Palatka Golf Club

...old, very old...

3.0 of 5 starsReviewed April 22, 2024

...this course, which opened in 1925, is said to have been planned by Donald Ross, one of more than 500 golf courses - this is also stated in the Donald Ross Society and Trufts Archives Pinehurst North Carolina!
It is said that he never saw around a third of the courses he planned. Not surprising when you consider the travel conditions at the time...

Interestingly, this course does not appear on the Florida Historic Golf Trail...

While researching Palatka we also came across Mayfair in Sanford!!!

Bobby Weed - well known for his course renovations - began renovating this course in 2010, so that Donald Ross's legacy would be preserved. He rebuilt some of the greens, slightly larger in size.

The areas from the tee to the fairway are partly very rustically maintained - that's probably how it used to be - the fairways are good, the greens very well maintained.
These are very difficult to play, the size is responsible for this - the old greens are very small, the members call them post stamps. They are great to play, very tricky and with great speed. They have given us a lot of extra work.

The course is easy to play on foot, the distances are mostly short. The development from walking golf to driving golf is clearly visible here, the driving tracks are mostly unpaved.

This course has been home to the Florida Azalea Amateur Championship since 1958. The Senior Amateur Championship has also been held here.

Golf Magazine even named this course one of the Best Municipal Courses in America in 2021 - ranking position 29.

Big names have already put their tees in the ground here, as the scorecard tells us: Walter Hagen, Tommy Aron, John Daly, Greg Norman and many more...

Great to play on such an old, untouched course that will be 100 years old next year.

Unfortunately, more than three stars is not possible - because of maintenance.

Translated by Google.