The mayor, commissioners and staff of the city of New Smyrna Beach join with the golf course advisory board to invite the public to celebrate the grand reopening of the New Smyrna Beach Golf Course. The ribbon cutting by the Southeast Volusia Chamber of Commerce is scheduled Thursday, Dec. 14, 2006 at 4:30 p.m.
The first day of play is Friday, Dec. 15 beginning at 8:00 a.m. The first round of golf and lunch for four will be decided with a chance drawing on Monday, Dec. 11. Winners will be notified immediately so they might invite their golf partners to experience this history-making event to take the first shot on the newly renovated course. Tickets are $5 each or three for $10 and may be purchased at New Smyrna Beach Golf Course, 1000 Wayne Ave. Proceeds from the chance drawing benefit the Junior Golf Association and the high school golf team.
Believed to be his last project before his death, famed golf course architect, Donald J. Ross designed the municipal course for the city in the late 1940’s. The course opened to rave reviews in the early 1950’s. After 50-plus years of memory-making golf, the course has once again received the attention of another nationally recognized golf course architect, Bobby Weed of Weed Design, Ponte Vedra, Fla.
The city contracted with golf course architect Bobby Weed to design the renovation plans for the course. Weed Design, based in Ponte Vedra, Fla., specializes in the creation of individually crafted golf courses that offer a fun and interesting experience to every player and have been successful in their restoration of five Donald Ross designed courses.
“Great golf courses cannot evolve solely through a set of plans -- they must be patiently molded in the field," Weed says. "We are personally involved throughout the shaping of features, producing a detailed finish that cannot be duplicated from an office. Our significant on-site presence insures that the final product is what we intended. Our work here at New Smyrna Beach has been no different.”
In April 2006, Weed’s carefully crafted, hands-on approach and precision design of each hole began to change the face of the course. The renovation includes sweeping vistas, unexpected twists and turns, illusions of dimension and space, and an exciting challenge to golfers.
The city commission awarded a $2.5 million contract to Southeastern Golf during their regularly scheduled meeting on March 16, 2006. Bobby Weed and project architect Scot Sherman have been on-site for the construction of every hole, often with rakes and shovels in hand or operating equipment themselves. Weed is excited about the new characteristics of the course.
“The New Smyrna Beach Golf Course will be the best municipal golf course in Florida," he says. "A golfer can walk the full 18 holes on a course where the fairways do not meander through a surrounding neighborhood, crossing streets and interrupting the flow of their round! Along the way, players will find some hidden surprises as well.”
With Weed’s intensive hands-on approach and keen eye for detail, the course has been transformed while keeping the Ross style in mind. With undulating fairways, tricky bunker placement and water hazards that, though beautiful, are surprisingly treacherous, the New Smyrna Beach Golf Course is expected to raise a few eyebrows and scores for golfers who may be unaware of the many challenges incorporated into the 18-hole course.
For more information, contact golf course manager Bill Berl or Cindy Evans at 386-424-2190.
