Bartow Golf Course

Florida Historic Golf Trail

3.0 of 5 starsReviewed April 29, 2024

A Donald Ross design that opened in 1925 as an 18 hole course, originally built as a 9 hole course in 1919.

The Scotsman from Dornoch worked in the golden age of golf course construction, employed over 2000 people and left his mark on more than 500 courses. He built three courses in Pinhurst alone - where he last lived.

It is not clear whether he ever visited this course - it is said that he never saw a third of all the courses, which is not surprising given the travel conditions at the time.

Due to the size of the greens, the course was initially played on oiled sand greens. Grass greens were not built until the mid-1930s.

It's great to breathe, feel and play old golf air here.

They are proud of the designer, the name is clearly visible from the street.

The course has been preserved in its original form, almost all holes are straight. Completely flat fairways, small greens and small bunkers, and hardly any fairway bunkers.
Visible renovations are the water barriers, which serve for drainage and were realized much later.

The development from foot golf to driving golf is visible...

The flat course plays as a "links loop" and is not that long at just over 320 meters per hole. Nevertheless, it proved to be a tough nut to crack, because the playing surface was soft - hardly any free meters - and playing the dome greens - one of Donald Ross' trademarks - was extremely difficult. They are significantly smaller than average, even small, and getting the ball to stop was the big challenge.

Maintenance is largely rustic - as it was in the early days - the greens are good, with very good speed.

WebPage Address: www. bartowgolfclub. com

Translated by Google.