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West Palm Beach, Florida – It’s lunch time on a mid-November Saturday afternoon and the word of the day is generous. I’d just finished my morning round at The Park with a three-putt for par on the forgiving 18th hole, and I sat down in the cabana, the bar/small bites strategically located at the front of the property.
A foursome who was a short distance ahead of me is headed to their vehicles – allowing their anonymity, assuming they can become a member anywhere in the golf-rich West Palm Beach/Jupiter area they want to be. . The brothers want to pursue their transfusions with High Noon, turning to the last nine. Although they represent very different ends of the Saturday golfer spectrum, you recognize both groups as what a golfer “looks like.”
But the cabana occupies a prominent position on the property, and not just for the distance to No. 10 on the main road. At the start of the par-3 course (a collection of wedge-and-putt holes lit up at night) are three 20-somethings with a handful of clubs to share. And at the walk-on putting course, some kids share the green with another group of 20 people — three boys, three women and two putters.
Oh, and that building behind the putting course? That path is where students from local schools – one of which is right at the other end of the driving range – come for an afternoon of free tutoring, academic enrichment and golf lessons. Everything here is ultimately for the benefit of the more than 60 children from five local schools who come here at least a few days a week.
When a group of local leaders took over a failing municipal course and raised $50 million for it – and recruited Gil Hans, one of the world’s leading working architects, to build a new course in its place – they had There were more designs than a top-100 golf course.
They wanted change, wanted to use golf to help and be a vehicle that would support the community surrounding the course, which is not as affluent as the larger area.
“We define success as saving two to three families,” says Dave Andrews, director of The Path. “If we can just take three or four families and give them the world. We have families coming in who are homeless and struggling with things we can never solve. But we are helping.”
If it’s easy to imagine a future when someone can say they came to the park to hang out and drink cocktails with their friends, graduated to The Little 9 and eventually made tee time to play the big course, that’s because Because it is the dream of many people to become a golf industry professional. Recreational golf’s post-COVID-19 moment continues, and the more ways there are to make the first 18-hole, par-72 round not so intimidating, the better. But this won’t be everyone’s journey, and that’s okay.
“Par 3 gives you the joy of the game and the intangibles. It’s absolutely fine,” says park general manager Brian Conley. “A lot of times the obstacles are setting those finish lines.”
But for those who do – and for those looking for the next great new course – the park is a tremendous choice. It particularly stands out in this area, where there is much golf played, with housing development on the left and water on the right. There is no water at all on the course, designed by Haynes and partner Jim Wagner, who were attracted by the community aspect of the project. (As The Fried Egg reports, both waived their fees.)
The park’s wide fairways are forgivable, but if you miss left on No. 1, it’s trouble.
Instead, what they created is a big ballpark, with generous fairways and ample waste management areas to command your attention. The rolling topography is also obviously not Florida-like, and is used to great effect. The par-3 seventh plays slightly uphill to a reverse redan green. The dogleg par-4 12th features a blind shot into the green. The three-hole section from 15 to 17 is very scoreable with a par 5 the average player has a chance to reach in two, a driveable par 4 and a par 3 that are similar to Hainsey’s other works (including Streamsong Black, another Florida property) features the attractive greenside bunker fans will recognize. But it remains quite challenging – a playing partner and I saw on-line tee shots on the 17th that went 10 yards to the right of the green out of the wind.
The park is simply a fantastic golf course, and when you consider it’s municipal – with a variable pricing model that makes it very fair for locals – the value is sensational.
“If you play well, you’ll score well,” Conley says. “If you play bad, you’ll know you play bad, but don’t be embarrassed.”
You know there’s something about it when people associated with the area’s many private clubs are still making the trip, plus there’s a chance that the park will host a future iteration of “The Match,” the popular A made-for-TV golf special. ,
A golf course built on the piece of land closed in 2018 because it was losing the city too much money.
West Palm Beach was approached several times with different opportunities for what to do with the closed West Palm Beach Golf Course, all with the idea of a private company coming in, reclaiming the land, and running it for the city. Were focused on.
The park has attracted attention since its opening earlier this year.
Seth Waugh, now CEO of the PGA of America, and a group of residents had a vision – “Create a first-class facility with world-class resources and provide access to it to the community of West Palm, while still operating going.” High level,” Conley says – and then were able to secure donations of more than $50 million to make it a reality.
The city bought it — it’s a 50-year, $1-a-year lease — and while Hanse and his team were going to work, Andrews was going to work, too. The path, which is being supported by an endowment and any profits from the course, was a blank slate when it arrived, and Andrews spent months in the community trying to figure out where the need was. This became clear with time.
“The Path was created to be the most authentic, inviting and welcoming program possible to identify the next generation of leaders,” says Andrews. “We not only promote the game and introduce these kids to golf, but also act as a mentor to coach them and help them with homework.”
63 students from 50 families from five local schools attend the center, which is staffed by salaried teachers who provide academic support and enrichment with arts and STEM classes. Staying on top of readiness tests is a priority for elementary school aged children, and high school students are looking for internship opportunities in the golf industry.
There’s also golf – half his time on the property every day is spent with a club in his hands. The aim is to present sport as a recreational activity and allow any passions to develop naturally. Children asking for new gloves or clubs for Christmas count as a win.
What will happen next? they do not know. Everything is still so new that it all seems possible, as long as they get the right foundation. It’s a nice place to be, and that’s because Park was adventurous in its origin story.
(Photos courtesy of The Park)
