Jupiter Hills Golf

[Bob_Huntley]

Back in 1973 I made a trip to the East Coast with an uncle-in-law who had, at one time, been quite a player. During the trip we stopped off at Jupiter Hills and spent some time with George Fazio and William Clay Ford. I felt that the course was a Pine Valley look-alike in Florida.
I played it but once and thought it a terrific layout. I know now that there is a second course. Has anyone here played it and how does it compare with the original?

Bob

[PCCraig]

Bob:

My grandparents belong there and I've gotten quite a few rounds in there over the years. The Hills course is fantastic, and one of the better courses I've played in Florida by a big stretch. Few if any homes on the course, sandy waste areas, hilly (for FL), I'm surprised more on GCA haven't shown interest in it.

The Villiage course is good, and plays on some nice land, but it's more of a typical FL golf course. There are homes down many of the holes, and the architechture is a little less interesting.

Great club though.

[Terry Lavin]

I've only played the original course (which I remember fondly but for a few too many blind shots), but I am headed that way this afternoon and I just may stop over and take a peek.  We're playing at Loblolly Pines and McArthur, neither of which I've played before.

[Robert Emmons]

Hills is the main course with it's famous par 3 ninth which is Pine Valleyish....Terry , a little cool this morning in Hobe Sound, both fun courses...RHE

[PCCraig]

I've only played the original course (which I remember fondly but for a few too many blind shots), but I am headed that way this afternoon and I just may stop over and take a peek.  We're playing at Loblolly Pines and McArthur, neither of which I've played before.

You'll like those Terry. JH, LP, and McArthur are in the top 0.01% of Florida golf IMO. Enjoy.

[Randy Thompson]

I walked the both aROUND TWENTY YEARS AGO and found both excellent designs and maintained. A Thomspon 9!

[archie_struthers]

 

One late afternoon in the early eighties I drove up from Deerfield Beach to Jupiter to play a few holes with my friend Tom, who was assistant at Jupiter Hills. Looking back at this friom todays perpspective , it was a seminal moment for me.

We drove out to the back nine of the Hills course and all of a sudden George Fazio appears out of nowhere. He yells at Tom to come over and we did.   George was the "man" being the architect , golf professional and all around head honcho at the time. He told us to grab our drivers and a couple balls as he needed some "ballistics testing" . George introduced himself to me , and I was quick to tell him that I had heard many nice stories about him from his playing professional days at Pine Valley. In the early days of the tour most of the players were affiliated with a golf club back home .

Back to the GCA story !  George walked back into the pine trees on top of a big dune and told us to tee it up and hit it towards the fairway , which was a pretty good poke. Tom hit it dead perfect and came up about twenty yards short. He looked over at me , being quite a bit bigger than Tom and said give it a rip.  i launched a bomb about forty yards left but plenty far enough to convince George that the new tee would work . He then gave a big laugh and said that I was lucky Pine Valley was so wide open.  With that he jumped in his cart and off he roared , with new worlds to conquer.  Pretty interesting guy to say the least.


 

[Keith Phillips]

Terry, very interested in your views on Loblolly - I've been there but never played - it looks really interesting but some feel it is too hemmed in by homes - McArthur is fabulous, and Jupiter Hills looks phenomenal (though walking seems to be discouraged 

[Mitch Hantman]

The Village Course at Jupiter Hills is more than good.  It is a hidden gem.  It's also a difficult test, Slope 140 if I recall.  Some great green complexes.  My favorite hole is the 6th, a short par 4, 283 yds, slight dogleg right.  Drive the green if you are able, but plenty of trouble if you don't hit the tiny, two tiered postage-stamp-of-a-green.   2 is possible, so is a 6. Great fun.  If it weren't for the Hills course, it would be more well regarded.

[Keith Phillips]

Terry, any feedback from your trip?

[Terry Lavin]

Terry, any feedback from your trip?

I thought Loblolly was a terrific Florida golf course and a very welcoming club.  It's a PB Dye design that has a lot of the old man's fingerprints, principally with some of the bulkhead construction around a bunch of the greens and some of the wetlands look that one sees at Long Cove and elsewhere.  The golf course was very reminiscent of some of the more dramatic Lowcountry golf I've played, but with more bulldozer created elevation.  The conditioning of the golf course, greens in particular, was just about perfect.  I thought they did an interesting job of mixing up the vegetation in the waste areas, a lot of it reminding me of the Dunes Club, with a very natural look.  The course has been around so long that the manmade elevation now has a natural feel and the omnipresent loblolly pines give it a very consistent look.  We played the blue tees which I think were around 6700 and I found the golf course very challenging.  I can't imagine surviving from the tips.

All of my friends were simply raving about McArthur, so I may have been oversold.  I found it an appealing, if overly fussy looking golf course, with vast stretches of waste areas.  The bunkering was not cookie cutter Fazio by any means, but there were a few spots that looked a little comical, like a par three that had three freshly planted palm trees held up by guy wires.  When I asked about it, my caddie remarked that they had just lost three in a storm.  "Pity they replanted" was all I could muster.  There were a number of dramatic holes and none that really stood out as being in any way inferior, but I have to say that I preferred Loblolly.  The clubhouse experience at McArthur was simply world-class, with very comfortable environs and terrific service.

All in all it was a great trip.  My only regret is that I couldn't get over to Pine Tree, which is one of my Florida faves.  Next time...

[Adam_Messix]

Terry--

I played over at McArthur yesterday.  The only place that I can remember new trees being planted is on the par four 14th to the right of the green.  There was a rather significant pine tree there when the course opened.  Can you tell me which hole has the new trees because I can't remember seeing anything new there.

[Terry Lavin]

Terry--

I played over at McArthur yesterday.  The only place that I can remember new trees being planted is on the par four 14th to the right of the green.  There was a rather significant pine tree there when the course opened.  Can you tell me which hole has the new trees because I can't remember seeing anything new there.

They were in a bunker right of a green I'm thinking the back nine.  Coulda been a par 3.

[Adam_Messix]

Thanks.  I'm pretty sure it was 14 where I saw the new trees.  There are alot of little vagaries to playing McArthur that I didn't see the first couple of goes around.  It's an excellent course, although I miss the old 10th hole.  That was one of the hardest par 5s I've ever seen.  I know the members don't agree with me on this. 

[Dean Stokes]

I have always enjoyed playing Mcarthur....especially from the back tees where the views of the holes and the shot options are totally different than one tee up.
As far as tree planting goes...it seems to me (when I played several weeks ago) that they are simply replantng trees that well downed in the hurricanes several years ago. Some of the trees were very much in play strategically and therefore need to be replanted. They may not look great at present being propped up but that is a necessary evil.
I always enjoy a trip up to Mcarthur where the membership and atmosphere is very inviting.