The Ocean Course was able to test the
resiliency of its new grass in October when
Hurricane Irma pushed water from the
Atlantic Ocean back onto the seaside holes.
This time, the turf stood up to the storm.
“We will now offer golfers one of the pur-
est surfaces in the game,” said Brad Hauer,
director of golf at Hammock Beach Resort.
Golfers visiting the renovated Ocean
Course will also find new forward tees on
each hole, with six different teeing options
offered—measuring from 4,100 yards to
7,201 yards.
The links-style Tom Watson-de-
signed Conservatory Course at Ham-
mock Beach—complementing the Ocean
Course—remained largely
unscathed by the storms, thanks
to its salt-tolerant turf.
WORLD-CLASS CONDITIONS
Just up the road in St. Augustine,
the King & Bear and the Slammer
& Squire courses at World Golf
Village lost trees and suffered
flooding, closing the former for
about a week and the latter for
one and half weeks. But the facil-
ity underwent bunker renova-
tions following Hurricane Mat-
thew in 2016, and held up well
during the 2017 storm season.
“We are in great shape with
no signs of damage,” said Jim
Hahn, general manager of the
two courses. “Conditions are as
good, if not better, than before
the hurricanes.”
LEFT: Plantation Bay Golf and Country
Club in Ormond Beach, Fla., has endured
flooding and tree loss from hurricanes in
2016 and 2017.
vsga.org
ABOVE: The World Golf Hall of Fame and Museum
features memorabilia, artifacts and interactive
exhibits including a virtual experience of one of the
most stressful shots in golf—the tee shot on No. 17
at TPC Sawgrass.
A can’t-miss new feature that will greet
winter guests at the World Golf Hall of Fame
and Museum is the addition of a new inter-
active player’s exhibit. Guests stand on foot-
prints in the exhibit and a projection screen
comes alive with the sights and sounds of
one of the most stressful shots in golf.
The 1,800-square-foot exhibition
opened prior to The PLAYERS Champion-
ship in 2017 and recreates the experience
of standing on the infamous 17th tee at
TPC Sawgrass, complete with the lurking
water hazard around the island green,
screaming fans and stadium shadows.
“You get a real sense of how that hole
can make or break the championship,”
said David Cordero, director of commu-
nications at the World Golf Hall of Fame
and Museum.
The exhibition also features memora-
bilia and artifacts from course designer
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