New Heights On Florida Golf Course
Heaps of garbage will give Palm Beach County's newest Florida golf course something rarely seen on the golfing circuit: height.
Park Ridge Golf Course, scheduled to open west of Lantana in October, will feature hills as high as 85 feet. Courses typically climb about 20 feet.
"The elevation of the landfill has allowed us to create holes that wouldn't normally be seen in South Florida," said Paul Connell, the county's golf operations supervisor. "It gives people an opportunity to play a course they wouldn't normally get to play."
Golfers from nearby communities who have toured the course anxiously await its opening.
The idea to turn what was known as the Old Lantana Landfill into an 18-hole golf course dates to the 1980s. County parks and recreation officials and the Solid Waste Authority of Palm Beach County searched for the $7 million needed to build it as the garbage settled and methane was extracted from the soil.
It took another decade for the site to be declared methane-free, said Bill Wilsher, the county's superintendent of park planning and design.
Building Florida golf courses over landfills is not that unusual. About 70 of the nation's almost 16,000 golf courses are atop old landfills, strip mines or industrial sites, according to the National Golf Foundation in Jupiter.
Golfer Harold Heydt said it doesn't matter that Park Ridge rises from a landfill. He even called it an "established art on landfills."
Heydt lives in the Bellaggio community near the course. When he moved in about four years ago, word that a Florida golf course would be so close to home was an added perk.
"I envision using it often because of its convenience and the novelty of the elevations," the New Jersey retiree said. "Being a Northern golfer, I miss the elevations."
Hopping from course to course is common among golfers and Heydt is no exception. He plays courses from Boca Raton to West Palm Beach.
Park Ridge will be a par-72 Florida golf course on about 180 acres. With a lake at its side, the course will run from 4,200-6,800 yards long.
Because of the landfill below -- which means the course will settle some -- the clubhouse will be a trailer. Restrooms built of concrete block will be off the landfill on the course's perimeter.
A more substantial clubhouse at the Florida golf course will be built off the landfill at some point, Wilsher said. Cost to play will be $30 or less, which includes a cart. Wilsher said costs are low because a county bond and impact fees, money collected when homebuyers close on their homes, are paying for the project.
"There's still a need for golf, particularly for public golf," Wilsher said. "We're trying to keep the game inexpensive for people living here."
Park Ridge is meant to attract seniors, especially those in nearby communities, and beginning golfers. In the summer, the Florida golf course could be opened to children just learning the game.
Park Ridge Golf Course, scheduled to open west of Lantana in October, will feature hills as high as 85 feet. Courses typically climb about 20 feet.
"The elevation of the landfill has allowed us to create holes that wouldn't normally be seen in South Florida," said Paul Connell, the county's golf operations supervisor. "It gives people an opportunity to play a course they wouldn't normally get to play."
Golfers from nearby communities who have toured the course anxiously await its opening.
The idea to turn what was known as the Old Lantana Landfill into an 18-hole golf course dates to the 1980s. County parks and recreation officials and the Solid Waste Authority of Palm Beach County searched for the $7 million needed to build it as the garbage settled and methane was extracted from the soil.
It took another decade for the site to be declared methane-free, said Bill Wilsher, the county's superintendent of park planning and design.
Building Florida golf courses over landfills is not that unusual. About 70 of the nation's almost 16,000 golf courses are atop old landfills, strip mines or industrial sites, according to the National Golf Foundation in Jupiter.
Golfer Harold Heydt said it doesn't matter that Park Ridge rises from a landfill. He even called it an "established art on landfills."
Heydt lives in the Bellaggio community near the course. When he moved in about four years ago, word that a Florida golf course would be so close to home was an added perk.
"I envision using it often because of its convenience and the novelty of the elevations," the New Jersey retiree said. "Being a Northern golfer, I miss the elevations."
Hopping from course to course is common among golfers and Heydt is no exception. He plays courses from Boca Raton to West Palm Beach.
Park Ridge will be a par-72 Florida golf course on about 180 acres. With a lake at its side, the course will run from 4,200-6,800 yards long.
Because of the landfill below -- which means the course will settle some -- the clubhouse will be a trailer. Restrooms built of concrete block will be off the landfill on the course's perimeter.
A more substantial clubhouse at the Florida golf course will be built off the landfill at some point, Wilsher said. Cost to play will be $30 or less, which includes a cart. Wilsher said costs are low because a county bond and impact fees, money collected when homebuyers close on their homes, are paying for the project.
"There's still a need for golf, particularly for public golf," Wilsher said. "We're trying to keep the game inexpensive for people living here."
Park Ridge is meant to attract seniors, especially those in nearby communities, and beginning golfers. In the summer, the Florida golf course could be opened to children just learning the game.
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