"A Treasure Coast Gem" (Maybe Not)

[Chris Buie]

I was looking up something else on Google when I stumbled across this "treasure coast gem". Golf Magazine selected it as one of the top 10 golf courses in the nation in 1995. But the accolades don't stop there. It is "the first public golf course awarded the Audubon Signature Sanctuary Statuary because of its natural beauty."
Here is the actual photograph which is used to put the hook in the potential club member.



As Golf Magazine saw fit to rank the Tom Fazio course so highly I had to have a little look on Google Earth. Well, I hate to gloat to our international friends but sometimes the "natural beauty" of American golf clubs makes that a little difficult not to do. I mean, for instance, the photos in Brian's current Swinley thread look ok but has Swinley won the Audubon Signature Sanctuary Statuary? I think not.
We have innumerable clubs here which are almost as aesthetically exquisite as this "natural beauty". In case you wish to spend your golden years in one of these clubs you probably won't have too much trouble finding a place to purchase. For instance, this club has over 500 single family homes on the 275 acre tract.


Here is where most of the quotes come from.
http://stuartfloridarealestatenews.com/2011/12/summerfield-golf-club-homes-in-stuart-florida

Here is where the place is called "a treasure coast gem":
http://www.leslieblaine.com/atj/user/AdditionalGetAction.do?pageId=266797

[Ronald Montesano]

It's like dominoes from the sky (more appropriate for Cuban-flavored Calle Ocho)...

Who can start the tipping-over process?

[Kyle Harris]

I find it disingenuous to critique a golf course aesthetically based on a random satellite image.

[Padraig Dooley]

A friend of mine lives on the golf course. I stayed with him a couple of times and played the course a few times. It's not that bad at all, quite enjoyable, won't beat you up and has a reasonable amount of interest.

While there are plenty of courses that are more beautiful than this one, there is beauty there, the natural beauty isn't totally destroyed by the housing and there is an open enough feel to the course.

[Mac Plumart]

I hate to gloat to our international friends but sometimes the "natural beauty" of American golf clubs makes that a little difficult not to do. I mean, for instance, the photos in Brian's current Swinley thread look ok but has Swinley won the Audubon Signature Sanctuary Statuary? I think not.

 

[Chris Buie]

I find it disingenuous to critique a golf course aesthetically based on a random satellite image.

Hi Kyle. If a hole is entirely surrounded by closely packed in condo/houses I think you can presume to know a certain amount about the aesthetic level of the course. They called it a natural beauty. I'm making the assumption that surrounded by those buildings it doesn't seem all that natural or all that beautiful. So I'd have to disagree with you that my assumptions were disingenuous. More like an elementary deduction. From looking at the satellite image I'd be willing to make a large wager that if you played the condo surrounded course that "natural beauty" would not be the words you would use to describe it.
I was critiquing a culture more than a golf course, anyway. 

[Derek_Duncan]

Hi Chris,

My first instinct was to follow your lead and say something similarly pithy or ironic about the "natural beauty" of this course and the accolades from Golf Magazine, but then I went to Google Earth and looked at how the course appeared in 1995 when it opened. There was nowhere near the amount of build out there appears now. Most of the holes were isolated and without interference.

The "natural beauty" of anywhere in inland SE Florida is completely subjective, IMO (that's being generous) but Golf's commentary was not totally head-up-the-ass. I would probably agree with your overall cultural critique, whatever that happens to be, but with so much heated discussion about contemporaneous accounting going on elsewhere around here this is probably a good lesson in putting the original reporting in context.

Best,

Derek

[John_Cullum]

I see 12 or 13 holes that have little or no housing

[Chris DeNigris]

The course is now called The Champions Club at Summerfield and I've played it a few times in the last couple of years. Mom lives in Palm City and I usually visit each Feb and have played just about all the publics in the area. It's a fine golf course, I enjoy it.

Oddly enough, the course looks and feels completely different at ground level and in person.

Even if you take a closer, more careful look at the satelite view you'll see that most of the holes only have houses bordering one or part of one side of the hole with natural habitat (ostensibly filled with a lot of cute birds) bordering the other. They've done a nice job with vegetation to effectively shield the houses that are near the course. Several of the holes have no houses anywhere in sight. The overall aesthetic (in real life) is actually quite pleasing, even with all the housing density in that part of Martin County and SE FL in general.  

I think the club has suffered through several owner/management groups over the years and has had some problems with conditioning but lately it seems like they have it on the right track. The architecture is actually pretty good.

I suggest we forego future course critiques done at the 10,000 foot level and without setting foot on the property. Assumptions based on this process might be a little out of focus.