stealing great Maury Wills, now a coach for the Dodgers, learned golf here, because it was the only place black golfers could play in Vero Beach in the 1950s.

Wills plays across the street now at the heftier Dodger Pines--there's a 670-yard par 6--an old-style Florida parkland golf course with parallel fairways and flat greens that former Dodgers owner Walter O'Malley helped design. Dodgertown and Holman Stadium are spring training circa 1955. Even the names of the thoroughfares--Jackie Robinson Boulevard, Duke Snider Street--bring back memories.

GRAPEFRUIT LEAGUE COURSES

1. (NR) Abacoa G.C., Jupiter 561-622-0036
www.abacoagolfclub.com
2. ..1 1/4 2 Dodger Pines C.C., Vero Beach 561-569-4400
3. (NR) Dodgertown G. Cse., Vero Beach 561-569-4800
4. ... Dunedin C.C., Dunedin 727-733-7836
5. .... Eastwood G. Cse., Fort Myers 941-275-4848
6. (NR) Lake Jovita G. & C.C., Dade City 877-481-2652
www.lakejovita.com
7. (NR) Mystic Dunes G.C., Kissimmee 866-311-1234
www.mysticdunesgolf.com
8. Orange County Natl. G. Ctr. 888-727-3672
....11/42 Panther Lake, ....11/42 Crooked Cat
Winter Garden www.ocngolf.com
9. ....11/42 Osprey Ridge G. Cse.,
Lake Buena Vista www.golf.disneyworld.com
407-939-4653
10. PGA G.C., Port St. Lucie 800-800-4653
....11/42 Fazio North, ....11/42 Fazio South
(NR) Pete Dye Course) www.pgavillage.com
11. .... The River C., Bradenton 941-751-4211
12. .... Southern Dunes G. & C.C. 800-632-6400
Haines City www.southerndunes.com

In the five-star Places to Play rankings, one star represents
"basic golf"; five stars indicate "golf at its absolute best."
Thursday: Osprey Ridge Golf Club (Lake Buena Vista), Orange County National Golf Center (Winter Garden) and Braves baseball (Kissimmee). The Tom Fazio-designed Osprey Ridge is far enough from the Magic Kingdom that you won't hear "It's a Small World" on your backswing, and it doubles as a wildlife sanctuary (no, the alligators, ospreys and deer are not animatronic). Orange County National's Crooked Cat or Panther Lake 18s provide a more affordable option (green fees are about $50 cheaper than Osprey Ridge). Both were built on farmland that has more elevation than you might expect. There's also a great practice area and a nine-hole short course called "The Tooth."

Disney spent $100 million on its Wide World of Sports complex, including the 7,500-seat, movie-set stadium.

Friday: Southern Dunes Golf & Country Club (Haines City), Mystic Dunes Golf Club (Kissimmee), Tigers baseball (Lakeland) and Indians baseball (Winter Haven). Southern Dunes was one of Florida's best-kept secrets, but now the Steve Smyers design is just one of Florida's best courses (Scottish links look, expansive waste areas, and 100 feet in elevation change). Mystic Dunes (designed by Gary Koch) is a hybrid of links and Carolina low-country golf with its Alister Mackenzie-inspired (as in four-putt) greens. The Tigers' Joker Marchant will be expanded to 9,000 seats after a $4.5 million renovation project is completed by 2003. Nice touch at the Indians' Chain of Lakes Park: Ballpark Mustard (the only other place that has it is Jacobs Field in Cleveland).

Saturday: Lake Jovita Golf & Country Club (Dade City), Dunedin Country Club, Blue Jays baseball (Dunedin) and Yankees baseball (Tampa). The first course at Lake Jovita looks like backwoods North Carolina, playing around and through tall pines and freshwater lakes. The 75-year-old Dunedin Country Club has Donald Ross' signature bowl-shaped greens, some too small to hit with a smart bomb.


Sunday: The River Club (Bradenton), Eastwood Golf Course (Fort Myers), Pirates baseball (Bradenton) and Red Sox baseball (Fort Myers). The River Club, a Ron Garl design, is a value at $66, not counting all the balls you might lose on the 14 holes where water comes into play.

FloridaGolf Courses In The Hole / Municipal Courses Face A Nearly $1M Deficit

In a sport dominated by expensive country clubs, municipal Florida golf courses remain the last bastions of affordable golf for many senior citizens and middle-class players.

These Florida golf courses were initially designed to be self-supporting operations, offering outdoor recreation at reasonable prices.

But if you live in Brevard County, even if you've never swung a club, your taxes subsidize a municipal golf course -- to the tune of almost $1 million per year.

"I'm a taxpayer. Why should I pay for someone else to play?" asked Indialantic resident George Pickel, a retired St. Petersburg municipal golf director who plays at the private Manatee Cove Golf at Patrick Air Force Base.

To be sure, Florida golf courses attract tourists and increase property values, boosting business and generating tax dollars for schools, roads and other services.

But the Space Coast golf market may be saturated: Seven public Florida golf courses were built in Brevard over the past decade, pushing the total number to 28 before last November's closure of Port Malabar Country Club.

"The numbers are stagnant. The game of golf isn't growing," said Mike Floyd, executive director of the Space Coast Golf Association. "We still have 8 million golfers in the United States, and that number's staying the same."

This competition is squeezing the municipal courses, said Cocoa Beach Country Club Director Joe Tucker. And it's forcing taxpayers to foot the bill.

Brevard's trio of county-owned courses posted net losses of $560,385 during the past fiscal year. Last year, the Cocoa Beach course used $208,946 from the city's general fund to cover capital equipment and debt service costs. And Melbourne's two Florida golf courses posted a total shortfall of $248,332.

Likewise, in Indian River County, expenses at Sebastian Golf Course outpaced revenues by $238,410 in 2004-05.

"Wow. For retirees on fixed incomes, that's where the people in that demographic are going to play. They have no other alternative," said Keith Williams, teaching golf pro at Golf USA in Suntree. "They're not going to go to Duran and pay $90 per round. They're not going to play at The Majors and pay $55, $60 a round."

Melbourne residents pay $19.08 to play 18 holes at Harbor City or Melbourne Municipal golf courses. Summer price is $12.72.

Harbor City Manager Edward Barbour said hurricanes Frances and Jeanne were major factors in the lackluster 2004-05 financial figures.

Golf deficits have become a political issue in Melbourne. City leaders have commissioned an independent marketing study and drafted a two-year "recovery plan" to try to get back in the black.

Jim Demick, executive director of the Florida State Golf Association, said municipal course shortfalls -- occurring across the state -- do not always indicate a crisis.

"I like to draw a parallel with all the other recreational parks. The softball fields and baseball fields and parks people go to just for picnicking -- they don't generate a profit. They cost money to operate," Demick said.

Fighting the battle

Annual rounds played at Melbourne's facilities -- Harbor City Golf Course in Florida and Melbourne Municipal Golf Course -- have plummeted from a mid-1990s peak of about 200,000 to 134,567 in 2004-05, a 33 percent drop-off.

The result? Melbourne's courses fell into a deficit cycle. Maintenance suffered, resulting in poorly watered and fertilized fairways and greens, a National Golf Foundation study concluded last summer. And the enterprise fund's cash reserves essentially ran dry.

In August, city leaders hiked annual resident membership rates 17 percent, to $475, and resident family memberships 10 percent, to $725. Last month, city staffers released a two-year recovery plan to try to "halt the hemorrhage," Councilman Richard Contreras said.

CK Communications, an Eau Gallie firm, is compiling a marketing study with strategies on boosting revenue and reworking the courses' image.

"The perception of the golf courses, from the public's point of view, is that they're blue-collar courses. They're Florida golf courses that aren't even trying to aspire to another level -- it's just seniors and blue-collar players. We need to raise the bar," Councilman Mark LaRusso said.

LaRusso, an avid golfer, favors setting up a partnership with a pro shop supplier, such as Nevada Bob's Discount Golf or Sports Authority. He also supports corporate sponsorship of holes in exchange for rounds of golf.

"We can't keep dipping into the pockets of the taxpayers to pay for the golf courses," LaRusso said.

City resident Jacqueline Baez has taken lessons at Melbourne Municipal for about a month. She called the courses a bargain.

"Everybody wishes the putting green was kept up a little better, the grass was a little greener," Baez said. "But the prices are reasonable."

Improvements

After years of losses, the fiscal forecast appears sunnier at Brevard County's courses: Spessard Holland, The Savannahs and The Habitat.

The facilities are on track to generate more than $3.4 million in revenues this year -- up from $3 million last year. Total golf rounds could exceed 143,000, up from 126,295 last year.

And the county Florida golf courses just posted their best November, third-best December and best January numbers since at least 1993-94.

"My mission is to make (the courses) break even. It's a very delicate balance when you're doing it for the government's side," said Dennis MacKee, golf course operations manager. "What I tell my people is, our job is to provide well-maintained facilities at a reasonable cost for the greatest number of taxpayers."

Cocoa Beach Country Club also recorded robust revenues in November and December, Tucker said.

"I was talking to a pro from Aquarina (Country Club) the other day, and we pretty much agreed -- six less Florida golf courses and we probably all could make a little more money," Tucker said. "I don't see it getting a whole lot better. We strive to be a break-even business. The time has passed when you're going to make money, largely because of the proliferation of Florida golf courses."

Florida County, City May Shoot For Public Golf Course

While they might not see eye to eye on every issue, Palm Coast and Flagler County officials nevertheless agree on several points.

One is the need for a public golf course in Flagler County Florida.

Palm Coast Mayor Jim Canfield spoke to the County Commission on Monday about finding a way to fast-track an agreement to build a new public golf course for county residents.

"There is a notion that people have that the city and the county don't get along," Canfield said. "That notion is wrong. We do get along pretty well."

Canfield recounted several instances where the county's aid was indispensable to the city -- including the county's donation of office equipment after the city incorporated in 1999.

Cooperation on a public Florida golf course could be another example, he said.

Canfield cited the lack of public Florida golf facilities as an example of a decline in "quality of life" resulting from rapid population growth in recent years, despite benefits such as more stores, jobs and sales tax revenue.

Unless they belong to a private golf course, Flagler County golfers must travel -- and spend their money -- outside the county to play, Canfield said.

Juniper-based NGF Consulting, hired by the city, concluded that a new public golf course would recoup construction costs within three years. The consultant estimated a new golf course, including a clubhouse and other amenities, would cost $3.6 million and generate $300,000 in annual profit by its fifth year of operation.

Commission members found little to dispute in Canfield's pitch."I have to agree with almost every comment you made," Commissioner Blair Kanbar told Canfield. "We're talking a good fight (but) we're not getting it done."

Commissioner Hutch King said that while he favors the idea of building a Florida golf course, he wants more information about costs and financing options.

"It's going to hinge on what my administrator tells me in terms of funding," he said.

The commission voted to appoint Commission Chairman Jim Darby to work with Canfield to discuss the feasibility of a public golf course.

Several residents present during the discussion spoke in favor of the idea.

"We need a Florida golf course in this county for the citizens of this county," said Palm Coast resident Hector Rodriguez. "I think this is the right time for you to consider building a course

Fazio UnveilsFlorida Golf Course To Ritz-Carlton Members

Golf course architect Tom Fazio unveiled his latest Florida project last week during grand opening ceremonies at The Ritz-Carlton Members Golf Club, Sarasota attended by more than 300 members and guests, course representatives and local dignitaries.

“I’m ecstatic with the results of this golf course,” Fazio says. “This has been a special project from the beginning. When you see the variation in hole elevation and the placement of numerous lakes and water features, you can see we have created a special golf course.”

Fazio was joined in the unveiling ceremony by the ownership of The Ritz-Carlton Sarasota; general manager Jim McManemon; Sarasota Florida resident and television sports personality Dick Vitale; television golf commentator Jennifer Mills; and Ezzat Coutry, senior vice president of The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Co.

In a special presentation to Boys and Girls Clubs chapters of Sarasota and Manatee Counties, the golf course would be donated one day per year for each of the next three years for the charity to host a fund-raising golf tournament. Additionally, a significant contribution was made by the ownership group and matched by Fazio, who is a member of the National Board of Trustees for the Boys and Girls Clubs of the USA.

The Members Golf Club is a private 18-hole facility, available only for the use of Members of The Ritz-Carlton Members Club and guests of The Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota. The par-72 Florida Golf Course is located on 315 acres of tropical landscape. The golf club has been strategically sculpted by moving 1.9 million cubic yards of earth to create elevation, relief, contouring and framing for each hole in a manner that rolls among the 12 lakes and extensive landscape.

There are six sets of tees designed to provide maximum playability with yardage ranging from 7,417 to 5,175.

“This will be a high-end, dramatic, distinctive golf club that will be the type of course that all levels of players will enjoy,” Fazio says. “It has that ‘want-to-come back’ feeling … when you can’t wait to play it again.”

Amenities include a caddie concierge program and a two-level practice range, with two chipping greens and two putting greens. The clubhouse is scheduled to open in 2007.

If You Live Around A Florida Golf Course, You Assume The Risk Of Being Hit With Golf Balls

The question often arises as to whether someone who is walking, driving or living around a golf course has any recourse for damages to their person or property that can result from them, or their property, being hit by a golf ball. Usually, unless the person hitting the ball was negligent in the way they hit the ball, there is no legal liability owed to the one hit by either the golfer or Florida golf course. The person who was hit assumed the risk of being hit by being around the course. A good reported local case out of Sanibel illustrates this legal theory of no liability.

In 1983, Robert and Marianne Bechhold purchased a home adjacent to the Dunes Country Club. The country club was owned and operated by Mariner Properties. At the time the Bechholds’ purchased their home, their backyard was very close to the third tee on the golf course and golf balls rarely fell in their backyard (an estimated 12 golf balls per year entered the yard between 1983 and 1988).

Mariner Properties decided to reconfigure the Florida golf course in 1988. As a result, the Bechholds’ backyard ended up being approximately 170 yards from the blue, professional tee on the left side of the hole, which had been redesigned from a par 4 to a par 5 hole. On the right side of the third fairway is a lake and the fairway itself is only about 50 yards wide in the vicinity of the Bechholds’ home. A ball drifting just a few degrees to the left on a shot from the tee may end up in the Bechholds’ backyard.

During the reconfiguration, Bechhold estimated that approximately 1,000 balls per year were entering his backyard. To protect his property, Bechhold reinforced his screen enclosure with hardware cloth and heavy-duty wire mesh. Even after the reinforcement, Bechhold claimed that the balls hit the mesh so hard that some became embedded in the wire. After three windows were broken by balls, Bechhold replaced the standard glass with bulletproof glass. Bechhold also claimed that the balls also damaged the roof and solar heating system. The Bechholds claimed they could not leave their car in their driveway, and they became afraid to use parts of their yard for fear of being hit by a ball.

To minimize the number of balls that roll into the vicinity of the homes on the left side of the fairway (including the Bechholds’) under the new configuration, Mariner Properties’ architects designed bunkers and mounds. Additional trees and shrubbery were planted in the area. Mariner Properties also posted a sign requesting golfers to use “extreme caution” to avoid hitting balls into the residential area. These featured reduced the number of golf balls that came onto the Bechholds’ property to approximately 300 balls per year.

The Bechholds’ filed a civil complaint against Mariner Properties Inc. alleging negligence and private nuisance against Mariner Properties. In reviewing a procedural point of the case, the Second District Court of Appeals, in its 1991 published opinion, set forth the following criteria to be utilized in determining whether a private nuisance exists:

“The test to be applied is the effect of the condition complained of on ordinary persons with a reasonable disposition in ordinary health and possessing the average and normal sensibilities.”

“The law of private nuisance is a law of degree; it generally turns on the factual question whether the use to which the property is put is a reasonable use under the circumstances, and whether there is an appreciable, substantial tangible injury resulting in actual, material, physical discomfort, and not merely a tendency to injure.”

The appellate court sent the case back to the trial court to make a factual determination of whether the Bechholds are being subjected to more than a reasonable exposure to golf balls considering that “living on a golf course and living with golf balls necessarily go hand-in-hand.”

In following up on this case to determine what happened, by making inquiry with the attorney for Mariner Properties, the attorney said that after the appellate court sent the case back down to the trial court, a four-day trial ensued. The trial court ruled in favor of Mariner Properties, finding that their redesign of the golf course was not negligently done, nor did it constitute a nuisance. The court further found that 300 to 350 golf balls per year that impacted the Bechholds’ property after Mariner’s improvements to the course as of the time of trial was not a nuisance considering that the Bechholds decided to live on the golf course. The court did, however, award the Bechholds $1,500 to reimburse them for the expenses they incurred in protecting their property during the course of the redesign. The Bechholds appealed their loss. Ten years after the Bechholds moved to the golf course, they lost their appeal.

This case goes to show that only golfers, and friends of golfers, should live on golf courses. Similarly, if you decide to move to the end of the airport runway, don’t complain about the noise.

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Rob Samouce, a principal attorney in the Naples law firm of Samouce, Murrell, & Gal, P.A. concentrates his practice in the areas of community associations including condominium, cooperative and homeowners associations, real estate transactions, closings and related mortgage law, general business law, estate planning, construction defect litigation and general civil litigation. This column is not based on specific legal advice to anyone and is based on principles subject to change from time to time. Those persons interested in specific legal advice on topics discussed in this column should consult competent legal counsel.

Seminole Considers Buying Florida Golf Courses

Seminole County is considering buying three financially ailing golf courses, converting one into a park and school and enlisting the University of Central Florida and one or two cities to keep the others open.

Sabal Point Country Club in the Longwood area, Winter Springs Golf Club and Twin Rivers Golf Club in Oviedo have been for sale since June. That's when the lender took possession of them from Meadowbrook Golf Inc., an Orlando-based management company.

On Monday, Banc of America Strategic Solutions Inc. closed Sabal Point. It's unclear what the company plans to do short-term with the others. Bank officials would not comment. Twin Rivers is close to breaking even while the other two courses are losing money, Seminole County Commission Chairman Carlton Henley said.

Golf clubs in Central Florida and across the country are struggling amid a glut of courses.

"In many areas, the market is so soft and beat up right now," said Gene Krekorian, senior vice president at Economic Resource Associates, a Los Angeles golf-course consultant.

There are about 100 golf courses within a 30-mile radius of downtown Orlando. Some, such Alhambra in Orlando and Alaqua, also in the Longwood area, have closed and been sold.

Seminole County officials say they are still considering their options, but vowed none of the courses would be turned over to developers.

"I do not want to see any of those golf courses developed into communities," Henley said.

One or more could remain as golf courses, he said, but not with the county controlling them. "We don't want to get into the golf-course business," he said.

That's where UCF, Winter Springs and possibly Oviedo come in. All have expressed early interest in taking over a course.

UCF, which has a golf course in its long-range plans, could acquire Twin Rivers, which is northeast of campus, Henley said. Oviedo also is interested in that course. Winter Springs is considering turning the club there into a municipal course.

UCF President John Hitt said it's too early to know what will happen.

"We have had only the most informal and preliminary conversations about the matter," Hitt said.

UCF's golf team now practices at various courses.

Winter Springs commissioners plan Feb. 13 to discuss hiring a consultant to look at the feasibility of buying and operating Winter Springs Golf Club.

Oviedo made some initial inquiries about buying Twin Rivers last year, but city officials were put off when the bank told them the three courses were being sold as a group, Council Chairman Dominic Persampiere said. The bank is asking $8.4 million for all three.

Still, the possibility of a city-run course, or one that would be shared with UCF, is intriguing, Persampiere said.

"UCF is such a great partner in our community, it might be a welcome addition to being a partner in some kind of joint usage of the golf course," he said.

The Seminole County School Board is "very open" to partnering with the county on one or more of the golf-course sites, Seminole schools Superintendent Bill Vogel said.

Part of Sabal Point, for example, might be suitable for a middle school, Vogel said.

County officials have talked with residents living around Sabal Point about forming a tax district to purchase that course. A recent survey found residents overwhelmingly want the property to remain as a golf course, but most are not willing to pay to see that happen.

"I don't want to be part of a 200-person ownership committee," said Bill Butz, who has lived near Sabal Point Country Club for more than 20 years and is a board member of the largest of three homeowners associations there.

Brooke Shegda, who lives in the nearby Clubside Apartments but has never used the golf course, said she would love to see a park there.

"It would be cool, because there's no park -- especially for people with children," she said.

The ultimate goal for the county and the cities may be to prevent development from eating up what little greenspace remains in Seminole.

Struggling courses are seen as easy targets for developers, said Krekorian, the consultant.

The number of troubled courses currently available make it a good time for public entities to buy, he said. "But I haven't seen many public agencies actually do it."

Banc of America approached Seminole County about buying the three courses.

"I told them that we would not pay their asking price," Henley said, but "they realize there will be significant problems if they sell them to a developer."

Sabal Point is a planned-unit development and any use changes would require county approval. Part of the golf course is within the overall development's designated open space, Henley said.

At Winter Springs Golf Club, he said, there is a conservation easement that allows that city to control development there.

Banc of America had asked the county for a letter of intent to buy the three courses. Instead, the county sent a non-binding letter of interest, saying it needed up to 120 days to study the feasibility of buying the courses.

Florida Golfers Assualted: Suspect Barricades Himself

A 57 year old man was arrested after allegedly accosting several golfers at East Bay Golf Club, a Florida Golf Course. Ronald M. Chichanowicz, who lived in a near by condo, is accused of pulling out the pin on th #2 hole. A golfer playing to that hole yelled for Chichanowicz to replace the flag. The man refused to do this for the Florida golfers.

The victim approached Chichanowicz and he pulled out a knife and started yelling "Run Fag Boy, Run". The golfer fled and called 911.

Some other Florida golfers had seen the man run into his condo and instructed police where to find Chichanowicz. He did not want to come out and speak with police so the SWAT team was called in.

After several hours Chichanowicz came out and told police the incident with the golfer was because "golf is not a real sport. Only on a Florida Golf Course in Largo at East Bay Golf Club in Florida will this happen.

Developer Announces Hotel-Condo project Near Doral Resort Golf Course In Florida

An Aventura-based developer has announced plans to build a hotel-condominium project that will be the first and, according to the developer, the only project ever to be built adjacent to the legendary Blue Monster golf course at the Doral Resort & Spa in Doral in Florida.

The project, called The Blue, will feature 240 hotel-condominium units that will be built on 17.65 acres along the 12th and 13th fairways of the Florida golf course, at 5300 NW 87th Ave. Prices will range from the upper $400,000s to $1.4 million.

"There are a tremendous amount of multinational corporations in the area," said Jerry Kaufman, chief executive officer of The Kaufman Organization Inc. in Aventura, the developer. "We felt there was a market for not only local people who wanted a world-class facility to stay in, but also corporations that have visitors coming in from around the globe."

The Blue will be comprised of 15 three-story buildings, each with 16 units. The units will range from 700 to 2,000 square feet and will have up to three bedrooms. Each unit will have custom-designed furniture; hardwood floors; mahogany doors; a 42-inch plasma television; DVD and CD players; high-speed Internet access; computerized lighting, air conditioning and heat system; washer and dryer; alarm system; and safety deposit box. The kitchens will include granite countertops and Sub-Zero refrigerators. Baths will feature marble floors, granite countertops and oversized marble showers.

The project's planned amenities include a clubhouse with fitness center and restaurant; a pool with cabanas, wireless Internet service and poolside massage; spa services; a business center; a lobby bar; private movie theater; library; room, concierge, valet and butler service; and 24-hour security.

Purchasers of units will receive a Blue View Sport Membership to the Doral Resort & Spa, providing access to Doral's Florida golf courses, restaurants and spa.

Unit owners will be able to use their units as often as they like, subject to availability. "You sign a rental management agreement with the operator," Kaufman said. "Then you and the operator make a deal as to how many days you want to visit." He said he's currently considering four companies to operate the hotel. The front-runner, he said, is Horst Schulze, former president of The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Co. LLC, who now heads The West Paces Hotel Group LLC in Atlanta and recently launched two new hotel brands: Capella Hotel & Resorts and Solís Hotels and Resorts.

Kaufman said that The Blue already has site plan approval and that he expects to break ground in the spring. Buildout should take about 18 months, he added.

The developer expects to formally commence sales on March 1, although 105 of the units have been spoken for already, Kaufman said. He has no concerns about competition from other residential or hotel-condominium projects in the area because he thinks he has a niche product. "We've got a campus setting, where most hotel-condominiums are being built are on the beach," he said. "We're offering a complete lifestyle package."

Florida Cup Set For Feb. 9-10 on Florida Golf Course

The 5th annual Florida Cup Matches will be played on February 9-10, 2006 at Timuquana Country Club in Jacksonville. The Matches were originally scheduled for November 3-4, 2005 but were postponed due to Hurricane Wilma.

Held every two years, the Florida Cup Matches vie the top 16 amateurs from North Florida versus the top 16 amateurs from South Florida. Using a Ryder-Cup format, the winner is determined by the number of points earned throughout the two days. The format is 18 holes of four-ball stroke play on a Florida golf course in the morning and alternate shot in the afternoon on the first day. The final day will consist of 18 holes of singles match play. In 2003, North Florida won the Matches 20-12 to even the series at 2-2.Do you play on a Florida golf course?

The Ritz-Carlton Members Golf Club In Florida Has New Head Golf Professional

The Ritz-Carlton Members Golf Club has named Glen Murray head golf professional for the new Tom Fazio-designed course in East Manatee. Murray will be responsible for selecting golf staff and overseeing the golf shop. Previously, he served as an assistant golf professional at The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club in Orlando Florida and was most recently the head golf professional at the Nick Faldo Golf Institute in Orlando Florida. Murray has his Class A certification with the PGA of America and a business degree from Methodist College in North Carolina.

Things Looking Bleak For Wie To Play In LPGA Tour Opener

The SBS Open wants Hawaii's prodigal daughter to return. But Michelle Wie's schedule and LPGA policy are at odds as the tour's season-opening event in her hometown of Honolulu approaches.
Tournament officials, Wie's agent and father B.J. Wie have lobbied the LPGA and Commissioner Carolyn Bivens about allowing Wie a special tour exemption.

She thus could play both season-opening Hawaii events without having one count toward her six exemptions. Nor would she be forced to scratch a marquee tournament from her summer schedule when she's on break from high school.

"There's a lot of people involved in trying to assist her. She's a big part of Hawaii's sports fabric, and she'd have a large impact for us," said SBS Open tournament director Ray Stosik.

"It would be a win-win situation," said Wie's father, "for SBS, local charities, the LPGA, The Golf Channel, Michelle, everybody."

Wie has accepted a spot in the inaugural Fields Open, Feb. 23-25, passing on the Feb. 16-18 SBS Open, where she tied for second last year. LPGA policy allows for a maximum six exemptions a year for non-members. According to spokesman Paul Rovnak, the LPGA has spoken with the Wies and others and clarified its exemption policy to them.

The LPGA recently extended a special exemption for Dakoda Dowd to play the Ginn Clubs and Resorts Open on a Florida golf course, April 27-30 in Orlando. The field was increased by one to 145 players to include Dowd, a 12-year-old from Palm Harbor, Florida., whose mother is battling breast cancer and hopes to live long enough to see her daughter play an LPGA event on a Florida golf course.

"If we didn't at least ask, we wouldn't be doing our job," said Wie's agent, Ross Berlin.

Wie can use her six exemptions any way she chooses. She decided to miss the SBS Open in favor of the Fields Open at Ko Olina Golf Club, where she mostly plays and practices.

"Not supporting the new tournament would have been awkward for us," B.J. Wie said.

Tuesday is the deadline for entry into the SBS Open, said Stosik, who didn't sound hopeful.

"We're holding out for something good to happen," he said. "People in the state don't know how many more times they'll get to see her in person. As her career grows, she's likely to leave Hawaii."

Indeed, the Wies have bought a house at Big Horn Golf Club in Palm Desert, Calif., site of the Samsung World Championship, where Wie made her pro debut last year.

Developers Build Quality Florida Golf Courses As Part Of Sales Pitch

Gordon Lewis' work studio above the garage in his North Naples home looks like it was hit by a twister.

Blueprints are scattered on drafting tables, chairs, the floor and rolled in bins in every corner. Golf balls and half pencils hang on every wall, momentos of the dozens of Florida golf courses Lewis has either designed or played. More than 300 hats hang on the walls to further mark stops in Lewis' career.

As recently as a few years ago, Lewis was worried his eternal mess might clear up.

The chill in tourism caused by the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 and the ensuing national economic slump had Lewis and others concerned about a slowdown in Florida golf course construction in Southwest Florida, the location of most of his roughly 70 golf course designs.

The diminishing amount of land locally and what many termed an oversupply of golf course memberships — both the result of rampant growth in Lee and Collier counties in the latter half of the 1990s — also had the area's golf course industry predicting a slow down.

As many see it, though, just the opposite is happening.

"After 2001, I thought we were going to just have to stay alive, but this year, we've been busier than we've ever been," Lewis said. "And next year, I see the same thing. We're going to be swamped. We just have a bunch of golf courses."

Although none have been announced publicly, Lewis said he is working with developers on as many as eight new Florida golf courses for Lee and Collier counties alone. As with nearly all of the region's 168 existing courses, the new layouts will be part of residential communities.

"I think these are going to be pretty firm," Lewis said of the likelihood that the planned courses will come to fruition. "It's all fueled by development. Houses are selling great." SW Fla. bucks trend

While golf participation across the United States has been flat for several years and new golf course openings have fallen off considerably nationwide since 2000, demand for real estate in Southwest Florida continues to drive growth in golf course communities that seemed only to hit a lull after 2001.

From 1997 to 2002, an average of eight Florida golf courses opened every year in Lee and Collier counties. In 2003, however, that number dropped to four openings, followed by none last year and only one so far this year.

But even with that decline and with some in the industry predicting more rigid standards when it comes to including golf courses in future communities, developers say golf courses still will be built in Southwest Florida as long as they can find places to put them.

"We're having a pretty good year," said Joey Garon, vice president of operations for The Bonita Bay Group, which has begun work on new courses at TwinEagles in North Naples and Verandah in Fort Myers and plans to have both completed by the end of 2006.

"Rounds are at least level everywhere, with some upswing," Garon said. "But more important to us, our customers — new members and prospective members — are still rating golf as their No. 1 amenity, which is a good sign for us."

As recently as January, when The Bonita Bay Group was first announcing the new courses at TwinEagles and Verandah that will give each community 36 holes of golf, company representatives said future residential developments in the region wouldn't include golf courses almost by default.

"It used to be, if you had a master-planned or a residential community, you had to have a golf course, even if the demographics don't support it," Ed Rodgers, a former vice president with The Bonita Bay Group for about 15 years, said earlier this year shortly after leaving the company to build his own Florida golf course.

"The thought was, even if I don't sell all (the golf memberships) to residents, there's plenty of demand outside the community to sell these," said Rodgers, serving as a consultant for The Bonita Bay Group at the time. "That's not necessarily true (now). Developers will be much smarter than they were in the late 1990s when it comes to building Florida golf courses."


Indeed, at Renaissance in Fort Myers, an upscale development opened by Worthington Communities in January 2003, demand for the community’s spa and fitness center exceeded expectations in the first two years, while sales of Florida golf course memberships were only in line with projections.