In Time For PGA Champions Tour Play At The 2015 Allianz Championship, The Storied Golf Club Links Re-Open After Seven Months of Restoration and Clubhouse Renovations
Soon after The Old Course at Broken Sound secured its eco excellence double-header of GEO and Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary re-certifications, the home course to the PGA Champions Tour’s Allianz Championship has re-opened for play following seven months of restoration and clubhouse renovations. Along with 34 new bird houses, more than two acres of wildflowers and 50,000 new plants added to lake banks for beautification, the entire course was re-grassed with 75 acres of Celebration Bermuda Grass, six acres of SeaIsle 1 Paspalum implanted on the tees, and three and one half acres of Tiff Eagle Bermuda Grass used on the greens. The 110,000 square feet of bunkers were revitalized and filled with G-Angle sand. Lake bank buffers and charcoal were added around the lake banks for leeching of fertility. The irrigation heads were also changed and drainage was fixed and added.
Director of Golf Maintenance Shannon Easter shared that because of age and quality of the previous Tiffsport Bermuda Grass planted during its previous 2002 renovation by Gene Bates, it was time for an update. He added that the course featuring 110 acres of grass and 30 to 40 acres of lakes “will now be more advantageous for play per PGA standards.”
Under the direction of Easter with input from The Old Course golf pros and members, the course enhancement plans were chosen well and orchestrated by a high level and intensity of design, maintenance and construction working with Brian Bowes Construction and Quality Grassing. Celebration is a hybrid cultivar of Bermuda grass that has an exceptional wide range of applications. It is a deep blue-green that has a high tolerance for wear and recovery, drought resistance and Bermuda grass shade tolerance. G-Angle is a new cultivated sand that stays in place better due to interlocking particles, thus reducing the frequency of wash-outs and providing for an overall firmer bunker.
To enhance overall player experience, the men’s and ladies golf bathrooms on hole #5 were renovated, and the men’s and ladies bathrooms and locker rooms in the 35,000-square-foot clubhouse were refurbished with new amenities. For these enhancements, The Club retained design firm Peacock & Lewis that also designed Broken Sound Club’s $26 million transformation that included the design and construction of a new resort-style two-acre poolscape and bistro oasis, and freestanding 38,000-square-foot Moonstone Spa and fitness center and expansion of its main clubhouse.
According to Old Course Director of Golf John Skaf, “The new re-grassing and beautification of the course heighten the playability and aesthetic environs of the golf experience for both Members and Champions Tour pros. A definite WOW factor now awaits all who join and play this storied course.”
“Member experience, quality facilities, environmental enhancement and sustainability development have remained central to our business model for many years,” acknowledged John Crean, CCE, BSC General Manager and Chief Operating Officer, a recognized country club industry champion and avid steward of sustainability. “Securing and retaining both GEO and Audubon Sanctuary recertification, our recent investment in restoring The Old Course and enhancing its amenities all are testament to that commitment.”
The original Broken Sound Club, now affectionately known as “The Old Course”, was founded in 1978 and designed by Joe Lee. Gene Bates completed a redesign of the Old Course in January 2004. The Old Course with its own 25,000-square-foot clubhouse is its own private “club within a club” where golfers enjoy an intimate golf ambiance and limited membership. Those who play the eminent course discover the natural beauty of South Florida at its best through a landscape of woods, stone bridges, lakes and lagoons for an experience reminiscent of courses in Pinehurst, North Carolina. Generous rolling fairways, elevated greens, sculpted bunkers and an abundance of trees unique to South Florida are all incorporated into this 18-hole Joe Lee designed classic that tees up 110 acres of grass, the largest stand of natural Florida maple trees in the county, and 30-40 acres of lakes. Gene Bates’s 2002 renovation gave the 6,800-yard, par-72 course more water, while infusing a look very uncharacteristic of South Florida golf courses.
The shapes of the ragged edges and design of the bunkers give it an Old World feel from the early 1920s and 1930s, and although it has very small undulations compared to most clubs around, the greens have been voted the best greens on the Champions Tour by officials the past eight years. They are consistent and fast while also healthy looking. Every hole is unique and looks completely different. It is located in the middle of the City, has no homes and resembles a northern look that is very untypical of Florida. The double-sided driving range with an extensive short game/practice area, featuring chipping, pitching, and putting greens, as well as multiple practice bunkers.
The Old Course is located at 1401 NW 51st Street, Boca Raton, FL 33431. For membership information, contact Maureen Schreiber at [email protected] or call (561) 241-6820.
About Broken Sound Club:
Whatever one’s passion or interest…their active enviable home life, business life, sporting life, and social life complement each other perfectly at Broken Sound Club. Known as the “friendly” club for its signature blend of warmth, elegance and genuine hospitality, this award-winning private gated golf and country club community offers a choice of 27 lushly landscaped intimate residential villages, each with its own character. All are just minutes away from its main clubhouse with indoor and outdoor dining, two Audubon Sanctuary certified signature golf courses (one host to the PGA Champions Tour season opener), a new two-acre $6 million poolscape with bistro, a new $7 million 38,000-square-foot spa and fitness center, and 23 tennis courts. This 5-Star Platinum Club of America is conveniently close to two international airports, and just a few miles from the private Boca Raton Executive Airport, Boca’s burgeoning Class A office parks and vibrant Downtown, pristine beaches, A-rated public and award winning private schools, two universities, sports arenas and stadiums, and an exciting world of shopping, dining, art and culture, recreation, and nightlife.
