Drive For Change At Florida Golf Courses

Phil Smith looks across all that green space behind Coral Ridge Country Club in northeast Fort Lauderdale Florida and sees spectacular possibilities.

The Florida golf course's majority owner imagines a small, upscale residential development in the middle of the course in a way that turns more than a handsome profit for his partnership. He sees it offsetting costs of a major renovation of the Florida golf course and returning the dazzle to the tarnished jewel that famed golf course architect Robert Trent Jones Sr. opened 50 years ago.

Smith sees a revitalized world-class country club making the entire Coral Ridge community sparkle while driving up home values in adjoining neighborhoods.

While many of Coral Ridge Country Club's 350 members welcome the prospect of gaining a new course, a giant new clubhouse and new fitness center for substantially less than it would cost them without the housing development, some of Smith's neighbors don't share his vision.

All they see is trouble.

They see more green space disappearing.

They see Coral Ridge Country Club's plan leading to the demise of American Golfers Club, the only golf facility open to the public in Fort Lauderdale.

They see more traffic, congestion and all the problems that come with increased density.

Ultimately, they see anti-development forces rising up as the stakes heighten in a city struggling to control growth.

"People have really strong feelings about this on both sides," Mayor Jim Naugle said. "There are different constituencies, and we're getting letters and e-mails from all of them. It's not the biggest issue we've had, but it's a big one."

That's because development is such a politically charged issue.

"It's our biggest challenge right now," Naugle said.

Smith and his partners propose to build 61 homes valued at $1 million or more on the property north of Oakland Park Boulevard between Federal Highway and Bayview Drive.

They bought Florida golf course Coral Ridge Country Club 18 months ago from Robert Trent Jones Jr. and Rees Jones, the sons of the famed architect who died in 2000. The brothers are accomplished golf course architects in their own right, and Rees is poised to design Coral Ridge's makeover.

Smith's partnership also bought American Golfers Club, which runs along the western boundary of the country club off Federal Highway. Though privately owned by the Jones family, it was a public facility.

While American's driving range remains open, the executive and pitch-and-putt courses have been closed since Hurricane Wilma hit last October. Smith's plan is to close the entire Florida golf course to make room for most of the country club's back nine to be rerouted around the new housing development.

"I've seen the plans for the country club, and I can't imagine it not being the cornerstone of northeast Fort Lauderdale and one of the crown jewels of Fort Lauderdale itself," said Kenny Larsen, a 10-year club member who lives off the seventh hole.

Smith, 58, is seeking to elevate Coral Ridge's reputation. Members complained that Florida golf course's conditions deteriorated significantly under the ownership of the Jones brothers.

Smith owns 17 auto dealer franchises in Florida, Georgia and North Carolina. He lives in Coral Ridge and is a longtime member of the club.

His ownership group has proven political clout with minority partners, including Broward County Commissioner Jim Scott, the former president of the state Senate, and Scott's law partner, Norman Tripp, former chairman of Fort Lauderdale's Downtown Development Authority. It also includes Terry Stiles, the prominent developer and CEO of Stiles Corporation, lawyer Matt Morrall and J.J. Sehlke as managing partner.

Florida Golf Course Closing Drives A Wedge

Sandy Wilkov almost feels as if she's visiting a dying friend.

American Golfers Club's pitch-and-putt and executive courses have been closed for six months. Though still mowed, they're little more than browned-out jungles, the grass parched to straw, with thistles and weeds sprouting everywhere.

The clubhouse is shut down.

Only the driving range remains open.

Wilkov is as angry as she is sad that the club she loved is deteriorating and in danger of disappearing if a proposed residential development plan meets City of Fort Lauderdale and Broward County approval.

All across Broward, affordable and family-friendly golf facilities like American are closing in nearly epidemic proportions. So are driving ranges. It's part of a national trend.

"I'm devastated by what's happened to this place," says Wilkov, 72, a Fort Lauderdale resident who played American regularly with her husband, Herb. "It's a shame they've allowed it to dilapidate like this because it was so much more than a golf course. It was a community-gathering place. ... "This is a place worth saving."

That's exactly what the devoted regulars at American Golfers Club are organizing to try to do.

"We'll fight this tooth and nail," says Mickey James, 75, who has been playing at American since it opened in 1958.

It's more than a fight to preserve American. It's a struggle to hold on to a fading golf culture.

Executive, par-3 courses and public driving ranges appear to be going the way of drive-in root beer stands and carhops.

This is significant because though facilities like these are typically not as profitable as high-end resort courses and exclusive country clubs, they are feeder systems that serve as investments in golf's future.

"You lose too many courses like American, places friendly to kids and beginners, and you're going to hurt your pipeline to the game," says Jeff Wilson, former South Florida PGA Southern Chapter president.

There are thriving public and municipal golf courses in Broward, just not as many.

"It's not all doom and gloom," says Bob Klitz, general manager of Hollywood's Orangebrook Golf Course, a city-owned facility with two 18-hole courses. "Our junior program's loaded up with kids. Just because we have championship courses doesn't mean we aren't a feeder system."

Closings on the rise

Still, the National Golf Foundation delivered some sobering news about public golf in its latest Golf Industry Report released this spring.

According to the NGF, 93.5 golf courses closed in the United States last year, the most closings in a single year since the foundation began keeping statistics in 1936.

Notably, 88 percent of the closings were daily-fee courses. Significantly, those closings were "disproportionately executive and par-3 courses."

The NGF also reports that 2005 featured the fewest openings of new courses in 20 years.

These facts contribute to the NGF's finding that for the first time since 1945 the total number of courses open for play in the United States decreased. There were 16,052 open in 2004, 16,047 in 2005.

American Golfers Club, on north Federal Highway, is the only public-access golf course in Fort Lauderdale, but it's privately owned by the same partnership that bought adjacent Coral Ridge Country Club 18 months ago.

Phil Smith, the majority owner of Coral Ridge Golf Course, Inc., and his partners are proposing to build 61 million-dollar homes in the center of the 210-acre green space that makes up Coral Ridge and American. The plan calls for most of the country club's back nine to be torn up and re-routed to the west, around a proposed 39-acre housing development. The new back nine would run through what is now American Golfers Club.

The land-use and zoning changes won't occur without a challenge as American's regulars have organized with the help of Ray Novak, a retired Pennsylvania state trial judge who lives near the first tee of American's executive course.

"What we had here at American was more than golf," Novak says. "It was a beautiful experience. We've had so many kids play here, kids with their parents. It was a great place for families to come play together. That's what really made it a special place."

Clubs like American bring the rich man's game to the masses, to people who can't afford country club dues.

Executive and par-3 courses, many with driving ranges, are especially popular with juniors and beginners, with seniors wanting shorter tracks to walk and with working-class players wanting affordable green fees.

You could play American's executive course for as little as $15.

"Some people dismiss this as just a golf issue, but American's a park," James said. "It's a place where the public can enjoy recreation."

The 70 acres that make up American are designated as park/open space, but that doesn't preclude Coral Ridge's owners from converting the open space to private use. Smith is not seeking city approval to change that designation, only the 39 acres his group wants to convert to residential.

Valuable land

NGF statistics show more daily-fee clubs are struggling with golf participation on the decline. That's particularly evident in the number of closings in Broward County, where developers are increasingly on the lookout for courses to bulldoze and build homes.

When Raintree Golf Club in Pembroke Pines closes next year, it will become the 11th daily-fee course to close in the last 10 years.

More than a quarter of the courses open for public play in Broward County have closed over the last decade, or turned private. Notably, most of the closings were executive or community courses.

There are 31 publicly accessible clubs open in the county today.

"The land in South Florida is so valuable to develop, and there's almost no land left," says Johnny LaPonzina, president of Professional Course Management, which operates 13 public and semi-private courses in South Florida. "It's getting to where just about the only open spaces are golf courses, and developers are willing to pay big prices to get the land."

Raintree is closing to make way for a gated community of 103 million-dollar homes. Sabal Palm and Monterey in Tamarac closed this spring to be redeveloped as home sites. There's a similar plan for Hillcrest Executive in Hollywood, which closed May 1. Eagle Woods has shut down in Miramar and is being studied for similar development. So is Eagle Lakes in Margate. Crystal Lake North, the former Tam O'Shanter Golf Club, Broken Woods in Coral Springs and Inverrary's Executive Course in Lauderhill also are among closings. Rolling Hills in Davie went private as Grande Oaks Golf Club.

Plantation Preserve just opened, but TPC at Heron Bay is the only other public-access course to open in Broward in the last 10 years.

Profits in decline

American, like so many of the other smaller daily-fee courses in South Florida, hasn't bustled with the kind of business it used to have.

John Foster, the general manager at Coral Ridge until the club's sale in 2004, said American always turned a profit in his 6-year run there, but those profits were in a steady annual decline.

J.J. Sehlke, Coral Ridge's managing partner, declined a request to make American's financial figures public but said rounds are down 20 percent on the executive course over the last four years, nearly 50 percent on the pitch-and-putt and 10 percent on the driving range.

Also, he said the price of hurricane insurance has skyrocketed since designer Robert Trent Jones' family sold the club, as have fuel and chemical costs.

Smith says he understands the disappointment of American's devotees, but he didn't make the decision to close the course rashly. He says he studied the club's viability for more than a year before deciding public golf didn't make financial sense.

"We wanted to evaluate what was best, to take a look at whether public golf works," Smith says. "We were trying to make that decision when Hurricane Wilma hit."

Smith and his partners never re-opened the executive or pitch-and-putt courses after Wilma knocked down trees and damaged its aging irrigation system.

American regulars have grumbled that Hurricane Wilma gave Smith and his partners a convenient excuse to shut down the facility and pursue a plan to make millions off their proposed housing development.

"Convenient? Yeah, right, we wanted a hurricane," Smith says. "That's kind of a slap in the face. I'm still fighting with Citizen's Insurance. We still have issues we haven't resolved here. We lost 400 trees. I've got issues at all my dealerships. I've suffered $15 million in damage at all my buildings. If anyone wants to call that convenient to my face, we can talk about it.

"Wilma did accelerate our decision. The hurricane facilitated us asking ourselves, `Do we want to invest a significant amount of money back into American, which over a year's time proved a failed business plan? Or did we want to go forward with a very limited development and improve Coral Ridge?'

"At American, we thought maybe we could improve upon what the Joneses were doing before we took over. We ended up finding they were tapping the market as well as you could on the public side of golf. It just isn't financially viable."

Novak thinks American makes great sense as a truly public golf facility, where breaking even while serving a larger community interest is a reasonable and worthy pursuit. In fact, there are eminent domain issues popping up from New York to Los Angeles, where cities or counties are trying to seize golf courses. In some cases, it's to clear the way for development, while in others it's to protect them from development. Notably, Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens is a Coral Ridge Country Club member.

Fort Lauderdale City Commissioner Christine Teel asked that the city study purchasing the property from the Jones family three years ago, but City Manager Floyd Johnson returned saying his analysis showed purchasing and operating the club would not be financially feasible.

"It would be an interesting question," Mayor Jim Naugle said speaking generally about what interest the city might have in owning any public golf course. "You would have to have a referendum and a bond issue. Would people vote to raise taxes to buy a golf course?"

It's a question American's regulars would like to ask citizens. It's a question Smith and Coral Ridge's owners have no interest asking.

"I hate to say this, but public golf is not my job," Smith says. "At the end of the day, we think our plans are best for the Coral Ridge community. The only losers are those who depended on American for public golf."

Plantation Preserve, Florida Golf Course Reopens

Plantation Preserve Golf Course & Club has reopened in Plantation, Florida. The Audubon-certified, par-72 layout measures 7,000 yards from the tips. It's the only public golf course in Broward County featuring Sea Dwarf Paspalum turf.

Greater Fort Lauderdale now features two Audubon-certified courses: Plantation Preserve and Parkland Country Club, in Parkland. Parkland Country Club is a private, 7,100 yard-Greg Norman-designed Florida golf course that offers select tee times to visitors.

Plantation Preserve was designed by von Hagge, Smelek & Baril. Called the former Golf Club of Plantation before its redevelopment, the facility occupies a portion of a 211-acre site owned by the city of Plantation. In addition to the new course, the property boasts a 1.5-mile park trail with two trailheads that wind through the course and 29 acres of wetland preserves. Interpretive signs are located at each end of the trail as well as at four trail stops and alongside a Tequesta Indian burial mound.

The Florida golf course also features a large driving range with both grass and mat tees and a 6,600-square-foot clubhouse with a 160-seat dining room and lounge.

"The Plantation Preserve provides a challenging Florida golf course for golfers of all skill levels, but it also compliments the local environment," said John Webb, vice president of Sports Development for the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Weekday greens fees, including golf cart, start at $45 ($55 weekends) for non-members from May through October; $65 ($75 weekends) from April and November through December 19 and $90 ($100 weekends) from December 20 through March.

Florida Golf Course To Close For Renovations

The Palm Beach Gardens Golf Course is a challenging test of a Florida golf course carved out of the beautiful Loxahatchee Nature Preserve.

This Par 72, Roy Case designed course is one of the only golf courses in Florida that winds through natural preserved and wetlands areas. It plays to 6,500 yards through southern pines, palm trees, and marsh land while making defined elevation challenges - giving breathtaking views, quality golf and still being affordable!

Four sets of tees are featured so that you may control your golf destiny. Come enjoy friendly hospitality and a truly unique setting for a day of unforgettable golf!

Please be advised that the Palm Beach Gardens Golf Course and Driving Range will be CLOSED to regular play for the summer months beginning May 1st, 2006. We will be renovating our greens, tees, bunkers, and irrigation system.

Please join use for the Palm Beach Gardens Florida Golf Course re-opening in the Fall of 2006!

Full-Course Meals, Nice Greens At Florida Golf Course

Light, airy and lovely all describe the recently opened Dining Room at the new Plantation Preserve Golf Course & Club in Plantation Florida. The restaurant serves bountiful lunches at expandable tables that seat four or more people and a bar where ''snack-a-tizers'' like potato skins with cheddar cheese and crumbled bacon bits ($5.50) are served until 5:30 p.m. As yet, there is no brunch or dinner service at the Florida golf course, though both may be added later on.

What one notices upon entering the Dining Room, with capacity for approximately 100 people, is the spectacular view of the golf course greens from subtly arched large windows. The positioning of the building relative to the Florida golf course is high, affording a dramatic perspective of the swaying native grasses, sand traps, golfers and hillocks that challenge their game.

The room itself has a gentlemen's club atmosphere, with walls painted dark green and beige to echo the nearby landscape; the plaid carpet and wooden cafe chairs with tapestry fabric both have a golf motif. Natural touches abound in the artwork of Florida marsh birds and palm trees and real purple orchids set in little goldfish bowls on each table. With two TV sets tuned to sports and golf channels, the restaurant caters to its golf clientele in myriad ways.

A standard menu given a creative flair includes soups and seven specialty salads, including Southwestern Taco Salad with marinated beef or chicken and Asian Salad with Teriyaki Chicken, crispy rice noodles and peanut dressing, both under $10. Cold sandwiches include a classic club, ham or turkey, ranging from $6.50 to $8.50. Among the hot sandwiches is blackened fish, a hearty portion of seasoned, tender salmon in a kaiser roll with sweet potato fries, for $10.50 and grilled bacon and tomato for $6.50. Those with bigger appetites can choose from four pasta dishes, including shrimp and pasta for $13.50, a homemade meatloaf with mashed potatoes and seasonal vegetables for $9.50 and grilled salmon for $13.50.

The Florida golf course desserts include a scoop of vanilla ice cream for $2 at the simplest end and a chocolate brownie sundae dessert for $5.50 at the most elaborate.

Service is speedy at the Golf Course Dining Room, where diners on recent weekdays felt the urge to linger. Beers and wines are on the menu, and most house wines by the glass are priced at $4.95. The Dining Room also accommodates private parties. An automatic 18 percent service charge eliminates the need to add a tip. Time to stop and eat at this Florida golf course.

River Hills, A Florida Golf Course Community Keeps Sexual Offenders At Bay

A sex offender lives less than half a mile from the gates of River Hills Golf Course. But that's as close to the community as he's ever going to get. The deed-restricted community has banned sex offenders from living within its borders.

In doing so, River Hills became one of the first Florida communities to join a growing trend throughout the nation. Since 1997, when Florida became the first state in the nation to offer residents a searchable database of sex offenders' addresses, many communities have found ways to keep offenders out.

Some gated neighborhoods, like the Longleaf townhouse community in Meadow Pointe, have considered going as far as requiring new residents to undergo criminal background checks before moving in.

River Hills Golf Community restrictions forbid sexual offenders or predators from occupying a unit inside the gated community - even temporarily. That means sexual offenders can't rent in the community or move in with someone.

Privacy and security are the main draws for people moving to River Hills, a 1,162-home subdivision built around a Florida golf course, said resident Rick Massimei. Anyone coming in and out has to check in with a security guard.

"Even our roads are private," Massimei said.

The ban on sex offenders passed quietly by referendum in 2004. The vote was 825 to 89. Massimei, who was president of the community's board of directors at the time, said he wasn't sure who first raised the issue.

"I think someone learned a predator had moved into the neighborhood," he said.

The news spread and a group of residents brought the matter to the board, he said. The board asked the community's lawyer to draft a charter amendment that would keep sex offenders beyond their gates.

Lawyer Michael Brudny, who represents the homeowners association, said he wasn't surprised by the request.

"Most communities aren't happy with having sex offenders living there," he said.

Mostly, community leaders want to know how to publicize the presence of the sex offender, said Brudny, whose firm represents hundreds of communities in the area.

He said he advises them to notify residents that a sex offender is living nearby. But he tells them not to name the individual.

Do you want a sex offender playing on a Florida golf course near your home?

Changing The Landscape With Florida Golf Courses

"North of Tampa" is suddenly one of the hottest phrases in golf course development circles. Not only have Pasco and Hernando counties been discovered, but there are strong indications that within five years the once sleepy, overlooked home of pastureland will be a member of the Florida golf course big leagues.

"Northern Pasco and Hernando is considered the best ground in the state of Florida from a topography standpoint, from a soil standpoint and from a tree standpoint," said Matthew McIntee, vice president of development for Crown Golf, based in Glenview, Ill., and holder of local properties that include The Bayou Club. "The ground you have in Pasco and Hernando is just spectacular."

McIntee is not alone in his thinking.

Elevation changes produced by rolling hills and the yesteryear beauty of stately oaks trees that dominate the "North of Tampa" landscape have been recognized as a significant break from the traditional flat, water-hazard-heavy Florida golf courses that overpopulate. The Veterans Expressway has brought northern Pasco and Hernando to within a 50-minute drive of Tampa. The Tampa Bay area's population continues to grow, and even with the threat of a cooling real-estate market, private, upscale golf remains the game's lifeblood.

Southern Hills Plantation another Florida golf course, designed by celebrated course architect Pete Dye, opened earlier this year in Brooksville as part of a LandMar Group development. A project by Avila developer Bob Sierra to be known as Hickory Hills is moving forward on a tract of Hernando ranchland and anticipates a Jack Nicklaus course design.

Just down S.R. 52 from Lake Jovita, which boasts 36 holes and has attracted national attention since it opened seven years ago, an Arnold Palmer signature design will be part of a planned community to be called Bella Verde. Going further north into Hernando, where World Woods' Pine Barrens and Rolling Oaks courses designed by Tom Fazio rank among the top public Florida golf courses in the country, developers are studying property that was once the site of the Florida Rock and Stone Quarry.

"Visually, it's just different up here," Lake Jovita director of golf Chris Brandt said.

And the golf world is starting to see that.

"The topography and land we were able to get up there not only had movement, the property is just covered with great old oak and magnolia trees," said M.G. Orender, president of Hampton Golf, an affiliate of the Southern Hills development company. "It's just a stunning piece of property, but if it had not been for the new road system, we probably would not have done the deal. But now, literally, you can walk out of Tampa International Airport, get in a car and from the time you crank the engine, 35 minutes later you are out on Highway 41 in front of the development."

A recent study by the National Association of Realtors estimates Americans bought more than 1 million vacation homes in 2005, a record for the second consecutive year. Also, it was reported that golf played a deciding factor in nearly a third of those second-home purchases.

Considering such factors as cost of living, number of quality courses in the area, playable days per year and nearby shopping and social diversions, the consensus opinion by many in golf is that "North of Tampa" is quickly developing into the best bargain in the game's real-estate market for full-time and getaway residences.

"Even the top private clubs and top public courses in the Tampa area are nowhere near the national price scale," Crown Golf's McIntee said. "I don't believe there is a $100,000 private club in Tampa, while you've got $300,000 per membership clubs in Palm Beach and Naples.

"The appeal to people nationally is that Tampa Bay is really still affordable."

Young Ladies Take Shot at U.S. Women's Open On Florida Golf Course

Naples' average age will take a drop today at the U.S. Women's Open local qualifier at Imperial Golf Club in North Naples, Florida.

Twelve players age 16 or younger, and 27 under the age of 20 are part of the 90-player field. Last year, a total of 23 spots were up for grabs, and this year there should be a similar number.

Last year, Coral Springs' Lexi Thompson, who is now 11, missed a nine-player playoff for the final four spots by a stroke. Dakoda Dowd, now 13, also was at Imperial last year. Dowd was granted an exemption into the LPGA Tour's Ginn Clubs & Resorts Open near Orlando last month.

There are several players with ties to Southwest Florida golf courses in the field: Naples' Stephanie Allan, Holly Boot and Leslye Dyke, Estero's Meghan Spero, Fort Myers' Dede Cusimano, Nancy Hauber and Valerie Osborn, 16-year-old Cape Coral resident Michelle Shin, as well as current Florida Gulf Coast University golfer Heather Hagerman, Lely Resort's Sarah Pesavento, and Misia Lemanski, who plays out of Eagle Creek Country Club another Florida golf course in Naples.

There are 39 amateurs and 51 professionals competing, including Suzy Whaley, the former club professional who played in the PGA Tour's Greater Hartford Open a few years ago.

Naples' Kris Tamulis will try to advance out of the local qualifier at Wilmington Country Club in Wilmington, Del., on Monday. Southwest Florida's other local player, Bonita Springs' Catherine Cartwright, is exempt from local qualifying.

Sectional qualifying will be June 5-13, with the Women's Open from June 29-July 2 at Newport (R.I.) Country Club.

Not All Florida Golfers Scared Of Gators

At LPGA Golf Course in the middle of wetlands, a golf cart driver Monday did a horseshoe loop to avoid hitting an alligator scooting across the fairway.

Florida golfers are so blase the big news is that gators can indeed attack people -- and have killed three women in Florida since last week.

"It must have been something bizarre (to provoke the attacks)," said Maria Lopez, a regular golfer.

Only 17 deaths had been recorded in Florida since 1948 before the most recent alligator attacks began.

First, a body of a female jogger was found Wednesday in a canal in Broward Country. On Sunday, two more victims were found. Wildlife officials are still searching for a 7- to 9-foot alligator which killed a Tennessee woman who was snorkeling in a recreation area near Lake George in Marion County. The body of a Dunedin woman found in a canal near St. Petersburg had been in the water about three days and had injuries consistent with an alligator attack.

Although such a concentration of deaths in so short a time had never been recorded in Florida, wildlife officials say there is no pattern or common element between them.

Some, though, pointed to contributing factors like an increase in aggressive behavior during mating season and the loss of natural habitat leading to more encounters between humans and alligators.

"Forget all the reasons," said Lindsey Hord, the director of the statewide alligator nuisance control program. "Alligators are predators."

While they usually seek smaller animals, "they're opportunistic," said Joy Hill, a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission spokeswoman.

The fatalities have put people on edge.

Trapper Todd Hardwick typically gets about four nuisance alligator calls each day, but he's now getting 15 as the unprecedented burst of attacks has Floridians terrified of their giant reptilian neighbors.

People are shook up," Hardwick said just before capturing a 9-foot, 4-inch alligator Monday in a residential lake north of Miami. "It's like the citizens of Florida have declared war on alligators. People are really going crazy."

In Volusia and Flagler counties, encounters with wildlife are part of everyday life.

Richard Harris, assistant manager of Blue Spring State Park, said officials there take the usual precautions, such as removing an alligator if it's obvious that "it's attracted to people."

There were rumors of a friendly alligator, who would occasionally nudge people's boats at DeLeon Springs Sate Park, but R.T. Reynolds, assistant park manager, said that he only heard of that happening once. Reynolds said rangers patrol their waters regularly, and that they haven't had problems at the park

At a Florida golf course, some employees there have taken to calling a 10-foot alligator that lives near the 18th hole "Mo."

Golfers and gators co-exist so peacefully that the Florida golf course has not had to call a trapper in at least seven years, said golf pro Joe Giormariso. But Catherine Goodman, a tourist from Richmond, Va. wasn't taking any chances.

"I'm hitting balls away from the water on this FL golf course," she said.

Fairway Advisors To Sell Florida Treasure Coast Golf Course

Fairway Advisors has been retained as the exclusive advisor in the sale of St. James Golf Club located in Port St. Lucie, Florida. St. James Golf Club is a championship, semi-private club designed by Warren Henderson. Fairway Advisors has been named today for the marketing and negotiation of the sale transaction.

Jeff Davis, President of Fairway Advisors, comments, "St. James was acquired in September 2005 as part of a 17 golf course portfolio. It is one of the only two golf courses in the portfolio not located in the Mid-Atlantic States. St. James Golf Club doesn’t offer current ownership synergies based upon its location. The current owners did not intended to keep St. James when they bought the portfolio. However, ownership couldn’t sell it right away without making improvements to the property.”

Pure Golf, a golf management company based in Maryland, was hired to improve the Florida golf course’s conditioning. “The greens, tees and fairways are in the best shape they have been in since St. James opened in 2000. A new owner will have a turn key facility at a fraction of replacement cost,” says Davis.

St. James Golf Club has the lowest historical green fees in the area, even lower than competing municipal golf courses. Davis believes a new owner will be able to charge a higher daily rate as a result of the course’s improved conditioning.

Davis says he has received a large amount of interest from investors looking at the florida golf course. A sale is expected by the end of the year. Information about this Florida golf course can be obtained by visiting Fairway Advisors’ website.

87-Year-Old Upstages Arnie At Shoot-Your-Age Tourney On Florida Golf Course

Leonard “Leo” Luken is smiling today. On Saturday, he beat Arnold Palmer on a Florida golf course — by three shots.

OK, technically, The King was 11 strokes better than the Hilton Head retiree. But in The Villages Shoot Your Age Championship, Luken’s 81 counted as 6-under — his age, that is. Palmer, by comparison, shot “only” a 73 — three shots less than his age.

Luken, who shot his “round for the ages” at the par-72, 6,251-yard Arnold Palmer Legends Country Club in The Villages, Fla., said it was his biggest thrill since — get this — playing golf in Latrobe, Pa., with Palmer’s father, Deacon, 35-40 years ago.

“I was on the podium next to Gary Player, and Arnie told him, ‘This guy took lessons from my dad,’” Luken said, laughing. “This was one of the greatest things that ever happened to me.”

A retired production manager with Zollner Pistons Co. in Fort Wayne, Ind., Luken was a star fast-pitch softball pitcher with the company team, helping it win four world championships, in 1945-47 and 1949. At one point, he won 53 consecutive games, and he is a member of the sport’s hall of fame, as well as the Kentucky and Indiana halls of fame.

These days, Luken and his regular group play at Palmetto Dunes’ Fazio and Jones courses, other Florida golf courses. Earlier this year, he shot a pair of 79s. “At 87, though, that gets tougher to do,” he said, laughing.

Luken’s prizes included a Waterford crystal bowl, a 42-inch plasma-screen TV and a pair of airline tickets. But nothing will top the memory of that day.

“Next to being married 63 years, that’s it,” he said.

Dargans win. Brothers Robert and David Dargan of Columbia, runners-up in the 2004 Carolinas Four-Ball Championship, claimed their first title at Camden Country Club by defeating three-time winners Bert Atkinson of Charleston and Sammy Truett of Surfside Beach, 2 and 1.

The tournament was played at Camden for the 50th time.

Sage advice. Weldon Wyatt, owner of the exclusive Sage Valley Golf Club near Graniteville, will open his award-winning course to outside play on May 22 and 23 to raise money for needy students in Aiken County.

Participants in “A Day of Golf at Sage Valley Golf Club” will be shown to a personal locker, have breakfast or lunch in the dining room, warm up at the practice facility and play 18 holes with a caddie, followed by cocktails and food.

Cost is a $400 donation per player to Aiken County Dollars for Scholars. To reserve a tee time, call Sage Valley’s Carmen Cordero at (803) 663-0900

Main Street America Sponsoring Caddyshack Charity Golf Tournament On Florida Golf Course

The sixth annual Murray Bros. Caddyshack Charity Golf Tournament will be held May 18 to 19 at the World Golf Village in St. Augustine, Fla. The event benefits the St. Vincent's Mobile Outreach Ministry and Brave Kids.

The tournament, hosted by Academy Award®-nominated actor Bill Murray and his brothers, will kick off with the pairings party, presented by The Main Street America Group, at Murray Bros. Caddyshack Thur., May 18 at 6 p.m. This is the second consecutive year Jacksonville, Fla.-based Main Street America, a leading property and casualty insurance company, is the major sponsor of the tournament on a Florida golf course.

The tournament will be held Fri., May 19 at the King & Bear and Slammer & Squire courses at World Golf Village with two flights (morning and afternoon). An additional morning flight will be played at The Palencia Club in St. Augustine, another Florida golf course.

Celebrities tentatively committed to play this year include broadcaster Ahmad Rashad, former Super Bowl MVP Richard Dent, actors Cindy Morgan and Matt Griesser, and Jacksonville Jaguars Head Coach Jack Del Rio.

Last year's Florida golf course event raised a record $250,000 for St. Vincent's of Jacksonville. The Outreach Ministry delivers free school and summer program physicals for children throughout Northeast Florida, as well as immunizations, hearing and vision screenings, x-rays, cardiac care and blood work to those in need. Brave Kids is a national non-profit organization that helps children with special needs.

Florida golf courses are getting all the action.

Much Golf Could Be Played For $500 Green Fee At Exclusive Florida Golf Course

Bill Neff was a customer service representative of the former Merchants National Bank and past president of the Rea Park Men’s Club before he retired 12 years ago. Like many avid golfers Bill, along with his wife Susie, packed up and headed for Bradenton, Florida., where he still resides and manages Braden-Castle, a retirement community.

From time to time, Bill keeps this writer informed as to what’s going on as it pertains to golf in his particular area of the sunshine state. It seems the big news these days in Bradenton Florida is the grand opening of a luxury golf course named the Concession Golf Club and Residences.

At first, the name “Concession,” conjures up the thought of hot dogs and cold drinks at the end of nine holes, but that’s not the story of this particular “Concession.”

The two men who collaborated to build the Florida golf course are none other than Jack Nicklaus and Tony Jacklin, who makes his home in Bradenton.

The course is a memorial to Nicklaus’ sportsmanlike act of conceding a two-foot putt to Jacklin on the 18th hole of their Ryder Cup match back in 1969 at Royal Birkdale in England. The result was a 16-16 tie, with the United States retaining the Ryder Cup.

To say the “Concession” is difficult may be a masterpiece of understatement. The Florida Golf Association gave the 7,470-yard layout a slope rating of 155 and a course rating of 77.6 from the back tees.

If you’re interested in buying a lot located in The Concession community, you’ll need $1.6 million for a “lot.” Excuse me, I didn’t mean “lot”; they are homesites. You will have the opportunity to pick your floor plan from homes priced from $2.5 million to $3.3 million. There is, however, a silver lining that accompanies purchasing your home in The Concession neighborhood. You will have a free membership in the Florida golf course, thereby saving $150,000.

I always recall one of Groucho Marx’s lines when writing about extremely exclusive Florida golf clubs. Groucho claimed, “I am not prepared to join any club which would be willing to have someone like me as a member.”

If you don’t care to join The Concession Golf Club, you may still play 18 holes for $500, making it more expensive than the hallowed fairways of Pebble Beach.

We, here in the Wabash Valley, seem to do quite well with courses such as Rea Park, Hulman Links, Idle Creek and Country Club of Terre Haute. A short drive delivers us to Clinton’s Matthews Park and Geneva Hills; Brazil’s Oak Ridge and Forest Park; Sullivan’s Elks Club course; Marshall’s American Legion Course; Rockville’s Parke County Golf Course, and Paris’ Sycamore Hills Golf Club, all Florida golf courses. In addition, don’t forget Stu’s as well as Mark’s predominantly par-threes.

That $500 to play The Concession would go a long way in providing green fees or golf merchandise in Terre Haute and vicinity. I think I’ll spend my “Golf Allowance” locally at another Florida golf course.

Private Bids Placed On Pair Of Florida Golf Courses In Seminole

Private investors have made offers on two of three struggling Seminole County golf courses in Florida, weeks after county leaders said they might buy the sites to keep them from being developed into housing.

An investment group behind four apartment-to-condominium conversions near Sabal Point Country Club is close to buying the Florida golf course. Carlos Balzola and Luis Alonzo met with community residents this week and asked for their views on how to revive the once-thriving facility.

Another group, which owns and operates five golf courses in Central Florida, made an offer for Twin Rivers Golf Club in Oviedo on Wednesday.

Details of the offers were not disclosed. But the two courses, as well as Winter Springs Golf Club, are on the market as a group for $7.275 million by Banc of America Strategic Solutions Inc. Twin Rivers and Winter Springs remain open; Banc of America closed Sabal Point earlier this year, prompting the county's announcement.

Chad Barton, who along with Bob Dello Russo owns Country Club of Deer Run, Casselberry Golf Club, Wekiva Golf Club, the Country Club of Mount Dora and Rock Springs Ridge Golf Club, confirmed Thursday that they had bid on Twin Rivers.

Barton and Dello Russo plan to meet with Oviedo City Manager Gerald Seeber next week, Barton said.

"We want to know what the city's position is with regards to [reclaimed] water for the Florida golf course," he said. "We also would like to see what the golf course means to the city."

Barton vowed to quickly improve the course.

Residents in Sabal Point are eager to bring that Florida golf course back to top form as well. What is unclear is how far they are willing to go to make it successful.

Some have suggested a community assessment, though the largest homeowners association said there is little support for that.

"There are a lot of people in the community concerned about costs," said Wayne Hunicke, president of the 800-member Sabal Point Community Services Association. "There are lots of people here on fixed incomes."

But there also is a strong core of about 200 homeowners who live along the 18-hole Florida golf course and would support the course, he said. Condo buyers also may be willing to pay for country-club memberships, Hunicke said.

In Winter Springs, the initial draft of a feasibility study commissioned by the city suggests the golf club there could make money in as little as five years.

The study, by National Golf Foundation Consulting, found the market could support a lower-priced municipal Florida golf course. But it also found that Winter Springs Golf Club showed a steady decline in the number of rounds played from 2003 to 2005.

The analysis concludes the course could make money by 2010 if rounds and membership levels rebound. It also assumes the city would not pay more than $1.2 million for the course and could finance the purchase over 30 years at 6.5 percent interest.

A memorandum from City Manager Ron McLemore warns that the study's assumptions are overly optimistic and don't take into account $650,000 in needed upgrades.

City officials won't decide how to proceed with the Florida golf courses until the final feasibility study is completed later this spring.

Florida Golf Course Grand Cypress Needs To Make Reparations For Killing Redshouldered Hawks

Personnel from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Service determined that two red-shouldered hawks nesting at The Villas of Grand Cypress Golf Resort were a threat to people in the area, and they shot the birds on March 29.

Starting March 10, there were at least 10 hawk attacks on the Florida golf course guests and employees. After the second attack, state and federal wildlife officials were contacted.

Subsequently, a state permit was requested for the removal and relocation of the nest, which was a prerequisite for federal involvement. The Florida golf course ultimately dealt with personnel from the state and from two federal agencies—the Department of Agriculture and the Department of the Interior.

As the attacks continued, an area was cordoned off to keep guests and staff from the vicinity of the nest. Employee and guest movements were rerouted around the area, guests were advised of the situation and security personnel were posted. Later, the cordoned-off area on the Florida golf course was expanded.

The attacks continued and even reached into a patio and restaurant area. One guest had a significant puncture wound to his head and face, narrowly missing his eye, which required medical attention.

This situation is unprecedented in the 22-year history of the Florida golf course. The resort enlisted the involvement of wildlife experts, and the U. S. Department of Agriculture ultimately determined the birds’ fate.

We treasure the natural world that makes the resort so appealing, and we deeply regret this entire situation. It is dangerous play on Florida golf courses.

Private Florida Golf Course Has Some Concerned

Florida golf course Calusa Country Club neighbors don't necessarily have a problem with Facundo Bacardi's plan to replace the rundown golf course with an exclusive multimillion dollar facility.

It's just that they want to be able to see it from their backyards. But plans call for making it as private and secluded as possible for big-money golfers.

''It's like having a house on the beach and you can't see -- or use -- the beach,'' said Marilin Cabassi, whose backyard overlooks the Florida golf course.

Besides, homeowners say, blocking their view will put their security at risk.

''When I go out in my backyard and I see a foursome ready to tee off, I can protect myself,'' said Cabassi's husband Javier. ``There's a higher liability for the Florida golf course if I can't see.''

Shawn Crews, general manager of the facility at 9400 SW 130th Ave., assures residents nothing is being hidden. He plans to show the neighbors the layout as soon as it is complete, possibly by summer.

Plans now include a challenging 18-hole championship Florida golf course, some elevations as high as 40 feet, winding waterways, a clubhouse with full concierge service, a golf-training facility, a caddy program and lush landscaping.

In the long run, Crews said, the project will pay off for homeowners.

''When they lose their view, some would argue that depreciates their property value,'' Crews said. However, the flip side is that now their property is sitting on a low- to middle-of-the road public course and, after construction, they will sit on the best golf course in South Florida.''

Some residents worry the opposite might happen if they cannot see the course past growing hedges and an unsightly chain-link fence the owner installed months back.

''Despite what they say, a home with a view is a home with more value than without,'' said Alain Morot-Gaudry, a resident since 1995. His wife is a real estate agent.

But some homeowners see the plans as a positive development.

''Those trees are going to be beautiful. This is the best thing that could have happened to us,'' Kathy Winters said. ``It could make our property values soar.''

Crews said the aim is not to block residents' views, as some may think, but to enclose the golfers so they feel a slice of paradise. And he said the fences and hedges are staying put for that purpose.

''It closes in what's going to be a private Florida golf course and the hedge is to make those people that are paying $200,000 feel like they're in a secluded area,'' he said.

Jane Feuer doesn't buy that argument.

''You're building a multimillion dollar golf course; you should have enough to take down the chain-link fence and put up a white picket fence or something,'' she said.

There will be no tournaments on the new Florida golf course. The initiation fee is $215,000 and membership is by invitation only and will be limited to 275 members or corporations.

The plans are on hold until enough people buy memberships. From a business standpoint, it wouldn't make sense to break ground on such a costly project if people aren't buying into it, Crews said.

The hefty fees and exclusive nature of the proposed facility worry some Florida residents.

''My only concern is my husband is a golfer and now he won't be able to play there,'' said Waltraud Hering, who has lived for 18 years on this public Florida golf course. ``We cannot afford it.''

Mizner Trail, A Florida Golf Course Sues County For $38.5 Million

Mizner Trail Golf Club has filed a $38.5 million lawsuit against Palm Beach County.

The suit, filed with the 15th District Circuit court, alleges that in denial of Mizner's application to build luxury town homes on the Mizner Trail Golf Course in Florida, the county acted "in an unreasonable, arbitrary and capricious manner against Mizner Trail."

The suit, signed by Florida golf course principal Philip "Dutch" Bliss, also alleges separate violations of both the Florida and US constitutions related to property rights, and the right to due process.

On Feb. 23, the county unanimously rejected plans for 202 luxury townhouses on holes three through eight of the southern Mizner Trail Golf Course in Boca Del Mar Florida, a 35-year old and 30,000 plus household development that straddles the Florida Turnpike west of Boca Raton.

This week's litigation alleges that the county's denial amounts to "a regulatory taking of Mizner's property and vested rights."

Opponents of Mizner's development proposal convinced the county that the Mizner Trail Golf Course was part of the "general development characteristics" of the overall Boca Del Mar development - and therefore should not be built upon.

Further, and in the words of the then county Senior Site Planner Eric McClellan, the golf course was a "a firm and wholistic part of the community," and therefore development as other than a golf course could be denied under the county code on that basis. (McClellan has since left county employ and is working in the private sector).

The lawsuit alleges that Mizner Trail has an inherent right to build the luxury town homes because the property is properly zoned for that purpose, that more than a sufficient number of residential units approved in the original development plan remain unbuilt, and that the golf course itself was never established in perpetuity as a golf course.

The suit also says that Florida golf course Mizner "purchased the property in 1998, with the expectation that it would be used as a golf course temporarily and that the property ultimately would be developed residentially."

The suit also claims that "using the property as a Florida golf course is no longer an economically viable use or an economically reasonable use, and has not been for several years, at least since 2002."

The Plan

For the better part of three years, the proposed development of, initially, nearly 500, whittled down to 390, then down to 236, and finally down to 202 luxury homes ($500,000 and up) at the Mizner Trail Golf Course has been an on-going battle between some residents who oppose the development, and later both the County Zoning Commission and the Board of County Commissioners.

Acting on what this week's lawsuit alleges, the failure to get the luxury home development approved eventually resulted in Mizner saying it was losing too much money operating the Florida golf course, and the course was closed Oct. 1 of last year.

Mizner's plan is to sell one third of the southern Florida golf course. Upon that land --- six holes of the current course --- the plan called for construction of 202 luxury town houses. The remaining 12 holes would then be reconfigured into an executive 18-hole course. The plan also included a new deed covenant that for all practical purposes Mizner said prevented the remaining 67 percent of the land from ever being developed.

The zoning commission voted 4-3 in January that the application should move forward to the County Commission, but with a recommendation for denial. County Commissioners in February unanimously agreed with that recommendation and voted unanimously for denial.

This weeks' litigation seeking monetary damages precedes an action filed in early April asking the court to just overturn the denial.

In a show cause order following the original suit, Palm Beach County 15th Circuit Court Judge Edward Fine said he believed the county's denial "shows a preliminary basis" for being overturned.

The Florida golf course's litigation seeking monetary damages was subsequently filed.

The Palm Beach County attorney's office has declined comment on the lorida golf course.

PGA Golf Club Is Looking To The Next Decade Of Florida Golf Courses

When the PGA Golf Club in Florida opened its doors 10 years ago, its goal was to provide a world-class golf experience.

Now, as the facility, part of the PGA Village complex in Port St. Lucie, celebrates its 10th year with a ceremony Wednesday, PGA officials feel they have achieved that goal.

The goal for the next decade is to make PGA Golf Club — the only PGA-owned facility open to the public — one of the premier daily-fee golf experiences in the country and around the world.

"We're investing millions of dollars on maintaining and developing the PGA experience," said Joe Steranka, chief executive officer of PGA of America, which owns PGA Golf Club. "When people from St. Lucie County, the state of Florida, around the United States and the world come to PGA Golf Club, they'll experience memorable high-quality Florida golf courses and course conditions, but most importantly the most memorable round of golf they've had."

The push to reach the new goal begins this month when a two-year, multi-million dollar improvement program gets under way.

The plan includes converting all the greens on the club's three courses — North, South and Dye — to a new strain of turf called Champion Ultra Dwarf, reconstructing all bunkers, improving drainage, adding landscaping to all courses and expanding the clubhouse. The PGA also has talked with North and South courses designer Tom Fazio about redesigning some greens.

All of the changes will begin in the coming weeks and months except the clubhouse expansion, which Steranka said will begin next year.

Bud Taylor, director of golf for PGA Golf Properties of Florida, said PGA also would be working to provide better service by adding staff during peak times.

While becoming a premier Florida golf course destination and experience might seem like a lofty goal, Steranka said the PGA has the pieces in place to advance the club's stature.

To start with, he said the rates at PGA Golf Club are affordable for the experience a golfer gets.

Players tend to agree. In the latest Golf Digest "Best Places to Play" book published this month, readers called all three courses a "great value," "a golf heaven" and they provide "tremendous service at a terrific price."

"Their summer rates are fantastic," Stuart resident Jon Resos said. "The best thing about it is when you go out there, it's still the PGA. It's the PGA all year around. It's a great value. I go there specifically because I can play one of the bestFlorida golf courses around."

The improvement plan will cause increased rates, but Steranka said the club would still provide some tee times in the current price range of $32-$50.

PGA Golf Club officials believe that golfers will be willing to pay a little more for the added features — such as staff picking up clubs from players at their cars — both on the course and off.

Also, the club has played host to PGA teaching professionals from around the world and dozens of tournaments each year for PGA pros, assistant pros as well as mini-tour tournaments, the National Minority College Golf Championship and charity and corporate events. Those events help position PGA Golf Club more on the national and world golf scene through word-of-mouth recommendations, Steranka said.

The PGA hopes its reputation and improvements attract new golfers as the club strives to maintain its relationship with its current players.

"It's easier to keep a customer than get a new one, and we're going to work hard to continue to have people come back to this Florida golf course again and again," Taylor said. "We want to be a facility that when somebody leaves they will say, 'I can't wait to come back to Florida.'"