The Ponte Vedra Inn & Club, located at Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, is a AAA Five Diamond Award resort and the first country club at Ponte Vedra. The 9th hole on the Ocean course has the distinction of having the first island green ever built.
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History
The National Lead Company, which mined rutile and ilmenite used in the production of titanium and zirconium, built a 9-hole golf course and twelve-room clubhouse constructed of logs for the use of their employees in the early 1920s. After World War I ended, demand for the minerals decreased, and the company decided to transform the beachfront property into a resort community. At the time, the mining operation was called Mineral City, which was unacceptable for marketing. The name was changed to Ponte Vedra in 1929, and the Inn & Club was founded.
Stockton, Whatley, Davin & Co. was a developer of Ponte Vedra Beach in the early 1930s and owned the Ponte Vedra Club. The resort became a favorite of the wealthy and social elite. Guests returned year after year, as did subsequent generations. The 1937 clubhouse stands behind the lobby building and is still in use.
In the early 1980s, Gate Petroleum purchased the Florida real estate holdings of Stockton, Whatley, Davin & Co., which was then owned by Phillips Petroleum Company for $60 million. The purchase contained more than 16,000 acres (65 km2) of land in northeast Florida including the Ponte Vedra Inn and Club. Gate raised the standards at the resort, and the property was awarded the AAA five-diamond designation in 2002 and every year since.
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Resort
The family-oriented resort contains 300 acres (120 ha) with ½ mile of beach on the Atlantic Ocean. There are 250 rooms and suites; over 90% of them have ocean views. There are four restaurants and three lounges along with 10 boutiques and shops. A new 28,000 sq ft (2,600 m2) full-service day spa facility opened in November, 2006. Recreation activities include 3 heated beachside pools, bicycling, boating, fishing, horseback riding and structured activities for children. The resort has a premier tennis center which offers professional instruction on their 15 Har-Tru courts. An elaborate fitness center includes a six-lane Olympic pool. A conference center can accommodate up to 450 people. However, most guests come for the golf.
Golf courses
The golf facilities at the resort have a total of 36 holes on two courses. The Ocean Course was designed by Herbert Strong in 1928, redesigned by Robert Trent Jones Sr. in 1947, then again by Bobby Weed in 1998. The island green on the 9th hole is always a challenge. Most of the time there is a stiff wind off the ocean. The Ryder Cup was scheduled to be held there in 1939, but was canceled when World War II began.
The front nine holes of the Lagoon Course were a Robert Trent Jones Sr. design and opened in 1961. It was sixteen years before the back nine was built, laid out by Joe Lee. In 1997, Bobby Weed redesigned the entire course. The Lagoon is considered easier to play, but there are water hazards on thirteen holes.
The latest clubhouse renovation occurred in 2001, and the course is limited to members and their guests or guests of the resort.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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