THE NEST IS READY FOR USEThe City of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, cut the ribbon on the Par 3 course and practice facilities at The Nest at Sandhill Crane Golf Club on July 10, in anticipation of a soft opening during August.
“The goal was to create a fun course with as much variety as possible,”
said Chad Goetz to GolfCourseArchitecture.net. Goetz, senior designer at Nicklaus Design, who led the project, further stated, “Combined with the elevation changes, we mixed length, angles, types of shots, dry holes and wet holes to arrive at a very nice overall variety and flow between holes.”
Excavating a 35-acre lake provided the fill dirt to create the elevation changes of more than 20 feet, unusual for south Florida. Holes range from 100 to 256 yards from the back set of tees and from 70 to 156 yards from the forward tees. Five holes are entirely without sand bunkers and golfers are invited to experiment using the grass slopes to guide their ball towards the hole.
A brand new practice area graces the facility, which includes an island green 19th hole, indoor hitting bays with Trackman, target greens and bunkers and a 30,000 square-foot putting course, which has been illuminated for night play. “South Florida is starved for public golf — especially during the busy seasonal months, so this will be a welcome addition to local and visiting golfers,” said Goetz.