Beacon Woods A Shining Florida Golfing Light For Near On 50-Years.

Next year, 2021, marks the 50th anniversary of the foundation of the Beacon Woods Golf Club located at Bayonet Point on Florida’s west coast.

Beacon Woods is just under 20-miles north of the Innisbrook resort near Tarpon Springs and venue each year for the Valspar Championship.

It was during the hosting of the 2018 Valspar Championship and won by England’s Paul Casey by a shot from Tiger Woods and Patrick Reed that I was fortunate to play Beacon Woods.

Woods was playing the event for the first time in his career and it much like ‘Tiger Mania’ all over again with record crowds flocking to the Copperhead course.

Beacon Woods Golf Club (Photo – Beacon Woods)

The 18-hole Beacon Woods Golf Club is a par-72 layout of 6,465 yards off the blue tees, 6,086-yards off the white, 5,649-yards from the gold tee and off the red tees it measures 5,259-yards.

The course orginated in 1971 when a 1,000 acre dairy farm was purchased by Clyde Hoeldtke from a Collie Clayton.

The club commissioned William (Bill) Amick, ASGCA, to design the Beacon Woods golf course that opened in 1976.

Amick and his company has designed over 75 golf course including:-

  • Mangrove Bay Golf Course in St. Petersburg, Florida.  A municipal golf course over a completed landfill and irrigated with treated wastewater.

While he has also designed courses in Europe:

I played off the white tees on this glorious Sunday afternoon on the 4th March, 2018 and a few days ahead of the PGA Tour event.

The course boasts the traditional layout of four par-3s, two on either nine, along with the same for the par-5s.

The shortest hole on the course is the 135-yard par-3 third hole while the longest is the par-5 13th at 425-yards.  The par-4 17th at 373-yards is the No. 1 indext hole while the ‘easiest’ is the third.

Beacon Woods Golf Club – Photo – www.golfbytourmiss.com

Beacon Woods GC – Photo www.golfbytourmiss.com

What I loved about Beacon Woods is that is quintessential Florida with plenty of water features, plenty of ‘Spanish Moss’ adorned trees and plenty of wildlife.

And like most Florida courses it’s relatively flat which makes for easy-walking if, of course, you choose to walk.

The welcome to the club was warm and so too was the golf but while I didn’t set the course on fire, it’s a golf course that does offer plenty of reward.

Indeed, six of the par-4s, and off the white tees, are under 350-yards while the other four are less that 375-yards and great opportunity to savour a handfull of pars.

Beacon Woods GC – Photo – www.golfbytourmiss.com

Beacon Woods GC – Photo – www.golfbytourmiss.com

 

Beacon Woods GC – Photo – www.golfbytourmiss.com

Beacon Woods GC – Photo – www.golfbytourmiss.com

Beacon Woods GC – Photo – www.golfbytourmiss.com

Beacon Woods GC – Photo – www.golfbytourmiss.com

Beacon Woods GC – Photo – www.golfbytourmiss.com

Ah … Bernie’s much-travelled head cover makes another appearnace. Go to twitter @Ted_Koala

 

 

 

 



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