PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Florida (June 29, 2017) – Medalist Golf Club, a private club in Hobe Sound, Fla., which was redesigned in 2015 by Bobby Weed Golf Design, now ranks #11 on the 2017-18 Golf Digest list of Best Golf Courses in Florida. Medalist, originally designed in 1995 by Pete Dye and Greg Norman, was the 25th-best venue in Golf Digest’s 2015-16 list of Best Golf Courses in Florida. This jump represents the largest rise of any golf course in the Florida Golf Digest rankings ever.
“The golf course at Medalist achieved significant early prominence, but lost its luster as its original features were softened and changed,” said Bobby Weed. “Our challenge was to restore and improve upon the layout for the benefit of its members, guests and the many PGA Tour players who call the course home.
“Its rise in the Golf Digest list of Best Florida Courses reflects the attributes of the comprehensive, sympathetic renovation, adding length, returning stacked sod walls to the bunkers and bringing back the original low-profile style of the green complexes.”
The renovation resulted in a 7,571-yard layout with a slope of 155 and a course rating of 77.9, making it one of the sternest tests of golf in the country. Besides a prominent membership, many former and current PGA Tour and LPGA Tour players are members of Medalist Golf Club, utilizing the well-conditioned 18-hole par-72 golf course as their practice facility and training ground to further hone their skills.
About Bobby Weed Golf Design
Acclaimed golf course designer Bobby Weed specializes in design, renovation and repurposing. His work features a balance of visual appeal, sustainability and playability, all informed by an environmentally-sensitive aesthetic and an exceptional hands-on, holistic approach.
Weed began his professional career with an extended apprenticeship with Pete Dye, launching a collaboration of over 35 years’ duration and a lifelong friendship. Hired in 1983 by the PGA Tour as the Golf Course Superintendent at TPC Sawgrass, Weed went on to become the Tour’s in-house designer from 1987-1996. He was responsible for the design of many of today’s best-known TPC venues, which continue as host sites for prominent Tour events.
Weed also was able to collaborate with many of golf’s most familiar names, including Sam Snead, Gene Sarazen, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Raymond Floyd, Jerry Pate and Chi Chi Rodriguez – a rare cross section of experience.
In 1994, Weed’s career reached an apex with the formation of his own design firm, where he continues to “handcraft” golf courses. Today, Bobby Weed Golf Design has amassed an impressive list of new and renovated courses that consistently are ranked at the top of their respective categories, including The Olde Farm Golf Club, Spanish Oaks Golf Club, The Golf Course at Glen Mills, Medalist Golf Club and Timuquana Country Club.
Bobby Weed Golf Design also is a leader in golf course repurposing – a means to update layouts through redesign and reallocation of partial acreage for higher value land uses. Repurposing helps clubs and communities preserve golf while surmounting economic and other challenges. Weed’s skill, vision and business acumen coalesce to result in successful, refined and durable golf course design.
Bobby Weed is a member of the American Society of Golf Course Architects. He also is a 39-year member of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America, was a former Certified Golf Course Superintendent and is a member of the Florida Turfgrass Association.
For more information on Bobby Weed Golf Design, see www.bobbyweed.com.
Contact:
Sally J. Sportsman
407-248-1144
sjsport@earthlink.net
