Best Rain Out Day Ever
Ponte Vedra/St. Augustine Florida by Dave Finn
30th March 2014
Ponte Vedra, FL- It is nine in the evening and I am sitting on my second floor balcony with my buddy Steve overlooking the sandy beach, only 100 feet away, while being serenaded by the constant pounding of the Atlantic Ocean lapping up on the shore. We are staying at the opulent Five-Diamond rated Ponte Vedra Inn and Club, a historic oceanfront gem that has aged very well since its birth in 1928 and, home to two championship golf courses. Our plans for the day were to play their Ponte Vedra Ocean Course, the selected site for the cancelled 1939 Ryder Cup. Unfortunately the weather man had something to say about that.
We persevered but were only able to squeeze three holes in before the heavens opened up. Thankfully we did get a chance to tour some of the course to get a feel for it. You can definitely see the Robert Trent Jones influence here from when he redesigned the layout in 1947. This is a very well-conditioned inland layout with stately homes lining the wide and forgiving fairways. Even though the Ocean Course sits on a relatively flat piece of property Jones has incorporated plenty of bunkering and water hazards that are bounded by his signature wooden retaining walls to test your skills.
With wet grips and time on our hands, we made an executive decision to drive 40 minutes southwest to put in a few hours at the World Golf Hall of Fame. What a great call! This 75,000 square foot non-profit museum features a huge array of historical artifacts, priceless memorabilia, informative exhibits and interactive displays. Enough to keep the whole family entertained! It even includes a 300-seat IMAX Theater with an 80-foot wide by six-story-high screen featuring an ever-changing array of non-golf adventure documentaries.
To read the rest of Dave Finn’s article, visit his Golf Travel & Leisure website.
