FEATURE
STORYDestination:
Jacksonville's
I-95 Corridor
By Derek Duncan,
Senior Writer
JACKSONVILLE, FL (July 29, 2002) -- Interstate 95, abutting or passing through such megalopolises as Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington D.C., and Miami, services more people than any other strip of asphalt or concrete in the nation. As such, there are many different so-called "corridors" on its north-south route, but one of the budding golf regions along the interstate is the 18-mile stretch just south of Jacksonville, Florida.
Beginning at State Highway 210 at the north end of St. Johns County (approximately three miles south of Jacksonville and Duval County) and stretching south to State Highway 207, there are seven golf courses within two miles of the interstate, most built within the last four years. Another 20 miles in each direction brings in nearly two dozen more.
As to why the sudden boom here, the simplest of answers might be the best: it's where the people are. Architect Clyde Johnston, whose St. Johns Golf and Country Club is the latest course to join the party, says, "I speculate that the I-95 corridor is desirable since traffic around Jacksonville has become more congested. [It] could be the World Golf Village aspect also."
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M.G. Orender, President of Hampton Golf Inc., which operates The Golf Club at South Hampton just 10 miles north of World Golf Village, says that what's happening along the I-95 corridor may be just the beginning for Jacksonville in general.
"This area is still largely undiscovered," he says. "Jacksonville went for about eight or nine years without a golf course being opened, then we opened South Hampton and there have been about seven (courses) dumped in the marketplace behind it. But the market is growing so fast that it should be absorbed in the not so distant future."
"We're just very bullish as a company on this whole market up here," he adds.
While none of
the courses
have quite garnered
international
acclaim, they
do provide an
intriguing alternative
to the more
expensive coastal
and premium
resort courses
nearby and typify
well the style
of golf that
is prevalent
in this part
of the state.
The land around
Jacksonville,
ill suited for
most types of
agriculture,
is flat and
littered with
pines. The courses
here generally
require accuracy
above all other
elements of
the game but
the pine-lined
fairways reward
players with
a sense of isolation
often missed
at layouts further
south.
When Cimarrone opened in 1989, it marked the southern edge of the greater Jacksonville market. Today, residing just a couple of miles east of I-95 on State Highway 210, it marks the northernmost end of the corridor. David Postlethwait helped build the TPC at Sawgrass courses in Ponte Vedra Beach and designed Cimarrone in much the same manner, which is to say he moved quite a bit of earth to create serious contour, relief, and drainage. This is a tight, target-shot golf course with water or wetland hazards coming into play on virtually every shot. It remains popular due to a high level of service and emphasis on fine conditioning, but it stands out as sort of a relic from the 1980's when difficult, highly manufactured designs carried the day.
Literally across the street from Cimarrone is The Golf Club at South Hampton, the first course built under Orender's four-club Hampton Golf Inc., umbrella. This Mark McCumber & Associates design, opened in 1999, is refreshing relief from its penal neighbor. Playing over some of the least flat terrain on the corridor, the first nine is characterized by natural, sweeping holes and large flowing greens. The second nine takes the traditional turn through the residences, losing some of its natural appeal until the rugged two finishing holes are reached.
Johnston's St.
Johns Golf and
Country Club,
a sensibly modern
course, completes
the Highway
210 trifecta.
St. Johns Club
is located less
than a mile
east of South
Hampton and
shares that
course's gentle
atmosphere and
rather sublime
design elements.
The course is
a textbook example
of balance and
soft, 2000-era
design motifs,
with a routing
that twists
out to nearly
touch I-95.
Water hazards
are used to
create most
of the drama.
Ten miles to the south at World Golf Village is Bobby Weed's The Slammer & The Squire, which predated by three years The King & The Bear the first collaborative effort between the teams of Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer.
The King & The Bear enjoys the lion's share of the attention and the marketing budget, and most non-discerning resort guests will favor it for its obvious beauty and pedigree, but The Slammer & The Squire is more the golfer's golf course. The Slammer has more variety and possesses green complexes that are not only more interesting than its brother, but are on par with any in the state for slope and multiplicity. It loses points in the eyes of many because it plays so close to both the resort complex and to the entry roads, but between the ropes it is a fine example of how to make a golf course challenging for the advanced player and complimentary to the duffer.
When Royal
St. Augustine
opened
one exit south
of World Golf
Village in 2001,
it signaled
to true St.
Augustine
residents that
they had finally
arrived, golf
wise. Not because
Royal St. Augustine
is a superstar
course, but
because its
presence meant
they wouldn't
have to depend
on old, dilapidated
St. Augustine
Shores for most
of their rounds.
Royal St. Augustine is a brave course that wants to be more than the land will allow. Chris Commins, formerly with McCumber's design firm, did his best in trying to pack a serious course into an area likely to small and piecemeal for golf. This isn't the most well rounded layout on the corridor but it is a fine compliment to the others. At its best it can be a wicked, shortish, testy course due to its narrow fairways cinched with hazards and wetlands, numerous ponds, and tricky greens that come in all shapes and sizes.
The final stop on the main I-95 corridor is St. Johns County Golf Course a modest 27-hole complex designed by Florida resident Robert Walker. St. Johns County initially opened in 1989 before Walker returned in 2000 to add the third, and best, nine. Now the combination of the old second nine with the new holes means that St. Johns possesses 18 holes that are at least on par with the corridor median. More low rounds will be fired here than at anything else in the area, and it earns extra points because the good golf shots come at the most affordable rate.
Side Trips
Another 20 miles south of the I-95 corridor is the town of Palm Coast, home of the Palm Coast Resort. Palm Coast Resort is one of the underrated golf complexes in Florida with five golf courses designed by the firms of Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Ed Seay (2), Gary Player, and Bill Amick. The star of the line-up is Nicklaus' Ocean Hammock, the truest of seaside courses with several holes that run just feet from the Atlantic Ocean.
Grand Haven is a second Nicklaus course (not part of Palm Coast Resort) located toward the south end of town. A sensible and straightforward course that runs around wetlands, ponds, and a newer housing development, Grand Haven is now part of the Hampton Golf Inc., portfolio.
Going 15 miles
to the northeast
of the I-95
corridor will
place you squarely
in the center
of another golf
Mecca, Ponte
Vedra Beach.
Ponte Vedra
is home to some
of the best
golf in the
South, including
the Marriott
Sawgrass Resort
and the Ponte
Vedra Inn.
North of St. Augustine on US Highway 1 (just five miles east of the I-95 corridor) is the Radisson Ponce de Leon Hotel with a wonderful Donald Ross-designed course that dates back to 1916. Arthur Hills has also jumped into the Highway 1 action with the new Palencia Golf Club which opened for play in July of 2002.
Where To Stay
The obvious choice would be the World Golf Village Renaissance Resort (800-228-9290) adjacent to World Golf Village, The Slammer & The Squire, and the World Golf Hall of Fame. Another sensible option would be the Radisson Ponce de Leon Hotel (800-228-2821) in St. Augustine, five miles east of the I-95 corridor. There are also numerous hotels along Highway A1A in St. Augustine with quick access to the beaches.
Where To Eat
Try Cortesses Bistro (904-825-6775) in St. Augustine for upscale patio dining and one of the best cigar and jazz bars in North Florida. A1A Ale Works (904-829-2977) in historic downtown St. Augustine brews its own beer on premise and offers a raucous atmosphere and live music.
Cimarrone
Golf Club
2800 Cimarrone
Blvd.
Jacksonville,
FL 32259
Phone: (904)
287-2000
The Golf
Club at South
Hampton
315 South Hampton
Club Way
St. Augustine,
FL 32092
Phone: (904)
287-7529
St. Johns
Golf and Country
Club
205 St. Johns
Golf Drive
St. Augustine,
FL 32902
Phone: (904)
940-3200
The Slammer
& The Squire
World Golf Village
2 World Golf
Place
St. Augustine,
FL 32092
Phone: (904)
940-6100
The King
& The Bear
1 King &
Bear Drive
St. Augustine,
FL 32092
Golf Shop: (904)
940-6200
Tee Times: (904)
940-6088
Royal St.
Augustine Golf
& Country
Club
301 Royal St.
Augustine Parkway
St. Augustine,
FL 32095
Phone: (904)
824-4653
St. Johns
County Golf
Course
4900 Cypress
Links Blvd.
Elkton, FL 32033
Phone: (904)
825-4900
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