Florida Historic Golf Trail

Florida history is particularly interesting when it comes to historic golf courses. These heritage landscapes are some of our most prized destinations. 

The Florida Division of Historical Resources recently started the Florida Historic Golf Trail program to promote our state's oldest golf courses. This historic trail will identify and highlight the historic golf courses of Florida through the Division's website. The website includes a brief history, photographs, and information for each golf course. The Florida Historic Golf Trail website is http://floridahistoricgolftrail.com/.

Golf has contributed to the Sunshine State's economy since the early 1900s. Early golf courses were associated with the railroad, hotel and resort development and catered to wealthy northerners seeking refuge from harsh winters. 

One such early course was the Winter Park Country Club. The city's golfing heritage dates back to 1900 when John Dunn of Scotland designed its first course, located south of the existing course and adjacent to Rollins College. Dunn's course closed within a decade due to the growth of the town and college.

In 1914, Harley Ward and Dow George laid out a 9-hole course on 25 acres at the north end of town. The same year, Winter Park Country Club formed and one of the club's first activities was to build a clubhouse, which is still in use today. The club contracted with Dow George and built an additional 18-hole golf course around the 9-hole "short" course.

The early courses were not always tranquil places. Cattle wandering on the fairways necessitated the installation of fencing around the course in 1915. A few years later, however, sheep and goats were turned out on the links for pasture to help solve the shortage of meat during World War I. 

In 1926, the Winter Park Country Club golf course closed. It later re-organized at the old site, rehabilitated and re-opened in 1937.

In 1999, the Winter Park golf course became the first golf course in Florida listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The clubhouse entered into the National Registry at the same time.

The Florida Historic Golf Trail includes more than 60 public, semi-private, military and resort golf courses from Pensacola to Jacksonville and down to Key West. Spread across 31 counties, most were built during the "Golden Age" of golf course architecture from the early teens through the late 1930s.

Many architects hired to design and build new golf courses would become legendary. They include Donald Ross, Seth Raynor, Tom Bendelow, Stiles and Van Kleek, Herbert Strong, Langford and Moreau, and Flynn and Toomey. Most of the courses on the list are open to the public. Here's an invitation to get out on the Florida Historic Golf Trail and tee-up where Bobby Jones, Walter Hagen, Gene Sarazen and Babe Zaharias made golf history. Enjoy! 

 

The Florida Historic American Landscapes Survey

FLASLA HALS Chair
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