Home Course features Dunedin Golf Club, Florida Steeped In History Of Golf In America.

Dunedin Golf Club, Florida Steeped In History Of Golf In America.

8 years ago by Bernie McGuire Comments Off

It seems wherever you travel to play golf in the States you are going to come across a Donald Ross designed golf course.

The Scottish-born Ross, who honed his game and course design skills at Dornoch, has long been credited with laying the foundations for American golf.

He designed around 400 golf courses in the United States, Canada and Cuba.

Dunedin Golf Club, Dunedin. Florida.

In fact, three weeks ago we spent each day driving to and fro along Donald Ross Blvd on our way to the Honda Classic, and reflects how revered was Ross who went onto to become the founder and first President of the American Golf Architects Society.

Forty of his design projects are in Florida including the Dunedin Golf Club course in Dunedin and just a short drive south from the Copperhead course and venue each year for the PGA Tour’s Valspar Championship.

Ross began his work at Dunedin in 1926 and with the course opened for play on 1st January, 1927, and at the time named ‘Dunedin Isles Golf Club’

Dunedin course designer Donald Ross with the legendary Ben Hogan.

Of course, this year marks the centenary of the PGA of America and founded in 1916 by wealthy furniture store owner, Rodman Wanamaker whose name appears on the PGA Championship trophy.

Nearly 30 years later on 1st July, 1945 Dunedin officially became the PGA National Golf Club and the first home course of PGA of America.

In 1956, the PGA of America moved its administrative headquarters to Dunedin and it remained till 1965 when the PGA of America moved to Florida’s east coast to it’s now location at Palm Beach Gardens.

And from 1945 to 1962 Dunedin Golf Club hosted the PGA Seniors Championship while in 1954 the inaugural PGA Trade Show had been held in the car park of the club’s premises, and in stark contrast to the massive complex in Orlando that recently hosted the annual trade show.

Legendary Gene Sarazen captured two Senior PGA Championships at Dunedin in both 1954 and 1958.

And thank you to John Falconer, the very affable professional at the club, I had the opportunity to play Dunedin Golf Club.

Off the back or blue tees, the course plays to 6,625 yards but on the morning I played the course I played off the white tee, and at 6,245 yards was more than a worthy test for this 15-handicapper.

Entrance to Dunedin Golf Club, Dunedin. Florida.

The course is a mix of the four par threes, two on each nine, along with four par fives with one, at the seventh hole, on the front half and three over the inward half.

The longest hole off the white tees is 510-yard par five seventh while the shortest hole, and again of the white tees, 140-yard sixth hole and just a yard shorter than the 11th.

Each nine at Dunedin is separated by Palm Blvd so much so you cross the roadway to get to the opening tee on the outward nine and then cross back over the road to play the inward nine.

Quintessential Donald Ross designed ‘upturned basin’ greens with the emphasis on chipping should you miss the putting surface.

But no matter whether you start your round at Dunedin is it quintessential Donald Ross with it’s up-turned greens and the challenging shots you need to play to find the putting surfaces, and so similar to Pinehurst No. 2 and the most famous of all Donald Ross designed courses, and of course, where he lived for so many years.

And if you missed the greens, as I did on more than a few occasions at Dunedin, the emphasis was on chipping and that is exactly what Ross had sought so much to do in his design work by bringing back chipping into the game.

Fortunately, those charged with looking after Dunedin have left the course very much as how Ross designed it and there in lies the beauty of playing a round at Dunedin and just 89 years since the course was opened.