Rio Pinar Country Club

Last updated
Rio Pinar Country Club
Club information
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Icona golf.svg
Location in the United States
USA Florida relief location map.jpg
Icona golf.svg
Location in Florida
Coordinates 28°31′30″N81°15′54″W / 28.525°N 81.265°W / 28.525; -81.265
Location Rio Pinar, Florida, U.S.
Established1957, 68 years ago
TypeSemi/private
Total holes18
Events hosted Florida Citrus Open
Lady Citrus Open
Designed by Mark Mahannah (1957)
Lloyd Clifton (1995)
Par 72
Length7,001 yards (6,402 m)
Course rating 73.9
Slope rating 130 [1]
Rio Pinar Country Club

The Rio Pinar Country Club is a semi-private golf club located in Rio Pinar, Florida, a suburban subdivision of Orlando.

Contents

The golf course at Rio Pinar was initially designed by Mark Mahannah in 1957, and featured medium-sized greens, strategically placed bunkers and narrow fairways framed by pine and oak trees. Lloyd Clifton was hired by the club in 1995 to give a refresh to Mahannah's then forty-year old design. Clifton put a focus on enlarging the greens and reshaping bunkers while staying true to the original vision for the course. [2]

Florida Citrus Open

Established in 1957, the golf course was the original site of the Florida Citrus Open (now Arnold Palmer Invitational) on the PGA Tour from 1966 through 1978. with the initial purse being $110,000, with a $21,000 cut for the winner. [3] The winner's share increased to $40,000 by 1975. [4]

In the 13-year span that Rio Pinar hosted the Open, the tournament was a popular stop on the PGA Tour, with winners of the event including Lee Trevino, Hale Irwin, Julius Boros, and Arnold Palmer, all of which are members of the World Golf Hall of Fame. Palmer's win in the 1971 Citrus Open was his first of four wins during the 1971 PGA Tour, which would be his final tournament wins as a solo player. After purchasing the nearby Bay Hill Club and Lodge in 1974, Palmer lobbied PGA officials to move their Orlando tournament to his course, which they did in 1979. [5]

After the departure of the PGA, Rio Pinar was the site of the LPGA Tour's Lady Citrus Open from 1979 to 1982 until the tournament moved to the Cypress Creek Country Club in 1983. The event was dropped from the LPGA schedule altogether after the 1984 tour season. Plaques commemorating winners of both tournaments and other course record-holders sit just outside the club's pro-shop. [6]

Scorecard

Rio Pinar Country Club [7]
Tee Rating/Slope 123456789Out101112131415161718InTotal
Black79.3 / 130569380414194391410566213422355950742016538541251522135542934096968
Gold72.2 / 127538369407180358399549171409338048439815135938849019734240132106590
Blue70.4 / 125520353391159344384533152389322545837313533835946818032438330186243
White67.0 / 117457304309154329328477136365285942433910030829941816328030726385497
SI Men's131115137517961214161021884
Par544344534365434453443672
SI Ladies'131115137517961214161021884
Blue76.2 / 135520353391159344384533152389322545837313533835946818032438330186243
White72.0 / 128457304309154329328477136365285942433910030829941816328030726385497
Red71.0 / 12545330030414131532447312935227914123269629529040114927029425335324

Tour winners

PGA Tour

YearPlayerCountryScoreTo parWinner's
share ($)
Purse ($)
Florida Citrus Open
1978 Mac McLendon Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States 271−1740,000200,000
1977 Gary Koch Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States 274−1440,000200,000
1976 Hale Irwin Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States 270−1840,000200,000
1975 Lee Trevino Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States 276−1240,000200,000
1974 Jerry Heard (2)Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States 273−1530,000150,000
1973 Buddy Allin Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States 265−2330,000150,000
1972 Jerry HeardFlag of the United States (23px).png  United States 276−1230,000150,000
Florida Citrus Invitational
1971 Arnold Palmer Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States 270−1830,000150,000
1970 Bob Lunn Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States 271−1730,000150,000
Florida Citrus Open Invitational
1969 Ken Still Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States 278−1023,000115,000
1968 Dan Sikes Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States 274−1423,000115,000
1967 Julius Boros Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States 274−1023,000115,000
1966 Lionel Hebert Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States 279−521,000110,000

Note: Green highlight indicates scoring records.
Sources: [8] [9]

LPGA Tour

YearPlayerCountryScoreTo parWinner's
share ($)
Purse ($)
Orlando Lady Classic
1982 Patty Sheehan Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States 209−722,500150,000
Florida Lady Citrus
1981 Beth Daniel Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States 281−715,000100,000
1980 Donna White Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States 283−915,000100,000
1979 Jane Blalock Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States 286−615,000100,000

References

  1. "Course Rating and Slope Database™: Rio Pinar CC". USGA. Retrieved February 26, 2017.
  2. "Rio Pinar Country Club: A fixture on the Orlando golf scene for more than five decades". OrlandoGolf.com. Retrieved 2023-12-26.
  3. "Dickinson takes lead in golf". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. March 19, 1966. p. 12.
  4. Lenoir, Bob (March 6, 1978). "McLendon dream pays off - $40,000". St. Petersburg Times. p. 1C.
  5. By (1996-07-14). "TWO GOLF COURSE COMMUNITIES BUILT ON COW PASTURES HAVE RICH HISTORIES". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved 2023-12-26.
  6. Revell, Jay (2018-05-24). "A Small Slice of Paradise". Medium. Retrieved 2023-12-26.
  7. "Rio Pinar Country Club - Detailed Scorecard | Course Database".
  8. Arnold Palmer Invitational - Winners - at www.pgatour.com
  9. Arnold Palmer Invitational - Winners Archived 2011-07-16 at the Wayback Machine - at www.golfobserver.com