Club information | |
---|---|
Location | Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida |
Established | 1928 |
Type | Private |
Operated by | Gate Petroleum |
Total holes | 36 |
Website | |
Ocean Course | |
Designed by | Herbert Strong (1928) Robert Trent Jones (1947) Bobby Weed (1998) |
Par | 72 |
Length | 6,817 |
Course rating | 73.3 |
Course record | 64 |
Lagoon Course | |
Designed by | front 9: Robert Trent Jones (1961) back 9: Joe Lee (1977) Bobby Weed (1997) |
Par | 70 |
Length | 6,022 |
Course record | 64 |
The Ponte Vedra Inn & Club, located at Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, is a AAA Five Diamond Award resort [1] and the first country club at Ponte Vedra. The 9th hole on the Ocean course has the distinction of having the first island green ever built. [2]
In the early 1900s, Ponte Vedra was primarily an area of sand dunes, swamps, alligators, and palmetto trees. In 1912, it was discovered that these dunes were rich in rutile, ilmenite, and zirconium. These minerals were vital in the production of steel, which was in high demand. After this discovery, it was transformed into a mining town with worker's quarters, a post office, and a supermarket. The National Lead Company began mining ore and spurred development, which supported the war effort. After World War I ended, demand for the minerals decreased and the company decided to transform the beachfront property into a resort community, crowded with small seaside cottages. The Ponte Vedra Inn and Club debuted in 1928, attracting socialites from nearby San Jose, San Marco, Ortega, Riverside and Avondale. [3]
Stockton, Whatley, Davin & Co. was a developer of Ponte Vedra Beach in the early 1930s and owned the Ponte Vedra Club. [4] The resort became a favorite of the wealthy with guests and their families returning year after year. The 1937 clubhouse stands behind the lobby building and is still in use. [5]
In the early 1980s, Gate Petroleum purchased the Florida real estate holdings of Stockton, Whatley, Davin & Co., which was then owned by Phillips Petroleum Company for $60 million. The purchase contained more than 16,000 acres (65 km2) of land in northeast Florida including the Ponte Vedra Inn and Club. [6]
In mid-1999 Gate began a $30 million renovation/expansion of the resort. A new clubhouse, pro shop and 3-story parking garage were the largest improvements, but the inn saw the addition of 20 guest rooms, as well as refreshing the existing structures. [7]
The property was awarded the AAA Five Diamond designation in 2002 and every year since. [8]
The Ponte Vedra Inn and Club introduced the first golf course to the region in 1928, and Ponte Vedra is now known as one of the golf capitals on the East Coast. The golf facilities at the resort have a total of 36 holes on two courses. The Ocean Course was designed by Herbert Strong in 1928, redesigned by Robert Trent Jones Sr. in 1947, then again by Bobby Weed in 1998. The ocean breeze makes the island green on the 9th hole a challenge. The Ryder Cup was scheduled to be held there in 1939, but was cancelled when World War II began.
The front nine holes of the Lagoon Course were a Robert Trent Jones Sr. design and opened in 1961. It was 16 years before the back nine was built, laid out by Joe Lee. In 1997, Bobby Weed redesigned the entire course and then again in 2007, fixing irrigation issues, enhancing the landscaping, and changing the routing on several holes. The Lagoon is considered the easier course to play. The latest clubhouse renovation occurred in 2001. The course is limited to members and their guests or guests of the resort. [2]
Sawgrass is a census-designated place (CDP) in St. Johns County, Florida, United States. The population was 4,880 per the 2010 City-Data Website. This population change is a -1.3% decrease since 2000. The area is located in Ponte Vedra Beach. Sawgrass is home to The Players Championship (TPC), established in 1974. The tournament offers the highest prize fund of any tournament in golf.
The Players Championship is an annual golf tournament on the PGA Tour. Originally known as the Tournament Players Championship, it began in 1974. The Players Championship currently offers the highest prize fund of any tournament in golf, overtaking the U.S. Open, which offers a $12.5 million purse. The field usually includes the top 50 players in the world rankings, but unlike the major championships and World Golf Championships events, it is owned by the PGA Tour and not an official event on other tours.
Ponte Vedra Beach is an unincorporated seaside community in St. Johns County, Florida, United States. Located 18 miles (29 km) southeast of downtown Jacksonville and 26 miles (42 km) north of St. Augustine, it is part of the Jacksonville Beaches area, and on the island nicknamed San Pablo Island.
John Stephens Peyton is an American businessman and politician who is currently president of Gate Petroleum. He served as Mayor of Jacksonville, Florida from 2003 to 2011, when he was succeeded by Alvin Brown. He was the second Republican to be elected to the position since 1888. After his term he returned to Gate, his family business, and succeeded his father Herb Peyton as the company's president in January 2012.
Shades of Green is a resort owned by the United States Department of Defense (DOD) in the city of Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando, Florida on Walt Disney World Resort property. It is one of five Armed Forces Recreation Centers (AFRC) resorts and a part of the military's Morale, Welfare, and Recreation program (MWR). The resort, which was expanded between 2004–2006, is self-supporting and operates from non-appropriated funds and all profits are put back into the resort.
The Tournament Players Club at Sawgrass is a golf course in the southeastern United States, located in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, southeast of Jacksonville. Opened 42 years ago in the autumn of 1980, it was the first of several Tournament Players Clubs to be built. It is home to the PGA Tour headquarters and hosts The Players Championship, one of the PGA Tour's signature events, now held in March. Paul and Jerome Fletcher negotiated a deal with the PGA Tour, which included the donation of 415 acres (1.68 km2) for one dollar.
Julington Creek Plantation is an unincorporated community in the larger community of St. Johns, St. Johns County, Florida, United States. It consists of several large neighborhoods, and is located along Race Track Road east of State Road 13, across from Fruit Cove.
Paul Dye Jr., known as Pete Dye, was an American golf course designer and a member of a family of course designers. He was married to fellow designer and amateur champion Alice Dye.
JW Marriott Scottsdale Camelback Inn Resort and Spa is a historic resort and spa owned by Marriott International, Inc, located on the southern slope of Mummy Mountain in Paradise Valley, Arizona, United States. The Camelback Inn was established in 1936 by Jack Bell Stewart and John C. Lincoln. Its popularity among Hollywood celebrities and political leaders made it a significant contributor to the region's growth. In 2012, Camelback Inn was one of three North American hotels which had maintained a AAA 5-Diamond rating since the award's inception in 1975. In 2013, AAA reduced the hotel's status to four diamonds.
Kiawah Island Golf Resort is a resort on Kiawah Island, South Carolina that is located along a ten-mile (16 km) mix of inland and beachfront property approximately thirty miles (50 km) southwest of Charleston. Opened in May 1976, it consistently ranks as one of the country’s top resorts.
Lake Toxaway is the largest privately held lake in North Carolina. The lake, developed by the Lake Toxaway Company, is man-made and covers 640 acres (2.6 km2) 60 feet (18 m), and the shoreline is 14 miles (23 km). Water sources for the lake include multiple free-flowing mountain streams with the Toxaway River being the main source. The lake flows out onto Toxaway Falls and then continues down the Toxaway River. The main road through the Lake Toxaway area is U.S. Highway 64, a typical winding mountain road with tight turns. Lake Toxaway history encompasses two distinct time periods. The first era which began in 1890 ended with the collapse of the earthen dam in 1916. In 1960 the second era began when the Lake Toxaway Company purchased the land and rebuilt the lake.
Donald Robert Davis was an American politician. He served in many roles, from decorated war veteran to petroleum executive, board chairman, association president, Jacksonville City Council president and Florida state legislator.
Stockton, Whatley, Davin & Co. (SWD) was one of the largest mortgage banking, real estate and insurance firms in the Southeast of the United States. It was founded in 1884 as the Telfair Stockton Company and operated until 1983 when it was broken up by its new owner Phillips Petroleum Company. The assets were sold to First National Bank of Boston and Gate Petroleum.
Amelia Island Resort is a luxury resort community located on Amelia Island, Florida, the westernmost barrier island on the Atlantic Ocean in the U.S. The resort's tennis facility hosted the Bausch & Lomb Championships, a major Women's Tennis Association tournament, for 20 years. The 404-room hotel on the property is now part of Omni Hotels & Resorts.
Robert C. Weed, Jr. (Bobby),, president of Bobby Weed Golf Design, is a golf course designer and builder specializing in design, renovation and repurposing. A protégé of Pete Dye, he resides in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. Weed is a member of the American Society of Golf Course Architects (ASGCA), the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA) and the Florida Turfgrass Association.
Deerwood is a gated community and country club in Jacksonville, Florida, US. After it was established in the mid-1960s, it was the most exclusive residential area on Jacksonville's Southside. The golf course hosted the Greater Jacksonville Open in the late 1960s and early 1970s, forerunner of The Players Championship, and was once the site of talks between President Gerald Ford and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat in November 1975.
Herbert Bertram Strong was an English professional golfer. He was an organizer and founding member of the PGA of America and later became a successful golf course architect. As a player, Strong's best finish in a major championship was ninth place in the 1913 U.S. Open.
Destination Kohler is the hospitality and real estate arm of the Kohler Company, and the tourism promotion agency for the Village of Kohler, Wisconsin.
The Ojai Valley Inn, or Ojai Valley Inn and Spa, is a 220-acre resort and golf course in Ojai, California. The golf course was developed in 1923, and the inn began in the 1930s. The property has undergone multiple renovations and expansions over the years, including the addition of the Spa Ojai in 1997.
Medalist Golf Club is an 18-hole golf course in Hobe Sound, Florida. The course was originally designed by Pete Dye and Greg Norman with renovations to the course being made in 2015 by Bobby Weed and MacCurrach Golf Construction, Inc. Medalist is considered the home club to Norman and Tiger Woods. In 2013, Palm Beach Post reported that over 20 PGA Tour and LPGA Tour players were members at the club.