The Genesis Invitational

Torrey Pines Golf Course (South Course)



    The Plantation At Ponte Vedra Beach: Plantation

    Ponte Vedra Beach, FL Private

    Overview

    From Golf Digest Architecture Editor emeritus Ron Whitten:

    Just a few exits down Highway A1A from TPC Sawgrass, and catty-corner from Sawgrass Country Club, is The Plantation of Ponte Vedra, a lesser known but very successful 1985 Arnold Palmer residential development design. Architect Bob Walker had worked on the original design back when he was a senior designer for Palmer, and Harrison Minchew did some touch-ups in 2006 back when he, too, was a Palmer senior architect.

    Both Walker and Minchew still live and work in the Ponte Vedra Beach area, but to handle an upgrade to its Palmer course, the club selected golf architect Greg Letsche, a former Nicklaus design associate, now the chief architect for Ernie Els. Nothing wrong with going with the competition, so to speak. It simply indicates to me that the membership wanted a fresh set of eyes on the place instead of those schooled under Palmer.

    Letsche used a light touch to enhance the Palmer layout. He rebuilt the greens, softening many contours (bold greens were a Palmer trademark of the 1980s), smoothed out numerous mounds on several holes, added a few strategic bunkers while removing excessive ones elsewhere (like those totally surrounding the par-3 16th green) and added new forward tees.

    He retained The Plantation’s famous island tee on the par-3 12th (the tee almost a parody of TPC Sawgrass’s island green up the road), but removed the peninsula bunker at the green that had poked into a pond. By the way, The Plantation has its own island green, on the short par-4 15th, a target big enough that it also includes three bunkers.

    About

    Holes 18
    Length 7141
    Slope 149
    Facility Type Private
    Designer Arnold Palmer/Ed Seay, ASGCA

    Golf Digest Logo Panelists

    Ratings from our panel of 1,900 course-ranking panelists

    3.9

    100 GREATEST/BEST IN STATE SCORES

    Shot Options
    6.3092
    Character
    6.1807
    Challenge
    6.5532
    Layout Variety
    6.3034
    Fun
    6.3901
    Aesthetics
    6.3754
    Conditioning
    6.9425

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