Palm Harbor and Oak Branch Golf Courses – An Update on Public Golf in Flagler County, FL

2008 will be a good year for public golf in Flagler County

December 9, 2007 – Palm Coast, FL – A recent email from "Friends of Golf" provides an update on the two future public golf courses in Palm Coast and Flager County, FL. Thanks to Jim Jones and the Friends of Golf. Here is an excerpt from the email:

Palm Harbor Golf Course

By now you know that the City has completed the acquisition of the Palm Harbor Golf Course. All the documents have been signed. All i’s dotted and t’s crossed, including the lease agreement for the driving range property. All that awaits is the renovation and reopening of the course. Of course, the devil’s in the details.

Clifton, Ezell and Clifton (CEC) of Deland, FL have been hired to develop a renovation plan, convert it into construction plans, develop bid specifications, assist the City in analyzing the bid responses and selecting contractors and finally, supervise the construction project to Course opening.

CEC  has significant experience in the golf course design area. Their portfolio of project is impressive. They have designed and built 440 holes in The Villages alone. Their website is https://www.cecgolfdesign.com/ .

The steering committee of the Friends of Golf (www.flaglerfriendsofgolf.org) met with Ken Ezell and George Clifton on Monday, December 3rd, their first day on the job. There was a free flow of ideas between the architects, FOG members as well as the City officials that were in attendance. Carl Cote has been appointed Project Manager for the City of Palm Coast.

Many of the issues discussed centered around the fact that most citizens like the Palm Harbor course and while it needs to be updated to 21st century standards there should not be a radical redesign. We discussed the use of drought tolerant plants as well as more maintenance-free course features. All designed to keep maintenance costs to a minimum. Strong consideration to becoming an Audubon Society Cooperative Sanctuary golf course will be given. The irrigation system will be designed to incorporate the use of recycled water when it becomes available.

The committee pointed out areas of concern to the architects. Items such as drainage in certain areas such and Holes 15 and 16 were pointed out.  Shade problems on certain greens (e.g., Hole #8 and 13) were also discussed.

CEC has been on the course several times and now that they have a survey map of the property they will be able to better understand what alternatives are available to them. They will have a concept plan available after the first of the year. The City plans to hold an informational session for neighbors and other interested parties to announce the plan when it is available. CEC’s plan is to have the Course open for play in the 4th quarter of 2008.

Oak Branch Golf Course

Oak Branch Golf Course has been renamed Grand Reserve Golf Course. It is located at 235 Oak Branch Blvd, Bunnell, FL which is 1.7 miles north of State Road 100 (or 4.5 miles south of Palm Coast Parkway) on the east side of U.S.1. The phone number is 386-313-2966. The Course is owned by Capstone Golf, (www.capstonegolf.net) the same folks that own St. Augustine Shores.

The Course is scheduled to open on January 5th, 2008. Greens fees will be $39.95 with discounts for “Twilight” ($26.00) and “Dusk” ($20.00) play. Capstone has a customer loyalty program which allows for discounts of up to 30% depending on your annual level of spending. The discount for 0-$500 is 10% so you qualify for a 10% discount immediately. Sign up for the customer loyalty program at the pro shop when you play or on their website.

 Jim Jones

Friends of Golf Steering Committee