Old Florida Golf Course Measures Up For Golf Events
Driving past the rows of stores and commercial strip plazas that line Yamato Road just west of Interstate 95, you would never know there was a top-flight, 18-hole Florida golf course tucked behind them.
Mainly for that reason, the Champions Tour is returning to Palm Beach County for the first time in seven years.
The Champions Tour has been trying to find a suitable South Florida home during the winter since the Royal Caribbean Classic at Key Biscayne lost its title sponsor two years ago. Last fall, members at Broken Sound decided they wanted to host a pro tournament to help give some quality exposure to its gated community and the Old Course.
Within months, a deal was reached to move the Allianz Championship from Des Moines, Iowa, to Boca Raton, starting in February. Now the Old Course becomes a New Story.
"It is a hidden gem, not just in Boca but in South Florida," said Franklin Loh, a Broken Sound member serves as the club spokesman. "We have something to offer that not many communities can match around here."
What makes the Old Course so different is its a free-standing layout that features no homes on the course. That's right: 18 holes, zero homes.
"I couldn't believe that when I heard it, " said Hollis Cavner, whose Pro Links Sports is managing the event. "I mean, this is Florida. All of the courses have homes on them - or condos."
There's another thing that separates Broken Sound from other area courses that have hosted Champions Tour events that have come and gone during the past two decades: They're not doing it to sell property, then tell the tournament to move on once that's been accomplished. The 1,600-home gated community has already been built near the course.
So maybe, just maybe, the Champions Tour will remain in South Florida for longer than the initial three-year deal. Loh says that's the plan.
"We're not looking to sell homes," Loh said. "This is great exposure for our community and for our course. This is not a short-term scenario; this is a long-range plan."
This is the Champions Tour's first event in Palm Beach County since the Senior PGA Championship left PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens in 2000 after an 18-year stay.
Two other Champions Tour events have been held in Boca Raton without much staying power: Boca Grove Plantation hosted the Quadel Seniors Classic from 1983-85, and Gleneagles in Delray Beach was the site of the Shearson-Lehman Brothers Senior Classic in '86.
Cavner said he's well aware the Champions Tour has struggled in South Florida, with its abundance of social and sports options during the winter. But he believes things will be different because he's focusing on being a bigger fish in a smaller pond.
"This will be different because this is a Boca event," Cavner said. "It's not a Miami event where you've got 9 million things going on that day.
"This is going to be a happening event in Boca."
The Old Course was built by Joe Lee in 1979, then redesigned by architect Gene Bates of North Palm Beach in 2004. Bates did a massive overhaul, changing the routing while adding mounds and yardage (7,000 from the back tees).
"There's really nothing there today that resembles what it was five years ago," said Bates, who was selected Golf Course Architect of the Year in 2005 by BoardRoom magazine, partly for his work at Broken Sound. "We didn't rebuild it with the intentions of having a tournament, but we rebuilt it as a good venue for club members who have the option of stepping up to whatever tee they want."
Broken Sound's director of golf, John Skaf, said he would like to see the Old Course switched from a par-72 to a par-70 for the 54-hole event. He suggests the first and 16th holes, which play as par-5s for the members, should be switched into difficult par-4s.
Skaf knows trying to predict a winning score on a Florida golf course without knowing the weather conditions can be a stretch.
But he was willing to try, anyway.
"If we play it as a par-70, I could see the winning score between six and 10 under," Skaf said. "As a par-72, I think the winner will be between eight and 12 under."
Bates usually is too busy trying to build golf courses and doesn't worry about how well the older pros will be able to pick them apart. But he's confident the Allianz Championship's leader board won't be dripping with red numbers.
"It's not going to be a go-low Florida golf course," Bates said. "I think if someone shoots 67 or 68 the first two days, that's going to be a good round of golf. By the final round, I think they'll be happy with a 70 or a 71."
Mainly for that reason, the Champions Tour is returning to Palm Beach County for the first time in seven years.
The Champions Tour has been trying to find a suitable South Florida home during the winter since the Royal Caribbean Classic at Key Biscayne lost its title sponsor two years ago. Last fall, members at Broken Sound decided they wanted to host a pro tournament to help give some quality exposure to its gated community and the Old Course.
Within months, a deal was reached to move the Allianz Championship from Des Moines, Iowa, to Boca Raton, starting in February. Now the Old Course becomes a New Story.
"It is a hidden gem, not just in Boca but in South Florida," said Franklin Loh, a Broken Sound member serves as the club spokesman. "We have something to offer that not many communities can match around here."
What makes the Old Course so different is its a free-standing layout that features no homes on the course. That's right: 18 holes, zero homes.
"I couldn't believe that when I heard it, " said Hollis Cavner, whose Pro Links Sports is managing the event. "I mean, this is Florida. All of the courses have homes on them - or condos."
There's another thing that separates Broken Sound from other area courses that have hosted Champions Tour events that have come and gone during the past two decades: They're not doing it to sell property, then tell the tournament to move on once that's been accomplished. The 1,600-home gated community has already been built near the course.
So maybe, just maybe, the Champions Tour will remain in South Florida for longer than the initial three-year deal. Loh says that's the plan.
"We're not looking to sell homes," Loh said. "This is great exposure for our community and for our course. This is not a short-term scenario; this is a long-range plan."
This is the Champions Tour's first event in Palm Beach County since the Senior PGA Championship left PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens in 2000 after an 18-year stay.
Two other Champions Tour events have been held in Boca Raton without much staying power: Boca Grove Plantation hosted the Quadel Seniors Classic from 1983-85, and Gleneagles in Delray Beach was the site of the Shearson-Lehman Brothers Senior Classic in '86.
Cavner said he's well aware the Champions Tour has struggled in South Florida, with its abundance of social and sports options during the winter. But he believes things will be different because he's focusing on being a bigger fish in a smaller pond.
"This will be different because this is a Boca event," Cavner said. "It's not a Miami event where you've got 9 million things going on that day.
"This is going to be a happening event in Boca."
The Old Course was built by Joe Lee in 1979, then redesigned by architect Gene Bates of North Palm Beach in 2004. Bates did a massive overhaul, changing the routing while adding mounds and yardage (7,000 from the back tees).
"There's really nothing there today that resembles what it was five years ago," said Bates, who was selected Golf Course Architect of the Year in 2005 by BoardRoom magazine, partly for his work at Broken Sound. "We didn't rebuild it with the intentions of having a tournament, but we rebuilt it as a good venue for club members who have the option of stepping up to whatever tee they want."
Broken Sound's director of golf, John Skaf, said he would like to see the Old Course switched from a par-72 to a par-70 for the 54-hole event. He suggests the first and 16th holes, which play as par-5s for the members, should be switched into difficult par-4s.
Skaf knows trying to predict a winning score on a Florida golf course without knowing the weather conditions can be a stretch.
But he was willing to try, anyway.
"If we play it as a par-70, I could see the winning score between six and 10 under," Skaf said. "As a par-72, I think the winner will be between eight and 12 under."
Bates usually is too busy trying to build golf courses and doesn't worry about how well the older pros will be able to pick them apart. But he's confident the Allianz Championship's leader board won't be dripping with red numbers.
"It's not going to be a go-low Florida golf course," Bates said. "I think if someone shoots 67 or 68 the first two days, that's going to be a good round of golf. By the final round, I think they'll be happy with a 70 or a 71."
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