West Palm Beach

Konopski2 · December 9, 2011

My girlfriend and I are going to West Palm Beach in April and I am starting to scout out some courses to play when I am down there. (convinced her to let me take my clubs) I am looking to play twice. I will be by myself, so will be looking for a course that is easy to join up with a group.

Thanks in Advance for any advice or suggestions

MyBluC4 · December 10, 2011

West Palm Beach Golf Course

On a recent visit to Palm Beach Florida, I played the new, old West Palm Beach Municipal Golf Course. This track was originally opened in 1947 and designed by Dick Wilson, his first solo project. It is a classic Florida track that had seen better days since Arnold Palmer won its last PGA tour event, The West Palm Beach Open in 1959. The track was closed for 6 months and reopened in November of 2009. During this time, Mark McCumber, a past PGA pro and course architect was brought in to rebuild the place. Working with old photos and Wilson’s original course drawings, McCumber set out to duplicate the original plan and look. He put in new fairways and new tiff-eagle greens. Out went 50 years of overgrown scrub areas, Brazilian pepper plants and Australian pines and in came new oaks, pine and palm trees. Also upgraded and enlarged were the white sand waste bunkers that frame every hole and move throughout the entire course. I would not say this is a picturesque course having no streams, lakes or ponds and surrounded by highways most notably I-95.

While the course is wide open, the winds whip through the place big time and can cause wood and mid-iron shots in the air to move 20 yards off target. The new fairways are terrific and have a turf feel while the greens are smooth and roll true. The course is easy to get to from I-95 (only a couple of minutes) and at $37 to $45 per round, it is a good deal. From the tips, you are looking at 7002 yards, but with the winds it is better to play from the blues at 6506 that feel a lot longer. The place really does have the style of a 50’s throw back. Even the score cards are printed in a sepia brown color. When Palmer re-opened the course on November 16th, hitting the ceremonial first drive down #1, he said “it really does have the look of an old style Florida course”.

There are certainly better and more beautiful tracks to play in and around Palm Beach when visiting, but it was fun to peg it up on a nice piece of history.

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MyBluC4 · December 10, 2011

Palm Beach, Florida Par 3 Golf Course

I don’t often take time to play executive courses, but the Par 3 course on South Ocean Blvd. situated between the Atlantic Ocean and Intercoastal Waterway, is one worth mention. The course was a Dick Wilson design built almost 50 years ago. The track was closed last year, totally ripped up and redesigned by Raymond Floyd for a November 2009 opening. When I say ripped up, I’m talking redesigned holes, expanded length, new fairways and greens, expanded ponds, added traps, new waste bunkers as well as new trees and fescue plantings. Floyd did a remarkable job here. This 2572 yard beauty is so much fun to play with insane winds coming off the Intercoastal on the front nine and Atlantic on the back that you will want to try your hand a few times. The wind makes it a different experience each time as it is always changing in direction and velocity.

The back side especially, that has a number of holes framed around a large pond and against the Atlantic is very picturesque and requires some thought on club selections with the winds and pin locations. Holes range in length from 81 to 211 yards. Overall, there are 8 holes over 140 yards long, not bad for an executive track. There is also a small practice green and full driving range on the premise. If you have 2.5 hours to kill and want to have some real short game fun, this is definitely a winner. Attached Images