(TALLAHASSEE, Fla.) – SouthWood Golf Club – the award-winning Fred Couples and Gene Bates designed course owned by The St. Joe Company and managed by Billy Casper Golf – announces Golf Digest has named it one of “America’s Top 50 Courses for Women.”
The ranking explores public-access and resort courses that offer the most women-friendly designs, amenities, staff, programs and atmosphere. A panel of more than 100 female raters provided the feedback used to create the final list, which ranked SouthWood Golf Club at No.15.
One of the few facilities in the country with a female general manager, Beth Murphy, and director of instruction, Becky Sauers, SouthWood was praised by the publication for creating a stand-out experience for women. Sauers, named among Golf Digest’s “Top 50 Woman Teachers,” runs the popular Lady Links Golf Association, which blends weekly playing time with instruction for beginning golfers.
“Receiving this praise from Golf Digest is very rewarding, and goes to show the tremendous work that Beth Murphy and her staff are doing to please golfers of all demographics,” says Stephen Hilliard, Vice President of Resort and Club Operations for The St. Joe Company. “SouthWood is a special place and it is great to see it receive recognition amongst this very important sector of the golfing public.”
The 50 courses that made the final cut each met the women-friendly criteria established by editors. They offered at least one set of tees playing 5,300 yards or fewer, two tees playing to fewer than 6,000 yards, and two tees with USGA Slope and Course Ratings for women. Other attributes factored included a minimal number of forced carries, run-up areas to most or all greens, a more demanding challenge from the longer tees for better female players and beautiful scenery.
“We have put in a great deal of work at SouthWood over the past few years to make sure players of all skill levels are happy and comfortable at the club,” says Murphy. “Adding more tee box options that shortened the course proved to be very valuable in attracting and retaining more female customers.”
SouthWood Golf Club is widely acknowledged as one of the premier golf experiences in north Florida, earning “best-of” honors and accolades from the ZAGAT Survey, Golf Digest, GOLF, T+L Golf, Golfing Magazine and Tallahassee Magazine.
For more information about SouthWood, visit www.southwoodgolf.com.
About SouthWood Golf Club
Designed by PGA Tour star Fred Couples and renowned architect Gene Bates and managed by Billy Casper Golf, SouthWood Golf Club is among the region’s most-acclaimed courses. Highlighted by stands of stunning, Spanish moss-draped oak trees, the 7,172-yard layout meanders over rolling hills, through wooded areas and open land. A course that tests Tour-quality players and provides an enjoyable experience for golfers of all abilities, SouthWood features five sets of tees on every hole. The 2,986-yard “Wee Tees” provide the ideal course set-up for juniors, beginners or players seeking to improve their short game. SouthWood Golf Club has garnered numerous honors since opening in November 2002. The course was named to Golf Digest’s list of “America’s Best New Courses,” selected by GOLF Magazine as one of the top 35 public courses – out of 325 nationwide – to open in 2002, and named Tallahassee’s best golf course by Tallahassee Magazine.
About JOE
The St. Joe Company (NYSE: JOE), a publicly held company based in Jacksonville, is one of Florida’s largest real estate development companies and Northwest Florida’s largest private landowner. JOE is primarily engaged in real estate development and sales, with significant interests in timber.
More information about JOE can be found at its web site at www.joe.com.
© 2009 The St. Joe Company. “JOE,” and “St. Joe” are service marks of The St. Joe Company.
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