By Len Ziehm with pictures by Joy Sarver
The Florida Historic Golf Trail puts a premium on preserving the state’s golf history. The trail was created by the Florida Department of State, in 1991, to enhance public awareness of the Sunshine state’s public, semi-private, military and resort courses.
It underscores the proud history of what is arguably this country’s most golf-minded state. Florida has over 1,100 courses and more than 500 golf communities. To be eligible to become a member of the Florida Historic Golf Trail a course must have been open to the public continuously for 50 years.
Many Florida golf historians believe the first golf ball put in play in the United States was on a small practice course in Sarasota in 1886. Colonel John Hamilton Gillespie, who grew up in Scotland, designed and built a two-hole course. Gillespie and a friend, Leonard Reid, eventually built one of the state’s first nine-hole courses with a clubhouse, and opened in 1905.
The Trail lists 53 courses, most built between 1897 and 1949. They also identify a few others that include private venues. We became interested in the Trail in 2011 when we started yearly winter visits to Florida before becoming permanent residents in 2016.
We have played 15 courses on the Trail with the most recent being the Ocala Golf Club, one of the oldest courses on the circuit. Some of the Trail courses have maintained their historic characteristics while others have undergone various degrees of modification through the years. Most of the courses are reasonably priced and offer a glimpse into what their communities were like in their early days.
The Ocala course was one of 13 courses listed in a Florida golf directory in 1901. It was then a nine-holer known as the Ocala Heights Golf Club. Its popularity triggered a second course that was built on the opposite side of town. The Ocala Highlands Golf Course and Hotel opened in 1931. It was designed by the Pittsburgh-based architect Ellsworth Giles and the city purchased it in the mid-1940’s.
The course has long been known as “the muni.’’ The logo for the course included a Southeastern Live Oak due to several of the large trees that spread around the property. Native to the Southeastern coast and known for their impressive size and broad branches, these impressive trees have a life expectancy of over 150 years.
In 2008, a giant branch fell off one of the Oaks that resided behind the 17th green. The tree was believed to be at least 200 years old and tree experts declared it a danger. It took four days for the tree to be removed, and it is still missed by the locals. The logo was changed, but several smaller versions of that eye-catching Live Oak remain.
Ocala Golf Club underwent an extensive renovation in 2009 with architect Michael Beebe declaring,
“Our goal was to recapture the classical look and strategic principles that had been lost over the years.’’
The club now has five sets of tees and can play from 4,200 to 6,500 yards. In the renovation it received new greens, tees, bunkers, irrigation, cart paths, as well as selective tree removal. It’s a fun course to play and has an expansive clubhouse, making it a good setting for outings, meetings and other social events.
Our favorite course on the Trail remains the Ft. Myers Country Club, an 18-holer designed by legendary architect Donald Ross and built in 1916.
This place abounds in history, as the former winter homes of American business icons Thomas Edison, Henry Ford and Harvey Firestone. The facility was called the Ft. Myers Golf & Yacht Club and Edison had a hand in the course’s creation. Clubhouse photos, plus a museum rekindle memories of the good old days, but the facility was changed significantly with a $5.2 million facelift in 2014.
To find out more about the history and courses on the Florida Golf Trail click HERE
